It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken

Readers of this blog will know that I’m not a fan of musicals. However, when one lands that ticks all my boxes for excellence, I can turn one hundred and eighty degrees. And that was my reaction to It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken. No one was more surprised than I. Going into the theatre, I wasn’t invested in the music of The Tragically Hip and thought that I’d slip out at intermission if I didn’t like the performance. I stayed put.

The story, in its simplest form, addresses how one shapes a good life when the path one has been travelling takes a series of unexpected turns. It’s a story about finding home, whether that home is a new country, the community of one’s birth, or a relationship.

The play is set in Baghdad, Iraq and Kingston, Ontario. Baghdad is evoked on either side of the stage with soaring stone arches covered in graffiti. Kingston is portrayed with a series of props that move on and off the stage: a couch and coffee table for a university student’s apartment; bistro chairs, round tables and a display case for a coffee shop; and rolling wooden bins for the record shop.

The cast is superb, each of them a triple-threat performer, on point, with strong, clear voices and choreography that is creative, vigorous and elegant. The actors are backed by musicians, also superb, who play keyboard, percussion, violin, guitar, bass, and cello.

There’s a Come From Away vibe to this musical. As I sat in the audience transfixed by the artistry on stage, this play felt like an affirmation of Canadian values. When I fall for a musical, I fall hard!

Come see this performance. It’s worth the trip to Hamilton.

It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken is playing at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius until May 24^th.

Bonnie Lendrum is the author of Autumn’s Grace, the story of how one family manages the experience of palliative care with hope and humor despite sibling conflicts, generational pulls and career demands. Autumn’s Grace is a powerful commentary on the need for well-organized and well-funded palliative care in private homes and in residential hospices. It’s a gift to people who would like to be prepared as they help fulfill the final wishes of a family member or friend. 

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