“It’s exciting and crazy and very hectic at the Playhouse when we officially announce the new season,” said Upper Canada Playhouse artistic director, Donnie Bowes. “People were in the parking lot by 7 a.m., and we didn’t even open until 9 a.m. The front office staff was swamped. The phone lines were frozen with individuals and companies calling in. The web site was swarmed.”
“I actually go into my office, hide under the desk, and close the blinds,” Bowes laughed, “leaving everything in the capable hands of Roseann Kelly, and the rest of the great front of house staff. Bill Halman of the Corus Entertainment radio station out of Cornwall did a live remote from the Playhouse office November 3.”
The moment the new season is announced and seat sales and flex pass sales are available, patrons are ready. Drawing over 40,000 visitors to the area makes the Playhouse one of the biggest tourist attractions in South Dundas. The response to this year’s announcement of eight new shows starting in April 2015, is already overwhelming. “Generally, we have 50 per cent of our seats pre-sold by Christmas time,” Bowes said.
Tickets to the 2015 season will provide patrons with passports to hilarious comedies, uplifting concerts, fascinating characters and unforgettable stories.
April will see Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee! a blockbuster live concert of the smash hits of Canada’s legendary artists from Gordon Lightfoot and Michael Bublé to the Barenaked Ladies, Shania Twain and the Guess Who. Leisa Way and her sensational band will headline in this showcase.
The summer will bring four stellar comedies to the theatre, leading off with Stag and Doe by Mark Crawford, a hot new show taking Canada by storm. A hilarious look at a small town where both a stag and doe and a wedding reception are scheduled for the same hall on the same night, it promises to leave audiences roaring with laughter.
Hilda’s Yard, written by Norm Foster, and featuring the great playwright/actor himself, is set in the back yard of a 1950s home where Sam and Hilda Fluck are happily settling in to be “empty-nesters” until their grown children both land back home to stay!
Touch and Go by Derek Benfield arrives in August with the wit, the insanity and the huge laughs of the British sitcom tradition. When a man’s wife is away, he lends his flat to an old friend who plots to have a liaison with a lady friend. Colourful characters, clever lines and outrageous antics will leave audiences laughing.
Rounding out the summer comedies will be Norm Foster’s The Gentleman Clothier, a magical tale where a Halifax tailor makes a wish that transforms his life in wonderful ways he definitely did not expect. This is a comedy filled with lots of laughs, and plenty of heart.
In the fall, the irascible, opinionated and hilarious Lucien, AKA Marshall Button, is coming to town for a brief run. But this time, Lucien is bringing along his old pal, Jimmy the Janitor (popular comedian, Sandy Gillis) and the two are off to find work at the Alberta Oil Sands. Can Canada’s petroleum industry survive this Fort Mac Attack of comic chaos?
Next up will be the live musical revue, Memories of Rhythm & Blues, brought to the Playhouse by Chris McHarge and Colin Stewart, the same team whose sensational Memories of Rock & Roll was sold out in hours at the Playhouse this fall.
Usher in Christmas 2015 with the world premiere of Have Yourself a Swinging Little Country Christmas, with the wonderful Leisa Way and her Wayward Wind Band. This show features music and dances that will delight the hearts of the very youngest to the very oldest. It’s a Christmas show for the whole family.
Contact Upper Canada Playhouse to pick up your tickets for the wonderful 2015 theatre season.
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