Dr. Judith Buys of Cornerstone Family Dentistry in Peterborough has died after being injured in an explosion (photo: Judith Buys / Facebook)
Following the passing of Erica Cherney earlier today, the business community of Peterborough has now suffered a second loss with the death of local businesswoman Dr. Judith Buys.
kawarthaNOW has learned that Dr. Buys, one of the partners of Cornerstone Family Dentistry in Peterborough, died today at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
On Saturday, August 13th, she was rushed to Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay after suffering severe burns following a naphtha lamp gas explosion at a cottage near Burnt River in the City of Kwawartha Lakes. She was later airlifted to Sunnybrook, where she underwent emergency surgery.
Dr. Buys succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning. She was 55 years old.
Like Erica Cherney, Dr. Buys was an active member of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough. The organization is reeling from learning of the deaths of two of its members in the same day.
Erica Cherney & Dr. Judith Buys: They were amazing women & we're thankful that they both were part of our lives. pic.twitter.com/TidvmDlIO0
Dr. Buys completed her dental education at the University of Western, graduating in 1985, and established her dental practice in 1987 on Reid Street.
She dedicated her time volunteering and donating to the United Way, the Festival of Trees, the Dragon Boat Festival, and Five Counties Children’s Centre.
She leaves behind her husband Dr. Jim McGorman, an emergency room physician at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and their two sons, Brendan and Connor.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP, and the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario are investigating the explosion that led to Dr. Buys’ death, which also injured two other people.
Visitations for Dr. Buys will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, August 18th at the chapel at Ashburnham Funeral Home (840 Armour Rd., Peterborough). A private service for the family will be held at a later date.
Dr. Buys’ family has asked that memorial donations be made to the Five Counties Children’s Centre or the YWCA Crossroads shelter. Donations and condolences to the family can be made at www.ashburnhamfuneral.ca or by calling 705-740-0444.
Dr. Verona Sulja, Dr. Judith Buys, and Dr. Koren Bennetts of Cornerstone Family Dentistry in Peterborough (photo: Cornerstone Family Dentistry)
"It's hard to lose such a strong woman" - Terry Guiel, Executive Director of Peterborough DBIA, pictured in happier days with Erica Cherney (photo courtesy Peterborough DBIA)
Those who know Terry Guiel know he is rarely, if ever, lost for words.
On Tuesday (August 16), the executive director of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) struggled to put a simple sentence together as he remembered his friend and longtime DBIA board member Erica Cherney.
Cherney, 84, died hours earlier at her Peterborough home, succumbing to her second battle with cancer. She was surrounded by family, including her children Mike, Karen, and Rich.
“Extreme sadness … it’s hard to lose such a strong woman who had battled and come back from this great enemy of cancer,” noted Guiel, alluding, as many have, to the words written on the back of her business card — ‘Never underestimate the power of a pissed off woman.’
Just recently, Guiel was able to visit privately with Cherney at her home. Her passing has made his memory of that sit-down even more poignant.
“She had a classical guitar, so I asked her if she’d like to hear a few songs,” he recalls.
“I played a bunch of songs. I sang Edelweiss and a very naughty song. She thoroughly enjoyed it; she had a smile on her face the whole time. I think it was therapeutic for us both.”
While distressed to receive word of Cherney’s passing, Guiel admits it wasn’t a complete surprise.
“You can see when the body has had enough,” he says.
Former Peterborough mayor Sylvia Sutherland with her friend Erica Cherney at The Black Horse Pub in 2015 at a birthday celebration for Donna Clarke (photo: Jeannine Taylor)
For her part, former Peterborough mayor Sylvia Sutherland, in Huntsville on a work assignment, heard of the passing of her close friend via an email from one of her children.
“I knew I was going to be hearing this news soon,” says Ms Sutherland.
“I saw Erica very briefly Saturday afternoon (August 13) and I realized then that would be last time I would see her. As I left, I said to Ricky (Sutherland’s pet name for Cherney), ‘There’s good news … Trump is losing.’ I got the biggest smile from her and I think a little giggle too.”
