Magic Lies: Nathan Schmidt brings W.O. Mitchell to life in Rosebud

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell opened Sept. 15 at Rosebud Theatre. The one-man play, performed by Nathan Schmidt and directed by Karen Johnson-Diamond, runs until Oct. 21.

Magic Lies, written by W.O.’s son and daughter-in-law, Orm and Barbara Mitchell, is based on W.O.’s stories and his style of storytelling.

Nathan Schmidt plays W.O. Mitchell himself, doing what W.O. did for over 30 years, standing before an audience to perform an evening of stories.

W.O.’s stories, part-fact, part-fiction, represent the southern Saskatchewan that shaped W.O.’s boyhood. The set is spare, but the backdrop, painted by Cheryl Daugherty, gives us the living prairie sky, changing its color, mood and forecast with every changing light.

W.O.’s language is salty, and his frankness is from a lost era, when people could express their opinions without fear of hostility. His stories kept us listening, absorbed and laughing for the full 100-minute ride.

There’s the story of 10-year-old W.O. selling women’s lingerie. The story about making rain. Dynamite as shock therapy. The grandma who always gave smelly cheese for Christmas. The strapping art teacher. An elocution class.

Schmidt brings W.O. to life in a way no one else could, wrapping W.O.’s storytelling within the character and story of W.O. himself. His performance makes me feel I know W.O. Mitchell. I wish I could meet his characters too. Noreen Symington, the cornet soloist. Peanuts. Melvin Arbuckle. Melvin’s wandering grandfather. And W.O.’s longsuffering mother.

In the stories of this show, we could hear W.O.’s writing voice in our long-ago readings of his books, and they made us long to read his books again. In the meantime, we feel we’ve just spent an evening in W.O.’s company. And that’s even better.

Tickets for Magic Lies come with a buffet meal. Get tickets and more information at 1-800-267-7553 and www.rosebudtheatre.com.