Showplace Performance Centre quite effectively killed two birds with one stone at an event on Thursday (June 22) at Millennium Park in Peterborough. The organization saluted its 250-strong volunteer team, while releasing details of its fall 2017 lineup of performances — which includes some big names including Bruce Cockburn, Jann Arden (already sold out), and Barenaked Ladies.

“I love how diverse it is, Ray did an awesome job with all the bookings,” enthused Showplace marketing and administrative manager Emily Martin, referring to Showplace general manager Ray Marshall.

“I really like how strong the stuff in the Nexicom Studio is. The fact that we have jazz and blues and Celtic and comedy — a little bit of everything — is great.”

The smaller Nexicom Studio space has been home over the past few years to the Elite Blues Series but that has been discontinued, with Martin noting “It’s tough to get artists up from the States.” Martin credited series founder and John Cranfield with doing a terrific job starting, and delivering, Elite Blues presentations.

According to Showplace board chair Pat Hooper, a newly adopted strategic plan for the performance centre is buoying optimism for what’s ahead.

“We do always need to be thinking about raising more money,” she explained. “A lot of people don’t realize we are a not-for-profit organization. They assume that we are part of the City. Although we get a City services grant each year, it’s not enough to carry the place, so we’re always doing anything we can to raise funds.”

Its not-for-profit status is one of the reasons Showplace is so appreciative of and grateful for the efforts of its dedicated volunteers.

As well, “new energy” is on the horizon in the form of four new board members, replacing existing board members whose terms are up.

With Showplace going into its 21st year, Hooper credited Beth McMaster’s vision and drive all those years ago with setting the groundwork for what the 640-seat venue has become and continues to be.

“I think anybody involved with Showplace should feel pretty good. There have been and there will continue to be challenges, but there’s some really good things coming up.

“I’m very excited about Jann Arden except I’m going to be away. I told Ray he had a lot of nerve booking that for when I’m gone.”

One area Showplace will continue to focus much attention on is sponsorships and naming rights, the latter best exemplified by the Nexicom Studio space.

Paul Downs, who has owned and operated the Millbrook-based telecommunications company along with his brother John, said their commitment to and investment in Showplace is rooted in a mission.

“To do what we can to enrich the community and the lives of the people in the community,” he said, adding that Showplace’s longevity “is a credit to the people who are there. The board, which is strong and very forward looking, has reached out to companies like ours and asked ‘How can we work together?'”

Fall Schedule at Showplace Performance Centre

The following performances are scheduled for Showplace from September through December. Jann Arden is not listed (as it’s already sold out), but tickets are available for all other presentations.

You can order tickets in person at the Showplace box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough) or by phone at 705-742-7469 until June 30th, or online anytime at www.showplace.org. During July and August, tickets will be sold exclusively online through the Showplace online box office.

Pat Temple

Friday, September 15, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Continuing the swinging tradition of 1990s cult hits Salamander Bones and Playin’ Havoc With My Heart, singer, songwriter and guitarist arrives in Peterborough on the heels of the release of new album Day For Day.

A 30-year performance veteran, Temple’s music remains rooted in many influences – western swing, jump blues, rockabilly and roadhouse soul among them. Adding colour and meaning to his lyrics is his compelling voice.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

A Musical Tribute To The Highwaymen

Saturday, September 16, 8 p.m.

Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash have long departed but are remembered and performed by look-and-sound-alike impersonators Bob Gill and Jim Yorifido, joined by Willie Nelson impersonator Guy Melanson.

Backed by a five-piece band, the trio recreates the sights and sounds of the 1984-born group of true legends.

Tickets are $39.50 or $35.50 for seniors.

Bruce Cockburn

Monday, September 25, 8 p.m.

The Canadian music icon brings his Bones On Bones Tour to Peterborough, joined by special guest Terra Lightfoot, for the Folk Under The Clock concert presentation.

