Tricksy Grobbitses

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This article was published 14/11/2017 (3136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of magical misfits undertake an epic journey, singing nearly a dozen original songs along the way.

Such is the premise of The Grobbit — a spoof on J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit — the latest original musical that the Grey Street United Church Players will perform at a series of upcoming dinner theatre and matinee performances at the end of the month.

“Grobbits don’t like to be bothered,” explained Samantha Tease, who plays the eponymous Grobbit in Greg Holowka’s original play. “They’re happier in their own company.”

On an otherwise normal day in Grobbitown, Tease’s character is approached by a wizard, an elf, and a warrior and convinced to join a quest.

“All kinds of hilarious events befall us along the way,” said Tease, who has been performing at Grey Street United Church events for 20 years and has a background in musical theatre and dance.

“Dinner theatre has become part of my family,” added Tease, whose mother is a co-director of the show. “It’s a community. Greg (Holowka) writes hilarious stuff, and his son Alec is incredibly musical talented, so it’s always so much fun and challenging to perform.”

“It’s a bunch of work for everyone,” said Alec Holowka, who began performing Abbott & Costello routines with his brother at Grey Street United Church variety nights back in 1996.

A graduate of River East Collegiate’s music program, Holowka is a video game programmer and composer. While his father, Greg, writes the plays, Alec adds the music. The two began work on The Grobbit early in the summer, eventually writing nine original songs for the show.

“It’s fun to work together on this stuff,” Holowka said. “This year, we’ve also been changing stuff as we go along, refining it. One song went through three or four different versions until it ended up as a rap, which was the funniest way of doing it.”

Rehearsals for this year’s show began in September.

“Which is probably the shortest preparation time we’ve ever had,” Tease said. “We usually have at least three months.”

Rehearsals run each week Sunday evenings, though lately they’ve added supplementary practice times throughout the week.

“It’s a lot to ask for people to try learning a bunch of original stuff,” Holowka admitted. “I appreciate everyone in the cast trying this weird stuff out.”

For both Holowka and Tease, the show is a great way to connect with friends and family, as well as the broader community.

“It’s a really fun show,” Holowka, who also performs the music for the show, said. “Everyone involved is having a good time. It’s very endearing in that way.”

“I look forward to it every year,” Tease said. “It’s such a blast, so much fun.”

The Grobbit will run as a dinner theatre production on Nov. 24 and 25, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the dinner are $40, and include a $20 charitable tax receipt. On Nov. 26, the show will run as a matinee at 2 p.m., with tickets at $12 per adult of $6 for children.

Tickets are available at the Grey Street United Church (651 Sandhurst Ave.) during office hours, or by calling 204-667-9413 to arrange for purchase.

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