PREVIEW
What: Blue Bridge Sings!
Where: Blue Bridge at the Roxy, 2657 Quadra St.
When: Nov. 30-Dec. 3, 8 p.m. (2 p.m. weekend matin茅es)
Tickets: $32-$47
Reservations: 250-382-3370, bluebridgetheatre.ca
In a prelude to a hysterical show-stopper from Something Rotten, an amusingly inept soothsayer 鈥� Nostradamus鈥檚 nephew, no less 鈥� tells Nick, a聽struggling playwright, that 鈥渢he聽musical鈥� represents the future of theatre.
鈥淲hat the hell are musicals?鈥� asks Nick early in the loopy Broadway farce that posits the notion that musical theatre was born in the era of William Shakespeare, depicted here as a hilariously narcissistic rock star.
When Nostradamus explains that a musical is a play 鈥渨here the dialogue stops and the plot is conveyed through song,鈥� Nick replies 鈥� by song, of course 鈥� that this is the most ridiculous thing he鈥檚 ever heard of.
鈥淚t鈥檚 absurd. Who on Earth is going to sit there while an actor breaks into song? And what possible thought could the audience think other than 鈥楾his is horribly wrong?鈥櫬犫�� sings Nick.
He isn鈥檛 the only theatre buff who might disagree with Nostradamus鈥檚 declaration that seeing a musical is preferable to watching a drama or 鈥渁 mother having sex with her son 鈥� ewww鈥� in a play from Greek mythology.
As far as Brian Richmond is concerned, however, there鈥檚 room for all kinds of theatre and while Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre specializes in staging 20th-century American classics, musicals are nothing to sniff at.
鈥淚 program musicals because I聽love musicals,鈥� says the theatre company鈥檚 artistic director, noting Blue Bridge has had a history of producing musical theatre since its inception in 2009.
鈥淪ome of my favourite productions have been musicals,鈥� says Richmond, who appeared in one himself 鈥� as Henry Higgins in director Sara-Jeanne Hosie鈥檚 2013 production of My Fair Lady.
鈥淚 realize audiences tend to think of Blue Bridge more for dramas, but I thought this would be a nice way of starting our new season,鈥� he says, explaining why Blue Bridge Sings! was chosen to kick off the theatre鈥檚 10th-anniversary celebrations.
The show, which opens Thursday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m., is a retrospective of highlights from musicals the company has staged over the past 10聽years, with most numbers brought back to life by the original performers.
(For $100, or $150 per couple, theatregoers can attend an opening-night gala fundraiser at 6聽p.m. at Norway House, 1110聽Hillside Ave., where fine wines and food, and silent and live auction items will be available.)
Co-hosted by Hosie and Kholby Wardell, who last appeared together in Red Hot Cole!, Blue Bridge Sings will feature numbers from that Cole Porter revue and many others, with musical direction by Christopher Donison, the Canadian composer, pianist, longtime music director of the Shaw Festival and CEO of Music By the Sea.
The lineup includes selections from The Fantasticks, Little Shop of Horrors, My Fair Lady, Cruel Tears, Hank Williams: The聽Show He Never Gave and Judy!, with Tracey Moore reprising her role as Judy Garland.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had so many terrific performers grace our stages, in musicals as well as dramas, and we wanted to feature the talents of people like Kholby, who started out as a UVic grad and has gone to great acclaim,鈥� says Richmond. He聽cites as an example Wardell鈥檚 work as Noel Gruber in productions of Atomic Vaudeville鈥檚 Ride the Cyclone, including its runs in Chicago and off-Broadway.
Richmond says he is looking forward to welcoming back performers such as Moore and Kale Penny. Moore is a voice director and artist, was the original voice of Serena in Sailor Moon, and has appeared on Broadway. Penny聽is the actor and singer who caught David Foster鈥檚 attention during the 2011聽Mount Doug Idol. Penny scored his first professional gig in Blue Bridge鈥檚 production of Cruel Tears.
While Richmond admits it was a challenge rounding up performers with complicated lives, he says he鈥檚 pleased about getting as many on board as he did, including Gotta Getta Gimmick鈥檚 Sarah Carle.
He says performers who are unable to make it because of other commitments 鈥� including Amanda Lisman, who is appearing in Belfry Theatre鈥檚 production of A Christmas Carol, which opens the same night, and Zachary Stevenson, in the midst of an extensive Buddy Holly tribute tour 鈥� will be there in spirit and fondly remembered.
As well as reprising music from The Fantasticks with her co-star Jacob Richmond, Sarah Jane Pelzer will substitute for Lisman as Eliza Doolittle in a My Fair Lady number, and Penny will sing songs originally sung by Stevenson.
Hosie, in town to direct the Canadian College of Performing Arts Company C production of Wintertime that opens Nov. 29, also managed to shoehorn the 10th-anniversary celebration into her busy schedule.
鈥淚鈥檒l do anything to help the theatre survive,鈥� says Hosie, who will reprise music from Little Shop of Horrors and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.
鈥淚 did over 1,000 performances as her, so it鈥檚 still there,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 so looking forward to playing Audrey to Kholby鈥檚 Seymour again.鈥�
Because of the tight schedule and compressed rehearsal process, there was only one stipulation, added Hosie with a laugh: 鈥淚 wrote Brian an email back saying 鈥楳s.聽Hosie will not be learning any new material.鈥� 鈥�
The familiarity factor is part of what Richmond feels should make the show appealing as audiences journey down memory lane.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing the numbers the way we did them in the original productions,鈥� he says, describing the revue as 鈥渁 kind of a birthday-party offering.鈥�
As a gift to the theatre鈥檚 musical-loving patrons, Richmond has added a popular, albeit challenging, Broadway musical to its 10th聽anniversary lineup 鈥� Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The Stephen Sondheim classic is slated to open in July, ending a season that begins April 24 with Swan Song (and other Farces), a聽collection of one-act Chekhov plays, followed by Arthur Miller鈥檚 All My Sons and Michael Healey鈥檚 Canuck comedy The聽Drawer Boy.
For many theatre companies, including a musical on a season鈥檚 theatrical menu has become de rigueur.
鈥淚t鈥檚 where the money is made because there鈥檚 often a bigger audience,鈥� says Hosie, comparing their popularity to Shakespeare plays that routinely draw crowds to Vancouver鈥檚 Bard on the Beach.
鈥淓ven though they cost more to do, they can pay for the rest of the season, I think,鈥� says the actor, director and choreographer, who has earned a living doing musicals from coast to coast.
鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful to my parents [legendary Canadian entertainers Bill and Sylvia Hosie] for encouraging me to wear multiple hats,鈥� she says.
While the cost of producing musicals can be prohibitive for a professional company 鈥� up to $100,000 in some cases 鈥� Richmond says there鈥檚 enough of an appetite in Victoria to incorporate musicals in some form.
鈥淲e鈥檝e come up with some amazing creative solutions,鈥� says Richmond, whose financially challenged company鈥檚 version of Sweeney Todd will be leaner than most, staged with nine performers.
鈥淲e can still produce them in a way where we have integrity, and it opens up doorways creatively,鈥� he says. 鈥淛ust because it鈥檚 smaller doesn鈥檛 mean the musical is getting short shrift.鈥�
