Stage Door News
Stage Door News
July 25, 2014, Blyth, Ontario... Blyth's Artistic Director Marion de Vries is having a busy summer. 2014 is her first season as Blyth's Artistic Director; the world premiere of her show, Kitchen Radio, opened the Festival's 40th Season and is getting rave reviews and great word of mouth; and now she is directing the world premiere of St. Anne's Reel by Gil Garratt, on stage at Blyth Festival from August 6 to September 6. Tickets are available by calling the Blyth Festival Box Office at 519.523.9300, Toll Free 1.877.862.5984 or online at blythfestival.com.
St. Anne's Reel is a moving and humorous prodigal son story woven with old-time fiddle tunes. Daniel, a washed-up Dollywood rhinestone cowboy, comes home to the family farm near Blyth after many years, to mourn his mother's death. He tries to patch things up with Walter, his cantankerous father, who used to play fiddle with the Ranch Boys on Circle 8, but he gets drawn right back into scrapping with the old man.
St. Anne's Reel stars Festival favourite David Fox as Walter. Fox has been firing up the stage at Blyth since 1979, performing in such shows as Death and the Donnellys, Quiet in the Land (twice), Garrison's Garage (twice), Another Season's Promise, He Won't Come in From the Barn and John and the Missus and directing Fire on Ice: Howie Morenz.
Walter's son, Daniel, is played by another familiar face to Blyth audiences, J.D. Nicholsen. In past seasons Nicholsen was seen in Dear Johnny Deere, Death of the Hired Man and Barndance Live. This year he is receiving great reviews for his high energy and humorous performance as Billy Bishop in the Festival's production of Billy Bishop Goes to War.
Joining the two men is Emily Lukasik playing Anne. Lukasik has already endeared herself to Blyth audiences as the fiddle-playing teen in Kitchen Radio. Following her summer at Blyth she will be entering her fourth year of Music Theatre Performance at Sheridan College.
Playwright Gil Garratt is no stranger to Festival audiences having been involved with Blyth since 1999 including 13 consecutive seasons as an actor, director, co-creator and the director of the Young Company. As a performer, Garratt's notable past shows with Blyth include Death of the Hired Man, The Drawer Boy, The Outdoor Donnellys, Against the Grain, Vimy, The Nuttalls and Early August as well as directing Spirit of the Narrows, World Without Shadows and Another Season's Harvest.
Director Marion de Vries previously directed Wilbur County Blues for Blyth in 1998. Marion's solo plays are big face (Wild Pig/Nightwood/Factory Theatre; Finalist - Chalmers Play Award), idiot (Youtheatre; left hand theatre/ SummerWorks; Contra Guys Award) and mercedes (left hand). She co-wrote Jumping Mouse with Columpa C. Bobb (Young Peoples Theatre; DORA nomination), and the musical Ship of Fire with Suzanne Pasternak and Tom Leighton (Festival Players of Prince Edward County). Directing credits include Jumping Mouse, Girl Who Loved Her Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor, and The Red Moon by Dawn Dumont (Centre for Indigenous Theatre); the musicals Ship of Fire, Picton Papers by Leslie Arden, and Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave by Maynard Collins (Festival Players of Prince Edward County); Yes Yoko Solo (Loud Mouth Asian Babes/ Factory Theatre/AGO) and The Yoko Ono Project by Jean Yoon (LMAB/Theatre Passe Muraille); Little Dragon by Keira Loughran (k'Now Theatre/TPM); and idiot (left hand/SummerWorks). Marion holds a BFA Honours Theatre from York University.
Joanna Yu has designed the farmhouse setting as well as the costumes and Steve Lucas has designed the lighting. Dustyn Wales is the stage manager and Georgia Priestly-Brown is apprentice stage manager. David Archibald is the musical director.
St. Anne's Reel is generously sponsored by Ideal Supply. Blyth Festival acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the 2014 Season Sponsor Sparlings Propane and 2014 Season Media Sponsor CTV.
Blyth Festival is a professional theatre that enriches the lives of its audience by producing and developing plays that give voice to both the region and the country. The theatre produces a repertory summer season of exclusively Canadian theatre, with an emphasis on new work. Blyth Centre for the Arts, including Blyth Festival, was founded in 1975 - 2014 is our 40th season.
Photo: A fiddler. ©William Henry.
2014-07-25
Blyth: Gil Garratt's "St. Anne's Reel" has its world premiere August 6