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27 Apr 2013

Lunchbox and Downstage Show 3 New Canadian Musicals in 2013-2014

Spring is the season for theatre companies to launch their upcoming theatre season, and two Calgary theatre companies have included three new Canadian musicals in their 2013-2014 programme – two world premieres and a work-in-progress.

Lunchbox Theatre’s two entries in this category are That Men May Fly by Winn Bray in October/November and Bingo Ladies by Grant Tilly in April/May 2014. Here’s what Lunchbox has to say about them:

That Men May Fly That Men May Fly

By Winn Bray. Directed by Glenda Stirling Musical Direction by Tom Doyle

The last season of innocence: join a Canadian and a British bomber pilot, and their female flight mechanic, as the pilots prepare to enter combat in World War II. This story of friendship, courage and sacrifice by Canadian youth is enriched with fantastic music from the 1940’s.

Bingo Ladies

Bingo Ladies By Grant Tilly. Directed by Pamela Halstead

Bingo is serious business. Rituals, good luck charms, superstitions. Friday night at the bingo hall is sacred. But are our three intrepid bingo ladies addicts, or just enthusiastic? How far are they willing to go to win? Bingo Ladies explores their lives with rousing musical numbers and shows us the humanity of the bingo hall.

For their complete season line-up go to Lunchbox Theatre.

crime

Downstage Theatre doesn’t normally do musicals, but this September it is including a  short run of a work-in-progress by David Rhymer and Calgary’s poet Laureate Kris Demeanor, called Crime Does Not Pay. Here’s what’s up on their website:

“Jealousy flirting with fire

Avarice making a fortune

Everything coming up green

Everything coming up corpses!”

Fieldwork, our work-in-development series, takes plays in process into their natural environment: with you, our audience. Catch a glimpse of this new work set to premiere in our 2014-15 season, and provide valuable feedback to the creators.

Award-winning Calgary composer David Rhymer and musician & Calgary Poet Laureate Kris Demeanor are collaborating to create a musical and theatrical exploration of the glorification of crime, proliferation of violence in the media, the nature of censorship and the responsibility of artistic creation.

This new concert musical is inspired by the 1940s comic book Crime Does Not Pay that depicted an astonishing array of offenses in lurid detail under the guise of morality tales about supposedly true crime exploits – with the bizarre twist of cartoonist Bob Wood committing a murder much like the characters of his nightmarish creation. The artists will share some of the songs, stories and design ideas that are currently being developed, and speak about the creative process to this point.

For their complete season line-up go to Downstage.

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24 Mar 2013

Preview: Billy Elliot Dances His Way Across the Jubilee Stage

I never managed to line up an interview with Broadway Across Canada for their upcoming production of Billy Elliot so I’m just posting their press release. This is a show after my mother’s heart. She always liked to support musicals with lots of dancers because their careers are so short – whenever she went to New York, if she couldn’t find anything else she was hot on seeing, she always went to see A Chorus Line. The Calgary Musicals+ Meetup Group is going to opening night on Tuesday (opening) night. I saw the original Billy Elliot movie on the plane a couple of months ago and really liked it. Looking forward to this one. And for those interested in Broadway Across Canada’s 2013-2014  season for Les Miserables, War Horse and West Side Story, subscriptions are still available. Single tickets for Les Miz go on sale April 6. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 10, 2013

 

“BILLY’S THE BEST. IT’S GOT HEART, PASSION
AND THE BEST ELTON JOHN SCORE EVER.”

NEW YORK POST

cid:84B1F95E-74D6-4F92-A1E6-6EBCB8B5A271

THE TONY AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL

ELECTRIFIES CALGARY FROM MARCH 26 – 31, 2013

(Calgary, AB) —Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films Old Vic Productions and NETworks Presentations, LLC bring the multi-award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical to Calgary fromMarch 26 – 31, 2013.  Based on the international smash-hit film and featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot the Musical has earned critical acclaim around the world and was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical go on sale Monday, January 21, 2013, at 10:00 am at all Ticketmaster locations, at www.ticketmaster.ca or call toll-free 1.855.985.5000.