Like Guiel, Sutherland praises Cherney’s impact and influence on various sectors of Peterborough.
“Particularly with businesswomen … she was so supportive,” notes Sutherland.
Erica (right) with Dr. Tom Phillips and Shannon Mak of Le Petit Bar promoting a 2013 fundraiser for Peterborough Health Services Foundation (photo: Carol Lawless)
“You always knew where you stood with Ricky. We didn’t always agree on issues but that never interfered with our friendship. The last few years, I had been sending her jokes on short people. She said, ‘I’ve always enjoyed (local economist) Tom Phillips … we literally saw eye to eye.'”
Another warm memory centres around Cherney’s penchant for a good Scotch, Sutherland referencing her friend’s “four o’clock Scotch tea” custom as part and parcel of her unique persona.
A native of Ottawa, Cherney was born Erica Cohen on February 3, 1932 and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University in 1943. Come 1955, she was off to California with her first husband.
Erica joined the Trent University Board of Governors in 1979 and served as the university’s first female chair from 1980 to 1984 (photo: Trent University)
In 1967, her marriage over, Cherney eventually returned to Ottawa with her three children. There she renewed acquaintances with Harry Cherney, a family friend and business associate. In 1971, they married and moved to Peterborough where Harry oversaw a chain of furniture stores.
What followed for Cherney were years of community service at the highest and most impactful levels: chair of Trent University’s board of governors from 1980 to 1984; positions with the boards of the Peterborough Family YMCA, Showplace and the DBIA; and work on behalf of the Greater Peterborough Economic Council and its successor, the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation.
Erica was one of 19 women who posed for “The Age of Beauty”, a calendar that raised funds in the wake of the devastating July 15, 2004 flood (photo: Michael Cullen)
And if there was a cause to be helped, Cherney frequently rolled up her sleeves with gusto. The 2005 Calendar Girls project for flood relief dollars saw her pose by flood-ravaged Jackson Creek, dressed only in a raincoat and rubber boots.
As a savvy businesswoman, Cherney had few peers in Peterborough. After Harry passed in 1984, the Cherney furniture business was sold but his estate retained a number of properties which led to the formation of Cherney Realty. Still in place today, that entity still owns and manages several city buildings. Right up until cancer laid her low for a second time, Cherney was an active in the management of the company.
Accolades that came Cherney’s way number many, including YMCA Woman of the Year (1987), Peterborough Citizen of the Year (1999), an Honourary Doctorate from Trent University (2005), a lifetime achievement award from Homegrown Homes (2011), and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal (2012).
In addition, in 2006, the Community Counselling and Resource Centre started the Erica Cherney Inspiration Fund in recognition of Cherney’s commitment to active citizenship. In 2015, she received Carleton University’s Humanitarian of the Year Alumni Award and, just this past May, Cherney was inducted into the Peterborough Business Hall of Fame.
“There’s another group that has lost someone very, very important to them and that is the Jewish community in Peterborough,” notes Sutherland.
Both Guiel and Sutherland agree that while the term “legacy” doesn’t always fully apply and is often over-the-top, that’s not the case here. In addition, for Sutherland, there remains the memory of her friend’s personal attributes.
Erica’s sense of humour shines through in a 2014 interview for My Peterborough. Watch the video at the end of this story. (photo: Jeremy B. Kelley)
“She had that wonderful smile … she was bright, she was feisty, she was generous, she had a good sense of humour,” notes Sutherland.
Guiel, meanwhile, says there’s “no chance” Cherney won’t be long remembered for her contributions, both personally and professionally.
Erica was a strong supporter of the business community, including the Peterborough DBIA. Here she is as a judge at the 2015 Ribfest, watching as writer Paul Rellinger (not pictured) eat ribs (photo courtesy Peterborough DBIA)
“I think it’s really going to hit me at the next (DBIA) board meeting and we’ll see her empty chair,” says Guiel.
