SMOKEFALL at Tin Shop Theatre

Play Review by Rebecka Hoyt, Editor & Photographer

The Tin Shop Theatre presented the play “Smokefall” by Noah Haidle on the opening weekend of Friday, October 14-16 and also this weekend, Friday, October 21 – 23, 2022. Remaining showtimes for this weekend are: Saturday, October 22 7:30pm and Sunday, October 23 4:00pm. Tickets are available at the door or on the Tin Shop Theatre website here.

My husband, Tom and I got the chance to sit in on a dress rehearsal to do a Facebook LIVE video on The Buchanan Chronicle Facebook page with director, David Ferrell and also for this review. “Smokefall” is about 2-hours with a 15-minute intermission and is rated PG-13 with three acts.

The stage is set within an older home of the living room, kitchen and some stairs to the bedrooms. There is a narrator, Lenore who is the late wife of Dad/Grandpa also known as Colonel who stands to the side of the stage telling about how each person is in the family. From the Dad/Grandpa having memory loss, to Violet the daughter/pregnant wife who always has a smile on her face and looks to the beauty and love of things and others, to Beauty the daughter of Violet and Daniel who barely speaks a word but in later years does speak. The birth story of Violet’s baby boy twins of how they perceive the world outside the womb and how one of them grows up in life and goes back to see Dad and meets his Aunt Beauty. The play goes back and forth with the past and future. If you liked the TV show, “This is Us,” you will like this play.

You may shed a tear or two, but the acting is great. I asked the cast what is one thing that you liked about this play and this is what some of them had to say:

Josh Dolezal – it was a confusing experience before death and relationships formed.

Johnny (the character) – it’s a story about life and overcoming, family means something with love and coming together.

Kelly Carlin (Violet) – to have enough courage to love, hang out and all the good stuff.

Lenore (the character) – the connectivity between the past and current.

The weather is going to be good today and tomorrow, so come on down and enjoy the show!

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Current Event Details:

• Who: Tin Shop Theatre
• What: SMOKEFALL
• When: October 21 – 22 at 7:30pm; & 23 at 4pm
• Where: Tin Shop Theatre – 108 Roe St, Buchanan
• Details:
  • Tickets can be purchased online at www.tinshoptheatre.org or at the door
  • $12 Adults and $10 Seniors/Students.

Summary Submitted by David Ferrell, Buchanan Area Fine Arts Council Vice President & The Tin Shop Theatre Director

Magical realism collides with manic vaudeville in a family drama unlike any you have ever seen. Fetuses swap philosophy while awaiting their birth, a daughter eats dirt and does not speak, a father is about to drive away and never return, and there is an apple tree growing through the walls of the house.

Whipping from astonishing tenderness to profound humor and back again, SMOKEFALL by Noah Haidle, explores the lives of a family in a lyrical treatise on the fragility of life and the power of love.

The ensemble includes Derek Bacon, Kelly Carlin, Josh Dolezal, Casey Dyczko, David Ferrell, Peggy Harrington, William Klein, and Jeff Starkey. The production opens Friday, October 14 and runs for two weekends (October 14-16 and 21-23) at the Tin Shop Theatre, located at 108 Roe Street Buchanan, Michigan 49107. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tinshoptheatre.org or at the door $12 Adults, and $10 Seniors/Students.

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