Coal Mine Theatre's latest venture is in New York City! Chief Engineers Ted Dykstra and Diana Bentley decided to take Ted's epic musical Evangeline down to New York City for a showcase. With the help of Chilina Kennedy and her Toronto based company Eclipse Theatre Company, and producer Alan Kliffer, The Coal Mine Theatre hosted a five day workshop that culminated in a showcase presentation of Evangeline. P.E.I. power couple Danny and Martie Murphy, who invested in the workshop, sat with over fifty producers, investors, actors and writers in the intimate Actor's Temple, a midtown synagogue which often hosts similar events. It was a fantastic opportunity to garner interest in Evangeline for the potential of a US production and a Toronto production as well. Ted and Chilina and the team came away feeling inspired and exhilarated about the next steps: talks are now underway with various producers and investors as to the best path forward.

Evangeline is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's powerful and romantic poem, "Evangeline", A Tale of Acadie, published in 1847 and tells the story of a young Acadian woman from Nova Scotia who on her wedding day is separated from her husband, Gabriel, by British soldiers during the Great Upheaval in 1755. Dykstra's Evangeline is a sweeping musical spanning 40 years and a tribute to the true nature of love, sacrifice, and the meaning of the word home.

If you're interested in learning more about Evangeline or interested in how you can get involved please feel free to email Ted or Diana at coalminetheatre@gmail.com.

Photo: Chilina Kennedy as Evangeline at the Charlottetown Festival. © 2013.