With a catalogue of music spanning four decades, Cockburn continues to bring folk, jazz, rock and world beat music styles to his songs, calling heavily upon his experiences as a global traveler with a musical message to share and celebrate.

Tickets are $61.

A 24 Of Canadian

Thursday, September 28, 2 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Bob Trennum and Beth Hunt pay musical homage to Canadian songs, songwriters and singers.

They and special guests will be performing hits by the likes of Ian and Sylvia, Leonard Cohen, Paul Anka, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, and many more.

Tickets are $20.

The Marigolds

Friday, September 29, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Canadian singers/songwriters extraordinaire Gwen Swick, Suzie Vinnick, and Caitlin Hanford, backed by drummer Randall Coryell, play an intimate concert in the Nexicom Studio.

Their performance will show their love for and mastery of traditional country, bluegrass and blues music, including tunes from their second Juno-nominated album, That’s The State I’m In.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $29.

Gordon Belsher and Richard Wood

Sunday, October 1, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter and guitarist Gordon Belsher joins forces with fiery fiddler Richard Wood.

As a duo, Belsher and Wood enthrall audiences with their roller coaster ride of exhilarating jigs, reels, and beautiful airs.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $30.

Splash ‘n’ Boots: Live In Concert

Thursday, October 5, 6 p.m.

Showplace 4 Kids presents the Big Yellow Tunes Tour, bringing the multi Juno-nominated talents of Nick Adams (Splash) and Taes Leavitt (Boots) to the big stage from Treehouse TV.

Dance along with Charlie and Keys, get ready to shake it with Jumping Jack Granny, and stay tuned for a premiere appearance from Chef Brock Lee.

Tickets for Splash ‘n’ Boots cost $26.50 ($42.50 for VIP tickets.

Voice Of A Nation

Thursday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

The Toronto Concert Orchestra, conducted by Kerry Stratton, presents the world premiere of “Voice of A Nation” on the Showplace main stage.

The performance features works by indigenous composer Ian Cusson, indigenous poet Marilyn Dumont, and indigenous singer Marion Newman, along with the Peterborough Children’s Chorus. The concert will also feature Stravinky’s Pulcinella Suite for ballet, which indigenous choreographer Aria Evans will re-imagine by re-telling the story of Pulcinella as the shapeshifting trickster Weesageechek.

Presented by Showplace and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, tickets are $42 for adults and $22 for students.

Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline Tribute Show

Saturday, October 14, 8 p.m.

The duo of Bob Gill and Amberley Beatty will pay musical homage to two of country music’s biggest legends.

Gill will deliver hits such as “Luckenbach Texas” and “Good Hearted Women” while Beatty will perform timeless classics such as “Crazy” and “I Fall To Pieces”.

Tickets are $39.50 or $35.50 for seniors.

Barenaked Ladies

Tuesday, October 24, 8 p.m.

The multiple Juno-winning Canadian rock band of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart perform on the Showplace main stage.

The band will serve up its bevy of hit songs such as “One Week”, “It’s All Been Done”, “Brian Wilson” and “If I Had $1,000,000”, as well as music from their latest album Fake Nudes to be released this fall.

Tickets are $95.53, with silver and gold VIP packages (featuring premium seats, swag, and more) available for $205.64 and $303.51

Tonic @ Twenty

Saturday, October 28, 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 29, 2 p.m.

Showplace brings back the Spring Tonic shows from a few years ago to fill the stage once again with comedy, song, and dance.

With script by Beth McMaster and musical direction by Danny Bronson, under the guidance of director Len Lifchus and producer Pat Hooper, there will be two performances of this show, a fundraiser for Showplace.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $20.

The Man In Black

Thursday, November 2, 7 p.m.

Shawn Barker performs his Las Vegas tribute to Johnny Cash, featuring all the hits in the arsenal of the groundbreaking singer and songwriter.

Tickets information for The Man In Black will be posted on www.showplace.org.

Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical

November 10 to 12, 15 to 18, 8 p.m.