Billy Elliot the Musical is the joyous celebration of one boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a surprising talent that inspires his family and his whole community and changes his life forever.

In addition to the Tony Award for Best Musical, Billy Elliot the Musical received the award for Best Direction of a Musical (Stephen Daldry); Best Book of a Musical (Lee Hall); Best Choreography (Peter Darling); Best Orchestrations (Martin Koch); Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Ian MacNeil); Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Rick Fisher); Best Sound Design of a Musical (Paul Arditti); Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish); Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Gregory Jbara).

The production has been awarded 81 national and international awards including ten Tony Awards, Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times says that Billy Elliot “Sends audiences into a mass swoon!”  Time Out says it’s “The most electric and passionate show in years.”

The Daily News calls Billy “So exhilarating that you feel like leaping!” Liz Smith calls the show “Absolutely awesome,” The New York Observer raves that Billy is “The best thing to happen to Broadway in a long while,” and WOR’s Dave Richardson cheers, “All I can say is WOW!”

The show is produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films, Old Vic Productions and NETworks Presentations, LLC. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, associate direction by Julian Webber, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.  Touring production direction is by Justin Martin and choreography is by Kathryn Dunn.

In Calgary, Billy Elliot plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday matinee at 2:00 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 1:00pm and Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Billy Elliot vary in range depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase and start at $35.00.

Performances run from March 26 – 31, 2013, at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets go on-sale 10 a.m., January 21, 2013, through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or call toll-free 1.855.985.5000. Group orders for 10 or more may be placed by calling 1.800.889.8457.

Billy Elliot in Calgary, presented by Broadway Across Canada, is part of a five city tour in Canada including dates in Ottawa January 1 – 6, 2013, Montreal January 8 – 13, 2013, Edmonton March 19 – 24, 2013 and Vancouver April 2 – 7, 2013.

Additional information about Billy Elliot the Musical is available at www.BillyElliotTour.com.

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06 Mar 2013

Theatre Calgary and ATP Cut Back on Musicals in 2013-2014

Calgary’s two big theatre professional theatre companies, Theatre Calgary and Alberta Theatre Projects have gotten their 2013-2014 season announcements out early this year. Sad to say (for me), they’ve cut back on their musicals, doing only one each. Here’s what they have in their line-up and what their websites have to say about them:

CraigslistAlberta Theatre Projects

Do You Want What I Have Got?
A Craigslist Cantata
by Veda Hille, Bill Richardson and Amiel Gladstone

An Acting Up Theatre Production
Presented by One Yellow Rabbit and ATP as part of the 28th Annual High Performance Rodeo
January 22 – February 1, 2014

Are you looking for a bus boyfriend, 300 stuffed penguins or a chili-eating buddy? The sometimes quirky, sometimes poignant ads from Craigslist, the pop culture phenomenon, give voice to the hopes and dreams of a generation. CBC’s Bill Richardson and Award winning singer/songwriter Veda Hille bring to life the characters behind the trash and treasures, in this heartfelt and hilarious musical that has charmed audiences in Vancouver and Toronto.

Season subscriptions available now. Single tickets go on sale May 31. For more information go to Alberta Theatre Projects

And for those that missed Broadway Across Canada’s show at the Jubilee last summer (or loved it so much they might just want to see it again – I know I did)…

7.148700Theatre Calgary co-production with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre  

May 6 – June 22, 2014

Things haven’t been going well for the Banks family. The children are out of control and a new nanny is required to put things in order. When a mysterious young woman appears on their doorstep, the family finds that she’s the answer to their prayers, but in the most peculiar way.  A Broadway musical spectacular for the whole family. This brand new production of the much-loved classic will burst onto our stage. Rediscover the gorgeous songs, loveable children and that magical woman. As Mary would say: It’s practically perfect! 

Season subscriptions available now. Single tickets go on sale sometime this spring. For more information go to www.theatrecalgary.com.

