Caledon Townhall Players bringing  “Jenny’s House of Joy” to the stage beginning Thursday

Play is by renowned

Canadian playwright

Norm Foster

By Zachary Roman

The Caledon Townhall Players' latest performance will bring the Wild West to Town.

Beginning on February 17, performances of “Jenny's House of Joy” will begin at the Old Caledon Township Hall in Caledon Village. Jenny's House of Joy is a comedy written by well-known and loved Canadian playwright Norm Foster.

“Jenny runs the best little house of ill-repute in her corner of the old Wild West in the 1800s… this witty comedy (is) about the oldest profession and making ends meet,” reads the play's description.

Rose Brown is directing the play, her first time directing with The Caledon Townhall Players (CTHP).

Brown has performed in a few CTHP plays before, and directed and performed in numerous other community theatres. She and the rest of the CTHP team have been working hard to bring Jenny's House of Joy to life.

Without giving away too much, Brown shared some information about the play's setting and its interesting cast.

The play is set in 1851 in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

Jenny runs a brothel, her house of joy, where she takes in women who have nowhere else to go and are willing to do the world's oldest profession to make ends meet: sex work.

Jenny began her working life as a sex worker before realizing she had the brains and savviness to run her own brothel. Then there's Francis, the “experienced one” who's been working for Jenny for a long time. The next character is Anita — who began working for Jenny because she was bored — and has big dreams of moving up in society.

The next character is Natalie, who's brand-new at the job. She came to Jenny's because she was escaping an abusive relationship. Finally, there's Clara, whose husband paid a visit to the brothel, and she wants to know why.

Brown said all the actors have been really enthusiastic and have been willing to do whatever it takes to portray these characters and bring them to life.

“They're all having a lot of fun with this,” said Brown. “It's not just a comedy, there are some poignant scenes as well.”

When Brown first read the script for Jenny's House of Joy, she knew she wanted to do it because it was risqué and would be a lot of fun. Due to the play's subject matter, it is naturally geared towards an adult audience. 

The play takes place in the sitting room of Jenny's House of Joy, where the ladies await their clients. The play is unique in that it's an all-women cast; at no point is a man on stage.

There are many options for people looking to attend a performance of Jenny's House of Joy. Performances will take place on February 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 8:15 p.m. with the February 18 and 25 performances being dinner theatres. There will also be 2:15 p.m. matinee performances on February 18 and 25.

Tickets for all performances are now available online at caledontownhallplayers.com, and for more information those interested can call 519-927-5460.