Anne of Green Gables The Musical

Yah know, working at the Empress Theatre the past 6.5 years, I've learned an incredible amount about Canadian music, Canadian history and Canadian culture.  That is one of the things I truly love about the Empress Theatre is that it explores Canada in so many different ways.  We've heard countless Canadian musicians, singers and groups perform on the 100 year old stage.  Many have been Juno Award Winners.  Some artists performed at the Empress early in the careers, then went on to become big stars.  We've explored native culture during The Fort Macleod International Festival, been exposed to and learnt so much about The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Fort Macleod during The Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival, we've explored Canadian folk music, Canadian rock music, Quebecois music, and so much more, too much to name really.  Well 100 years worth actually.  The Empress Theatre really is unique in southern Alberta and we are so lucky to have her!

Our latest exploration into Canadian culture involves our latest theatrical production Anne of Green Gables, The Musical.  Before we started this journey in January, I really didn't know too much about Anne.  I knew Anne came from a classic book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, I knew there was a long running popular television Series The Road to Avonlea based on Anne and I knew the story originated in Prince Edward Island, but honestly that is about it.

Well, since January, I'm happy to report that I am now an official Anne fan.  To promote the show, Erin Henderson, the director of this musical, gave me a copy of the script to read so I knew what I was talking about when I wrote our press releases, public service announcements, radio scripts and so on.  I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the script.  Its a delightful tale.  The fiery red-head named Anne had me captivated the moment I started reading.  Not only is Anne engaging, but the other characters in the story like Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert are very interesting.  The slight note of young love brewing caught my attention, and Anne's journey from an orphanage to a new home in Avonlea to emerging as a strong, smart women at the turn of the century is inspiring.  I really am looking forward to this musical on our stage.

What makes it even more fun is that we are going to know many of the actors and actresses up on stage.  I might as well reveal right now who is in the musical:


Anne- Camille Blott
Marilla- Petula Hofer
Diana-  Alexandra Morgan
Mrs. Barry- Denise Joel
Mrs. Pye- Dona Bengtson
Mrs. Lynde- Susan Wilde
Mrs. Macpherson- Candice Larson
Mrs. Sloane- Catherine Woodman
Mrs. Spencer- Laura Martin
Miss. Stacy- Jenn Wolstensholme
Lucilla - Lacey Poytress
Matthew Cuthbert- Sebastian David
Mr. Phillips- Greg Wilson
Cecil, the farmer- Chris Adamiak
Earl , the mailman- Dino Vizzutti
The Minister- Bart Heine
The Stationmaster- Brent Hutchinson
Josie Pye- Hannah Bullock/Katie
Gertie Pye-Katie/Hannah   Bullock
Ruby Gillis    Noema Fournier
Gilbert Blythe- Tel Sillito
Charlie Sloane- Patrick Harris
Malcolm Andrews- Spencer Vandellen
Tommy Sloane- Hudson Scott
Gerry Buote- Tyese Sillito
Moody Macpherson- Elliot Nemeth
Musical Director- Laura Glover
Production manager- Sebastian David
Director – Erin Bourke-Henderson
Choreographer – Shauna Fournier
Pianist – Michael Ayotte
Tillie – Grace Bevan


I hope you know some or many of these actors and actresses.
According to Erin Henderson, this cast is has super voices and she is really impressed by how well everyone sings.

The original book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery was written in 1908.  It was written as a children's novel.  I am happy to report that my daughter who turns 8 on Tuesday, April 16 and I found a copy of the novel at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Lethbridge and my daughter plans to read it.  She was so excited to find it sitting there amongst all the wonderful used books.  (My daughter loves reading)!  Once she is done with it, I am going to read the novel as well.

Montgomery used a photograph of Evelyn Nesbit from New York’s Metropolitan Magazine as a model for Anne's face when she wrote the book. She apparently drew on her own experiences in P.E.I. as a child while she wrote the book and used notes she had made about a couple who were mistakenly sent a girl from an orphanage rather than a boy whom they ended up adopting.

The book itself has sold more than 50 million copies and been translated into 20 languages.

The musical was adapted from the novel by Donald Harron and the music was written by Norman Campbell in 1970.  Anne of Green Gables The musical is Canada's longest running musical and is presented in Charlottetown every summer.

I hope you enjoyed a little background info about our latest production and if there are any typos in here, I apologize, I'm the only one who manages the blog and even though I studied writing in college, I am very bad at catching my own mistakes.

Thanks for reading,
Vicki Arndt, Empress Theatre

Jayme Stone and The Room of Wonders Tour

 

March brings yet another exciting and top-notch show to the Empress Theatre stage!

 

Jayme Stone, a Canadian banjo player and composer who has been called "The Yo-Yo Ma" of the banjo by Globe and Mail is truly a wizard of his craft!

 

With three albums under his best, he has raked in two Juno Awards!  2008 saw Jayme bring home Canada's coveted hardware for his album "The Upmost" for Instrumental Album of the Year.  Then in 2009, Jayme, along with Mansa Sissoko (a kora player and singer from Baleya, Mali) won the Juno Award for their co-album "Africa to Appalachia" for World Music Album of the Year.  This album also ended up in the top-ten best selling world music albums on iTunes.

