This late-life look at love and companionship is funny, well-acted and smartly directed. By Gary Smith | Special to the Hamilton Spectator Saturday, June 1, 2024 You won’t find a funnier playwright than Norm Foster. He’s written close to 80 comedies over a long and prolific career. And he’s still on his mark as far as laughter goes with “Doris and Ivy in the Home,” a late-life look at love and companionship. Doris is a retired prison guard from a tough correctional facility who has lived in a mostly imperfect marriage. Ivy, soon to become her good friend, is a shamed skier who 54 years later ..read more

By Janine Marley | Intermission Magazine Thursday, May 27, 2024 A university dean, a corrections officer, and a disgraced athlete walk into a retirement home…except there isn’t really a punchline.  Instead, Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home, directed by Jane Spence, is an exploration of friendship, love, and intimacy amidst the inevitable process of aging. Featuring Foster’s signature wit and delivering laugh after laugh, Doris and Ivy in the Home is an uproarious way to kick off Lighthouse Festival’s 45th season.  Melanie Janzen as Doris & Brigitte Rob ..read more

By Lynn Slotkin | The Slotkin Letter May 29, 2024 THE PASSIONATE PLAYGOER Norm Foster is an equal opportunity writer, with a huge heart. He first wrote a play called: Jonas and Barry in the Home about two vastly different men who meet in a senior’s home and become friends. He says he had such fun writing it he wrote another play, Doris and Ivy in the Home,  this time focusing on two women. The plays are not carbon copies of the other. “Doris and Ivy in the Home is about two women who are from different parts of the world. Doris is a boisterous retired prison guar ..read more

By Mike Renzella | The Haldimand Press May 30, 2024 PORT DOVER—Each year, Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s summer season offers the community a passport to laughter with a heaping portion of heart, and that is the perfect description of this year’s season-debut, ‘Doris and Ivy in the Home’, written by renowned playwright Norm Foster and directed with sure hands by Lighthouse stalwart Jane Spence. Melanie Janzen, Ian Deakin & Brigitte Robinson in Lighthouse Festival’s production of Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home. The play introduces us to Doris and Ivy, two women of a certain vintage ..read more

“…The audience is taken on a roller coaster ride of laugh out loud one-liners to dips into sadness through the reflections on lives well lived…” May 29, 2024 Port Dover Maple Leaf By Donna McMillan There is no better way to kick off the Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s 45th Season Anniversary than with a fun play by Canada’s premier and most prolific playwright Norm Foster. Following on the heels of Jonas and Barry in the Home (2015) that took audiences from hilarity to sadness on daily life in a retirement home comes a totally different story with a comedic female perspective of “Doris and ..read more

Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake, home to the Stratford and Shaw festivals, feel like artistic utopias, a dream that arts lovers and practitioners in Toronto can only imagine.  May 17, 2024 The Toronto Star By Joshua Chong We build our cities around many things.  Some are defined as centres of commerce and business. Others, like those great cities in Europe, are built around glorious cathedrals, whose spires tower above the skyline. Then there are yet others which, in place of churches and office towers, erect sports arenas and institutions of higher education.  But it’s ..read more

Lighthouse is pleased that Brigitte Robinson is making her debut on our stage as Ivy Hoffbauer in Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home, on stage in Port Dover from May 22 to June 8 and in Port Colborne from June 12 to 23. She played Frau Schmidt in Mirvish’s production of The Sound of Music, and in productions at Young People’s Theatre, Shaw Festival, and Manitoba Theatre Centre. We talked with Brigitte about what has been her favourite role, what drew her to the character of Ivy, and what are the challenges and rewards of live theatre as opposed to other forms of acting. Brigitte Robinson ..read more

Lighthouse favourite Melanie Janzen is back at this season in Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home, on stage in Port Dover from May 22 to June 8 and in Port Colborne from June 12 to 23. She made your roar with laughter in last season’s Where You Are and she’s been in a number of Lighthouse productions over the years. We chatted with Melanie about what challenges exist when working in the theatre, what drew her to the character of Doris, and what’s the best piece of acting advice she’s ever received. Melanie Janzen as Doris Mooney Lighthouse Festival (LF): What is the most challenging aspect ..read more

“Summer theatre has returned. The numbers are growing again, which is extremely encouraging.” May 22, 2024 Port Dover Maple Leaf By Jacob Fehr LIGHTHOUSE Festival’s summer season starts this week with the opening of Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home on Wednesday, May 22, at Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover. The Maple Leaf spoke to Lighthouse Festival artistic director Derek Ritschel to learn more about the lineup. Asked what audiences can expect from Lighthouse this summer, Mr. Ritschel said, “Variety for sure. This year, especially with the inclusion of Mary’s Wedding in the playbook ..read more

Norm Foster’s comedic hit Doris and Ivy in the Home kicks off the 2024 summer season at Lighthouse Festival in Port Dover. May 19, 2024 The Stratford Beacon Herald By Postmedia Staff Directed by Lighthouse Artistic Associate Jane Spence, the production runs from May 22 to June 8 in Port Dover, followed by shows in Port Colborne from June 12 to 23. The play is a heartfelt comedy that examines friendship, age, and the transitions of life in a retirement home setting. “Norm foster’s writing, rich with humour and poignancy, reminds us of the importance of seeking out meaningful connections at wha ..read more