Photo by Dahlia Katz
When TWISI was based in Toronto, which can sometimes seem like the epicentre of the country if you happen to live there, I had a feature where I did an arbitrary round-up of interesting things I had seen happening in the theatre community outside of my immediate reach in Toronto. When I moved to Halifax and my perspective shifted back to Atlantic Canada I spent many years in a bubble, not really knowing what was going on elsewhere. Since Covid I have been expanding this bubble again, and I thought I would bring this feature back. Here I have pulled some stories that caught my eye while scrolling on Instagram and Facebook that I thought would be interesting to highlight. The title of the feature, Dè Tha Dol, is Scots Gàidhlig for “What’s Up?”
Congratulations to Crow’s Theatre whose play NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 by Dave Malloy will return next summer at the Royal Alexandra Theatre as part of Mirvish‘s 2024-2025 Season. The show is still playing at Crows Theatre’s own venue on Carlaw Street in Toronto, and is their longest running show to date. Artistic Director Chris Abraham said in a release, “I can’t think of a more thrilling next step in the journey of our production than to bring The Great Comet to the Royal Alex next summer. It will give us a gorgeous playground to bring new life to the immersive charm and powerhouse performances that Toronto audiences have so passionately embraced at Crow’s Theatre.” The cast includes: Divine Brown as Hélène, Evan Buliung as Pierre, Ben Carlson as Andrey and Bolkonsky, Rita Dottor (Ensemble), Camille Eanga-Selenge as Sonya, Donna Garner as Marya D., Hailey Gillis as Natasha, George Krissa as Anatole, Heeyun Park as Mary, Tyler Pearse as Dolokhov, Andrew Penner as Balaga, Louise Pitre as Marya D., and Brendan Wall (Ensmble).
The hit Broadway musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the folks stranded in airplanes at the Gander airport on 9/11, will return for a second season to the place where the story all started: Gander, Newfoundland. “We are so delighted to bring our homegrown Come From Away back to Gander,” says director Jillian Keiley. “Local and tourist audiences responded in such an overwhelming way to this beautiful story and the great talents we gathered to tell it last summer. We can’t wait to get back to Gander and share it again with audiences from near and far.” The cast includes original Broadway cast member and Newfoundlander Petrina Bromley, as well as Cyrus Lane, Michael Torontow, Ryan Alexander, Jahlen Barnes, Jacquelyn French, Peter Halley, Darrell Morris Jr., Timothy Matson, Miranda MacDonald, Melrose Johnson, Shelley Neville, Kiersten Noel, Kamyar Pazandeh, Astrid Van Wieren, and Alison Woolridge. The musical director is Newfoundlander Jonathan Monro.
Deb Allen gives a poignant performance as a woman with Alzheimer’s in the music video for Joanna Butler, Mel Farrimond and Glenda Joy Pennell‘s new song “Sweet Memory.” The song explores the power that music has to unlock memories that ordinary conversation and even photographs might not. It is sung by Betty Belmore. You can watch the video here:
Congratulations to Warona Setshwaelo, the recipiant of the 2024 Gina Wilkinson Prize. This Prize is awarded annually to an inspiring female theatre artist who has been recognized by their community for their practice, leadership, and dedication to their craft. It was created in the memory of Gina Wilkinson, an actor and theatre director based in Toronto who died on December 30, 2010, shortly after her production of Wide Awake Hearts closed at the Tarragon Theatre.
Setshwaelo is a Tio’tia:ke (Montreal) based artist, with Tswana and Zulu roots. She moved to Canada on a whim 17 years ago. Since then she has worked as an actor, teacher, mentor, and board member. She was the Co-Manager of the Artist Mentorship Program at Black Theatre Workshop for eight years. She is a META nominee and Award recipient, as well as the Montreal ACTRA Woman of the Year winner, and the recipient of the Victor Knight Community Leader Award. She has worked at Centaur Theatre, the Segal Centre, BTW, The Belfry, Tarragon, and Prairie Theatre Exchange among others and in film, television, and in video games.
Upon receiving the Gina Wilkinson Prize she said, “I come from a family of activists. Raised on the philosophy of Each One Teach One. Though rewarding, it can also be relentless and sometimes darkness almost prevails. For me, that light always comes from communing with those who did the work before me and those who continue the work beside me. I am humbled and delighted to be in the company of all the recipients and finalists of Gina’s Prize. Not just for the recognition, for which I am incredibly grateful to the committee and Gina Wilkinson, herself, but especially for the community. To be acknowledged in this way is a unique privilege and honour, and a refreshing reminder that the light is always all around us, we have but to look and connect.”
