First I’ll talk about the set. Theatre Cambrian actually got a professional set from Toronto. When I walked in, the stage I had seen so many times before had been completely transformed. It was a very grande set with little details everywhere that made it magical. The centre stage was changed into different location(Arnold’s,the Cunningham’s house,etc.) by sliding a few back panels to reveal one of two sets or left closed depending on the scene.

Second, the costumes were very well made. Not every single person was wearing a poodle skirt so it was very realistic. All the characters’ costumes represented them very well. Pinky and The Fonz were completely transformed into such believable characters that you couldn’t imagine them as anyone else (which is weird since I know the actress who played Pinky very well).

Thirdly, I’ll talk about the musical theatre aspects. The singing and harmonizing was well done. Props to vocal director K.C. Rautiainen. The choreography, by Angel Mannisto, was very fun(like the rest of the production). You could see the complicity of the cast when they danced together, well synchronized, smiling, and interacting with each other.

Lastly (and most importantly), the acting. I’d like to congratulate Devon Hilderbrandt on an AMAZING performance. It must be so cool to live an ordinary life,maybe working in an office all day, then being The Fonz at night. His performance was soooo believable and entertaining. On to the other actors… Three of the characters in the production had alternates, Pinky Tuscadero, Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola (The Fonzs cousin).

Cast 1: Kelsie Carroll as Pinky, Abby Lacelle as Joanie and Dante Falcioni as Chachi.

Cast 2: Kathryn Piche as Pinky, Leah Perreault as Joanie and Jeffrey Daggett as Chachi.

I saw both casts of alternate perform and would say that I preferred cast 1. The acting was great in both but the actors of cast one fit the characters better. For example Dante is Italian so seemed more Chachi-esque and Kelsie just looks more like a Pinky. It wasn’t all about the looks thought. The cast one actors just gave a twist that I liked to the characters. When Kelsie and Abby weren’t playing their main roles they played Pinkettes (Pinky’s girls). I found that they gave the Pinkettes more personality than Kathryn and Leah.

I would definitly recommend that you go see Happy Days if you’re in the area or if a theatre near you ever does a run of it.

Check out http://www.theatrecambrian.ca/happy_days.htm for more info.