St. James Players marks 45 years of presenting community theatre with its staging of the Broadway musical version of Mary Poppins, the 1964 film that catapulted Julie Andrews to fame and featured classic songs penned by the Sherman Brothers.

The show is produced by Jim Mills and Fred Bately and directed by Natalie Dorsett.

Tickets will be on sale near the end of summer. Check www.stjamesplayers.com for updates.

Lorne Elliott

Friday, November 24, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Comedian, musician, author and award-winning playwright Lorne Elliott gives his original, captivating, and hilarious take on contemporary trends and politics.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $30.

The Last Waltz

Saturday, November 25, 8 p.m.

An all-star cast of award-winning blues and roots musicians under the direction of Juno-winning producer and musical director Lance Anderson recreate The Band’s final concert, in 1976 at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, featuring most all of the songs performed.

Tickets are $62.

Oh What A Night!

Wednesday, November 29, 7 p.m.

This Las Vegas tribute to the music of Franki Valli and The Four Seasons also features a special holiday season tribute to Andy Williams and The Williams Brothers.

Tickets are $55.50.

Another Bublé Christmas

Thursday, November 30, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Peterborough’s own Michael Bell, accompanied by the MB Swingtet, will croon the songs of the velvet-voiced Canadian singer Michael Bublé.

Tickets are $25.

The Jungle Book

Thursday, December 7 and Friday, December 8, 8 p.m.

Arbor Theatre and Showplace present the stage version of the hit 1967 Walt Disney film musical, adapted by Ray and Noah Henderson with music by Beau Dixon and choreography by Madison Sheward and Rachael Froggatt.

Auditions were held at the end of May and the show is currently in production. Ticket information will be posted at www.thearbortheatre.com.

Patricia O’Callaghan

Thursday, December 14, 8 p.m., Nexicom Studio

Canadian soprano Patricia O’Callaghan performs the songs that have made her a sensation across Canada and well beyond, including her stunning rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $35.

Classic Albums Live: Rush’s 2112

Saturday, December 16, 8 p.m.

The definitive Rush album, as well as the band’s first major commercial success, is performed cut-for-cut and note-for-note, with the second half featuring many of Rush’s other hit songs.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $38. A special 10%-off deal is available if you purchase Rush 2112 with Showplace’s other two Classic Albums Live presentations: Credence Clearwater Revival – Chronicles on March 2, 2018 and Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy on April 7, 2018.

For The Love Of Christmas

Sunday, December 17, 2 p.m.

The Foley Family and friends stage their 14th annual Christmas show, a fundraiser for teachers’ salaries at a school in Liberia, West Africa.

The popular holiday show features the talents of Bridget Foley and The Gospel Girls, 4 Front, Lizzeh Basciano, and many more.

Tickets are $15, or $10 for students.

Next Generation Leahy

Thursday, December 21, 7 p.m.

Next Generation Leahy features performers all under the age of 16 from Lakefield’s famous musical family.

They’ll bring Celtic music into the modern era with high-energy performances backed by fiddles, cellos, French accordions, piano, singing, and French-Canadian step dancing.

Presented by Showplace, tickets are $50.50 for adults, $46.50 for seniors, and $26.75 for students.

Peterborough Symphony Orchestra

In addition to the above, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra is again calling Showplace home for its 2017-18 season, with the two performances before Christmas being “Step Into The Light” on Sunday, November 4th at 7:30 p.m., and “Hollywood For The Holidays” on Saturday, December 9th at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

For ticket information, visit www.pso.org.

From July 5th to 16th, the Toronto Fringe Festival will bring new productions to theatres, public squares, restaurants and bars throughout Toronto in one of the most important theatrical festivals in Canada.

Although performers from the Peterborough community have been involved in the Fringe Festival before, this year Peterborough is well represented in the festival with local favuorites Adam Martignetti, Erin Maxfield, and Wyatt Lamoureux being featured in productions making their debut at Fringe next month.

