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 Public Energy’s presentation of Chris Earle’s one-man show Donnie and Me and the CBC at Peterborough’s Market Hall, newly minted Juno Award winner Steve Marriner in concert at the Coboconk Legion and at the Market Hall, the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s season-ending production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, the Peterborough Pop Ensemble’s musical marking of 25 years at the Market Hall, Performing Arts Lakefield’s welcoming of The Happy Pals New Orleans Music Orchestra at Lakefield United Church, and a season rollout community celebration for Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre.
Public Energy presents a tale of love, family, and CBC Radio nostalgia on April 15 and 16
VIDEO: “Donnie and Me and the CBC” by Chris Earle
Way back in the day, a young boy found himself mesmerized by the steady drone of the strange voices emanating from the radio perched on the kitchen counter in his east end Toronto home.
That boy was me. There was a television in the nearby living room, but there was something magical in the mystery of hearing a voice unseen. As was his wont, Dad habitually tuned that radio to CFRB. Years later, when I enrolled in the radio/television broadcasting program at Centennial College, that experience was front of mind.
On Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough, a similar memory will be rekindled for many when Public Energy Performing Arts presents Donnie and Me and the CBC. Written and performed by actor, writer, and Second City alum Chris Earle, the one-man show is billed as a “touching, hilarious show about love, listening and growing up in 1970s Montreal.”
Directed and dramaturged by Shari Hollett, the story introduces us to 11-year-old Earle, who has moved from the U.S. to Montreal with his family. Since his mother Donnie decided to leave the family television set behind, CBC Radio becomes the centre of their home life.
Earle shares the story of his ferociously loving mother and the quintessentially Canadian soundtrack to their occasionally turbulent relationship. The result is a poignant, very funny story of love and family, with a heaping side plate of 1970s and 1980s nostalgia.
Of note, on April 16, Earle will also lead an Intro to Improv workshop at The Theatre on King.
Curtain for Donnie and Me and the CBC is 7:30 p.m., with tickets offered on a sliding scale of $10 to $54 (including fees), with a suggested price of $34. Visit publicenergy.ca to order, and also for information about the improv workshop.
Fresh off his 2026 Juno win, bluesman Steve Marriner plays Coboconk on April 11 and Peterborough on April 17
VIDEO: “Straight Line” – Steve Marriner
In late March 1995, just two days after he won an Oscar for “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” Elton John performed at Toronto’s Roger’s Centre (SkyDome at the time) alongside Billy Joel as a stop on their Face to Face Tour. Before a note was struck, the British singer waved his Oscar in Joel’s face, taunting him, and asking him if he had one (he didn’t and still doesn’t). It was a hilarious moment. I know this because I was there.
There’s no indication at this point that Canadian blues singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Marriner will be showing off his recently won Juno Award during his Just Me Tour, but who could blame him if he did? His Blues Album of the Year win for Hear My Heart has certainly earned him the right to do a little chest thumping.
On Saturday, April 11, Marriner will be returning to the Coboconk Legion, where he performed just last August. Tickets for 8 p.m. performance cost $30 in advance at the Legion or $40 at the door, with proceeds benefiting the branch’s games room refresh.
The following Friday (April 17), Marriner will be in Peterborough for a 7:30 p.m. concert at the Market Hall. Tickets cost $40 for cabaret table seating or regular floor seating, and are available at www.markethall.org.
Winning Juno Awards, and Maple Blues Awards for that matter, isn’t new for Marriner. As a singer and guitarist with MonkeyJunk, which he co-founded in 2008, Marriner won Juno Awards in 2012 and 2018. His solo album Hope Dies Last also earned him a nomination in 2022.
Having toured extensively with Colin James, and having appeared alongside such blues legends as Buddy Guy, Marriner has earned all the praise that has come his way. As a harmonica player, his work has few peers, as evidenced by his remarkable seven Maple Blues Awards for his prowess with that instrument.
‘It’s alive!’: Mel Brooks’ musical comedy “Young Frankenstein” opens at the Peterborough Theatre Guild on April 17
VIDEO: “Puttin’ on the Ritz” – Young Frankenstein (1974)
After what has been a long and harsh winter season, who couldn’t use a good laugh? After all, laughter remains highly recommended as the best medicine for a reason. Who are we to argue?
To that end, the Peterborough Theatre Guild is closing out its 2025-26 season with a guaranteed chuckler in the form of Mel Brooks’ hilarious Young Frankenstein. Opening an 11-show run on Friday (April 17), the Nate Axcell-directed production will feature all the hilarity that the 1974 film of the same name brought forth.
The film combined the comedic talents of Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn with memorable musical numbers such as “He Vas My Boyfriend” and “Puttin’ On The Ritz” to earn critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations, leading Brooks to create a musical stage version of the film.
Expect much the same good fun in the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s production when Frederick Frankenstein (Tom Stanley) finds himself drawn into the mad science legacy of his infamous grandfather Victor as he attempts to bring an oversized pulse-absent creature (Blair Waller) to life, aided by his loyal hunchbacked assistant Igor (James Burrell) and his lab helper Inga (Anna Hykawy).
With outrageous comedy, memorable songs and dance numbers, and larger-than-life characters, Young Frankenstein promises to deliver a terrific time. As a bonus, it’s nice to see the Guild bring a musical back to its intimate Rogers Street venue as opposed its typical musical-staging home of Showplace. That presents challenges, no doubt, but bet on Axcell et al overcoming them, helped greatly by the talents of accomplished music director Justin Hiscox.
Young Frankenstein will be staged at the Guild Hall at 364 Rogers Street in Peterborough’s East City with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. on April 17 and 18, April 23 to 25, and April 30 to May 2, and 1:30 p.m. matinee performances on April 19 and May 3.
Tickets cost $42 for adults, $37 for seniors, and $27 for students, and are available by phone at 705-745-4211 or online at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com/upcoming-plays/young-frankenstein.
Peterborough Pop Ensemble musically celebrates 25 years on April 18
VIDEO: Peterborough Pop Ensemble celebrates 25 years
Not only do we have an awesome concert coming up April 18 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre we are also thrilled to be performing at SING! The Toronto international a cappella festival in May!
Posted by Peterborough Pop Ensemble on Monday, March 30, 2026
The Peterborough Pop Ensemble is having a party and, not unlike any one of the choral group’s concerts since spring 2000, we’re all invited to join in on the fun.
Originally formed as the Peterborough Singers Pop Ensemble, with the late Barb Monahan serving as director, the group sang here, there, and everywhere until January 1, 2009 when it broke from the Peterborough Singers and became the Peterborough Pop Ensemble. So, what followed? Well, the ensemble sang here, there, and everywhere, gaining quite a large and loyal following in the process.
When Monahan passed away in 2019, there were whispers that the ensemble might disband. Well, that didn’t happen. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Maureen Harris-Lowe took the lead as director and the ensemble’s members vowed to keep a very good thing going.
On Saturday, April 18 at the Market Hall, the Peterborough Pop Ensemble will headline “Best of the Pops,” a concert celebrating 25 years of gifting the community signature energy, harmonies, and spirit. Expect both member and audience favourites from past performances, and a few surprises to boot.
We often use the term “treasure” in reference to longtime Peterborough cultural events and groups, but rarely has it been more fitting than when attention turns to the Peterborough Pop Ensemble. If you haven’t caught on, it’s high time you catch up.
Tickets to the 7 p.m. concert cost $30 ($20 for students and youths) at www.markethall.org.
The Happy Pals bring their New Orleans sound to Lakefield on April 19
VIDEO: “The Happy Pals” at Grossman’s Tavern in Toronto (2022)
There are communities in Ontario larger than Lakefield that don’t have nearly the same level of annual cultural events that Lakefield lays claim to.
