New Magic Valley Fun Town: comedy masking damaging secrets
1 Mar 2019

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Cylla von Tiedemann

It is impossible to describe the plot or main themes of New Magic Valley Fun Town without ruining the surprises in store. Suffice it to say that what begins as an amiable comedy blossoms into a disturbing comedy of manners before escalating to a shattering conclusion. The audience had braved a vicious storm and I doubt there was anyone in attendance that felt it wasn't worth the hardship. New Magic Valley Fun Town is in a way about the indomitable spirit of human nature, and that makes a few feet of snow seem an insignificant travail.

Daniel MacIvor (Who Killed Spalding Gray?, Cake and Dirt, The Best Brothers, A Beautiful View, Arigato Tokyo, His Greatness) is both playwright and a quarter of the ensemble. He is also a trickster in both iterations. Beginning with a slapstick section that is both hilarious and a wordless - except for the occasional epithet - introduction to a character and his backstory. From there he trades quips and  barbs with Caroline Gillis and, while their relationship is obviously crucial and intimate, it remains ambiguous for a good portion of the play. MacIvor seems to delight in revealing just enough to set up a puzzle and keep the audience guessing. And it works beautifully, it is riveting and compelling. And punctuated with laughter.

MacIvor's character is eagerly, frantically, awaiting the arrival of a longlost childhood friend. Their relationship is another mystery and I admit that in that regard I swallowed at least one macguffin whole. There is also a fourth wheel spinning and occasionally connecting, Stephanie MacDonald who alternately helps and hinders the preparations. Preparations that involve copious amounts of alcohol, social media misinformation, and large bags of No Frills no-name snacks. MacIvor, Gillis and MacDonald volley a tremendous amount of overlapping dialogue and bits of physical business, revealing character, teasing mysteries and landing one-liners with precision. 

The childhood friend arrives and, despite Andrew Moonie's initial gravitas, the evening becomes a drunken party highlighted by dance numbers including an impressive retro display of finesse by MacIvor. It should be mentioned that the music selections are incredibly apt at setting the mood and the characters. And the complicity. While many smirked at the '70s soft rock, everyone in the audience sang along sotto voce, and became a part of the world of the play. The secrets when they are revealed are explosive and the metaphor they are wrapped in literally so. New Magic Valley Fun Town is artfully and meticulously structured and presented, but never for a second reveals that it is other than realistic people in an impossible and ultimately horrific situation.

There are multiple subtexts foregrounded and touched on but the main theme, which again can't be spoiled, is the engine that drives it all. MacIvor is hilarious and heartbreaking as he dons a ridiculous toupee and hides yet another awful secret. Gillis is brash and no-nonsense but aches palpably without having to say so. MacDonald is the most ridiculed but manages to brazen through with faux sophistication and become quite touching. Andrew Moonie, on whom it all hinges, somehow balances MacIvor's physical drollery with a handsome stolidity that also allows us to see the bond between them. Before we even know what that bond is. It is a true ensemble and their inner reality, aided by an achingly realistic Canadian melodrama set and Richard Rose's sensitive direction, makes the implausible believable. And eventually the unbelievable is made tragically real.

There are so many telling details and comedic riffs that offer clues but they too need to remain spoilers. In the world of New Magic Valley Fun Town there is an actual New Magic Valley Fun Town and it is a wonderful and horrible place that reflects the play. A glossy giddy place that masks darkness and horrors so unspeakable that they destroy. In MacIvor's trickster hands, it is an unsafe and important place to visit. Hilarious but ultimately devastating.