“I’m going to try and find a way that we can honour her memory, her ceaseless dedication to not just the downtown but to the entire community. We’ll talk to her family when things settle down and see what that could be.”
Like Sutherland, Guiel’s memories on this day are of a friend who supported him.
“My fondest memory is playing (music) in a pub at one in the morning and in comes Erica, with Beth McMaster or Ann Farquharson or some of her other friends, or often on her own. She’d grab a Scotch and then she’d pull out this little tiny harmonica. That was just so whimsical.”
“Erica is someone you look at and ask, ‘Who can follow that?'”
Cherney’s public funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, at the Beth Israel Synagogue, 775 Weller Street, followed by a private family burial at Little Lake Cemetery. A public reception at the synagogue will then be held after the burial.
Shiva will be observed in Toronto at the home of Mike and Shari Cherney at 47 Shallmar Boulevard in Toronto. Visitation hours are 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday August 18th (shiva minyan at 7:30 p.m.), 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday August 19th, 9 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 20th (shiva minyan at 9:15 p.m.), and 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 21st (shiva minyan at 7:30 p.m.)
Condolences can be sent care of Mike and Shari Cherney (47 Shallmar Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario M6C 2K1). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Beth Israel Synagogue, the Israel Scout Federation, or the Peterborough Foundation.
Peterborough icon Erica Cherney, pictured here with Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef prior to her election in 2015, has passed away (photo: Maryam Monsef / Twitter)
Peterborough is mourning the passing of the matriarch of its business community, Erica Cherney, who passed away at home this morning after a long fight against cancer.
Respected for her quiet wisdom, opinions, and leadership, Cherney was well known and beloved in the Peterborough community.
A businesswoman who owned and operated Cherney Realty for many years, she was also a community leader and relentless volunteer who served on numerous boards and committees.
Former Peterborough mayor Sylvia Sutherland with her friend Erica Cherney at The Black Horse Pub in 2015 at a birthday celebration for Donna Clarke (photo: Jeannine Taylor)
She received many honours over the years, including YWCA Woman of the Year in 1987 and Peterborough’s Citizen of the Year Award in 1999. In 2005, Trent University bestowed her with an Honorary Doctorate and, more recently, she was inducted into Peterborough’s Business Hall of Fame.
A public service will be held on Wednesday, August 17th at Beth Israel Synagogue (775 Weller St, Peterborough), after which there will be a private family burial.
In the Key of E – A film by Megan Murphy
Tributes pour in for Erica Cherney on Twitter …
With deepest sadness, DBIA informs our community that Erica Cherney, the champion of the community, passed away. pic.twitter.com/8GZ7uMSjge
Before the expansion, the three turbine-driven generators at the London Street facility each produced around 1.3 megawatts of power from the flow of water in the Otonabee River. With the expansion, the facility now has the capacity to produce 10 megawatts of green power. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW.com)
Peterborough Utilities Inc. has announced three new renewable generation facilities are now in commercial operation.
The utility company recently expanded the London Street hydro power generating station on the Otonabee River to produce an additional six megawatts, bringing the station’s total capacity up to 10 megawatts — alone enough to power 4,000 homes.
There’s also the facility located at Kinsmen Civic Centre, developed in partnership with the City of Peterborough, which can produce 431 kilowatts, and the 380-kilowatt biogas-fueled heat and power project at the City’s waste water treatment plant.
Two additional rooftop solar projects are also under construction and scheduled to be complete by the end of August.
With the successful completion of all these projects, the utility’s total renewable generation capacity will equal 36.8 megawatts. Peterborough Utilities will produce around 120,000 megawatt hours of green energy each year, sufficient to meet the electricity needs of around 12,000 homes.
During the 2003 blackout, power from the London Street station was used to keep the Peterborough Regional Health Centre operating. The increased output from the new generating station, as well as increasing the percentage of green power in the City of Peterborough, could be used in similar situations in the future.
