Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Bronze Star awards handed out to Stratford's best and brightest cultural innovators and artists showcase a special side of the city.
It's that ability to be both a small town and an international arts attraction. There's both familiarity and greatness among the recipients, which this year include three renowned actors and a hockey legend.
"It's a celebration of people who have not only grown up in our community but who have become part of the fabric of our community," said Mayor Dan Mathieson.
And often their success is played out on both local and international platforms.
“These aren't far-away people, these are friends and neighbours we're celebrating. These are people who grew up here...and are loved not just in this community, but around the world,” said Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino.
Megan Follows, Colm Feore and Rod Beattie are well-known in Stratford for their work on the Festival stage. But they all have personal connections to the city, too.
Feore and Beattie both call Stratford home, and Follows spent lots of time in the city when her parents were performing at the Festival, Cimolino noted.
"When she returned in 1992 to play Juliet, after having played Anne of Green Gables, it was actually kind of like returning home, in a way. She was so fantastic in that part," he said.
"She's somoene who holds a special place in the Festival's history," added Cimolino.
Feore is no stranger to the Festival, either.
"It's hard to think of a major Shakespearean part that Colm has not played," Cimolino said, calling him one of Canada's "national treasures."
Beattie, another familiar face in Stratford and a part of several current productions, is well-known for his role in the Wingfield Cycle.
Cimolino had nothing but praise for that series and its impact.
"He's kind of built an iconic character in our consciousness," he said of Beattie.
"The Wingfield stories have become part of our understanding of what it means to be Canadian."
And though Howie Morenz never performed on the Festival stage, there is a cool connection between the hockey great - the fourth Bronze Star recipient - and the city's theatre centre.
"When Tom Patterson was thinking about the Festival in the 1930s, he actually had two ideas. One was to start a theatre festival, and the other was to open a hockey school (inspired by) Morenz," said Cimolino.
He only had time for one of those dreams, but even without a hockey school, Morenz's impact lives on.
The "Mitchell Meteor," born in that small West Perth town, is considered by many to be one of the greatest the NHL has ever seen.
There's no doubt this year's Bronze Star ceremony will draw a crowd.
"I always am really blown away by the amount of people who show up. It's going to be really special this year because of the renewal of Market Square," Cimolino said.
The Bronze Star presentations will start at 1:20 p.m. on July 1.
It's a great excuse to shower praise and show pride for the city's homegrown stars. Citizens put forth nominations for the Bronze Star award and the recipients are chosen by council.
"We're celebrating their success, whether national or international," Mathieson said.
"They're one of us."
By Megan Stacey for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Rod Beattie.
2017-06-29
Stratford: Bronze Star recipients include Megan Follows, Rod Beattie and Colm Feore