Soulpepper’s Parfumerie is a wonderful Holiday treat for the whole family.
Parfumerie, directed by Morris Panych, is the perfect play to get you into the holiday spirit. There is a reason why this production has had several remounts. The action of the show takes place over Christmas and has two people fall into sweet, unlikely love. Snow gently falls outside the shop windows and live musicians, pop in and out throughout the action. In the second act, the off stage cast sings a moody Christmas carol. So much of this play was simply delightful.
Miklós László wrote Parfumerie in 1937 and it is a timeless tale that has been adapted into three feature films and a Broadway musical. It is set entirely within a Hungarian perfume shop and we get to know the many eccentric employees that work there. The sweetest part of the story is the slow unfolding of the love between George (Oliver Dennis) and Rosie (Patricia Fagan). The co-workers are barely civil to one another in the shop but they have been writing passionate anonymous love letters to each other for over a year. The audience is let in on this secret way before the characters and it is immensely fun to see it unfold.
No one does sets better than Ken MacDonald and this set was no exception. It was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to jump up on stage and live in that shop. It was created in shades of pink with a beautiful rounded dark wood door and window frames (including a fancy revolving door). All the shelves were lined with elegant looking boxes and bottles. In the middle of the playing space, sat a plush, velvety seating area, which many characters leapt over during the course of the evening. This set could have been placed on a chic Parisian street and fit right in.
Dana Osborne’s costumes were spot on and perfectly set the period of the show. Bonnie Beecher’s romantic lighting design not only complemented the set but also helped to establish the crisp winter outside. One of my favourite lighting schemes was when the lights were shut off in the shop for the evening but some low mood lighting remained. So pretty.
The first act seemed a bit harried to me. Perhaps it was opening night nerves. While the actors were keeping the farcical energy and pace up, it seemed as if they weren’t really allowing the lines to land on each other so it came off as a bit disjointed and frenetic. I was entertained throughout but the first act did drag for me a bit. The second act however, was so strong and heartfelt that I completely forgave the issues I had with the first half of the play. The bumps that were encountered early in the play will likely smooth out during the run.
There was some lovely character work created by the performers. Dennis and Fagan were ideally cast as the lovers and you truly rooted for their love. Jeff Lillico brought a lot of grounded humor into his characterization of Arpad Krepus. Brenda Robins (who also adapted the script with Adam Pettle) is hilariously awkward as Miss Molnar and the always entertaining Michael Simpson charmed as Louis Sipos.
Parfumerie is like savoring a delicious hot chocolate while sitting by the fireplace on Christmas morning. It leaves you warm all over and reminds you how precious love is. What a way to feel during the holidays.
Parfumerie plays now through December 28th. For tickets, please visit: http://www.soulpepper.ca/
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