Sylvie Copland of St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough has won the 10th Annual Canadian Family Teacher Award (photo: canadianfamily.ca)
Sylvie Copland, a French immersion teacher at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School, has won the 10th Annual Canadian Family Teacher Award.
Copland, who teaches junior and senior kindergarten, received more than 62,000 votes in an annual Canada-wide competition by Canadian Family, a lifestyle parenting website.
“I never thought I would receive so many votes,” Copeland says. “The community of Peterborough is so supportive. It is such a privilege to be part of this amazing community. I really would like to thank everyone for their support.”
Along with two other teachers, Copland has also won $2,500 for school programming and supplies at her school, courtesy of program sponsor Johnson Inc.
“At our school, we are like a big family. We love each other and care about each other. Everyone I work with is very dedicated and could be a winner,” Copland says.
JK-SK French Immersion teacher Sylvie Copland received the honour along with two teachers from Alberta (photo: canadianfamily.ca)
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Canadian Family Teacher Awards continue to recognize outstanding elementary and secondary school educators from across Canada.
This past March, Canadian Family welcomed nominations from Canadians who wished to recognize educators in their communities worthy of the prize.
The best were selected via a panel of education experts where 12 finalists were shortlisted and an online vote determined the top three winners.
The other two winners were Amy Nye and Karen Sveinson, both from Ecole Barrie Wilson Elementary in Red Deer, Alberta.
Beau Dixon performing with Slips N The High Fives at The Hootenanny on Hunter Street on August 13 (photo: Linda McIlwain / kawarthaNOW.com)
Last Saturday (August 13) saw the return of The Hootennany on Hunter Street, the annual one-day street music festival in downtown Peterborough, but Mother Nature wasn’t feeling very musical.
Bad weather resulted in the cancellation of the much-anticipated headliner, Sloan, at the end of the festival.
Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef in the audience enjoying the music (photo: Linda McIlwain / kawarthaNOW.com)
However, local bands like Slips N The High Fives with Beau Dixon (with special guest Kate Suhr) and Melissa Payne with James McKenty entertained the crowds — which included Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef.
kawarthaNOW.com photographer Linda McIlwain was there to capture their performances:
Hotel California, "The Original Tribute to The Eagles", performs a free concert at Peterborough Musicfest in Del Crary Park on August 17
Are you familiar with the feeling commonly experienced when you hook up with an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time? That warmth-inducing sense that, despite the passage of years and the distance of miles, you were never really all that far apart?
Peterborough Musicfest presents Hotel California
When: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 8 p.m. Where: Del Crary Park (100 George St. N., Peterborough) How much: free
Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets (lawn chairs are available to rent for $4/chair). VIP seating available for Sponsors and Fest Friends. No smoking, alcohol, or pets permitted. There’s no public parking at Del Crary Park, but there’s neighborhood street parking nearby and ample parking in downtown Peterborough.
For millions who grew up to the popular music soundtrack of the 1970s and beyond into the next decade, The Eagles were a friend who kept in touch via a slew of monster albums and hit singles.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon and the late Glenn Frey, The Eagles, with its acoustic-guitar laced country rock sound and comforting vocal harmonies, gave popular music fans worldwide the Peaceful Easy Feeling epitomized by its 1972 single of the same name.
Subsequent years saw Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, and Don Felder join the band lineup. The Eagles are now officially disbanded, with Frey’s death in January of this year leaving Henley as the only remaining original member.
But the opportunity to hook up with an old friend remains, courtesy of Hotel California, by far the most popular tribute band covering The Eagles’ extensive catalogue over the last four decades.
On Wednesday, August 17th, Hotel California — a perennial Peterborough Musicfest favourite of seasons past — returns to Del Crary Park, taking to the Fred Anderson Stage at 8 p.m.
