Stage Door News
Stage Door News
As we prepare to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, the 16 /17 season reflects on what home means: geographically, personally, politically, artistically. Is it where our families and friends are? Is it where our heart is, no matter where we live? Or is it simply where we feel most ourselves? This season, The Grand Theatre is proud to bring home to London ground-breaking Canadian artists and extraordinary stories that reflect what we hold dear, and question what we hold true.
HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS.
The Grand Theatre’s 2016/17 season is proudly sponsored by BMO Financial Group.
2016/17 MainStage Series
JONI MITCHELL: RIVER
Conceived and Directed by Allen MacInnis
Music Arranged by Greg Lowe
Oct 18 – Nov 5, 2016
“I come from open prairie...” – Joni Mitchell
A luminous theatrical presentation, Joni Mitchell: River celebrates the music of one of Canada’s most important artists. Tony-award nominee Louise Pitre (Mamma Mia!) and award-winning singer/songwriter Emm Gryner, accompanied by a four-piece band, showcase 27 songs that trace the arc of a love affair from Help Me and Big Yellow Taxi to the breathtaking Both Sides Now.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
By L. Frank Baum
With Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg
Background Music by Herbert Stothart
Nov 22 – Dec 31, 2016
“There’s no place like home.” – Dorothy
Come home for the holidays with the all-time classic The Wizard of Oz in this enchanting adventure from the imagination of one of Canada’s most innovative directors, Rick Miller. With all the beloved music and memories from the Oscar-winning movie score, Dorothy and her friends take us on a journey along the yellow brick road as never experienced before! This is the perfect holiday show, reminding us that there is no place like home.
THE LION IN WINTER
By James Goldman
Jan 10 – 28, 2017
“What shall we hang? The holly, or each other?” – King Henry II
It’s Christmas, 1183. In the holiday spirit, Henry II, King of England, has released his scheming wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, from imprisonment and named his son, John, as heir. But Eleanor has different ideas for succession, and Henry’s infidelities and a decade in prison have not made her feel particularly cooperative. Before House of Cards and Game of Thrones, there was The Lion in Winter: a witty and modern take on what may have gone on behind 800-year-old doors. Directed by Krista Jackson.
ART
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Feb 21 – Mar 11, 2017
“Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” – Frank Zappa
Serge spends an enormous sum of money on what appears to be nothing more than a white canvas. His old friend, Marc, thinks Serge is the sucker of the century. Their mutual friend, Yvan, tries to broker a truce, but just aggravates both of them. This Tony award-winning masterpiece, directed by Nigel Shawn Williams, explores the idea of what, if anything, defines art − and friendship.
THE COLONY OF UNREQUITED DREAMS
An Artistic Fraud Production
Based on the novel by Wayne Johnston
Adapted for the stage by Robert Chafe
Mar 21 – Apr 8, 2017
“I’d like to go down as one of the greatest Newfoundlanders that ever lived.” – Joey Smallwood
Newfoundland has a history of larger-than-life politicians, but none was larger than Joey Smallwood, the “last father of Confederation” who served as its first premier for 23 years. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a fictionalized journey through Smallwood’s life intertwined with that of his imagined muse, the caustic newspaper columnist Sheilagh Fielding. It is also the story of Newfoundland’s final years as its own dominion. From the creators of Oil and Water and Tempting Providence and directed by Jillian Keiley, Colony celebrates the 20th anniversary of Artistic Fraud with its biggest project yet.
COLOURS IN THE STORM
Book, music, and lyrics by Jim Betts
Apr 18 – May 6, 2017
“Take everything as it comes; the wave passes, deal with the next one.” – Tom Thomson
In the early 20th century, Canada’s wilderness was considered too wild to be a suitable subject for painting; a chance visit to Algonquin Park by an unknown 30-year-old commercial artist changed all that. Algonquin became Tom Thomson’s muse, his home, and ultimately his end. With a haunting musical score, Colours in the Storm traces Thomson’s artistic evolution from his arrival at Algonquin Park in 1912 to his mysterious death in Canoe Lake in 1917. This season marks the 100th anniversary of Thomson’s death − one of Canada’s most influential painters. Directed by Heather Davies.
Special Presentations*
THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT
LES MISÉRABLES®
School Edition
Performed entirely by students
A musical by ALAIN BOUBLIL and CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
School Edition specially adapted and licensed by
MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL and CAMERON MACKINTOSH
Sept 20 – Oct 1, 2016
Directed by Susan Ferley
MAINSTAGE
VIGILANTE
A Catalyst Theatre Production
Book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Christenson
Feb 7 – 11, 2017
"Family always comes first."
This February, the ghosts of the Donnellys return to the Roman Line to tell their side of things. An explosive rock musical from Canada’s internationally acclaimed Catalyst Theatre, Vigilante is a powerful reimagining of the infamous Donnelly Massacre of 1880. Gripping and provocative, Vigilante tells the shocking story of Johannah and James Donnelly and their six dangerous, yet devoted sons. Experience the hot-headed, fiercely loyal Donnelly clan in this riveting musical that "doesn’t just rock, it comes at you with…explosive energy." – Liz Nicholls, Edmonton Journal
McMANUS STUDIO THEATRE
THE DAISY THEATRE
Created & Performed by RONNIE BURKETT
Nov 7 – 19, 2016
"One of the geniuses of the world." – The Village Voice, New York
The Daisy Theatre is master puppeteer Ronnie Burkett unleashed…unscripted, by the seat of his pants, manipulating and voicing a castof forty marionette characters. From its premiere at the 2013 Luminato Festival and special engagement at New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Centre, this unique performance event has played to thousands, with critics andaudiences alike falling in love with this bawdy, tender, and outrageous cast of characters. With the ever-changing content and nightly improv in an intimate setting, The Daisy Theatre is truly a "see it more than once" theatrical experience.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
Adapted & Performed by Rod Beattie
Dec 13 – 18, 2016
*Not included in Mainstage Series subscription package.
Visit www.grandtheatre.com.
2016-03-22
London: The Grand Theatre announces its 2016/17 season