By David French

Old Flame Theatre Company

December 2016

When Landon, Reanne, and I were thinking about what we wanted to do at the Old Flame Brewery, Salt-Water Moon was one that Reanne and I really pushed for. It was something very different from Peter Pan or Romeo and Juliet, but enough of a classic that some people would know it, and beautiful enough that the people unfamiliar with it would go crazy for it. Plus, after months at Shaw playing a footman, Landon was in need of a part he could really sink his teeth into.

The tricky thing about Salt-Water Moon is that, though it seems like a simple-enough, romantic two-hander on the surface, it is actually brimming with historical references, a LONG timeline that needs to be followed, and all of it handled with the eloquence and rich story-telling abilities of a Newfoundlander. A note that kept coming up was that this play should feel like a dance between these characters.

A serious koodos to Landon and Reanne on this one. They truly nailed it. Considering that the play rests on the ability of the actors to make us love them so much, be so seduced by their charm, that we LONG for them to be together, for them to work it out, for Jacob to just say the right thing and for Mary to realize what she has in front of her. It is a complicated challenge, and their work was astonishing. We could not help but love them, laugh with them, feel their frustration and anguish, and when Jacob leaves, genuinely wonder if he is coming back.

The cast

Mary Snow: Reanne Spitzer

Jacob Mercer: Landon Doak