Founded in 1986 by Mike Dimoulas (guitars/keyboards/vocals) and Andy Lapointe (bass/vocals), Hotel California has been augmented by drummer/singer Dean Young (2003) and guitarist/singer Rick Spyder (2008). The foursome is at the centre of the band, serving up The Eagles’ greatest hits with remarkable precision and musicianship.
“The lyrics and music was exciting and the vocals were so special,” assessed Lapointe in a 2014 interview with Anna Borowiecki of www.stalbertgazette.com.
“When we sing, we try to do everything note for note. We want people to say ‘When you close your eyes, it was them.’ We never get tired of singing such great songs, plus we have good chemistry. We like to get the audience participating. It makes a concert flow better. We sing the hits and talk about actual history.”
That’s been a winning formula for Hotel California, which has featured some 40 musicians since first forming. Onstage, Lapointe takes the lead on Joe Walsh’s vocals while Young assumes Don Henley’s role. Spyder, meanwhile, brings Frey’s distinctive vocal work to life.
Playing to packed theatres and huge festivals across North America and globally, Hotel California has shared stages with the likes of The Doobie Brothers, Lynryd Skynyrd, and REO Speedwagon to name a few. At Musicfest, past performances have left fans of The Eagles’ music thoroughly satisfied.
It would seem Hotel California’s biggest challenge remains deciding what songs not to include in its set list.
With five #1 singles, six #1 albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards dotting its resumé, The Eagles have sold more than 150 million albums worldwide and remain the highest-selling American band in U.S. history. With the 1972 release of its self-titled debut album and its hit singles “Take It Easy”, “Witchy Woman”, and “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, the band set the course for what followed.
Songs such as “Desperado”, “One Of These Nights”, “Take It To The Limit”, “New Kid In Town”, “Already Gone”. and “Best Of My Love” topped radio charts throughout the 1970s. After disbanding in 1980, The Eagles reunited 14 years later, recording the album Hell Freezes Over and, four years later, won induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
In 2007, The Eagles proved its staying power was intact as Long Road Out Of Eden, its sixth studio album, soared to #1 status.
Hotel California Live at Stage West Dinner Theatre in in Mississauga
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 19 free-admission concerts during its milestone 30th anniversary season, each staged Wednesday and Saturday nights.
Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission is to “provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert and/or the 2016 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
Hydroelectric engineering and environmental consulting firm Kleinschmidt has opened an office in Peterborough Square (photo: Kleinschmidt)
Kleinschmidt Associates opens office in downtown Peterborough
Kleinschmidt Associates recently opened an office in Peterborough Square.
Kleinschmidt is a hydroelectric engineering and environmental consulting firm based in the US. They specialise in hydroelectric design, penstock inspection, generating station assessments, and safety inspections and fisheries studies.
The Peterborough office gives Kleinschmidt a Canadian base and the Peterborough team is currently supporting 14 Canadian projects.
Learn how to sell food to Ontario at a September workshop in Millbrook
If you are either in the food business or would like to be, the “Selling Food to Ontario Workshop” on Monday, September 18th might be of interest.
The workshop is presented by Peterborough Economic Development (PED), Cavan Monaghan Township, and the Province of Ontario and will outline the basics of food regulation, market opportunities, trends, and labelling.
“Selling Food to Ontario” is a full-day workshop beginning at 9 a.m. at the Township of Cavan Monaghan Office in Millbrook. There is no charge.
Andrew’s Sewing and Designs in Peterborough specializes in custom sewing (photo: Andrew Pinck / Kijiji)
Andrew Pinck recently started his own business.
Andrew’s Sewing and Designs specializes in custom sewing, including table centre pieces, shopping bags, pillows, alterations, hemming, and mending.
Andrew brings over 40 years’ experience to his business.
Call 705-874-5442 for details.
Package Plus smartphone media transfer service
Package Plus can transfer your smartphone media to CDs, DVDs, and more (graphic: Package Plus)
Package Plus recently introduced a handy new service.
