encoreNOW is a bi-weekly column by Paul Rellinger where he features upcoming music, theatre, film, and performing arts events and news from across the Kawarthas.
This week, Paul highlights the Peterborough Theatre Guild staging of Dorothy in Wonderland – The Musical, “Yuletide Cheer” featuring the Peterborough Singers, The Barra MacNeil’s delivery of an East Coast Christmas gift to Lindsay, the 25th In From The Cold benefit concert for YES Shelter for Youth & Families, a new take on Aladdin from Bobcaygeon’s Globus Theatre, and New Stages Theatre’s A Christmas Carol Comedy that sees Peterborough’s Linda Kash get all Scrooge-like.
Peterborough Theatre Guild’s holiday family musical presents a mish-mash of two classic stories
VIDEO: Pete Dalliday speaks with director Sarah Rogers
The recent Taylor Swift mayhem in Toronto reminds us that you can go one of two routes when it comes to treating the kids: you can go big or you can stay home.
Home, specifically, is The Guild Hall on Rogers Street in East City where, for a fraction of what Swifties shelled out, a wholly entertaining experience suitable all ages awaits in the form of Dorothy in Wonderland – The Musical.
The Peterborough Theatre Guild is staging Brian Taylor’s bringing together of the worlds of Oz and Wonderland as its annual holiday season production and it really couldn’t have made a better choice. Ditto for the selection of Sarah Rogers as director, who also directed last year’s pre-Christmas staging of The Enchanted Bookshop. Having had a career in education, she loves working with children, and Dorothy in Wonderland – The Musical checks that box with some 30-plus kids in the mix.
Those who love The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, or both, will be delighted to again meet the beloved central characters of both stories — Dorothy, The Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Alice, The White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter and all the rest — as Dorothy and Alice team up to face a dangerous foe in the form of the Queen of Hearts, who stands in the way of their ever returning to their respective homes of Kansas and London.
This is a story that Taylor was born to write. Raised in rural Oklahoma, he spent his childhood running through fields and developing a healthy fear of cows. His active imagination saw him create and act out stories about the land and the animals. Years later, after less than a week of business classes at the University of Denver, he followed his heart and subsequently changed the course of his future by majoring in theatre. Taylor has since written 30-plus plays, many of them refreshing new takes on popular children’s stories.
Sponsored in part by kawarthaNOW, performance dates for Dorothy in Wonderland – The Musical are November 29 and December 3 to 6, 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees November 30 and December 1 and 8. Tickets cost $15 and can be ordered online at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com or by calling 705-745-4211.
Yuletide Cheer as only the Peterborough Singers can deliver it
VIDEO: Peterborough Singers rehearse for “Yuletide Cheer”
Back in February of this year, I did something I should have done long ago: I finally attended a concert by the Peterborough Singers. Billed as “The Music of Elton John,” the sold-out show was spectacular, with the soaring presentation of Elton’s and lyricist Bernie Taupin’s classic songs nothing short of uplifting and a joy to experience.
Formed originally in 1990 as the Peterborough Symphony Singers, the choral ensemble — under the direction of Syd Birrell — became a stand-alone entity as the Peterborough Singers in 1993. With more than 100 members, it has presented a full fall-to-spring slate of concerts since then, its current home being stately Emmanuel United Church at George and McDonnel streets.
Under Birrell’s leadership, the Peterborough Singers have truly become a cultural staple in this city. Birrell brings decades of experience to the role, as an organist and choirmaster at several local churches. His unabashed passion for what he does has never waned; his awareness of choral music’s ability to move us at the heart of the Peterborough Singers’ success.
On Saturday, November 30th at Emmanuel United Church, a seasonal tradition will continue when the Peterborough Singers present “Yuletide Cheer.” The 7 p.m. concert will see Toronto brass ensemble quintet Venabrass in the mix as the special guest, with Birrell joining in on the church’s Casavant organ.
Tickets cost $40 ($10 for students) and are available online at www.peterboroughsingers.com or by phone at 705-745-1820. Tickets are also available in Peterborough at Pammett’s Flower Shop and Ashburnham Foot & Ankle and in Lakefield at Happenstance.
The Barra MacNeils are bringing an East Coast Christmas to Lindsay
VIDEO: The Barra MacNeils Christmas Show (2019)
A good friend, whose judgment I trust completely, can’t say enough about The Barra MacNeils. Each time the five MacNeil siblings — Lucy, Boyd, Stewart, Kyle, and Sheumas — have come to these parts, she has lit up with anticipation and made sure, come hell or high water, she’s in the audience.
I imagine that will be the case once again on Tuesday, December 3rd when The Barra MacNeils present “An East Coast Christmas” at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre.
Hailing from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, the MacNeil clan began performing in 1980 when teenagers and younger. The release of their third album Timeframe in 1990 brought a 1991 Juno Award for Album of the Year. Juno Award lightning struck again in 2001 in the form of Group of the Year honours. In total, The Barra MacNeils have released 15 albums, with 1993’s Closer to Paradise attaining gold record status.
For the Lindsay show, The Barra MacNeils will unleash their full arsenal of instruments, including accordion, guitar, piano, bodhran, mandolin, banjo, Celtic harp, tin whistles, bouzouki and flute, with bass accompaniment by Jamie Gatti. The result will be a potpourri of MacNeil family favourites “gleaned from Christmas ceilidhs, midnight masses, and the general festive frolic that accompanies each Christmas season.”
In the end, their audience will be no doubt be provided full evidence of why the Halifax Daily News praises The Barra MacNeils as “a treasure of the East Coast” — something my friend has been saying for years.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert cost $84 and are available at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
In From The Cold concert at Peterborough’s Market Hall has its audience saying “YES” for a 25th year
VIDEO: “In From the Cold” – A Film By Rodney Fuentes (2017)
The lead-up to Christmas brings us yet another beloved seasonal music tradition in the form of the 25th annual In From The Cold concert, with two performances on Friday, December 6th and Saturday, December 7th at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough.
A fundraiser for YES Shelter for Youth and Families since day one, with more than $200,000 has been raised since the inaugural concert in 2000, the big draw remains the performance of seasonal music rarely heard on radio or in the mall.
To that end, co-founder John Hoffman et al work year-round at finding relatively unknown music selections with origins beyond our borders to perform.
Featuring the talents of Hoffman and In From The Cold co-founders Susan Newman, Rob Fortin, and Curtis Driedger, the concert has also perennially featured guitarist Michael Ketemer, harpist Tanah Haney, and the Convivio Chorus under the direction of Newman.
As for the “feel” of the annual Christmas concert, Driedger recently told kawarthaNOW that In From The Cold harkens back “to the old days when you’d meet in a church or the community hall. You know everybody. It’s kind of a community thing.”
While the dollars raised have been huge for YES, the awareness raised around the plight of those who are homeless has proven equally vital in the collective empathy and movement to action of countless in the community.
With kawarthaNOW returning once again as a media sponsor of the concert, tickets for either 8 p.m. performance cost $29 ($34 for reserved cabaret seating) and are available at markethall.org.. If you can’t make it to the show during what is a busy time of year, Trent Radio will broadcast a recording of the concert throughout Christmas Day at 92.7 FM as well as online at trentradio.ca.
Holiday panto fun abounds as Bobcaygeon’s Globus Theatre keeps the British tradition alive
Originating in Britain, a panto (short for pantomime) is holiday theatrical entertainment for the entire family that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale, nursery story, or other well-known tale.
Unlike pantos in North America that include both a “nice” version of the show for children and a “naughty” one for adults, traditional British pantos instead cleverly incorporate adult-oriented humour in a way that goes over the head of the children in the audience. Children enjoy the action, songs, and audience participation, with adults loving the local references and innuendos. British pantos also feature the “Dame” — a traditional female role that is often portrayed by a male actor in drag.
