Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough continues to celebrate its 20th year with an impressive line up of musical events in early 2017.
Whether you’re into opera, musical theatre, R&B, pop, classic rock, alt-rock, or Celtic folk, there’s something for all musical tastes.
Below is a selection of upcoming shows in February and March you won’t want to miss.
Some Enchanted Evening on Sunday, February 5 at 3 p.m.
Four of Canada’s finest operatic singers will come together on the Showplace stage during Canada’s sesquicentennial to celebrate 150 years of musical theatre and operetta with “Some Enchanted Evening”.
Tenor Ben Heppner, soprano Rebecca Caine, mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell, and bass-baritone Gary Relyea — under direction of pianist/music director David Warrack — will perform selections from Die Fledermaus, Carmen, The Merry Widow, Show Boat, Porgy and Bess, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables.
If you love opera and musical theatre, you’ll want to spend a Sunday afternoon enjoying these superb performances.
Tickets are $55 and are available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
George Olliver on Friday, February 10 at 8 p.m.
George Olliver is a Canadian musical institution who shot to stardom as the lead singer of the now legendary 1960s’ R&B band Mandala, with top 10 hits like “Opportunity” and “Give and Take”.
Audiences have been raving about his great soulful voice and dynamic stage show for years. His extensive touring over the years has brought him international success, having performed on tours with such bands as The Who, Rolling Stones, and Cream. He was nominated for a Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording in 1987 for his record Dream Girl.
VIDEO; George Olliver performing at Because It’s Buzz
George will be performing in the intimate Nexicom Studio. Tickets are $32 and are available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Steve Michaels: Aloha on Saturday, February 11 at 8 p.m.
Elvis fans rejoice! Award-winning tribute artist Steve Michaels will appear on the Showplace stage to perform Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite — Elvis’ triumphant 1973 concert production — note for note, song for song, and word for word.
The concert features Steve singing 28 classic songs in one evening, including “See See Rider”, “Burning Love”, “My Way”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Hound Dog”, and many more.
Steve is known for his exciting stage presence, authentic costumes, and electrifying charisma. This is a show for all ages!
Steve Michaels – Aloha
Tickets are $48 ($45 for seniors). You can get them at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Royal Wood on Tuesday, February 14th at 8 p.m.
This is a perfect concert for Valentine’s Day! Lakefield’s native son Royal Wood returns to Showplace to perform tunes from his latest record, Ghost Light, as well as his other hits.
Royal really needs no introduction, but if you’ve never seen him perform live before, you’re in for a treat.
An accomplished singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Royal was named Songwriter of the Year by iTunes in 2008, nominated for a Juno Award fore Songwriter of the Year in 2011, and his record We Were Born to Glory was nominated in 2013 for the Adult Alternative Album of the Year Juno Award. His music has been featured in several film and television productions, including Grey’s Anatomy.
VIDEO: “Good To Be Young” – Royal Wood
Long-time fans will also enjoy hearing tunes from Royal’s latest record Ghost Light. Exclaim! calls the album “sunny, breezy folk-oriented pop” suited for Top 40 radio but which “doesn’t forsake inventiveness in pursuit of broad appeal”.
Tickets are $34.50, available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Classic Albums Live: The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers on Friday, February 24th at 8 p.m.
Classic Albums Live, one of the most popular series at Showplace, returns with a re-creation of 1971’s Sticky Fingers, widely regarded as one of the best albums by The Rolling Stones.
The professional musicians of Classic Albums perform the entire record live on stage, cut for cut and note for note, including hits such as “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses”.
VIDEO: Classic Albums Live Promo
Tickets are $35.50, available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Classic Albums Live returns to Showplace on April 8th with a performance of Are you Experienced, the 1967 record by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. If you purchase both Classic Albums Live shows as a package, you save 10%.
The Piano Men starring Jim Witter on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m.
The Piano Men is a critically acclaimed musical show that takes you on a time machine through the 1970s.
While pianist Jim Witter and his band play the classic hits of Billy Joel and Elton John — year by year and hit by hit — the era’s news headlines, people, fashion, cars, TV, movies, and pop culture memorabilia are displayed on a giant screen behind the performers.
VIDEO: The Piano Men starring Jim Witter
In this fundraiser for Showplace, you’ll hear tunes such as “My Life”, “Candle in the Wind”, “Rocket Man”, “Just the Way You Are”, and many more. Jim’s personal memories and easy-going on-stage presence add to a remarkable evening of nostalgia.
Tickets are $45, available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Matthew Good on Tuesday, March 14th at 8 p.m.
Canadian rock musician Matthew Good comes to Showplace to celebrate the release of his new EP, I Miss New Wave: Beautiful Midnight Revisited.
Matthew was the lead singer of the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada’s most successful alt-rock bands of the 1990s (they broke up in 2002). In 1999, the band released Beautiful Midnight, their most commercially successful album. It sold over 300,000 units in Canada alone and won the 2000 Juno Award for Best Rock Album.
VIDEO: “Suburbia” – Matthew Good
In the years since, Matthew has pursued a successful solo career and established himself as a political and mental health activist. Recently, he recorded new versions of selected songs from Beautiful Midnight and has released them as an EP. On his current tour, he’ll be performing Beautiful Midnight in its entirety.
Tickets are $49.50, available at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
As an added bonus, when you buy a ticket, you’ll receive an email with a code to download a digital copy of I Miss New Wave: Beautiful Midnight Revisited.
Next Generation Leahy on Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m.
Most people have heard of Leahy, Lakefield’s famous Irish-Canadian musical family who have been recording and touring since the 1980s (originally The Leahy Family, they rebranded as Leahy in the late 1990s and subsequently won two Junos, for Best New Group and Best Instrumental Artist, in 1998).
Next Generation Leahy is, as the name implies, the next generation of the musical family. One of the original members of Leahy, Doug Leahy, together with his wife Jennifer and six of their eight children, are keeping the family’s musical traditions alive through music, song, and dance.
VIDEO: Next Generation Leahy at the 2016 Mariposa Folk Festival
In a Next Generation Leahy show, fiddle, cello, french accordion, piano, singing and (of course) French-Canadian step-dancing all find a place on stage. With their parents leading the action on stage, the children — ranging in age from 5 to 13 — bring to life the high-energy and infectious Celtic music people associate with the Leahy heritage.
The Leahy children are all accomplished multi-instrumentalists with a level of musical mastery rarely seen in a group so young, and they have the remarkable ability to enamour audiences of all ages — making this the perfect show for the entire family.
Tickets are $39 for adults, $35 for seniors, and $30 for students. You can get them at the box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by phone 705-742-7469, or online.
Looking for something different? There’s lot more happening at Showplace this year than what we’ve listed above!
Make sure to check out the new Winter/Spring 2017 program and visit www.showplace.org, as new shows are added throughout the year.