Adam will be appearing in Pillow Talk, a show he developed with Peterborough native Olivia Brodie-Dinsdale and Charlotte Catell at The Theatre Passe Muraille. Erin is directing Nourishment, a show she developed with colleagues Jessica Watkin and Gloria Mok at the Franco Boni Theatre. Wyatt will be directing his newest play, Algonquin Highway, at the Al Green Theatre

The Fringe Festival finds its roots in Edinburgh, Scotland when eight uninvited theatre companies showed up at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947 and proceeded to perform their shows at small venues, while the larger productions took over the traditional theatre spaces. Since then, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has become one of the largest festivals in the world and has spawned similar franchises across the globe.

The Toronto Fringe Festival began in 1989 to support independent theatre that, at that time, didn’t get much exposure when competing with the giant Canadian theatre companies.

“The Fringe Festival is an excellent jumping off point for people who have new ideas and that they want to share with the world,” says Wyatt. “Having just come out of theatre school, as someone who moved from the west coast to Ontario at that time, I can attest to how locked in theatre was. If they didn’t know you, forget about it.

“There were people who wanted to do new things, but there were very few theatres to do those things in. It was all the traditional theatres — Stratford, Shaw and all the bigger theatres in Toronto.”

The Toronto Fringe Festival chooses its productions as part of a lottery picked at random. This year, over 500 theatre companies submitted entries for the festival, but only 75 companies were chosen. Fourteen theatres are involved hosting the various productions throughout Toronto, with other shows being featured in bars, restaurant, and other public spaces.

I had the great thrill of sitting next to Wyatt at The Theatre On King during a performance the night the lottery was held in Toronto, and was among the first to congratulate him when he received the notice his application for the Toronto Fringe Festival had been drawn. Algonquin Highway will be the first time that Wyatt has ever presented a show in Toronto.

“Algonquin Highway is about relationships, about love, and about preconceptions and prejudice,” Wyatt says. “It’s about two people, Alex and Nicky, who haven’t seen each other for five years. They grew up in a big city, went to elementary school together, high school together, went to college together, and one became an actor and another became a techie. And both just happen to be lesbians.

“Out of the blue, one gets a job to go out with a travelling company, and that’s the last time they see each other. After five years, Nicky calls Alex and wants to get together. So Alex drives to a small city two hours north of the GTA only to find out that her old girlfriend is now Nick, a transgender man. They have all the standard emotional drama to work their way through to find who they were before. It’s a test of friendship.”

Although Wyatt’s company, which is made up of stage manager Eryn Lidster and set designer Ian Burns, are from Peterborough, Algonquin Highway was a show Wyatt discovered he had to do in Toronto to find the right performers.

“Nick is a transgender man and Alex is an indigenous lesbian,” Wyatt explains. “So I decided really early that if I could not find those actors, I wouldn’t be doing this play. I did auditions in Peterborough, but nobody contacted me. So I went to Toronto and I found the actors — Smith Purdy and Haley Vincent — and they’re really good.

“In the plays I’ve written in the last ten years, I feel the shows I’ve been writing have challenged audience preconceptions of the characters. My characters are transgender and indigenous, because I want those audience members who have those preconceptions to layer that on top of what they are watching, and then have that eroded.”

As for Adam’s production Pillow Talk, he and his co-stars created their show with the help of director Connor Thompson and stage manager Justine Cargo through improvisation, developed from their affiliation with the Second City Conservatory Program.

“In the Second City program there is a strong emphasis on writing through improvisation,” Adam says. “We didn’t plan initially plan anything, but together Olivia, Charlotte and I came up with our ideas and wanted to see what we came up with through our scenes.

“It turns out that a lot of the scenes that we came up with — although they were all different from each other — all shared a central theme, in which we’d have conversations dealing with fears that we have, or anxieties that we’ve had over the years, and things like that.

“That’s where the idea of the title, Pillow Talk, came from. It’s not a sexual connotation like it’s normally used. We came up with an idea that pillow talk is a very intimate kind of conversation where you talk about something with someone that you’d normally not talk about publicly.

