Stage Door News
Stage Door News
In the wake of the unfortunate closing of the beloved Hugh's Room, the unstoppable Jan Kudelka has announced that her third annual Janis Joplin's Birthday Bash will now take place at the Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Avenue on January 18 at 8:30pm, the same night and time it was originally booked.
Tickets previously purchased will be honoured. Please visit the Facebook Event page at
2017 Janis Joplin's 74th Birthday Bash: Jan Kudelka Sings Janis for further information.
Tickets are $35 and will be available at the door the night of the show from 6pm on.
Cash purchase only. Advance purchase is no longer possible so get there early to make sure you get in as 2015 and 2016 were sold out!
Kudelka is backed by her brilliant JanisWorld band: David Gray on guitar, Tyler Wagler on bass, Michelle Willis on keyboards and Martin Worthy on drums.
Here is an excerpt of the facebook post by Jan Kudelka, gearing up for the show:
"Janis was quite the fashion plate. Doing my best to honour the fact. Given my expression of an older self. Knowing no one can touch her, I move to embrace her. She certainly embraced us with a UNIVERSAL SENSE, knowing all humanity needed that love. It was a true part of her. Flawed but never false.... Being brave is what she would encourage, our Janis. She is to me the essence of emotional bravery. Diving into the pool of song whether there was water in it or not. That's my girl. Leonard Cohen nailed it in CHELSEA HOTEL #2. Yes, that's my girl."
Known for her powerful voice and mesmerizing presence, Jan Kudelka sings full throttle and with eerie accuracy in this riveting evening of celebratory song and storytelling about the legendary icon. She performs 18 songs from the Joplin music catalogue. Piece of My Heart, I Need a Man To Love, Cry Baby, Ball and Chain, Me and Bobby McGee and Mercedes Benz are just a few of the soulful blues rock songs Kudelka brings to the stage.
Jan Kudelka is both a playwright and an extraordinary entertainer who grew up in a creative family alongside photographer Matthew Kudelka and choreographer James Kudelka. Her storied career spans four decades: from the original cast of Hair at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre (where she met Richard Pochinko and devoted several years to working with him on sacred mask technique), to principal roles for two seasons at the Stratford Festival with Maggie Smith and Jessica Tandy, to ten seasons on land and horseback with the legendary Caravan Farm and Stage Theatres. Her original works include Circus Gothic and the musical American Demon (earning a Dora nomination as a creator), both of which have been performed across Canada. In the last decade of the 20th century, she experienced five recurring dreams of Janis Joplin. In response to this spirit-world nudge, she created and performed a multimedia, one-woman play-in-concert entitled Janis/Janus. She performed it throughout 2001-2007, garnering rave reviews and sold out venues in a 35-date British Columbia tour.
Janis Joplin's Birthday Bash is the offspring of that critically acclaimed play, adapted to a concert setting by veteran theatre actor Maggie Huculak. Janis Joplin's Birthday Bash is produced by Maggie Huculak and Jan Kudelka.
In the words of Vancouver's Georgia Strait: "Kudelka is fearlessthe audience levitating in ecstasy."
3rd Annual JANIS JOPLIN'S BIRTHDAY BASH
Created by and Starring Jan Kudelka with the JanisWorld Band
Adapted by Maggie Huculak
Produced by Maggie Huculak and Jan Kudelka
One Night Only! Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 8:30pm
Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, M5S 1Y2
Tickets are $35.00, available at the door the night of the show from 6pm on. CASH ONLY.
Info on Facebook: Janis Joplin's 74th Birthday Bash
2017-01-09
Toronto: Jan Kudelka's "Janis Joplin's Birthday Bash" changes venue to the Tranzac Club