 

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04 Mar 2013

Two Calgary Musicals Make the Cut For The 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival

Jeremy-de-Bergerac-01-214x300The line-up for the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s prestigious Next Link programme has just been announced and two of the ten shows hail from Calgary! The first is Joe Slabe’s Crossing Swords (formerly titled Jeremy de Bergerac) which premiered in Calgary in 2012 at Forte Musical Theatre Guild. The second is a flash from the past, David Rhymer and Blake Brooker’s Mata Hari: Tigress at the City Gate, which graced One Yellow Rabbit’s stage a few times in the late 90′s.

mata_hariThis is Joe’s second successful Festival entry, the last one being Austentatious, which played there in 2007 and was remounted here in 2010. Onalea Gilbertson’s Blanche: The Bittersweet Life of a Wild Prairie Dame (recently seen at Lunchbox as part of this year’s High Performance Rodeo) played there in 2011.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network. Now entering its tenth year, NYMF exists to “revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America’s greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.”

The Festival runs July 8th to 28th in (of course) the Big Apple. For details see Playbill.com.

Way to go Joe, David and Blake! We’ll be there with you in spirit, if not in the flesh.

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28 Jan 2013

A New Resource: Broadway Musical Production Rights

Reblogged from The Broadway Musical Blog - Musical theater news and gossip from the Great White Way:

Click to visit the original post
  • Click to visit the original post
  • Click to visit the original post

We've been receiving lots of questions regarding amateur and professional production rights for musicals and so decided to create a new resource on The Broadway Musical Home, a production rights catalog. Check it out now!

We will be maintaining this list of the musicals that are available for licensing, with links to the companies who license each one. We also included some notes as to why some of your favorite shows might not be available and how to track down the folks who might give you permission to produce something that isn't available to the general public.

Read more… 19 more words

Something for theatre companies from one of my favourite musical theatre blogs.
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23 Jan 2013
1 Comment

Broadway Across Canada Announces 2013-2014 line-up

Broadway Across Canada just announced its 2013-2014 season, with three big, big shows crossing the generations: Les Miserables, War Horse and West Side Story. Here are the descriptions from their press release:

background[1]LES MISÉRABLES | JUNE 25 – JULY 7, 2013

DREAM THE DREAM

Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg’s legendary musical, LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes.

The New York Times calls this LES MISÉRABLES “an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish.” The London Times hails the new show “a five star hit, astonishingly powerful.” The Star-Ledger says “a dynamically re-imagined hit. This ‘LES MISÉRABLES’ has improved with age” and NY1-TV proclaims “this new production actually exceeds the original. The storytelling is clearer, the perspective grittier and the motivations more honest. Musical theatre fans can rejoice: ‘Les Miz’ is born again.”

Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, LES MISÉRABLES is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of LES MISÉRABLES includes the classic songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “One Day More,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Master Of The House” and many more.

LesMis.com

war-horse1[1]WAR HORSE | SEPTEMBER 10 – 15, 2013

“A blast of pure theatrical imagination. Awe-inspiring!” Newsday

“A Landmark Theater Event” TIME Magazine
A heart-warming tale of loyalty and friendship, WAR HORSE is the winner of FIVE 2011 Tony Awards®.

England, 1914. As World War One begins, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home. This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and around the world. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.

WarHorseOnStage.com

WestSideStoryLogo[1]WEST SIDE STORY | FEBRUARY 11 – 16, 2014

More than fifty years ago one musical changed theater forever. Now it’s back and mesmerizing audiences once again. From the first note to the final breath, WEST SIDE STORY soars as the greatest love story of all time. This revival, based on Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents’ Broadway direction, remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway’s finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere.”

As the Associated Press says, “WEST SIDE STORY remains Broadway’s best dance-driven musical. Five decades have not dimmed the extraordinary choreography or the score that pulsates throughout.”

WestSideStoryontour.com

All performances are at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Season subscriptions are available to the general public on February 25, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. exclusively through Broadway Across Canada, call toll-free at 1.866.532.7469 or visit http://www.BroadwayAcrossCanada.ca. Current Broadway Across Canada – Calgary subscribers have first access to 2013/2014 season packages and are able to renew their seats beginning January 21, 2013.

Season ticket packages for the Broadway Across Canada 2013/2014 season vary in range depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase and start at $132.70. Current Broadway Across Canada – Calgary subscribers can renew their seats beginning January 21, 2013. Broadway Across Canada – Calgary’s 2013/2014 Season goes on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. on February 25, 2013; online at http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca or call toll-free 1.866.532.7469.

