The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Continued from pg. 8 After introductions and getting to know each other, Loretta and Owen go down to the water, while Mary and Lee stay in the cabin. They begin to talk. There is some funny stuff here. One sequence has Mary asking, 'What do you want to do?' To which Lee answers, 'I'm married.' Mary replies, 'Well I guess getting married is out of the question then!' The couples are in each other's company off and on over the next two days and in that time, Lee gets around to telling Mary that he has about year to live, confiding that his brother won't acknowledge his illness or discuss it. He also tells her that everyone he tries to talk with, from his wife to his mother, just cries. She promptly starts to cry as he discloses this to her. When the other two arrive back at the cabin, Mary tells Loretta about Lee's illness and she then brings it up for discussion. Loretta is very forthright and matter of fact about Lee's predicament and asks some pointed and thought provoking questions about his mortality. It seems that this is the first time that brother Owen has faced the fact his brother is going to die. These two women happening along have opened things up between the brothers and given them the opportunity to confront their relationship and Lee's situation. As a result, over the next day or so, Lee manages to talk to his brother about death. Their discussion is heated at times and petty jealousies and rivalries are exposed. The fact eventually arises that all Lee wants, is to know that his family will be looked out for after he is gone. Important things In the end, both men realize some important things about their lives. Owen in the recognition that he really is a dependable person and Lee in the understanding that things will work out alright after he is gone. The show was laugh-out-loud funny in parts and quite solemn in others. The actors seemed at home in their parts and the dialogue was delivered flawlessly! The production is the work of playwright Norm Foster. It was directed by Christopher Sigurdson and featured Murray Farnell in the role of Owen Melville, Kevin Klassen as Lee Melville. Alix Sobler as Mary, and Elizabeth Stephensen as Loretta. As is always the case, the Aurora Borealis Arts Council picked another winner for Snow Lake. This group can't be acknowledged enough for the fabulous performances that they continue to lure to our little community. My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
