THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
Where: Phoenix Theatre, University of Victoria
When: Dec. 13-15
Tickets: $35 from
Parfumerie, the Hungarian play by Miklós László, arrived in 1937. But in the decades that followed, it morphed into the source material for an endless run of stage and screen adaptations, including three films, two radio plays, and a Broadway musical.
The adaptation being produced this weekend by Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre is The Shop Around the Corner, a zippy one-hour romp based on Lux Radio Theater’s 1941 broadcast. The adaptation by Victoria playwright Andrew Bailey bears a resemblance to the 1940 film of the same name starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan — a movie that is a longtime favourite of Blue Bridge artistic director and co-founder Brian Richmond.
“I’m a huge fan,” Richmond, who is directing the cast of 11 at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre.
“It’s one of the best Christmas movies ever, for sure. And I love the forms of the period, which was heartfelt, tongue-in-cheek comic storytelling. I’m a fan of screwball comedies, and romantic comedies, so this was a natural fit for me.”
Victoria actor Jonathan Mason returns to Blue Bridge Theatre for The Shop Around the Corner after five seasons with Ontario’s Stratford Festival, where he starred as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Ascending to one of the top theatre positions in the country is an “astounding” accomplishment for a young actor, Richmond said, comparing Mason’s success at Stratford to winning an Olympic gold medal in acting.
“It’s phenomenal, really,” Richmond said.
Mason, whom Richmond taught when the actor was one of his students at UVic, will be joined as a lead in the play by Amanda Lisman. The actors star as lovers-to-be, similar to the characters from Parfumerie who were reshaped into roles made famous by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Nora Ephron’s 1998 box office hit, You’ve Got Mail.
Richmond directed an earlier version of The Shop Around the Corner for Blue Bridge, more than 10 years ago. But this radio-play adaptation hits differently in 2024, as it brings to a close a make-it-or-break year for the independent theatre company.
The adaptation is the third and final entry in Blue Bridge’s current season, which got underway in August after the threat of permanent closure. The non-profit theatre company had incurred mounting debt after Richmond retired in 2022, and his return for the surpise three-play season gave the company a way to settle its outstanding debt. “We have saved Blue Bridge,” Richmond said.
“The first two plays [Wind in the Willows in August and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in November] were entirely sold out and eliminated the debt the current board and I inherited when we took over in April. We paid for the cost of the three productions and we’re going to have money in the bank at the end of it all.”
Blue Bridge is officially back in business, and while Richmond said there will not be an official update on the 2025 season until the new year, he’s overwhelmed that the company was able to restore its standing in the arts and culture community.
“There has been really phenomenal support from the community, and we’re delighted by that. We’re feeling pretty good about where we’re at right now, which means Blue Bridge will carry on beyond its 17th year.”
