Opening Ron Bolt's Retrospective At The A.K. Collings Gallery

Ron Bolt and John Satterberg

Passim: First Stages Season Ends With Poignant, Funny Canadiana

The First Stages Theatre season ended with another memorable one-man show Sunshine and Shadows, James B. Douglas’ funny and poignant portrayal of Canada's foremost humourist and author, Stephen Leacock. Douglas used Leacock's own words to convey the humour, wisdom and tragedy of one of our most revered literary figures. A veteran of stage, screen and television, Douglas has played over 150 major roles in Britain, Canada and the United States and his immense theatre experience once more produced a well-honed, nuanced performance.
Luring some of Canada’s best known actors to the Capitol, artistic director Robert Latimer’s FST has garnered a loyal audience and brought splendid ‘serious’ theatre to our area. Latimer is busy securing the rights for another season’s plays. “It's becoming a rather complicated and very expensive procedure. For example, one of the plays I've scheduled for next season requires permission from the playwright himself! The cost of getting the rights from the publishers has now gone up by as much as 200% !! Of course both major publishers for plays are in New York and although our dollar is still at parity it still costs more in Canada... like so many things,” sighs Latimer.
Next season will be First Stages 10th Anniversary and it will open on September 14^th with Stephen Temperley's Souvenir – aka. "Murder on the High C's!" A fantasia on the life of the infamous and wealthy society eccentric Florence Foster Jenkins who suffered under the delusion that she was a great coloratura soprano when she was in fact incapable of producing two consecutive notes in tune. Her story is told through the eyes of her accompanist Cosme McMoon. A musical odd-couple for the ages! It will star Diane Fabian as the legendary Florence Foster Jenkins.
Latimer’s move to a Sunday afternoon matinee format at the Capitol has worked well. Unfortunately, many of Cobourg’s and Port Hopes eateries close on Sundays, and the post matinee dinner crowd must seek sustenance far afield.

The Forsyth Review - LaJeunesse Youth Orchestra Season Finale Bittersweet

LJYO Music Director Michael Lyons bids farewell to Concertmaster David Shewchuck.

Sadly, the La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra season is over. Their signature finale, Sonic Bloom, is always bitter sweet for fans of the orchestra and you can count me in as one of the biggest.

LJYO’s Symphonic Welcome to Springtime was a very exciting concert that began with a very difficult piece that they played flawlessly - Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance – and ended with an even more difficult piece also played flawlessly and with great passion: España by Emmanuel Chabrier. It, and a couple of other pieces in between, received much deserved standing ovations.

This concert was also bittersweet for another reason. Actually six other reasons: flutist Alicia Stroobach, clarinetist Carina Canonico, trombonist Ian McKeown, Cellist Emily Karpazis and violinists Garrett Shannon (who has been with the orchestra for nine seasons) and David Shewchuck, Concertmaster, are graduating from the orchestra and moving on to new ventures elsewhere. Their contributions to the orchestra have been huge and they will be missed. But I have no doubt that those who take their places will very quickly become indispensible just like their predecessors.

Perhaps you have a child or grandchild who would like to play with LJYO. Orchestra members aged 10 to 22 are selected by audition which will be held June 12-14 and Jane Cook would love to hear from you; 905.797.2138. The season runs from September to May with rehearsals on Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 1:00 with sectional rehearsals during the week.

And if you would like to have a ton of fun, good food and some fiddling LJYO would love to have you at their Céilidh where you will be entertained by Canadian Junior fiddle champion Eric Provencher and step dancers. There will also be square dancing and a silent auction. Something for everybody on June 19^th at “We’re in the Hayfield Now’ Daylily Gardens in Orono. Tickets are $25 or $60 per family and you can get more info at 1.866.460.5596.

You can also go to www.ljyo.ca and find all there is to know about this remarkable youth orchestra led by two musical magicians: Music Director Michael Lyons and Laurie Mitchell, Director of Strings. They will indubitably produce more magic next season and I for one cannot wait. Selena Forsyth

The Forsyth Review - 'The Last Five Years' Remarkable

There is a remarkable play/musical on at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope. There are only two people in it – local actors Lauren Page Russell and Michael Lombo. The Last Five Years is remarkable on several counts not the least of which is that it is very complex musically and the two actors are definitely up to the task.
The story chronicles a young couple's five-year romance in a new and exciting way: struggling actress Cathy Hiatt’s story starts at the end of their relationship; rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein’s begins on the day they met. Funny and uplifting, the show captures some of the most heartbreaking and universally felt moments of any romance.
The Last Five Years is by Jason Robert Brown who was born in 1970 in Tarrytown, NY. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. His first musical, Songs for a New World, directed by Daisy Prince, played Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in fall 1995, and has since been seen in more than 50 productions around the US.
Brown is the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of Parade, a musical written with Alfred Uhry and directed by Harold Prince, which starred Canada’s Brent Carver and premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre in 1998. It won the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best New Musical. His critically acclaimed works have been produced consistently ever since, including The Last Five Years, which was nominated for a slew of awards for the author, the production and the actors when it opened off-Broadway in 2002. This from the New York Times:
“Pulses with dangerous, irresistible giddiness... Mr. Brown is a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical... Mr. Brown confirms his sparkling facility as a composer, fluidly mixing diverse styles. They range from waltzes to rhythm and blues, from Sondheimesque urbanity to a clever 'Chorus Line'-like audition piece for Cathy…”.
I loved The last Five Years. It’s poignant, funny, dramatic, sad and moving and also brought back memories. Anyone who has ever been in love, been dumped or done the dumping will relate to some or all of the lyrics in some or all of the songs and there are 16 of them, all sung to a live orchestra in the ‘pit’: Susan tanner on piano, Richard Homme on electric bass, John Tapscott on acoustic guitar, Tamara Mitchell on violin and Matt Mitchell and Peter Harris on cello.
Lauren and Michael are, quite simply, magnificent and superbly directed by Val Russell.
Selena Forsyth.