“On top of the world!”
If I could only fly, I would be able to share my pride and enthusiasm for what the Northumberland Players accomplished this past season.
The intimate Firehall Theatre sold out nearly every one of the five shows and was very proud to mount the Canadian premiere of To Shut the Mouths of Lions by Dave Clark. Audiences were moved by the powerful classic The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and loved the nostalgic Miracle on 34th Street performed as a period radio play. Mounting both Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the drama/comedy Les Belles Soeurs by Michelle Tremblay in the Firehall is a testament to the versatility of the talent in this company. The children’s show A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schultz, broke our record for attendance at Victoria Hall. Harvey by Mary Chase delighted large dinner theatre audiences at the Best Western. The musical The Secret Garden by Simon and Norman, with its beautiful vocals and choreography and its wonderful set and costumes, transformed the Capitol Theatre into another period of time..
The Marc Camoletti comedy Boeing Boeing kept on “going going.” It was performed to record-breaking audiences at the Best Western. It won the Best Play in the Eastern Ontario Drama League competition in Peterborough and the Best Play in the Theatre Ontario Festival in North Bay. It won a total of 13 awards in the two competitions, including Best Director for Jim Finan in Eastern Ontario, Best Actor in Eastern Ontario and Ontario for Jamie Hunt and Best supporting Actor in Ontario for David Hoare. The set, the costumes , the choreography, and the female ensemble and set crew all won awards along the way. Even the building team lead by Ken MacDonald won an award for teamwork.
Can we repeat the magic and the level of quality? Absolutely. This season boasts some of the hottest titles in theatre. I challenge you to see at least one Northumberland Players plays in each of the four different venues!
AT THE FIREHALL THEATRE
The Pulitzer Prize winning drama Proof by David Auburn opens the season directed by the talented Matt Kowalyk. To celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial, this year’s entry into the EODL festival will be the Canadian war drama Waiting for the Parade by John Murrell directed by veteran director and actor Brenda Worsnop. The Firehall comedies have a wide range of ways to make you laugh. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Cobourg’s Shakespeare expert Paula Worley, will play to county high schools with a limited number of shows to the public. This year’s Christmas show, A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol, by Walton Jones is a great comedy with 1940s music with a very funny twist on the Christmas Carol. WARNING! Director and musical director Christine Sharp promises this show will sell out early. The comedy, Once Upon a Rocking Chair, written and directed by local writer Jessica Outram will once again show you how gifted our local writers truly are. The play set in a Georgian Bay cottage will make for a great spring evening at the intimate theatre.
AT VICTORIA HALL CONCERT HALL
The NP Youth Theatre brings you Joseph Robinette’s version of Rudyard Kipling’s wonderful story, The Jungle Book. I team up with Alina Adjemian co-directing this classic which will showcase our young talent at Victoria Hall for six school shows and two public matinees.
AT THE BEST WESTERN COBOURG INN & CONVENTION CENTRE
The Northumberland Players’ Dinner Theatre brings three plays to the Best Western. The 1880s costumes and set will transform the Best Western ballroom into a wild west brothel in the hilarious and sexy Jenny’s House of Joy by Norm Foster. Oshawa director John Lunman brings his vast experience to Cobourg. I will be directing the hot, off-Broadway, Tony Award winning zany comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. In April we bring you a new experience to the Best Western. Forever Plaid, the off-Broadway musical review by Stuart Ross, will feature a live band with a quartet singing great songs from the 1950s era. Fast-paced and funny, this play is perfect for the spring. Award winning director Val Russell, musical director Marie Anderson, and choreographer Alina Adjemian team up again to bring you a special dinner theatre experience you won’t want to miss. Invite your friends from out of town for this one!
AT CAMECO CAPITOL ARTS CENTRE
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is coming to Northumberland County. Award winning director Jim Finan and producer Beth Hunt team up with musical director Lynda Tonkin, conductor Bruce Tonkin, and talented choreographer Toni Grates-Myer to bring you Webber’s most popular show for the entire family to enjoy.
I promise your life will be enriched by attending a live performance by the Northumberland Players. We provide quality theatre at an affordable price. Make us part of a family celebration, give tickets as a gift, or make some memories with family and friends at our dinner theatre. Whether you see a show in our home The Firehall Theatre or experience a Northumberland Players play at Victoria Hall, The Best Western or the Capitol Theatre, you will be impressed with the quality of entertainment in your own county. No traffic! No travel expenses and no high ticket prices! I personally invite you to be part of our season.
Jack Boyagian,
Artistic Director and President