 

Here at the Empress we've called Jayme a banjo wizard.  Having watched his videos and listened to his music, that name really describes him to a "T"!

 

A song that really caught our attention here at our theatre is "Krasavaska Ruchenitsa" off his latest album The Room of Wonders.  It's a very bold and striking song based on Bulgaria's national folk dance.  Not only does it sound exotic, but it also echoes the sounds of Eastern Europe.  A truly great tune!

 

Other notable songs of his latest album include "Vinicius" which draws from the music of Brazil and "Moresca Nuziale" which was composed by Italian diatonic accordion maestro Riccardo Tesi.

 

Here is a link to a video by Jayme Stone talking about his latest album The Room of Wonders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2-9rTUNcu8

 

 

The shows in March also welcome the incredible talents of Bobby Hawk on fiddle, Rob Mosher an award winning composer, soprano sax and woodwind performer and Joe Phillips who currently holds the position of principal bassist of Orchestra London Canada.

 

Yah know, even the actor Steve Martin has taken notice of Jayme Stone, having been quoted as saying:

"I take back what I said about Jayme Stone." 

STEVE MARTIN

 

Songlines has been quoted as saying:

"This is what the future of the banjo sounds like."

SONGLINES

 

We are expecting two great nights at the Empress Theatre, to follow some previous great acts like Russell deCarle (Prairie Oyster's lead singer) and Fort Macleod's own folk musician John Wort Hannam.  As always...Great music and great times!

 

Cheers,

V. Arndt

 

 

 

Russell deCarle is coming to the Empress in February

January 16, 2013

Russell deCarle, lead singer of Prairie Oyster, is coming to the Empress with guitarist Steve Briggs and Denis Keldie on accordion. The trio will performs Russell's debut solo album "Under The Big Big Sky" released in September 2010 on the Fontana North label produced by long-time friend and arranger/pianist/producer John Sheard (The Guess Who, Dan Hill) and recorded by another friend and engineer L. Stu Young (Prince Ronnie Hawkins, Guns n' Roses, David Wilcox).

The album touches on an entirely new musical genre for the singer.  Prairie Oyster fans might be surprised by the new sound, but with 9 songs penned by the singer himself, the 11 track album delivers an excellent mix of blues, vintage jazz, country and swing complimented by deCarle's own distinct and famed voice, the result is an album to be played time and time again.
 

The Empress shows welcome deCarle performing vocals and bass along with Steve Briggs on guitar  whose career has seen him record arrange and perform with the Brothers Cosmoline, Gregg Lawless, Bill Usher, Russell de Carle and Carroll Baker.  Also on stage will be Denis Keldie on accordion who has recorded and performed with many including Natalie MacMaster, James Keelaghan, and Carlos Del Junco. 

  

Louise Pitre
Tony Award Nominee and star of Broadway's ABBA themed smash hit "Mamma Mia".

Louise played the role of Donna Sheridan at New York's Winter Garden Theatre, taking on the two year role in 2001.  In 2002, she received a Tony Nomination for her role in the Broadway hit!  Before her time on Broadway, she played the role in Mamma Mia to audiences in Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago to rave reviews.

Louise was seen on the Rosie O'Donnell show in 2001 performing Mamma Mia's Dancing Queen with several other members of the Broadway show.

Louise is known for her no-holds-barred style, amazing stage presence and voice.  When she performs on stage she is said to take the audience threw a 3-act play during each song she performs. 

With a successful career spanning concert theatres, musical theatre and television throughout North America and Europe, Louise has earned herself numerous awards including a New York Theatre World Award.

In 2011, she recorded live her album "Le Vie en Rouge/The Piaf Sessions" to a sold-out,one night only performance at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The album was released in 2012.

In 2012, Louise was seen from September to November as one of three judges on CBC's "Over the Rainbow" the search for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz". 

Her resume is of course, much larger than this.  I've written about just a few of her amazing accomplishments.  There are many more! 

She will be performing at the Empress Theatre just in time for Valentine's Day, on February 14 and then a second show on the 15th.  Louise will perform with piano accompaniment, in an intimate concert where she'll take the audience from laughing to crying in the drop of a hat.  Extremely engaging, the audience will get to experience a taste of Broadway right here in southern Alberta.

Like I keep saying, the Empress Theatre may not be Broadway, but we can bring a little Broadway to our theatre! 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing Louise at the Empress!

Vicki

Here is a link the the Empress website for more details

 

Terry McDade & The McDades Christmas Show

Siblings Shannon, Solon and Jeremiah have performed together for more than 20 years.  Their father, Terry McDade grew up in Saskatchewan and at a very young age was already immersed in music.  After spending time in the 1960s in San Fransisco as part of the hippie/music scene, he returned to Canada and settled down to study music more seriously. He began classical guitar studies with teachers:Norbert Kraft and Eli Kassner.

 

Terry McDade

During his musical studies, Terry was invited to perform with  The Royal Brothers Circus, which turned out to be Canada’s mobile traditional tent circus. Following the circus, Terry spent time playing Jazz gigs in Toronto and then moved out to Edmonton where he met his wife Danielle and her two children Danielle and Solon where together they had a third child, Jeremiah.

