The Citizen, 2017-07-06, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017. PAGE 27.
Entertainment Leisure
Festival hits right notes with 'Mr. New Year's Eve'
A Canadian legend
Ron Kennel! leads the way in Mr. New Year's Eve as Guy Lombardo, the legendary Canadian
musician at the heart of the Blyth Festival's latest world premiere. His band, the Royal
Canadians, is rounded out by, from left: George Meanwell, Birgitte Solem, Klaus Anselm,
Jason Chesworth, Nathan Howe, Rebecca Auerbach, Kennel!, J.D. Nicholsen and James
Thomson. (Terry Manzo photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Artistic Director Gil Garratt has
succeeded in hitting a celebratory
note in the Blyth Festival's return to
Memorial Hall — now new and
improved after $4.2 million of
renovations both on and off the
stage.
In many ways, Mr. New Year's
Eve: A Night with Guy Lombardo, is
a perfect show to bring audiences
back to Memorial Hall and show off
the capabilities the renovation
provides. The show is advanced in
its technology, but steeped in history
like so many Blyth Festival shows
before it.
Garratt, who also directs the show,
makes use of the new, state-of-the-
art sound system, both for sound
effects throughout the show and for
the music of Lombardo and his
band. The addition of Beth Kates as
one of the first (if not, the first) to be
credited as a digital dramaturge with
her projection work — another
advancement now in the hall's tool
belt — is another nod to the
advancements made at the hall in
recent months.
The show tells the story of
Lombardo — a household name
decades ago, but whose legacy has
faded from public consciousness
since his passing in the late 1970s. A
London native, Lombardo and his
band The Royal Canadians are
believed to have sold as many as 300
million records worldwide. They
toured North America extensively
(and exhaustively), but would
forever be linked to New Year's Eve
after playing that night's biggest
party at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in
New York City for nearly 20 years.
Even Lombardo, played by Ron
Kennell, says it in the show: it's easy
to rattle off statistics and wow
audiences with just how big the
group became, but it's difficult to
wrap your head around just how
popular the group of musicians was
for its period in time.
The show, however, begins with an
age-old struggle. Not about a band
and the ultra -competitive music
industry, or the fear of prohibition -
era Chicago gangsters or Lombardo
and his band fighting the rising tide
of Dick Clark and rock and roll.
Rather, the curtain rises and
Lombardo is arguing with his father,
played by George Meanwell, who
also serves as the show's music
director.
Meanwell plays a man who was
tough on his son Guy and
continually tried to steer him
towards a career as a tailor,
following in his old man's footsteps.
However, it was Lombardo's
father who first introduced Guy and
his brothers to music, having them
perform in dance halls along Lake
Huron as children.
He also attempted to resist the
wave of jazz taking over the world
that would carve a path to a
handsome living for his sons.
The play sets the tone early as
Lombardo and his brothers spend the
next two hours working to earn the
respect and approval of their father.
It proves to be a difficult task.
Mr. New Year's Eve then embarks
on a journey of expertly -performed
musical numbers interspersed with
vignettes of Lombardo's life, many
Book Your Ad Now
for the 2017 IPM Issue
Distributed to all homes in Huron County and western Perth County
(through Canada Post) plus all campers staying at the Match RV site, with copies
available for match goers to pick up - 35,000 copies in total
Call The Citizen 519-523-4792 or contact sales representatives
Brenda Nyveld & Heather Fraser
e-mail: ads@northhuron.on.ca
of them often bound to a time or
place with which audience members
can relate.
The story, crafted by David Scott
who last wrote The Ballad of
Stompin' Tom for the Blyth Festival,
then hits on major life moments for
Lombardo and his group. Whether it
was their decision to begin
performing in the U.S., the stock
market crash and the Great
Depression or World War II, we're
alongside Lombardo all the way. We
even get to see him fall in love with
Lilliebell, played by Birgitte Solem,
who also plays flute in the band and
sings a number of tunes.
Speaking of the band, the music of
Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
is truly at the soul of this show.
While audiences dip in and out of
Lombardo's story with powerful
glimpses into the musician's life, it
is truly the music, all performed live
on stage, that is the shining star of
the show.
Festival regular and accomplished
guitar player J.D. Nicholsen was
asked to summon his high school -era
drum skills for his role in the band
and he plays well and looks at home
at the kit. Similarly, Jason
Chesworth, one of the province's
most accomplished guitarists, plays
the six -string for Lombardo's
numbers, even dipping his toe into
rock and roll when the occasion calls
for it.
Klaus Anselm, Nathan Howe and
James Thomson all prove
themselves to be more -than -worthy
musicians, bringing the audience to
applaud after every solo and every
song. The musicians complement
Nicholsen on drums, Chesworth on
guitar, Solem on flute and Meanwell
on piano.
One of the true stars of the musical
numbers is Rebecca Auerbach, who
plays Sophie Tucker, who is also
known as the last of the Red Hot
Mamas. She is vivacious in the way
women of the era were with a
singing voice that could reach the
east end of the village if only the
Memorial Hall walls weren't in its
way.
As the band performs, Lombardo
is always present, both conducting
his musicians and playing to the
audience. Kennel) embodies the soul
of the era and one could be forgiven
if one forgot it was 2017 while
sitting in Memorial Hall for a
production of Mr. New Year's Eve.
The show features music and does
a good job of telling Lombardo's
story, but at its heart, Mr. New Year's
Eve is simply a fun night out at the
theatre and it hit the celebratory
notes Garratt and all involved with
the Blyth Festival have been hoping
for with this grand re -opening show.
Mr. New Year's Eve: A Night with
Guy Lombardo runs until Aug. 19.
lbrtrivs* 411
178 ►'jnenia-k
Make Your Own
Beer, Wine, Coolers
and Fruit Wine
(crew here
or at home!)
84 Kingstons�St.,
GODERICH
524-2323
11
1
iff• PARK THEATRE 30 The Square Jail
�lSt
fag GODERICH 519 524 7811
FOR MOVIE INFORMATION...
Loa
www.movielinks.ca long distance?1-800-265-3438
Join Brussels
Community Bible
Chapel
July 10-14 for a
Vacation Bible School
HIGH SEAS
ADVENTURE,.
BIBLE
STORIES
GAMES
Snacks
Questions?
Call Andrew Versteeg: 519357 7302,.
Or Janice Bell: 519 887 8138 3.
When: 8:45 -11:30
Where: Brussels Community Bible Chapel
650 Alexander St.
Who: Kids Age 5-12
No Preregistration Required! Free