Review: Päiväni murmelina

HKT’s My Day as a Groundhog brings a smile to your face

Helsinki City Theatre’s My Day as a Groundhog was a joyful encounter on a dark autumn evening. The visit was my first visit to the Helsinki City Theatre since the premiere of Humming Ridge last winter. While the last time the foyer was full of people, this time in the weekday evening show and in the auditorium, which was thinned out by safety distances, the foyers felt huge and even a little deserted, even there was no need to queue for the women’s restroom. The desertedness of the foyer is also explained by the fact that the audience has been reserved a much longer time than usual to move to the auditorium, in order to keep audience contacts to a minimum and avoid congestion on the passageways. I got a ticket to the performance from the theatre.

The plot of the play Groundhog Day

is familiar from the movie of the same name. The story is about selfish meteorologist Phil Connorss, who is sent on a gig to report on the Groundhog Day celebration in the small village of Punxutawney. On the second day of February, a marmot named Phil is lifted out of its burrow, and if the marmot sees its shadow, it crawls back to hibernation and the winter is predicted to continue for another six weeks. If the marmot does not see its shadow, it is predicted that spring will fall early. In the story, Phil Connors despises everything he sees and experiences in Punxutawney and rushes out of the village. When a snowstorm surrounds the village, he is forced to stay in his hotel for one more night, but wakes up again and again to the horror of Groundhog Day. Connors only finds a way out of the time loop when he realizes what is really valuable in life. Interestingly, Groundhog Day is actually celebrated in a small village called Punxutawney. The tradition has continued since 1886. The story of the film to the musical was written by Danny Rubin and the music of the play was composed and lyrics by Tim Minchin. The Finnish translation is quite successful by Reita Lounatvuori and Hanna Kaila, who also wrote the Finnish translation of The Little Mermaid , which is also performed at the Helsinki City Theatre.

Helsinki City Theatre’s My Day as a Groundhog

The absolute hero of Helsinki City Theatre’s My Day as a Groundhog is Lari Halme, who plays Phil Connors. Halme carries the story nicely from beginning to end, and the cynical and self-loving Connors slowly hatches into a community-loving benefactor. The work must be hard, because the story is so strongly intertwined with one person. Connors’ cynicism is counterbalanced by producer Rita Hanson, played by Maria Lund . Hanson is at first only a potential bedmate for Connors, until after repeated attempts to charm him, she unknowingly gives Connors the keys to breaking the time loop. Hanson, played by Lund, becomes the second main character in the story, who also appears as an independent character, while the other characters in the story are primarily defined through Connors’ gaze.

My Day as a Groundhog is a light, feel-good musical. It makes the viewer forget themselves for a moment and immerse themselves in the sweet little town atmosphere of Punxutawney. At least I didn’t have the earworms typical of musicals. It doesn’t hurt to know the plot beforehand, as the repetitive structure has its own charm and it’s fun to watch how the scenes slowly change as the main character changes and how new characters enter the story. The ensemble does a great job as dancing city dwellers in their colorful padded outfits, whose energy is repeated just as fresh every morning. I left the stands with a smile on my face.