HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-10-03, Page 27THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1990. PAGE 27.
Entertainment TELL project here
Music review
Hardy’s music makes show work
The premiere showing of a
documentary video, “Shelter Me:
The Power of Popular Theatre” will
be held at the Huron County Board
of Education Centre in Clinton at 8
BY KEITH ROULSTON
Over the last few years Blyth
Memorial Hall has become identi
fied with professional theatre but
concerts like Saturday’s Hagood
Hardy concert remind us what a
wonderful place it is to hear good
music.
The acoustics of the hall are so
warm and mellow it feels like
you’re privileged to have these
famous performers in your own
living room.
And Hagood Hardy and his
back-up band make you feel like a
bunch of very talented friends just
dropped in to entertain you.
Probably few of the full house at
Saturday’s opening concert of the
Blyth Festival’s fall and spring
series could name more than one or
two Hardy compositions. There’s
something about instrumental
music that doesn’t allow the names
of the pieces to really stick in the
mind. From the opening notes of
“Chasing a Dream’’ however, most
people probably remembered the
music, at least if they listen to any
middle of the road Canadian sta-
The Blyth audience was privi
leged to be the first to hear the new
backup group Mr. Hardy has put
together featuring guitarists Mark
Crawford and Richard Hoome,
percusionist Memo Acevedo and
Kathryn Moses on a whole range of
instruments. Mr. Hardy is a very
generous composer and performer,
handing over the spotlight to other
members of the group almost as
much as it’s on himself. Ms. Moses
especially took centre stage often,
and deserved every minute of it.
The former member of the Sheena
Easton band, she started out
playing snythesizer then kept
bringing out a seemingly endless
assortment of instruments to add to
the rich Hardy sound. If memory
doesn’t fail she played at one time
or another the flute, piccolo, two
versions of the saxophone and a
percussion instrument, all the time
adding a dynamic stage presence
along with the talent.
Not to be outdone Mr. Hardy
managed to simultaneously play
piano and synthesizer at the same
time in some of his numbers.
And of course it’s the rich
Hagood Hardy compositions that
make the show work. Nearly every
number in the more than two hours
was a Hardy composition ranging
from ballads to jazz to music with a
Spanish flavour to a touch of rock.
Even when rock’s hard edges are
added to “If I Could Fly” there’s
still the rich Hardy melody underly
ing it all.
He ended the concert with the
most famous international hit “The
Homecoming” but it was the
second last number, another well-
known piece, that showed his
greatest versatility. The “Theme
from the Newcomers”, manages to
blend together the diverse back
grounds of Canada’s founding
peoples in a piece that is now
powerful, now playful and rollick
ing.
Reluctant to see the concert end,
the audience produced a standing
ovation and was rewarded with one
of the few non-Hardy compositions
of. the evening: “As Time Goes
By”. For most people time proba
bly went by too quickly.
Beyond help
What happens when employ
ment blues strike a Huron County
resident and who can turn the
situation around?
These are the questions asked by
the Huron Employment Liaison
Program (HELP) in their play
“Beyond Help Classifieds”, which
will be performed at Wesley-Willis
United Church in Clinton on Octo
ber 18 and 19.
Sponsored by HELP and Sheatre
Educational Alternative Theatre
with the Assistance of the Ontario
Ministry of Health the play is
action-packed and involves audi
ence participation. It is billed as a
true story with lots of conse
quences. Admission is free.
p.m. on Tuesday, October 9.
Sponsored by Sheatre-Eduction-
al Alternative Theatre (Huron),
part of a TELL concept introduced
in the county recently the video
takes a journey through exciting
ideas in community development,
social change and personal em
powerment.
Artistic Director Joan Chandler
of Brussels invites everyone to
discover how this tool will be
affecting our community.