In an era where most of what we do is connected in some way to phones, including taking pictures and shooting videos, Bruce Stewart and the gang at Package Plus are now offering complete smartphone services where they’ll take the videos, photos, and audio files from your smartphone and put them on DVDs, CDs, and USB drives.
Package Plus is located at 171 Rink Street in Peterborough. Visit www.packageplus.ca for more information.
The view of the stage from our seats. Beautiful lighting and video accompanied beloved tunes. (Photo: Alisha Embury)
Words have not been coming easy to me. How do you sum up the ending of an era? Now that I can put a few words to it, I must say that there is something so utterly unifying about The Tragically Hip’s final tour.
The mortality of Gord Downie and by proxy The Hip is on most Canadians’ minds as the band makes one last trek across most of the country. Watching them play live one more time at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night, it dawned on me “fully, completely”.
Modern Canadiana has been aching for new entries, and has anything as distinctly Canadian as The Tragically Hip come along in recent history? Lyrics full of Canadian locations, history, and imagery. The reach of the band’s importance is highlighted by the upcoming nationwide broadcast of their last show on CBC television, radio, and online. Peterborough itself has several big viewings planned.
Among the sadness and the welled-up emotions that poured out at the ACC — and at all of the The Hip’s shows on this tour apparently — there was a genuine feeling of unity among 12,000+ concertgoers. Let’s just say I almost hugged everyone around me as the band played on. Seat neighbours became friends, if only for one night.
The Tragically Hip grabbed the hearts of Canadians one by one in clubs across the nation when they first started.
Gord Downie talking before a tune (photo: Alisha Embury)
“Our first show here we had six people. Then we were excited to have 34 show up,” lead singer Gord Downie exclaimed between songs in Toronto. “We always came back. Thank you Toronto. Thank you forever.”
Album by album, year by year, The Hip gained more and more fans in the city and across the country. Downie’s lyrics may be studied in every classroom one day. Maybe they already have been. Not too bad for a rock and roll band from Kingston, Ontario.
Back to some moments from the Toronto show on Wednesday night …
This was a musical and emotional rollercoaster 32 years in the making, unfurled at their sixth last show ever. A tangible buzz from the audience before the show led to a swell of cheers and goosebumps when they took the stage and ripped into songs from their second album Road Apples. There were early tears when they played “Fiddler’s Green”, a song woven around mortality as its title refers to sailors’ heaven.
Near the beginning of the show, with Paul and Gord letting loose (photo: Josh Fewings)
There was a hearty response to the songs from their latest album (and 11th studio album) Man Machine Poem. Raucous cheers erupted as the band returned to a few hits from each past album. Tunes from Music at Work, Trouble at the Henhouse —which featured one big choir singing along with “Ahead by a Century” — and tunes from Fully Completely were given bigger and bigger cheers as the night went on.
The pre-encore jubilation reached a fervor when the band finished with “Fifty Mission Cap” — a song about Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Bill Barilko. This with the banners of the cup he helped win in 1949 hanging in the rafters above the crowd. “The last goal he ever scored, won the Leafs the cup.”
We all clapped for over 10 minutes at this point. All 12,000+ of us. (Photo: Josh Fewings)
Chants of “Hip, Hip, Hip” and “Gordie, Gordie” were common, and broke out all over the ACC. I may have even started the odd one.
There was a palpable sense of admiration and love that you rarely feel in small music venues, let alone at a huge arena show. The band and Gord sent the love right back to the audience.
Two brilliant encores featured Gord at his frontman best. In fact, the whole night did. He made faces, he danced. He moved with clown-like movements. And although he is having some memory issues related to his tumour and its treatment, he continued on “armed with will and determination, and grace too.”
And the entire country is getting a chance to say thank you for it.
“Bobcaygeon” – The Tragically Hip at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (August 10, 2016)
Here’s the set list from Wednesday’s show.