“It’s an opportunity for us to share with the audience, and each other, these very real experiences that we’ve had and situations where we can make people laugh, but also make people think and hopefully make people feel.”

For Nourishment, Erin worked with two of her former theatrical colleagues from the University of Guelph.

“When I won the Fringe lottery in November, I immediately got in touch with Jessica and Gloria because I had worked with them in university and I knew that I wanted to start a project with them,” says Erin.

“We knew we wanted to explore stories about women, whether they be fictional or historical, and we started to do research and throwing out stuff on the drawing board. A lot of it came from our own personal experiences about women in our own lives, and family members that we love that helped shape us into the women that we are.

“Once we had enough material we started going through it and looking for through lines found in all of our writing and we found that we were really exploring family dynamics, but not typical ones like mother and daughter, but the relationships that we had with our aunts or people who were not blood related but married into the family, or our grandparents and our cousins. We thought that was unique because those are stories that don’t always get explored a lot.”

However, Nourishment has another element to it beyond the family dynamic.

“We had this other through line which was about the ways in which women gather together,” Erin continues. “Some of this was based on the French salons of the 1800s which was more high-class women who were otherwise excluded from discussing politics and world issues. They were not allowed to do that because their world was male dominated, but they’d gather on their own and teach each other.

“We wanted to find a way to modernize that, because the French salons are not very relatable to all of us. There are so many places where women gather in our own society, like women-only gyms or self-defense classes or hair salons or the kitchen. It may be used as a joke sometimes, but the kitchen can be a very sacred and safe place for women to gather.”

Nourishment features actresses Kira Renee, Catherine Wylee, Grace Thompson, and Isabel Kanaan who perform framing sequences of four women — a grandmother, two cousins, and an aunt by marriage — within a kitchen, as well as scenes where the women perform other sequences featuring women in other situations. With Erin acting as director, her co-writer Jessica Watkins is the show’s choreographer and her other co-writer Gloria Mok is the lighting designer.

With the Toronto Fringe Festival only weeks away, the anticipation has created excitement throughout the Toronto theatre community.

“The Fringe Festival coordinators really try to build the community of artists before the productions go up,” Erin notes. “In my experience, the community is just there. There are hundreds of volunteers to put this festival together. It’s hard not to get caught up in it all, and just to want to be a part of the whole thing.”

While the Fringe Festival attracts people from all over Canada, how much of an impact is Peterborough making on the festival, as well as the Toronto theatre scene itself?

Our local community is already aware of the talent that our city has, and we have seen local performers such as Kate Suhr and Beau Dixon make huge inroads into the Toronto theatre community. According to Adam, people in Toronto are starting to notice Peterborough’s contribution to the Ontario theatre community.

“When I first started coming to Toronto and became part of the community here, the conversation would go: ‘So Adam, where are you from?’ I’d say ‘I’m from Peterborough.’ The answer I’d usually get is ‘Isn’t that where Trent University is?’ or ‘That’s where I stop for gas on the way to my cottage.’ That’s all people knew about Peterborough.

“But now people say “Oh, so you must know this person I worked with because they are from Peterborough.” We’re now becoming more and more part of the Toronto community in a major way. Peterborough is producing very talented people who are coming into Toronto, which is the closest place where they can have a very significant impact.”

Erin, who has lived and worked in Toronto for a number of years, has also recognized the subtle impact that Peterborough is making on Toronto.

“Peterborough is rich with this culture of artists and I think it’s been a great breeding ground. When people are looking for bigger things and want to take it to another level and make a career out of it, it’s easy to move to Toronto. I’m constantly crossing paths with people from Peterborough.”

The Toronto Fringe Festival runs from July 5th to 16th. For more information, including ticket information and the dates and times of the individual performances of Pillow Talk, Nourishment, and Algonquin Highway, visit the Toronto Fringe Festival website at fringetoronto.com.