WALTON INN
- 1 • ■ '
WILL BE
CLOSED
Sat. Oct. 6, Sun., Oct 7 6 Mon., Oct. 8
We wish everyone
A HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Hagood Hardy
Hagood Hardy entertained a full house at Blyth Memorial Hall
Saturday night with his owncompositions and some old
favourites by others. Backed up by an outstanding band he
drew a standing ovation from the audience.
Grand launches 90-91 season
Rehearsals have begun for The
Grand Theatre, London’s 1990-91
season opener, “Farther West” by
John Murrell.
Opening October 12, this fiery
■finance stars Lorena Gale, Frank
"oore and Daniel Kash, with
Michael Fawkes, Murray McCune,
Joanne Miller, Nicholas Rice,
Sandi Ross, Roland Rothchild and
Maria Vacratsis. Farther West is
directed by John Cooper, with set
and costumes designed by Astrid
Janson, and lighting designed by
Kevin Fraser. Assistant director is
Stephen Woodjetts with fights
staged by K. Reed Needles.
In 1890, a woman had two
career choices -- she could become
a teacher or a prostitute. When
May Buchanan’s (Lorena Gale)
father discovers her in bed with a
man, he expels her from his home
telling her to move farther west to a
place where there are no rules, no
laws, no judges. May flees to
Calgary where she sets up and runs
a successful brothel with three
other women, Violet Decarmin
(Maria Vacratsis), Lily Reeves
(Sandi Ross) and the young Netti
McDowell (Joanne Miller). May is
bought, used and hunted down by
various men. whether they be
clients such as Babcock (Michael
Fawkes), Hanks (Nicholas Rice) or
Raglan (Roland Rothchild), the Law
in the name of Constable Seward
(Frank Moore) and his sidekick
Ross (Murray McCune), or the
cowboy, Thomas Shepherd (Daniel
Kash), who falls in love with her.
The impossibility of living her life
without being possessed or judged
eventually takes May to Vancou
ver. English Bay is as far west as
May ever gets.
John Murrell (Playwright) was
born in the United States but
completed his formal education and
theatre training in Alberta, where
he has lived and worked for over
twenty years. His play “Memoir”
has been translated into more than
15 languages and performed in at
least 25 countries including the
Soviet Union. Other plays by Mr.
Murrell include “New World”
“October” and “Waiting For the
Parade” which has been produced
in virtually every major Canadian
city, in the U.S.A., England, South
Africa and Australia. Recognized
for his fine translations/adapta-
tions of foreign language classics,
Mr. Murrell’s translations of
“Uncle Vanya” and “The Seagull”
which premiered at the Stratford
Festival, are frequently produced
in England, Canada and the U.S.A.
Mr. Murrell currently serves as
Head of the Theatre Section of the
Canada Council.
invites you to our
4th Annual
OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday, October 3
thru
Saturday, October 6
9 am-9 pm
We are decorating many rooms of the
house with quality, handcrafted, floral
gifts.
Watch for our signs between Varna
and Bayfield.
263-5367
EVERYONE WELCOME
Remember Our
SUNDAY COUNTRY DINNER
12:00 NOON TILL 7:00 PM
ji WALTON fl
BED 6 BREAKFAST
CRAFT 6 COFFEE SHOP
—Mon. to Fri. 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
. Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday Closed
887-9517
AT THE MAIN CORNER, WALTON
PARK THEATRE
GODERICH 524-781
JAMES BI I I SIII
CHARLES GRODIN
FRI.-THUR.
OCT. 5-11
FRI. & SAT. 7 & 9 P.M..
SUN.-THURS. 8 P.M.
ADULT*14 ACCOMPANIMINT
HkIM,
CARE
OF
BUSINESS
You are who you pretend to be.
LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800-265-3438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO
JOIN US FOR OUR
THANKSGIVING DINNER
TURKEY
DINNER
WITH ALL THE
TRIMMINGS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1990
Call us today to book your
Christmas Banquets or Family
get-togethers.
DAILY SPECIALS • FRIENDLY SERVICE
BobbiJo’s Truck Stop
Hwy. #4 -1 mile south of Wingham
357-1058