1. The Luxury
2. Little Bones
3. Fiddler’s Green
4. Three Pistols
5. In a World Possessed by the Human Mind
6. Tired as Fuck
7. What Blue
8. Machine
(Short intermission – a thunderstorm on the video screens)
9. My Music at Work
10. Lake Fever
11. Toronto #4
12. Putting Down
13. Gift Shop
14. Springtime in Vienna
15. Flamenco
16. Ahead by a Century
(Short intermission – Gord Downie took a break while the rest of The Hip jammed out)
17. Fully Completely
18. At the Hundredth Meridian
19. Wheat Kings
20. Fifty-Mission Cap
First set of encores
21. Grace, Too
22. So Hard Done By
23. Nautical Disaster
Ken Houston, Paul Braunstein, John Tench, and Ryan Hollyman are The Bad Luck Bank Robbers, playing now until August 27 at 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)
This month, 4th Line Theatre welcomes you back to Winslow Farm in Millbrook to witness the maddest manhunt ever to take place in The Kawarthas with a restaging of The Bad Lack Bank Robbers.
Directed by Kim Blackwell and written by Alex Poch-Goldin, The Bad Luck Bank Robbers tells the true-life tale of the 1961 robbery of Havelock’s Toronto Dominion Bank, as chronicled in the book of the same name by Campbellford-based writer Grace Barker.
Making its debut last summer, The Bad Luck Bank Robbers was an instant hit with audiences and sold out every show. Now audiences that missed it last year can see it for the first time, but those who enjoyed it last year will return to an even more high-energy production.
Once an obscure story from the past, The Bad Luck Bank Robbers resurrects this important piece of Kawarthas lore. On August 30, 1961, a group of thugs from Montreal known as the Red Hood Gang conducted a daring daytime bank robbery in Havelock, escaping with more than $230,000.
As a massive manhunt made international news, the gang disappeared into the wild before being capture days later near Coe Hill.
The play is based on the true-life story of the 1961 robbery of the Toronto Dominion Bank in Havelock (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)
However, upon their arrest one thing was missing: the money. To this day, the loot has never been found. Could it still be in the woods between Havelock and Coe Hill?
Although 4th Line is famous for mixing history with comedy and melodrama, The Bad Luck Bank Robbers is pure comedy from beginning to end. A combination of slapstick and intellectual humour, the play’s script includes local and national jokes that take stabs at politics, law enforcement, and small-town life, but also political and cultural jokes — such as the rivalry between French and English Canadians.
But the biggest joke of all is about hockey. The continuous hockey subtext running through the play is the show’s funniest cultural joke that will resonate with both hockey fans and people who don’t know anything about the sport.
The first half of the show focuses on the robbery, manhunt, and plight of the bank robbers (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)
Paul Braunstein returns in the role of Jean Claude Lalonde, the good-natured lead bank robber who often breaks the fourth wall to make commentary to the audience. Immediately likeable — despite being fairly ruthless — Braunstein becomes the de facto stand-out character in what is a large ensemble cast. Lalonde loves the Montreal Canadians, hates the Toronto Maple Leafs, and isn’t afraid to use a gun if needed. Braunstein gives a spirited performance as this unlikely anti-hero in a true-life crime farce.
Ryan Hollyman also returns as Lalonde’s over-emotional partner Roger Martel. But in this year’s production, Braunstein and Hollyman are joined by newcomers Ken Houston as Yvon Lalonde and John Tench as Hermyle Lalonde. Together, the four create a tight-knit comedic group, filled with fast word play and physical humour.
While they are obviously terrible guys, the four bank robbers charm the audience because of their witty banter and otherwise good-natured personas. There are no shades of grey in their actions. These guys are lowlifes, but they are lowlifes of the most likable kind, offering a lot of heart and laughter.
Kait Dueck makes her 4th Line acting debut as bank teller Jean Kennedy, with Rob Fortin as George Milliken (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)
Possibly the most notable change compared to last year’s production is the deletion of the tragic romantic subplot between bank tellers George Milliken and Jean Kennedy.