For local theatre fans who want to hit up all three shows, mark Friday, July 14th on your calendar. This is the only date when all three shows will be performed on the same day, with Algonquin Highway at 12:30 p.m., Nourishment at 5:45 p.m., and Pillow Talk at 9:15 p.m. It’s a great way to support Peterborough performers in a different environment far beyond our local theatres.

Historians love hard numbers.

Take, for example, the penning of any one of the number of books that have related the story of Bomber Command’s massive contribution to the Allied victory in the Second World War and, in particular, that of No. 6 Bomber Group comprised exclusively of Canadian airmen and support staff.

Come the surrender of Nazi Germany in early May 1945, some 250,000 Canadians, men and women, had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), many of them with No. 6 Bomber Group which carried out more than 40,000 sorties. While some 8,000 decorations for bravery were awarded Canadian airmen, another 10,000 Canadians didn’t return home — killed in action in the skies over Europe or in training accidents, or dying in prisoner of war camps.

Veteran playwright David Craig is certainly familiar with these numbers and many more; his interest in Canadians’ huge contribution to the heavy bomber offensive over Nazi Germany piqued 30 years ago. But now, with 4th Line Theatre set to premiere the his work, numbers are taking a backseat to the human story.

“I knew nothing about Bomber Command,” says Craig. “That told me a lot about where we place our service in Bomber Command in the Canadian cultural memory.

“We think of Dieppe. We think of D-Day. We certainly think of the liberation of The Netherlands but it (Bomber Command participation) was the biggest thing we did.”

The journey to the Winslow Farm and the July 4 to 29 staging of Bombers started innocently enough, notes Craig, with a conversation with a neighbour he invited to his home for dinner.

“He said the oddest thing — ‘Oh yeah, I’ll be there if I’m still ticking.’ I said ‘You’re coming for dinner. You’re going to be there.’ His demeanour immediately changed. He said, ‘I’m so sorry. I flew rear gunner in a Halifax bomber during the Second World War and I saw so many of my friends die. Sometimes I feel guilty to be alive.’ I was shocked. This was 40 plus years after the war and here was a man living with these memories day after day after day.”

Fascinated and intrigued, Craig endeavoured to learn as much as he could about Canadians’ contribution to Bomber Command; a process that involved, among other things, interviewing veterans and chronicling details of their wartime experiences. More importantly, it meant compiling their memories of their sense of belonging, their relationships with fellow aircrew, their fears and, yes, their happy times as young men on a great adventure far from home.

At the centre of the play’s storyline is Canadian heavy bomber pilot Peter Benton — portrayed during the war years by Michael Cox and much later in life by 4th Line Theatre founder and creative director Robert Winslow.

“He is a very determined, very persistent individual, and he definitely is a romantic,” says actor Michael Cox, who plays the young pilot.

“He has a bold side to him that shows great leadership; being able to face anything and come out the other side cool, calm and collected. I can’t imagine getting into a Lancaster bomber and having to fly over Germany while people are shooting at you and having the lives of six other men in your hands while you’re trying to do your mission.”

Shaina Silver-Baird, who portrays Emma, young Peter’s love interest, says Craig’s work “is just a damn good story. It’s got all the elements: the war, the love story. A love story that isn’t simple but complicated — the best kind of love story. You feel the reverberations that the war still has today. It’s beautiful and hopeful but still very real.”

But, notes Silver-Baird, there’s something else.

“We know so much about the Second World War from a British standpoint and from an American standpoint. I get excited when there are films or plays that are blatantly Canadian.

“I think in any kind of historical play or story it’s really important to depict the woman’s story. A lot of the time, especially further back, that hasn’t been written in, unless it’s someone’s wife. Yes, Emma is the love interest because it’s Peter’s story at the end of the day, but she’s representative of a lot of women who were in that conflict. Women were so instrumental in the war. It’s important to include them.”

Portraying Kate, an English historian doing research for her PhD who travels to Canada to meet and interview war veteran Peter, is Erin Humphry.