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10 Nov 2012
3 Comments

Calgary’s Rideau Music to Close its Doors after 48 Years

Well, I was terribly sad to hear the news that Rideau Music, Calgary’s best “store for scores” (IMO) is having to close down due to competition from the internet. I’ve been buying my vocal selections there for years, particularly since I started doing my monthly Strictly Show Tunes Sing-Along at the Auburn in 2011. They also had great musical-themed gifts (the source of the “famous” piano scarves that I use to identify myself at Calgary Musicals+ Meetup Group events, for example). I have to admit I’ve always wondered how they managed to keep so much inventory, but it made for great browsing. Apparently not good for profits, though.

The good news is, they’re having a liquidation sale. Here are the details from their website. Guess I know what I’ll be doing Monday – by internet, ironically, since I’m out of town.

02/11/2012 
Liquidation Sale 
Rideau Music is closing its store. Starting November 1/2012, everything in the store is on sale at 25% off. (Exception are special orders) No phone calls, no holds. Personal or online shopping only. All sales are final. You may continue to place web orders, we will ship whatever we have in stock. The 25% off applies to web orders as well as in store shopping. Monday to Saturday 10:00 am to 5:30 pm.

For their website, go to Rideau Music

And here’s the CBC report from earlier this week.

As they say on their Facebook page, “Don’t cry because it’s ending, smile because it happened!” (a saying that would be fitting for lots of life’s sad goodbyes).

Posted in News and tagged
08 Sep 2012

Producers Take Note: The Revivals People Want and Who to Cast

Reblogged from The Broadway Musical Blog - Musical theater news and gossip from the Great White Way:

Click to visit the original post

The people of Twitter and Facebook have spoken; here are the shows they think should be revived and the stars that should headline each, listed in no particular order.

  • Sunset Boulevard starring Sutton Foster, Hunter Parrish, Glenn Close, Joel Grey, Bernadette Peters, Neil Partick Harris, Norbert Leo Butz, Carol Burnett, Angela Lansbury, Doris Day, Tyne Daily or Josh Young
  • Once Upon a Mattress…

Read more… 205 more words

Lynn's comments - perhaps some suggestions for Calgary producers looking for musicals (or non-musicals) for their 2013-2014 season? How about you? What musicals would you most like to see produced in Calgary? And what's the big deal about Sutton Foster anyway?
Posted in Musical Musings, News | Leave a Comment
04 Sep 2012

A Five-Course Musical Dinner @ Jubilations in 2012-2013

Jubilations Dinner Theatre doesn’t do a formal season launch, since they don’t have a formal season – they run shows non-stop through the year with only a week in between. However, since all shows are first developed/produced at WOW! Hospitality’s Celebrations Dinner Theatre in Winnipeg before coming to Edmonton and then here, it’s possible to see what’s coming, although they haven’t posted them on all their Calgary site yet. I could probably guess the dates for the last two, if I weren’t so lazy ;) .  All of their shows are “jukebox musicals” which include a story (of sorts), interspersed with related popular songs, usually from a particular era or genre. All but the first are spoofs of popular TV shows or movies, Jubilations’ bread and butter. Here’s what Jubilations Dinner Theatre has on the menu for the coming “season”:

Jailhouse Rock

September 7, 2012 – November 4, 2012 (opens this week – the Calgary Musicals+ Meetup Group is going on Wednesday September 19th if you’d care to join us)

You are all invited to one of the hottest concerts staged and all you have to do to get in is… commit a crime! Welcome to the Moose Jaw Correctional Centre! You are hereby sentenced to an evening of laughter, good food, great music and you shall all be released right after you pay your tab!

