Spoon River is adventurous musical theatre done to wondrous results courtesy of the Soulpepper theatre company. It is one of those special productions that always ends too soon. So, if there is any deliberation involved, the answer is a very simple and very passionate yes, please go.

Spoon River is based on a work of poetry called the Spoon River Anthology written by Edgar Less Masters and published in 1915. It's old timey and charming and fun in that Southern United States way. Although musical director Mike Ross has worked in this arena in the past, bringing poetry to life on the Soulpepper stage such as the work of poet Dennis Lee, Spoon River is the fullest most spectacular realization of his efforts to date.

The play extends beyond the stage as audience members enter through the corridor of what appears to be a funeral home, complete with open casket and then past an old cemetery to finally find their seats as part of the family or passersby section. Once begun, we witness a fond farewell to Bertie Hume a young woman who is being buried at the town cemetery up on “the hill.” And then the fun and heartache and laughter and tears begin to flow.

Each song by the ensemble of the dead tells the story of a member of the town and how they happen to meet their untimely demise along with a few helpful hints for the living. Mike Ross himself likely said it best in the preview of the show when he described Spoon River as “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou meets Prairie Home Companion meets The Walking Dead.”

The ensemble includes many veteran Soulpepper artists such as Diego Matamoros and Nancy Palk as well as a few newcomers making wonderful contributions including Frank Cox-O'Connell and Peter Fernandes. Miranda Mulholland, who plays violin with Great Lake Swimmers amongst other things, offers up a stirring performance before meeting her ultimate end courtesy of an approaching train.

The recently deceased Bertie Hume makes an appearance before the end of the production and sings beautifully of the joys of life and how we would be wise to not waste a moment. It's this simple message that is woven throughout the production and although it is one we are used to hearing, with Spoon River the message rings true.

As the production comes to a close, the audience offers a rousing ovation for the uplifting work clapping along to the last number as the dead shuffle back to their graves after a job well done.