“I was really excited to be working on Canadian material, and new Canadian material, which is amazing,” she says.

“After finding out I was going to be Kate and reading the script with that in mind, I was really drawn to her. She’s so brave and driven. She’s utterly determined to get this information and to meet this man (Peter). I would like to see some of myself in her.”

Pulling the story together is director David Ferry. He’s been all in since first reading the script, even taking cast members to Trenton for a tour of a Halifax bomber.

“I got very emotional,” he says of that experience. “My dad was a navigator (on a bomber) … to sit at the navigator’s table and imagine him sitting there. When David (Craig) heard about my father, and my father-in-law — both having been in Stalag Luft III, a prisoner of war camp that Peter in the play is in — he wrote a scene with my father and father-in-law in it.

“Is there a sexier generation than the Second World War generation? Those young men and women were living in the moment. They lived passionately. Look at the dances of the period, like the jitterbug, and you see this incredible, physical, daredevil-like style, throwing caution to the wind. I think young people will come and get engaged (with the play) because romance is romance.”

What’s especially appealing to Ferry is Craig “didn’t whitewash what we did. The mismanagement of bombing runs is dealt with. The bombing of Germans is dealt with. He’s covered all his bases.”

For his part, Craig says not glorifying war in any was a guiding principle.

“I don’t think when we tell a war story we should ever beat our chests because people are going to die,” he says.

“We should be very deliberate and sober about the notion of war. But should we remember? Should we look at war in a three-dimensional way? Yes, we absolutely should. We should be reminded of the cost of war.”

Meanwhile, Bombers marks the return of 4th Line Theatre founder Robert Winslow to an active theatrical role after a 2016 sabbatical doing play research.

“They say it’s a young person’s game but there’s still a lot of fun in it for me,” Winslow says.

“Early in the research period I went with David to an interview with a gentleman who was a tail gunner. I get a spark whenever I hear someone talking about their memories. I thought ‘This is really important stuff.’ It’s a really good story. It’s told well and it has lots of exciting elements in it.”

With opening night drawing ever nearer, the anticipation among the cast is palpable.

“There are butterflies in the stomach, like ‘What do we have here?’,” says Michael. “You never know until you have the other half of the show present, which is the audience.”

Still, for Craig, trusting his work to others has been admittedly difficult.

“I feel totally helpless. It’s so out of my hands and it’s terrifying. The actors are saying their lines in a way I hadn’t imagined they would. The director is directing the play in a way that I hadn’t imagined he would. Everything is looking slightly different.

“I’m absolutely thrilled, but I’m kind of like the dad standing there with his wife in labour. The director will say I need you and then say ‘What are you doing in this room?'”

VIDEO: David S. Craig’s “Bombers: Reaping the Whirlwind” at 4th Line Theatre

With lyrics and original composition by Craig, musical direction, original composition and arrangements by Justin Hiscox, and choreography by Monica Dottor, Bombers features numerous songs and dance routines. Costume design is by Karyn McCallum with Glenn Davidson handling set design.

Bombers runs from Tuesdays to Saturdays from July 4th to July 29th at the Winslow Farm (779 Zion Line, Millbrook), with an additional performance on Monday, July 24th. Previews will be held on July 4th and 5th with opening night on Thursday, July 6th.

Single tickets are $38 for adults and $32 for youth. Subscription tickets (which included one ticket to Bombers: Reaping The Whirlwind in July and one ticket to The History of Drinking in Cavan in August) are $66 for adults and $56 for youth.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at 705-932-4445, online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, or at 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office at 4 Tupper Street in Millbrook or at the Peterborough Museum and Archives at 300 Hunter Street E. (Museum Drive) in Peterborough.

Every Thursday, we publish live music and performance events at pubs and clubs in Peterborough and The Kawarthas based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, June 22 to Wednesday, June 28.

If you’re a pub or club owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our Nightlife Editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com.