It’s no surprise then that Globus Theatre’s artistic director Sarah Quick, who is originally from England, pens her annual pantos in traditional British fashion, and this year’s is no exception. Aladdin runs from December 6 to 15 at the Lakeview Arts Barn in Bobcaygeon.
Aladdin is a comic take on the classic Middle-Eastern folk tale “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,” with the title character encountering many wonderful characters during his thrilling adventure. Besides Princess So Shi, the object of Aladdin’s affections, evil Abanazar, and clumsy Genie-of-the-Ring are also among the cast of adult actors that includes Kevin Sepaul, Rebecca Anne Bloom, Maya Doherty, and more than 40 local youths — with Globus Theatre artistic producer James Barrett once again taking on the Dame role as Aladdin’s mother, the Widow Twankey.
Quick assures her version of Aladdin is “funny, irreverent, topical, and so much fun.” With 17 pantos under her belt, I think we can believe her.
Performance dates are December 6, 7 p.m., and December 7, 13 and 14, 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinee stagings December 7 and 8 and 14 and 15. An optional Christmas dinner is available at 6 p.m. prior to the evening performances.
Tickets are $35 ($22.50 for children 12 and under) for the show only, or $85 ($42.50 for children 10 and under) for the show and dinner. For tickets, visit www.globustheatre.com or phone 705-738-2037.
Linda Kash is Scrooge reimagined in New Stages Theatre’s comedic take on another classic tale
Peterborough’s New Stages Theatre is bringing us yet another new take on a classic tale in the form of A Christmas Carol Comedy from December 11 to 14 at the Market Hall.
Written by Canadian playwright Katie Leaman and based on Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, it will see one actor play Ebenezer Scrooge and another actor perform all the other roles. That require two performers with considerable acting chops, and director Mark Wallace (New Stages’ artistic director) is leaning heavily on the huge talents of Linda Kash as Scrooge and Canadian Comedy Award winner Kerry Griffin as everyone else.
Suitable for all ages, the play combines shades of Monty Python humour with Dickens’ Ghosts of Past, Present and Future — the result being lots of improv, laughter, and a stocking full of holiday spirit.
No Porpoise Productions debuted A Christmas Carol Comedy in 2014 in Waterford, Ontario, and it has since been restaged across Ontario and south of the border. As for Dickens’ classic story, there have been more than 100 stage and screen adaptations since the early 1900s.
A huge bonus is the involvement of local musician, playwright, director and actor Beau Dixon as the production’s musical director. Prior to each staging, he’ll lead a holiday music sing-along before providing musical accompaniment for the stage antics of the very talented Kash and Griffin.
Performances are at 7 p.m. from December 11 to 14, with 2 p.m. matinees December 14 and 15. Tickets cost $40 ($20 for children, arts workers, students and the under waged) and are available at tickets.markethall.org.
Encore
- A huge shout-out to longtime Peterborough music superfan Les Manley who put together the Musicians’ Appreciation Party held November 14 at The Social in downtown Peterborough. A packed club was wholly entertained by a number of area musicians, each of whom were treated like royalty as a nod to their years of entertaining. I was on hand for the first bit of the party and it was a great time, enhanced by sharing a table with Rick and Gailie Young and their bandmate Paul Clark. Manley said his motivation for putting on the event, which saw donated admissions pay for a gift for each musician, was seeing too many near-empty musician tip jars at shows he has been to. As such, he stepped up to say two very simple but all too often left unsaid words: thank you.
- Looking beyond the Christmas hubbub are local film buffs, whose sights are set on the 21st edition of Peterborough’s ReFrame Film Festival. It was recently announced it will be held January 23 to 26 with screenings at Market Hall and Showplace, while the festival’s virtual on-demand program will be available across Canada from January 27 to February 2. In total, more than 50 acclaimed films focused on social and environmental issues will be screened. Watch for more details early in the new year at reframefilmfestival.ca.
