“I and the Other”: The triumphant return of the famous Dodo and Denis

Dodo and Denise are back…and they haven’t aged a bit. Juliette Gosselin and Alexa Jeanne-Dubé return to the legendary duo, with all the panache and dogged command of roles previously created by Dominique Michel and Denis Filiatrault, this time sublimated by the biting pen of Kim Lévesque-Lizotte.

Montreal, 1967. The city thanks the world with the Expo, feminism is bubbling, the excitement is palpable… In short, it’s the beginning of a new time, which René Claude will sing about a few years later. It is against this background that Dodo and Denise emerge, friends – and sometimes rivals – and roommates having fun in cabarets and multiplying antics.

But the girls find themselves complicit when they both fall in love with a handsome French singer who sparks a talent competition. Big price? A trip to Paris in his company. Dodo and Denise will double down on their shenanigans, silliness, pretensions and seduction tricks to get the French hunk’s attention.

Modern winks

The plot in no way recreates the genre; Instead, it becomes a pretext for a series of comic skits with various flavors, sometimes political, sometimes feminist. This is where the pen of Kim Levesque-Lissot shines, author of the revival of this cult series, capable of elevating many jokes to the next level with his colorful modern winks or his reflections on the society of the time. .

We acknowledge some parts of this new version Me and others It will resonate with newcomers rather than among those loyal to Dodo and Denise from the start. The references are sometimes hidden and vague, but manage to hit the mark with older audiences; We had proof of this on Thursday evening, sitting in the heart of a typically hilarious audience.

Mario Beauregard/Agence QMI

The impeccable Alexa-Jean Dube

In this regard, let’s salute the amazing comedic talent of the two leads, Juliet Gosselin and Alexa-Jean Dube. If the play of the first verse sometimes veers (too much) into caricature and histrionics, we can only bow to his physical performance and his actions. Time Flawless comedy.

Alexa-Jean Dubey, on the other hand, is absolutely impeccable in a Denise skin that would make Denis Filiatrault especially proud. The actress succeeds in making the essence of the classic character her own, thus creating a more nuanced, but equally irresistible, “Big Yellow”.

If we ignore the presence of Joël Barre-Beaulieu, he manages to command attention in every scene with little exception, even if he is very sporadic – and in a supporting role. David Corriveau impresses with his impressive vocal skills, while Marc St-Martin, Henri Chase and Sandrin Bisson are not outdone, each able to shine at different moments of the two-hour show, delivered relentlessly.

In short, purists can already be reassured; Me and others And its legendary characters are in good hands.

• Me and others Presented at Theater du Vieux-Terrebonne through August 3. After that the provincial tour will take place.