Julie Martell is well known to Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia audiences for playing Donna in Neptune Theatre‘s production of Mamma Mia!. She is coming home to Cape Breton to teach the first of her workshops, Become a Better Storyteller Through Song, running April 6th and 7th (5 hours each day) for a group of ten performers between the ages of 12-17.
Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, each participant will have the opportunity to delve deep into two chosen songs under Julie’s expert guidance, with personalized one-on-one sessions. “Throughout the weekend, our focus will be on honing your unique voice, building confidence, and making bold musical choices that resonate with authenticity. We’ll explore the art of storytelling through song, harnessing the joy of performance while embracing the courage to push boundaries and express yourself fully.” The workshop costs $75.00. To register email pamleader@savoytheatre.com
A Night of 1000 Weirds is a Burlesque and Drag Tribute to Weird Al Yankovic and it’s at the Seahorse Tavern in Halifax on March 28th, 2024 at 8:00pm. It features performances from drag performers Lady Corbeau, Rouge Fatale, Oliver Love, Lumen Lux, Kiki Lemieux, Elle Lixir, Anna Mona-Pia, Euphoria, Lydia Sapphire, Vanessa Buttercup and more. Tickets are on sale here.
Co-Artistic Director and Co-Artistic Producer of The Coal Mine Theatre, Diana Bentley will be leaving the helm of the company that she founded with her partner Ted Dykstra in 2015 at the end of this season. In a press release statement she said, “It’s very hard to find the right words to express everything that the Coal Mine has meant to me over the last decade of my life. When I co-founded it with Ted in 2015 it was out of a young and burning passion to helm my own creative ship and create challenging, provocative and gritty theatre. I had no idea that the Coal Mine would become its own beautiful bright light of the Toronto and Canadian theatre scene. To say I’m proud of what we have created would be a huge understatement.” She says that she is excited to embark on her own new theatrical adventures, while Dykstra says that she will have a seat on The Coal Mine’s Board for as long as she wants it. Congrats on all you have accomplished, Diana; I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Andrew Prashad, Neptune’s OG Boutons in Cinderella, is bringing his own one-man show, One Step at a Time to the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. The show uses monologues, original songs, improvisational tap dance and video to tell the true story of two parents raising a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, along with their two older children, while the dad works as a professional performer in the Canadian theatre. The website stresses that this show is meant to be as inclusive as possible: “This performance intends to be as welcoming and accommodating for all audiences as possible, so please know that you are welcome to move/wheel/walk, communicate, or use a stimulation device or toy. If you’re able to, please remain in your seats throughout the 60 minute performance. This show is for you, so Andrew wishes you to be comfortable!” For more information click here.
Huge congratulations to Breagh Isabel whose song “It’s All Good” (co-written with Rachel West and YULI, with vocals by Rachel West, was featured on Grey’s Anatomy this week. Isabel is based in Halifax and has written with many local artists including Classified and Ria Mae. If you haven’t heard her song “Girlfriends” you should really check it out!
Toronto based musical theatre performer Gabi Epstein is doing Tell Me On A Sunday, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s one person musical, at the Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay, Ontario until March 30th, 2024. The musical was originally produced on Broadway in 1982 paired with a one-act dance show under the overall bill of Song & Dance, with the singing one-act starring Bernadette Peters, who went on to win her first Tony Award for the role. It is a herculean undertaking for one actor to carry an entire musical- so absolutely go see Epstein in this one if you are anywhere remotely near Thunder Bay!
Eugene Levy, star of Canada’s smash-hit CBC television show Schitt’s Creek received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. He cited his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario in his speech saying, “My hometown Hamilton was a big steel town when I was growing up, and if you did not want to spend your life in the steel mills or working in the scrap metal business or selling suits in one of Hamilton’s fine haberdasheries you had to get an education and become a doctor or a dentist or a lawyer or an engineer or an accountant, but nobody went into the entertainment business – it just didn’t happen in Hamilton in the 1960s.” Now, because of people like Levy, young children in places big and small throughout Canada have grown up with Canadian role models in American film and television, and recently we have all seen the CBC grow into a contender on the international stage with Schitt’s Creek. Fellow Canadian and Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara gave a heartfelt speech honouring Levy, as did his daughter, another Schitt’s Creek star (and DalTheatre grad), Sarah Levy. Congratulations, Eugene on this much-deserved recognition!
Halifax’s Ben Proudfoot won his second Academy Award this year for Best Short Documentary with his co-director Kris Bowers for their film The Last Repair Shop. The film tells the story of a shop in Los Angeles that provides free musical instruments and free repairs to public school students. He previously won at the Oscars for The Queen of Basketball in 2022. You can watch The Last Repair Shop Here:
And finally, as always, Happy Birthday to Stephen Sondheim. We love you. We miss you.
“If I cannot fly, let me sing.”
