Back in the Summer of ‘1969’
1969 celebrates Opening Night at TKFringe

It’s a stifling hot August evening. TKFringe has returned to the downtown core.

A Crosley record player spins the Woodstock LP in the lobby of the Baby Grand Theatre, downtown Kingston, Ontario. A Kyla Todd original sits on an easel, boasting tonight’s production. And I with my rum and coke and he with his cabernet sauvignon were geared up to take in opening night of 1969; written by Janet Kish, directed by Rachael McDonald, and produced by the newly minted PS Productions.

It’s one of 18 shows featured this week at TKFringe. And it’s got less than an hour to razzle, dazzle, emote, compel and entertain a sold-out audience.

And like its metaphorical curtain, it rises to the occasion.

“It’s been 56 years since I was that wide-eyed 16-year-old, fiercely convinced my generation would end war. And for a brief shining moment – a nano-second in history – I truly believed we had,” reflects playwright Janet Kish. “‘1969’ is more than a tribute to the idealism of my youth. It’s a reckoning. A search for understanding: how did we fail, why did we falter, and – most urgently – what can we still do now to mend a world that’s broken, to rise again, and to stand where peace and justice wait?”

My father was barely out of diapers by 1969. What could I possibly know about the “hippy” generation? What could I possibly understand about living through the backdrop of the Vietnam War? Outside of chanting along to music you can only find on the oldies channel, what could I possibly commentate about 1969? How could I possibly ‘get it’?

1969 doesn’t expect you to. It’s prepared to fill in the gaps, pull back the smokescreen, and introduce you to a world you may not have known otherwise. For some in the audience, it was a time machine, set to stir up nostalgia. For others, it was an unveiling.

For all, it was a polaroid snapshot as we travelled together with our three hitchhikers on the road to freedom, to idealism, to a reckoning, to rebellion.

Where director Rachael McDonald shines is her sheer ability to take a minimal set and create an environment where we, the audience, feel transported to a new place entirely. Through her use of sound, twin television monitors, props and music, the stage floor becomes Highway 401 through Scarborough. We feel equally on the side of the road thumbing for a ride alongside teens Suzie and Micheline; as equally as hopeful they’ll successfully hitch their way to Montreal for a chance to witness John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s infamous “bed in” in an effort to protest the war.

The cast is comprised of our three main protagonists (Suzie and Micheline are eventually joined by a teenaged American soldier Sammy) and a chorus working interchangeably as storytellers.

Our evening begins with the chorus spitballing facts of 1969 – a year of notable births, pop culture references, a lesson on the Vietnam war and how it impacted countries around the world. Led by Tim Ryan, the chorus exchanges lines in rapid fire delivered in concurrent statements before breaking into musical nuggets of the era (notably, The Beat Goes On, Blowing in the Wind, and War.) The references are staggering. We’re here. We’re in 1969. We believe it.

Enter stage right, a teenage Micheline (played effortlessly by Lilli McDonald) sits waiting patiently for the ever-late Suzie (hilariously brought to life by the comedic talent of Gia Silva). The chorus shouts the time. Suzie is 20 minutes late. Micheline is unimpressed. The girls exchange words, scribble their destination onto a cardboard sign, and attempt to flag a vehicle that will take them where they’re going. As their efforts prove futile – and the time is growing later – we’re given a deep dive on each of our characters as they build up a rapport between one another. Soon after, a third hitchhiker is dropped off on the shoulder and joins their plight. Sammy (performed by the flawless Kieran Chenier) – they learn – is an American soldier; confused, scared and somehow in Canada when he’s required to report for active duty.

As the production rages on, our three teens learn something about each other through stress, exhaustion, frustration and fear. Our chorus takes us through time – the time it takes for our three characters to successfully hitch a ride across Ontario, and the time of the season in the summer of 1969. We’re passengers on this journey together. Pounding the pavement at half past one, exchanging pockets of silence for sudden outbursts of situational uneasiness in a society torn in two; pro-war, and antiwar. We extol the drivers who pick up our hitchhikers! We empathize with Sammy, and nod agreeingly with his crisis! We cringe with Micheline during Suzie’s rambling rages as a peace activist! We are part of this story. We are along for this ride.

And we collectively hold our breath during the play’s triumphant climax.

As 1969 neatly wrapped up, I noticed it had only taken the cast and crew just shy of 45 minutes to have me questioning everything I’d watched, everything I learned, and everything I thought I’d known about the summer of love. Was I in the car with our characters? How did I feel about Suzie’s political opinions? Did I know there were that many Canadian soldiers who signed up to fight in the Vietnam war? Would this story have worked had it been set in any other era?

“I approached this play not with answers, but with questions – because that’s what I hope it invites the audience to do: ask, wonder, reflect,” writes Janet Kish.

And that’s when I connected the parallels. The Vietnam war questioned a generation, and I stood back questioning our character’s night.

1969 invites you to hitch a ride.

Correction. 1969 dares you to hitch a ride.

And I think that you should.

Take in ‘1969’ by PS Productions at TKFringe till August 17th at Kingston’s Grand Theatre (Baby Grand)
https://www.theatrekingston.com/about-the-tk-fringe.html