In April, two amateur casts, the Bedford Park Players and the Summerhill Players, performed our circa 1905 musical, LA NEIGE, over a total of six nights at the historic Regent Theatre in Toronto. I had the great pleasure of adapting/penning the play with our wonderful director, Sarina Condello, over five months. In total, we raised $120,000 for Sarina’s charity Childhood Now! http://www.childhoodnow.ca.
Our cast is so very lucky to be able to laugh, sing, and dance as a group every year, a fact one does not take for granted as we get older! Our big family never fails to amaze me with how they breathe such life and wonder into the characters, particularly with their improv.
Real “props” are due to our killer costume designer, Gail Leger, and our incomparable musical director, Donavon LeNabat, and his band, who made us look and sound so good.
No one truly understands how many tireless hours Sarina puts into the choreography, production and direction of these shows, but I’ve witnessed her in round-the-clock action. I don’t think she sleeps…
Here are some of the kudos the shows received, plus pics:
Kirsten Sixt stars as La Neige
Adrian Tucci shone as Christian
The ‘Artistes:’ (front row, l to r) me as Edith Piaf, Tara Williston as Frida Kahlo, John Bruce as Toulouse Lautrec (back row) Bill Crossland as Nijinsky, John Glover as Salvador Dali, Bojan Vitko as Picasso, Peter Bombaci as Van Gogh, and Linda Lord as the Green Fairy
“So many stand out, bust-a-gut moments from you all. And those costumes were incredible!”
“We could not stop laughing and smiling. You all did an amazing job with those accents, so-so-so many rich characters that you created. Some of the nuances you brought to the characters were simply genius and inspirational.”
The ensemble
Martha Mansfield and Dave Brady as our host cockroaches, Josephine and Napoleon
Linda Kennedy is the fiendishly wonderful Nini, La Sorciere
Saucy courtesans Lauren Brownlee, Kristi Herold, Linda Kennedy, and Kylie Martin
Brilliant Andrew Zabrovsky as Zidler
John Glover as the mad genius, Dali
“I am blown away every year by the talent, joy, and enthusiasm that is poured out on the stage.”
Happily playing Edith alongside Belinda Bard and Ben Hawkins
Suzanne Tyson and Bob Hillhouse ham it up as Marie and Aider Titsoff
The all-seeing Mirror, Ben Hawkins
Kevin Sullivan slays as The Great Pujol, the Fartiste
Shari Morandin vamps it up as Ivana Hump
Ja, James Jewett’s Dr. Sitzpissen is in da house!
Gorgeous Belinda Bard as Ophelia Balls and Sarah Ferguson as Sophie the Dresser
“Last night was fabulous! The singing was great, the writing clever!”
“I sang all the way home in the car. Bravo!”
The naughty Menage a Trois
Dr. Sitzpissen pays a house call to The Fartiste
Toulouse consoles heartbroken Christian
“That was truly spectacular, spectacular! There are no words in my vernacular that can describe how amazing your show was. Your energy level was so high. We almost died laughing. The show was the epitome of energy, joy, love and community spirit.”
Me as Edith Piaf, singing La Vie En Rose
Steve Reed (centre), playing the Duke, who is transformed into a roach for his naughtiness
“Just a joyful, hilarious romp. Incredible music, costumes, energy and direction!”
“
Kristi Herold gets cozy with Bruce Topp, L’Idiot
Steve Reed as the Duke, Gord Wotherspoon as Wormier, and Andrew Zabrovsky as Zidler
The the left of La Neige is Tracey Dodokin, our shining dresser named Babette
The Green Fairy, Linda Lord, flits across the stage
Director Sarina Condello gives her thanks
Nice marquee!
Backstage
Rehearsal
Lauren Brownlee
Dressing room gang
“Bach” as Van Gogh
And that’s a wrap… LIFE’S A STAGE AND YOU ONLY GET ONE PERFORMANCE. MAKE IT A GOOD ONE.
TREDSUP 