Although the script remains the same, the actors currently playing the roles of George and Jean (Rob Fortin and Kait Dueck) have put an entirely different spin on it. Fortin plays his character as more of an obnoxious and awkward character, while Dueck’s character is potentially more dangerous than the bank robbers themselves. Trust me when I say I wouldn’t be on the wrong end of Kait Dueck’s Jean.
The deletion of the tragic romantic subplot doesn’t hinder the show in the least. Both Dueck and Fortin give memorable performances and play the characters much larger than they were presented before.
While the first half of the show focuses on the robbery, manhunt, and plight of the bank robbers, the second part of the show is a well-produced and funny courtroom drama. The robbers are now featured in the show’s vignettes instead of the townspeople.
Matt Gilbert returns as the robber’s lawyer Mirsky, and Justin Hiscox reprises his role as the magistrate. The two have a fantastic interplay together that keeps the show going, by presenting evidence, interrogating witnesses, and adding some more intelligent humour to the show.
Monica Dottor returns as the daffy diner waitress and audience favourite Abby (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)Monica Dottor, along with Kait Dueck (not pictured), also play prostitutes in one of the most hilariously awkward moments in the production (photo: Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio)
4th Line Theatre presents The Bad Luck Bank Robbers
When: Performances at 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays (August 9 – 13, 16 – 20, and 23 – 27) with additional performance at 6 p.m. on Monday, August 22, 2016. Where: The Winslow Farm (779 Zion Line, Millbrook) How much: $37.50 adults, $32 youth
Inspired by the book The Bad Luck Bank Robbers by Grace Barker. Written by Alex Poch-Goldin. Directed by Kim Blackwell. Starring Paul Braunstein, Ryan Hollyman, Ken Houston, John Tench, John Godfrey, Andrew Pedersen, Josh Butcher, Tom Keat, Kelsey Powell, Justin Luari, Keegan Morton, Monica Dottor, Rob Fortin, Matt Gilbert, Mark Hiscox, Kait Dueck, Maude Rose Craig, Liam Davidson, Andreanne Duplessis, Lorna Green, Stephanie Koomen, Alexis Mantler, Riley Pynn, and Phil Stott. Set and costume design by Julia Tribe. Original composition and musical direction by Justin Hiscox. Fight direction by Edward Belanger.
Tickets available by calling 1-800-814-0055 or 705-932-4445, visiting 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, emailing boxoffice@4thlinetheatre.on.ca, or at Peterborough Museum and Archives (300 Hunter St. E., 705-743-5180).
The audience favourite again this year is Monica Dottor as the daffy diner waitress Abby. Getting the biggest laughs and applause of the night, Dottor plays Abby in three different vignettes that are easily the funniest of the show. Abby is so endearing that I believe an entire Canadian TV comedy series could be developed around this character. I see it sort of like Corner Gas, but in a remote diner. It would be comedy gold.
Dottor is an interesting actress who can do drama and comedy equally well. Audiences will remember her emotional role in The Hero of Hunter Street, but she does something completely different in The Bad Luck Bank Robbers. Abby the waitress became one of my favorite original theatrical characters after seeing last year’s production and I was most looking forward to seeing Dottor bring Abby back to the stage in this year’s show.
Also look for Monica and Kait doubling as a pair of French whores who visit the bank robbers in jail. It’s one of the most hilariously awkward moments in the production!
If I was asked to describe The Bad Luck Bank Robbers in a single word, I’d say “zany.” As enjoyable as it was last year, this year’s show is even bigger, funnier, and more larger than life.
But the mystery of the money still remains. Did anyone ever find the missing treasure? Could it still be in the wood or swamp? Is it gone forever? We’ll probably never know.
The Bad Luck Bank Robbers runs Tuesdays to Saturdays until August 27th at the Winslow Farm in Millbrook, with performances starting at 6 pm. For tickets, visit www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca.
All photos courtesy of Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio
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