Brigitte Gall: Joan of Montréal

"Joan of Montréal" is definitely a find.

Brigitte Gall as "Joan" articulates the frustration of every young girl who has aspired to ice time with others who enjoy playing hockey without social restrictions.

Conveying the excitement of being the best goalie she can, the audience joins her quest to help the team win. However, it seems that her enthusiasm to be on the same team, striving to win with the rest is discouraged by the nuns at her school and her family.

Joan's predicament recalls somewhat Roch Carrier's "The Sweater," where a young boy is forced to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater received instead of the ordered Habs (Montréal Canadiens) jersey from an Eaton's catalogue. However, the parallel between the rejected sweater and the rejected Joan is literally skin deep and ends there. While the boy can shed his sweater and return to the fold of his team in complete acceptance, Joan cannot shed her gender and receive complete acceptance by the team, the coach, the fans and her family and friends.

Joan's story tells the truth about why women are not as interested in watching men's hockey today as the team owners would like us to be. Adding female commentators, no matter how enlightened, to the sport like the recent addition on Hockey Night in Canada just doesn't cut it. Where the ultimate interest lies is being able to play the sport professionally, be rewarded for good performance and be paid well like the boys who play it.

Every girl should be able to aspire to that.

We stumbled upon this show on a Canadian TV channel without a clue what we were getting into. Within a few short minutes we were totally entranced!

Brigitte Gall uses the theatrical format of a one-woman show to create this mesmerizing tale of a French Canadian girl who grows up loving to play the game of hockey, despite the less than enthusiastic support of her family, teachers, and friends. Gall imbues her character Joan with a fetching French accent, a wide-eyed look, and a restless physicality that totally sells the feel of this hockey-obsessed tomboy. As we "watch" Joan play goalie against the guys, reluctantly shop for a graduation dress with her mother, and then head off on the bus for the big-city life of Montreal, we become totally invested in the life of this young woman, hoping she can somehow find the means to overcome the sexist restraints of society that hold her back from her dream. And meanwhile, what are we to make of the voice she hears from God, telling her that her destiny is to lead the French against the English?

It has often been said that the best comedy comes from the pain and anger of our lives. Brigitte Gall mines this source of comedy with exquisite style and a consummate degree of emotional presence. She is a remarkably gifted actor, capable of moving us from thigh-slapping laughter through pathos to searing social commentary with effortless ease. With only a plain wood bench, a handful of props, and the occasional use of dramatic lighting and voiceovers, Gall makes us truly SEE the unfolding events of her tragic-comic tale. This is definitely a don't-miss performance!