For the fourth season in a row, performer Leisa Way and her band return to the Lakeview Arts Barn in Bobcaygeon with Leisa’s newest show Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee!. A celebration of the history of Canadian pop music, Leisa and the Wayward Wind Band perform more than 50 songs by 45 different Canadian artists.
Bobcaygeon is one of the first stops for this lively and highly enjoyable musical revue, which Leisa is performing in 28 cities across the country during Canada’s sesquicentennial year.
Leisa’s visits to Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon have become an annual event drawing crowds since she brought her tribute to Dolly Parton here in 2014. Audiences love Leisa, a gifted performer with a likeable and high-energy stage presence, and patrons return year after year just to catch her latest show.
VIDEO: “Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee!”
Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee! is the eighth show that Leisa has developed with The Wayward Wind Band. However, unlike previous shows that focused on the careers of single performers — including Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, and Patsy Cline — Oh, Canada profiles a plethora of stars and the music of an entire nation.
“Out of the eight shows I’ve written, this one has been the most different,” Leisa says. “I enjoy writing the story of one person. I love to research the heck out of them, and then write a two-hour show about that artist. I can sink my teeth into the research. You’re looking for those little tidbits of information that you can share. Oh Canada is more of a revue, but I was still able to find a way to take those tidbits of information and create something entertaining for the audience.”
With a massive catalogue of music to choose from, Leisa manages to pack a lot of artists into the show. Oh, Canada features songs by a wide range of artists including Bryan Adams, Paul Anka, Barenaked Ladies, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Anne Murray, kd lang, The Guess Who, Valdy, and many more too numerous to mention.
During the development of the show, one of Leisa’s greatest challenges was deciding which artists to include and which to leave behind.
“When choosing songs for Oh Canada, I just put all my favourite songs on paper and then I started whittling down,” she says. “I got enough songs for a three-and-a-half hour show and realized I need to whittle down some more. When we debuted the show, it was nearly three hours long. The audience loved it but it was too long, so we had to cut it even more to make it a two-and-a-half-hour show with intermission.”
Leisa says it was difficult to cut songs from some of her favourite performers, but she decided to stick with iconic artists and big hits.
“For instance, Tommy Hunter was in the original show, but he never had a number one hit so I had to cut him out. Meanwhile, Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell was only a number four hit, but Joni Mitchell is a big icon. Four Strong Winds by Ian and Sylvia wasn’t a hit, but it’s iconic. So I had to look at what songs were absolutely iconic where people could sing along because they knew the words, as well as what songs I love.”
For the most part, Leisa and the band only sing one song per artist, with the exception of Gordon Lightfoot and Celine Dion who are represented more than once. With some artists like Stompin’ Tom Connors, who have multiple iconic songs that represent their career, it became another challenge to pick only a single song to represent their entire career.
“Wherever we go in Canada, we could change the Stompin’ Tom song because he wrote about so many places,” Leisa says. “Picking a single Stompin’ Tom song is hard, but I chose The Hockey Song because it’s so universal. Even people who don’t like hockey sing and clap along with it. It’s such a part of our fiber. Even if you say you’re not a fan of Stompin’ Tom, you still know the words.”
During the development of the show, Leisa found new appreciation for some of the songwriters she encountered through her research and song selection.
“Rita MacNeil was a surprise for me,” Leisa says of the late East Coast songstress. “I love her music, but when you actually listen to the lyrics of Working Man, with the spots on the lumps and talking about the coal dust, it’s just such a powerful visual where you can picture these miners covered in dust and breathing it into their lungs.
“It’s very powerful because, while people have heard the song before, a lot of people haven’t really paid attention to the lyrics. The general public doesn’t really realize how good of a writer Rita was. Rita represented the underdog who made a career despite people saying she’d never make it.”
Another entertaining factor in Oh, Canada is that Leisa, as in in her previous shows, assumes the roles of famous artists. While she dons costumes and wigs to transform herself into iconic musicians at the peaks of their careers, Leisa is not an impersonator but instead pays tribute to the appearance of the artist using her own singing style.
In Oh, Canada, Leisa has 12 costume changes and transforms herself into a number of different artists including Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sylvia Tyson, Celine Dion and, in a show-stopping moment, Shania Twain.
“When I opened my Dolly Parton show in 2010, I was so scared,” Leisa recalls about transforming herself into the musical icon. “But my husband said ‘Don’t be scared. The magic of theatre will make you look like Dolly. Go out there and tell her story and have her heart.’
“I really love the women I perform as, and I can’t be them but I can evoke the feeling of them. The costumes and the wigs help a lot. I put them on and I look in the mirror and then I say “Okay, I’m this person.” For Shania Twain I put on the boots and the cape and suddenly I’m Shania.”
The biggest change to Leisa’s show this year is that, unlike previous performances, Oh, Canada is not a one-woman show. Instead of putting herself in front of the audience as the star, Leisa brings in Wayward Wind Band members Fred Smith, Bobby Prochaska and Nathan Smith to perform the show as a quartet. The band is rounded out by drummer Sam Cino — who also gets a few front-and-centre moments — and music director Bruce Ley on piano.
However, it’s Leisa, Fred, Bobby, and Nathan who take on the bulk of the show, with the guys doing as many solo numbers as Leisa, allowing the show to continue interrupted while Leisa changes costumes. The audience really gets to discover the individual personalities of the band members, all talented musicians and vocalists in their own right, and each member has his outstanding moment.
With a golden voice and a dark sense of humor, Bobby Prochaska takes on Michael Buble, as well as the heavy persona of Andrea Bocelli to accompany Leisa’s Celine Dion in a performance of “The Prayer”. Meanwhile Fred Smith is warm and witty, and a hell of a guitarist who rips it up with “American Woman”, while Nathan Smith creates musical miracles with his prowess on the fiddle.
“Without my band I’m nothing,” Leisa explains. “With the Dolly and Patsy shows, I carry the performances by being in front of the audience talking. But this show is not all about me, and that is really a cool thing. It’s been really nice to share. I’m so lucky that I found these guys. Every show that I write from now on will feature them more. As we prepare to go on this 28-city tour, we’ll be spending a lot of time in a van together, but they are really nice guys. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
A wonderful and spirited concert filled with amazing tributes and high-energy performances, Oh, Canada is a perfect way to celebrate the history of Canadian music during Canada 150 celebrations. Leisa Way and the Wayward Wind Band are top-notch performers who bring a sense of fun to the stage. Sure, some of the jokes are a bit corny, but it only adds to the fun of this show. It’s impossible to leave unsatisfied, or without a dozen songs stuck in your head.
Through the music, Leisa hopes to deliver a deeper message to the audience about our identity as Canadians.
“This is a show that celebrates the iconic Canadian songs,” she says. “These are the songs that we grew up with. So listening to the songs I asked myself what was the picture I wanted to paint as we go across the country. I started to listen to songs and asking ‘What’s the message?’ I wanted to choose songs that really meant something.
“Canadians are so amazing and they need to be reminded of that. They really need to be reminded that everybody in the world loves Canadians. We are held up to a standard of being the best people in the world, and that’s something to be so proud of.”
Leisa Way is one of my favourite performers, and her annual visit to Globus Theatre at the Lakeview Arts Band is one of my favourite summer traditions. It is worth the short drive to Bobcaygeon to see this wonderful concert by such excellent performers. This is the perfect show to celebrate Canada and its music.
Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee! runs until Saturday, July 22nd. Tickets are $31.50 for adults and $20 for students for the show only, or $65.50 for adults and $54 for students if you want the dinner and the show. For tickets, visit the box office at Lakeview Arts Barn or call 705-738-2037.
