Rosebud Theatre’s The Kite a touching comedy

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

The Kite, a comedy by Canadian playwright W.O. Mitchell, is playing at Rosebud Theatre until Aug. 31.
Daddy Sherry (played by Nathan Schmidt) is about to turn 117 years old, or so the townspeople say. Daddy Sherry himself isn’t sure how old he is, but he brags he’s the oldest man in the world. He lives with his many-greats granddaughter Helen (played by Heather Pattengale), who tries to manage his unmanageable behaviour and curtail his influence on her impressionable young son Keith (Rebbekah Ogden).
Daddy’s birthday is next week and the whole town is planning a party, but Daddy Sherry isn’t playing along. Daddy says what he likes, does what he likes, and has fun driving everyone else to distraction while he does it. Nathan Schmidt has a just-right knack for playing this grumpy old man.
The cast also includes Paul Muir as the doctor and Helen’s love interest; Mike Thiessen as barber and undertaker; and Rosebud School of the Arts students Emily Anne Salkeld and Anja Darien as the CBC journalists who’ve come for the birthday interview.
Robyn Ayles designed the 1970s-era costumes, which add their own character to the show. Ayles also designed the set, using print screens to evoke the images and feelings of Alberta’s wide-open prairies where Daddy Sherry spent his decades roaming the range and hunting buffalo.
The Kite is funny, funny, funny, from its very first moments, to the final gasps of dismay and then delight.
About halfway through the story it also becomes tender, as we realize that despite Daddy Sherry’s aggravating ways, the exasperated Helen actually loves that “old crooked willow.” It’s at that moment we start to have hope for this family, for we’ve become fond of the old rascal too.
That tenderness settles into us because we know Daddy Sherry could be one of our own elderly loved ones, struggling to maintain significance and independence even while their bodies and minds are failing, and all their friends are passing on.
But Daddy Sherry is more than one of our beloved elderly people. I think he is also us. When we see him fighting for value and meaning and control, we know that’s what we want too, even if we’re nowhere near 117 years old. And when we do get old, even if we can’t help becoming cantankerous, we hope there’ll be a many-greats someone to insist on loving us, just as Helen and Keith keep on loving Daddy Sherry.
The Kite plays in Rosebud Theatre’s Opera House until Aug. 31. Tickets, which include a meal, can be purchased at 1-800-267-7553 or rosebudtheatre.com. Rosebud Theatre offers free tickets to any guests 100 years old or older. The theatre is also celebrating the play with a Kite Festival, June 28 and 29.