Back in 1967, John Storm was one of the finest guitar craftsmen around; they called him the “Guitar Doctor”. When it came to fixing musical instruments he was amazing… when it came to paying taxes… he was terrible! So, when word got out that the “Doc” was in jail for delinquent taxes, the Man in Black himself, Mr. Johnny Cash called his friend Mr. Elvis Presley and the two decided what better way to pay off this debt then by throwing a benefit concert right in the Moose Jaw Jail!

ghostbusted
November 9, 2012 – February 9, 2013

Tonight, the world-famous Dorchester Hotel, the oldest and most luxurious hotel in the city, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The hotel manager is a little worried about the “incidents”. Hotel guests have always told stories of strange encounters, but they seem to be getting more frequent, and more intense… who ya gonna call?

Meet Pete Winkman… Pete is the head maintenance man at the hotel, but just until he can raise the money to go back to school. When the hotel manager says he would pay almost anything to get rid of these “things”, Pete seizes the opportunity and announces that he and his two friends will rid the hotel of its unwanted visitors because they… ain’t afraid of no ghost!

NCIS: The Canadian Affair
February 14, 2013 – April 21, 2013

Dr. Ronald “Ducky” Mallard, along with his colleague special agent in charge of the Los Angeles NCIS office – Elizabeth “Betty” Lange; Are off to Canada to attend a conference with the Royal Canadian Navy Criminal Investigative Services, where they run into a spot of trouble! Ducky is accused of committing murder and has been given until the end of the conference tonight to prove his innocence. Special agent Kibbs, assembles as many team members he can on short notice… Special Agents – Dinizzio, Liza David and forensic specialist Gabby, are all on board. The Canadian Government is not thrilled with the idea of U.S. investigators getting involved but since both the victim and suspect are American and the team has agreed to conduct the investigation covertly, they have been allowed. Much to Agent Kibb’s dismay, the only cover the Navy could come with on such short notice, is entertainers for the conference! Can the team solve the mystery in time? Will Jethro, actually sing??

Big Boom TheoryApril – June 2013

Sheldon has been a genius since he was born. He attended college at the age of 11 and has a stunning IQ of 187 (that’s good). But unfortunately he’s never gotten the proper admiration for his gifts…until now. Sheldon has been nominated for a Canadian International Science Award. Unfortunately Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler is nominated for the same award, and only one can take home the prize. Amy may be a woman of science, but she most certainly doesn’t play fair. But beware, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s an all out battle of the brains, to prove once and for all who is the smartest. As if that weren’t enough, Leonard is going to ask Penny to marry him! Plus, there may or may not be an impending nuclear disaster threatening to destroy the world as we know it. All your favorite nerds are here helping Sheldon navigate his way through Canada. With plenty of Bazinga’s to go around, this is one Science Award Ceremony you won’t want to miss.

MY BIG FAT CALGARY WEDDING  June-Sept 2013

(I pulled this info off the Edmonton site and changed the name, as I presume they will)

What can be more fun than a huge family wedding? We have a stressed out Bridezilla, whose mood swings make Jekyll and Hyde seem tame. There’s the nervous groom with a seemingly dangerous secret past. The “thrifty” Father of the Bride who fancies himself to be a wedding singer. The best friend bride’s maid with an eye for the groom, and a best man who crashed more weddings then he can remember and has both eyes on every female present. Throw in an assortment of crazy relatives, a rookie wedding planner and a surprise mystery guest and you have… My Big Fat Calgary Wedding!

For more information, go to: Jubilations Dinner Theatre

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02 Sep 2012
4 Comments

And the envelope please #4 … The First Annual Calgary Musical Theatre Bloggers Awards (“The Lynnies”)

The “official” Calgary theatre award season is over now that they’ve handed out The Critters, then The CATS and finally The Bettys. I feel that something is still missing, though, so I gathered together all the Calgary Musical Theatre Bloggers (that would be me, myself and I ;) ) and we decided to launch our own awards: “The Lynnies” (a childhood nickname that only my mother and Mrs. Moffat across the street were allowed to use once I hit adulthood, despite my friend Geoff’s continued insistence on doing so, even in public).

“The Lynnies” cover a broad range of categories which relate to the complete customer experience, not just the quality of the performance. I will likely change categories from year to year – focussing on things which have particularly delighted or disappointed me, both as a blogger and as coordinator of the Calgary Musicals+ Meetup Group which goes to all these shows and more.

I only started this blog in January, so, alas, if your show ran last Fall it’s not included this time around. As far as I know, I saw all the musicals in Calgary this year except Morpheus Theatre’s HMS Pinafore and Masquerade Productions’ Jungle Book. Not a bad record, if I do say so myself.

So without further ado, we’re going to skip the nominations altogether and proceed with the first annual “Lynnies” (drumroll please).

Shows I Was Tempted to See Twice if I Weren’t So Busy  - Or Cheap

[I've gotta say, although all of these musicals were popular, I wouldn't have expected any of them to be my thing except maybe Mary Poppins. I wouldn't even have gone if I hadn't committed to try to go to every musical in Calgary this year when I launched this blog. This just goes to show that I should practice what I preach and leave my prejudices at the door once in a while and try shows I wouldn't normally choose].

Pinkalicious by Storybook Theatre (This was one of the shows I was most dreading and I couldn’t have loved it more. I only saw the invitation-only preview and I actually did buy a ticket for a second show but wasn’t able to use it, so I gave it away).

Avenue Q by Storybook Theatre

Legally Blonde by Summerstock

Mary Poppins by Broadway Across Canada

Evil Dead The Musical by Hit and Myth Productions/Pumphouse (still playing)

Best Musical That Nobody Saw 

Assassins by Front Row Centre – This dark Stephen Sondheim musical deserves more play than it gets and FRC did a great job with it. I don’t know if nobody saw it, but I know I couldn’t give tickets away and from what I can tell, neither could FRC.

Actor/Actress Who’s So Good I’d See Anything They’re In

Madeleine Suddaby (Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q and Oh Canada, Eh?). Madeleine just moved to Calgary from Vancouver this year and I look forward to seeing more of her this season.

Honorable mentions: Tory Doctor (Jeremy de Bergerac, Cats), James Noonan (Guys and Dolls, Frankenstein The Musical)

Best Website/Online Ticketing 

A tie: Front Row Centre and Storybook Theatre - both websites are easy and intuitive to use, visually appealing, kept up to date, and have one-click ticketing from the home page

Worst Website

Masquerade Productions (formerly New Opera Company) – Slow and out of date.

Dishonorable mentions: Morpheus Theatre (built for participants, not customers, it seems to me), Forte Musical Theatre Guild (with only one show per season, it’s generally out of date, and its blog has so few posts it can hardly be called a blog)

Best Promotion

Jubilations Dinner Theatre for its Two and Two Thirds Men ”One Free Beer for Men” Thursdays, as well as deeply discounted long weekend specials this summer

Best Food

Stage West  - great buffet with something for everyone (love the seafood bar!) – also the most expensive

Honourable Mention: Rosebud Dinner Theatre

Worst Food

Cornerstone Dinner Theatre (Oh Canada, Eh?) – passable, but just

Worst Price-Gouging

Ticketmaster – for charging $33 for a $25 Museo ticket at the Jubilee, a 32% markup ($8 on a $100 ticket maybe, but $8 on a $25 ticket???)

Best Customer Service

Jubilations Dinner Theatre box office – helpful, flexible, and always courteous, even when the fault was mine or my group’s, and it usually was

Best Seats

Alberta Theatre Project’s Premiere Circle  - worth the splurge (OK, technically I sat there for Mary’s Wedding instead of a musical, but I think it still counts since they do two musicals a year).

Worst Seats

Central Memorial High School  - no competition here – luckily I could cushion myself with my crinoline AND Beauty and The Beast was worth it.

Best Deal

Forte Musical Theatre Guild’s “Pay What You Can Tuesdays.”  I think this is the only theatre company that still does this, at least of those that do musicals – great for students, seniors and starving artists. Hope they are able to keep it up. (Watch for a future article on “Musicals For Misers” where I map out the best deals for all the theatre companies that major in musicals).

That’s my … I mean, our … take on the last 2/3 of the 2011-2012 season.

Feel free to share your thoughts or additional “fun” categories (best or worst) based on your musical theatre experiences this past season.

(In case you’re wondering, I called this one #4 to take into account the Calgary Theatre Critics Awards (“The Critters”) that were handed out in early August, but didn’t get a number)

Posted in Musical Musings, My Reviews, News and tagged , ,

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