 

As the children grew, Terry was pleased with his children's emerging musical talents, so he decided to form The McDades Family Band. Over the following 13 years, the family performed at many major events including Expo 86, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Canmore Folk Festival, Calgary Stampede, and the Universiade Opening Ceremonies in Edmonton to name but a few.

 

During the 1980s, Terry took up the harp and is now one of Canada's premier harpists. He currently performs on a concert pedal harp.  Terry has toured throughout Canada, the US and recently in China.  He has four critically acclaimed CD's to date and is featured in recording with his children's group, The McDades, a Juno Award Winning Celtic inspired, jazz infused group.

 

The McDades

 

"Featuring both energetic instrumentals and sensitive vocals performed in English and French, this compelling and dynamic group"“find their groove somewhere between a down-home kitchen party, a jazzy after hours club, and a folk festival.” (London Free Press)

 

The McDades are joined by Simon Marion, a highly accomplished & diverse guitarist and Francois Taillerfer, a hand drumming nomad who will just be wrapping up a tour with Natalie McMaster before performing with the McDades.

 

 

Above is a McDades trailer, a behind the scenes look at this Canadian musical family.

 

About Martin Taylor of International Guitar Night

 

Congratulations to Martin Taylor, who has been awarded ‘Guitarist of the Year’ at the British Jazz Awards in a ceremony that honors the United Kingdom’s top jazz musicians and jazz educators. The vote, by members of the British public, sees Taylor collecting an unprecedented fifteenth award at the British Jazz Awards to add to his cabinet which already includes an M.B.E. from the Queen of Great Britain, two honorary doctorates, a Grammy nomination and an award for Outstanding Service to Jazz Education.

-provided by Jane Harbury Publicity.-

 

 

Taylor’s most recent projects include a release with his group Spirit of Django, Last Train to Hauteville, and a solo album Double Standards. www.martintaylor.com

 

I will Blog about Brian Gore and Solorazaf tomorrow or later today.

Vicki

From guitar poet Brian Gore of U.S.A. & International Guitar Night: We're looking forward to beginning our North American season in Canada with a line up that just can't be beat! It features Martin Taylor, Guinga, Solorazaf and Brian Gore. We give away strings, tuners, guitar tools and more at every show to one lucky winner. The nightly "strings and things" raffle sponsored by D'Addario & Planet Waves has always been well received by audiences who come to our shows!

A movie poster (see below) that was placed on the front of our theatre, the Empress Theatre, by the movie crew during the filming of Passchendaele by Paul Gross released in 2008.  This movie poster was part of the amazingly detailed movie set on main street in Fort Macleod in 2007.

Passchendaele movie prop

This video was taken last year during the Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival. This is an interview between Dr. Stephane Guevremont and Lieutenant-Commander Frank Saeis-Jones discussing his first naval experience.

 

Passchendaele will play at the Empress this Friday, November 2 during the festival just in case you are wondering why I keep going on about the film.

 

http://empresstheatre.ab.ca/special-events.html

I wanted to share this special video that was taken during our 2011 Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival with an interview between the brilliant Dr. Stephane Guevremont of the University of Calgary and former Devil's Brigade member Henry Planger and son of Devil's Brigade member John Hart.  This video is actually longer, but I clipped it because of the length.  The interview is fascinating because it demonstrates the strength of our Canadian soldiers and how dedicated they are and were.

Vicki

I was thinking back a few years ago, would have been the second year I worked at the Empress Theatre.  Passchendaele by Paul Gross was filming right in front of our office on main street in Fort Macleod.

There were so many exciting things about this filming: one being of course that Paul Gross was in Fort Macleod, but not only that, so many people from Fort Macleod were extras in the movie, they were dressed up in period costume and filling in where they were told. Plus, main street in Macleod though already pretty and historic, was dressed up to the nine's. The shops were transformed into a scene straight out of WW1.  It was so pretty. I remember wishing at the time that the theatre set could remain in town, but of course, the sets were false fronts, the baskets of apples couldn't stay outside forever, they'd rot....The store signs would have to go back to the real store names.

Here is a couple pictures I was given from the town economic development officer a number of years back. The pictures were taken during the filming of Passchendaele in Fort Macleod.  Below you'll see a couple images of our treasured Empress Theatre.

 

 

 

I remember I was excited when I had to go onto the set to open the doors of the Empress for the film crew.  They'd set up a scene, old fashioned cars would drive by, the extras would be walking and mulling around.  One particular scene, they shot it several times over.  I can't imagine how a movie crew can keep track of so many people and ensure the filming is done correctly. 

Well, this is just a little of the movie history in Fort Macleod.  There have been other movies shot in Macleod over the years, like Brokeback Mountain, a Cord Lund video was shot in Don's Barber Shop. That video is so fun. Don is even in it!

Well, anyways, enough of my ramblings for today. I hope someone is reading this.  By the way, Passchendaele will play on screen at the Empress in November during our Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival in honour of our Canadian Veterans.

Vicki