There’s the beloved annual Lakefield Literary Festival. There’s the summer staple known as the Lakefield Jazz, Art and Craft Festival. And there’s the slate of top-notch concerts brought to the village by Performing Arts Lakefield. For sure, you can add events I’m not even aware of.
For more than 40 years no, Performing Arts Lakefield (PAL) has presented an eclectic array of entertainment. That has continued during the past season, which wraps up on Sunday, April 19 at Lakefield United Church with a visit from The Happy Pals New Orleans Party Orchestra.
The traditional New Orleans dance hall jazz band was formed in 1968, originally under the name Kid Bastien’s Camellia Jazz Band. Inspired by the jazz and blues music of the 1920s and 1930s, the brass-heavy band has performed New Orleans dance hall jazz in Toronto for more than four decades, and regularly tours Europe and the United States.
Leading the group is trumpet player Patrick Tevlin, who took the reins following Clifford ‘Kid’ Bastien’s passing in 2003. Since then, a typical performance includes numbers made famous by the likes of King Oliver, Fats Domino, Glenn Miller, and Frank Sinatra. This is about as close as you can get to New Orleans without hopping on a plane.
Tickets to the 3 p.m. party — it really promises to be just that — cost $40 ($15 for students) at www.performingartslakefield.org, or drop by Happenstance Books and Yarns in the village to get your tickets.
Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre heralds its upcoming summer season in style from April 20 to 25
VIDEO: “Where Our Stories Begin” 2026 season promotion
You’ve got to hand it to Rob Kempson, Erin Pierce, and everyone associated with Port Hope’s venerable Capitol Theatre. When it comes to heralding a new season of theatre and music, few do it better.
From Monday, April 20 to Saturday, April 25, Port Hope will be home to a multi-event community celebration of what’s ahead for the historic venue’s 2026 season this summer.
Four events — “Beagles & Baseball” on April 20 (a mini slo-pitch tournament nod to the musical You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown), “Cocktail Condolences” on April 21 (heralding the comedy Liars At A Funeral and held, of course, at a Port Hope funeral home), “Kitchen Party Crawl” on April 22 (bringing attention to the staging of the Broadway hit Come From Away), and “A Thrill on Screen” on April 23 (a screening of the 1944 film Gaslight that inspired the new Canadian adaptation of the same name) — will lead up to the grand “Red Carpet Gala On the Rock” on April 25 at the theatre itself.
That event will see the annual fundraising gala get a Newfoundland-style makeover in tribute to Come From Away, complete with all the familiar sights and sounds of The Rock, along with a live auction and some special surprises.
For more information about and tickets to the season rollout events, visit capitoltheatre.com, where you can also purchase tickets for any of this season’s upcoming shows.
Encore
- As if I needed yet another reason to love the inclusiveness and indomitable spirit of Peterborough’s live music community, there was what transpired on March 30 at the Black Horse Pub. In a bid to lift the spirits of ailing Rick Young of Rick ‘n’ Gailie fame, musicians and their supporters filled the downtown pub to capacity for the video recording of a “get well” message. That featured the Paul Clark-organized unrehearsed singing of a Mike MacCurdy-reworded version of The Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” which was recorded and sent to Rick. It was a remarkable and sincere show of the love and esteem that all present have for the man who, with his wife Gailie, has not only played the Black Horse for 20-plus years, but also answered the bell so many times for others via his participation at benefits and charitable events.
- Another feather has found itself embedded in the cap worn by Peterborough’s Irish Millie. The inaugural North2North: The Artist Gateway competition has named its winners, clearing the way for three Canadian indie artists, the fiddling sensation among them, to join the Canadian contingent heading to Lilla By Festivalen in Rinkaby, Sweden on June 12 and 13. Irish Millie will perform twice on the main stage in the Kanaladan, the festival’s Canada Barn. It seems like yesterday most were asking “Irish who?” Not anymore.
