Volume 28 Issue 5 | April & May 2023

KELLY VS KELLY
Another long-awaited world premiere
that had much of its early development at
Sheridan’s CMTP is Kelly vs Kelly which
was originally scheduled to premiere
back in the late spring of 2020. Nurtured
through the CMTP (which sadly no longer
exists), this is also the third of acclaimed
composer Britta Johnson’s (Life After)
musicals to be developed through the
Britta Johnson Crescendo program of the Musical Stage
Company. The book this time, is by Sara
Farb – perhaps better known to audiences as the exciting actor who
originated the role of Princess Mary in Kate Hennig’s Last Wife
trilogy, and is currently playing the devilish character of Delphi in
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Mirvish Theatre. Judging
by an early showcase of excerpts before the pandemic, Johnson and
Farb are a powerful team with a great instinct for exciting theatrical
storytelling. Like Maggie, Kelly vs Kelly is inspired by true events,
in this case from New York in 1915: When a 19-year-old heiress
becomes tangled in an affair with a seductive tango dancer, her
distraught mother has her arrested and charged with incorrigibility,
sparking a court case that scandalizes the nation.
The tango dancing at the heart of the story is fully embodied in the
staging which will be in the hands of director and choreographer
Tracey Flye. May 26-June 18 www.musicalstagecompany.com
MACBETH THE MUSICAL
Not only are more and more new musicals and operas being
created in Canada but more new creators are popping up all the time
including 16-year-old composer Laura Nobili who reached out to
The WholeNote as I was preparing to write this column to alert us
to the premiere of her musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous
tragedy. The title says “opera” but listening to an excerpt (which you
can listen to here: https://youtu.be/X_vLqPSkrZg )
it sounds more like a sung-through musical but still ambitious in
reach and scope. I like the sound of what I heard and am impressed
by Laura’s chutzpah in reaching out to get coverage for her creation.
Not only the composer but also the director and producer of her
show, Laura has gathered a company of young actors, singers and
musicians from York Region to join her. There is one performance
only on May 17 at the City Playhouse Theatre in Vaughan.
https://tickets.cityplayhouse.ca/event/655:117/655:150/.
MUSIC THEATRE | QUICKPICKS
As is often now the case there isn’t room to cover all the
wonderful shows opening over the next two months. Dance
highlights for me include the world premiere of Homelands, a
multimedia dance creation from Toronto’s own Kaha:wi dance
theatre as part of Harbourfront’s contemporary dance series
Torque on April 14 and 15.
Theatre Passe
Never the Last
Muraille continues
their championship of
experimental music
theatre, April 8-16,
with Never the Last
which weaves together
text and violin solos
composed by Sophie-
Carmen Eckhardt-
Gramatté’ to explore the composer’s love affair and marriage
with expressionist painter Walter Gramatté. passemuraille.ca.
May 24-27 will see the return of Junior, the international
children’s festival taking place at Harbourfront. A wonderful
multidisciplinary festival including many immersive events as
well as more traditional staged performances, Junior has been
reinvented post-pandemic with a new more participatory
approach to creating theatrical works for young audiences, and
all outdoor events will be free. www.harbourfront.com
On May 26-28, following the huge success of Follies in the
fall of 2021, Richard Ouzounian is directing a staged concert of
Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Koerner Hall with a starry
cast including Eric McCormack, Cynthia Dale, Dan Chameroy,
and Chilina Kennedy
May will also see the opening of Gypsy at the Shaw Festival
starring Kate Hennig in the iconic role of Mama Rose. Luckily
Gypsy will run into the fall season so there will be many
chances to see it.
Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight
director and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a
rich mix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.
36 th
Season
2023
June 25th L.R. Wilson Concert Hall, McMaster University
Vivaldi Four Seasons, Canadian Four Seasons
June 29th FirstOntario Concert Hall, Hamilton
Carmina Burana
July 6th L.R. Wilson Concert Hall, McMaster University
PopOpera
July 13th & 14th Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre
Verdi’s La Traviata
July 19th LIUNA Station, Hamilton
All Out 80’s with Jeans ‘n Classics
July 20th LIUNA Station, Hamilton
Emilie-Claire Barlow
July 21st LIUNA Station, Hamilton
Practically Hip
July 23rd Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, Jordan
An Homage to the Noble Grape
July 27th L.R. Wilson Concert Hall, Hamilton
Berlioz, H, Symphonie Fantastique
Ravel, M, Piano Concerto in G (Elisabeth Pion)
Ravel, M, Bolero, Vivier, O, Orion
August 3rd FirstOntario Concert Hall, Hamilton
Jesus Christ Superstar
August 17th Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Ichmouratov, A, The Bewitched Canoe
Tchaikovsky, 9, Violin Concerto (Kerson Leong)
Rimsky-Korsakov, N, Scheherazade
905-525-7664
www.brottmusic.com
12 | April & May, 2023 thewholenote.com