REVIEW: Sugar Road is a sweet country romance at Port Stanley Festival Theatre

The return of a country music star to an amusement park stirs memories

Article content Port Stanley Festival Theatre’s latest production is Sugar Road, a lighthearted romantic comedy by Kristen da Silva. Its country vibes of music, love and laughter take place in rural Ontario. In the opening scene Hannah (Sarah Machin Gale) is putting up posters is an amusement park – Sugar Road in Elmvale, Ontario.

She is hosting the Spurs & Hearts Festival and Jesse Emberley is the feature act. This event will either make or break Sugar Road’s season. Things have been tough for the small-town venue.

The rides are aging out and there are lots of things to repair. Hannah is hoping Emberley (Mayson Sonntag) will bring in a sell-out crowd and much needed funds for repairs. But Emberley on stage comes with some baggage for Hannah.

Turns out this is not his first visit to Sugar Road. Hannah met Jesse a few years earlier when her mother brought the band to town. She’d been working backstage when she first encounters Jesse when he was an up-and-coming country musician.

One thing led to another, and they ended up spending the night together. It was a summer romance, but Hannah felt it could only be a one-night stand. Jesse was a touring musician, and Hannah knew she had to remain in Elmvale and help her mom with day-to-day operations of Sugar Road.

They parted and she never heard from him again until now. Her best friend Caroline is so excited about the upcoming appearance of Emberley that she has set up camp at Sugar Road to get the best seat for the concert. She desperately wants to meet Jesse; she has no idea that her best friend Hannah already had.

Caroline has lived her whole life next to this small town – the arrival of country star Emberley is a big event. She traded in her barn boots for cowboy boots and discarded her overalls and sewed herself a fancy country dress. She no longer looks like a farm hand and amusement park handyman.

Ray (Scott Maudsley) suddenly takes notice. Caroline’s character is hilariously loud and funny. Her tom-boy character contrasts to the shy, reserved Hannah.

They have been lifelong friends, but the return of Jesse complicates things. Sugar Road is a comedy with a mix of laughter, romance, second chances and a splash of country charm – leaving viewers feeling uplifted and good and smiling all the way home. Sugar Road is on stage at Port Stanley Festival Theatre until July 25th.