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On Stage by Lori Montgomery Rough Crossing Theatre Calgary until October 7. First, there was Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnar’s The Play at the Castle in 1924. Then, there was P.G. Wodehouse’s 1926 adaptation, the better-known The Play’s the Thing (seen last season at Theatre Junction). Then, in 1984, Tom Stoppard brought his inimitable talents to bear on an adaptation of the adaptation, and came up with Rough Crossing, a play that takes the original farcical play-within-a-play and turns it into a wild critique of art and artists. "It’s a fun script for (Stoppard), because he just gets to indulge in word play," says local actor Doug McKeag. "And the word play is always glorious with Stoppard, because he’ll set up a gag in the first scene that may not be resolved until the very last scene." McKeag is no stranger to Stoppard, having starred in Theatre Junction’s staging of Arcadia several seasons ago, and welcomes the chance to return to the British playwright’s complex language in the production at Theatre Calgary. "I don’t do a lot of Shakespeare or anything. It’s fine and all, but I like really clever language," he laughs. "I like reading Poe. I just love it when sentences are really long, and commas are really important, as much to keep from passing out as to get the meaning across." At the same time, there’s certainly nothing inaccessible about the author of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Shakespeare in Love. In Rough Crossing, he tells the story of a trio of English writers on a ship bound for New York, where they will stage their new musical – as soon as they finish writing it. Also on board are the stars of the new show, Natasha and Ivor (played by McKeag). The actor describes his latest role with wry humour. "I’m sure he was their fourth choice in casting, but they’ve managed to snag Ivor to do this role," he explains. "He’s a pain in the ass to work with, just your typical mess, but the audiences seem to like him, they say in the script, just because he’s handsome enough with his little moustache." The comedian and singer has appeared in a staggering number of musicals around town – including Evita, Into the Woods and Berlin to Broadway – but has maintained a career that spans music, comedy and even the occasional serious role. His priority, he says, is to be true to the character – and maybe work in a gag or two if he can. "I just explore the characters, and I really do get in deep," he insists. "Not freakishly, but just because I want every single word they say to have at least the meaning that the author intended. I never gloss over a line." McKeag is a busy man, with roles in theatre balancing a growing musical career with his wife, singer and actor Onalea Gilbertson. It’s a life he lauds as much for the social aspect as for the creative one. "We get to change friends every eight weeks, we get to change co-workers," he points out. "How many people get to do that? Even if somebody really bugs you, they’re gone after a while, and if you really like them, they’re friends forever." He concedes somewhat reluctantly that his early training was in political science and economics, and that he was aiming for a career in law before the theatre took over his life. "I was miserable," he says simply. "I was wretched, and it was like watching myself play a role. I’d put on a little suit and tie every day, and sit at my desk, and I was watching myself and thinking, ‘stop that!’ And my girlfriend at the time asked this very important question – because I was wretched and depressing her as well – she said, ‘What would you do tomorrow if you had the choice?’ And I said that I’d be rehearsing a play. That’s a day well spent." Years later, some of his corporate friends have become "gazillionaires," he says, but he wouldn’t want to leave the theatre to switch places with them. "To trade this for all that money and to sit in an office wearing a suit and a tie would be death to me. I make a comfortable living, I don’t want for anything, so why should I not be happy?"

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