\u201cI saw this play when it opened,\u201d says director Patrick McDonald. \u201cEver since then it slips back into my life in different ways. I\u2019d say that in my career I\u2019ve worked with every one of the characters in the play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jitters <\/em>opened in 1979 and quickly became a popular comedy. McDonald says that it\u2019s hard for Canadian plays to achieve the amount of success that this one did during its original run.<\/p>\n \u201cJitters,<\/em> when it first came out, ran for eight weeks at Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut, then it was slated for a Broadway run,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n It never made it to Broadway, but it did make it to Canadian theatre history. And history is now a part of the play itself: because the play was written in the \u201870s, it will be treated as a period piece. Right down to the shag carpet, this interpretation of the play will be true to its roots.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be lots of foretell, polyester, really big moustaches, and white belts,\u201d says McDonald. \u201cEverything you would expect to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Another part of staying true to the play\u2019s roots means including an all-Canadian cast. But no matter where those playing the characters are from, everyone in the play is insecure and insane in their own way, including a drunk leading man on opening night, an aging stage diva, and a sadistic stage manager who\u2019s tired of running after actors.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery character was modelled after a Canadian actor of the era,\u201d says McDonald.<\/p>\n But even those who aren\u2019t actors will enjoy Jitters.<\/em> This comedy has something in it that everyone can relate to.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s experienced a petulant co-worker who has a certain amount of power over you,\u201d says McDonald. \u201cWho hasn\u2019t experienced those people in their job?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/jitters-use-this-one1.jpg\")
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