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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSetting The Stage, 1998-06-24, Page 26Blyth Memorial Hall: home of 75 world premieres over the past 24 seasons. 4f Myth General Store -4 Gifts, Confectioneries, Cards, Souvenirs, Ice Cream, Yogurt, Geleto, Sherbet 4 Look for the Big Cone "It's The Place To Go Before The Show" Queen St., N. Blyth 523-9785 Discover the Naqic of Be charmed by the flavour of our friendly Huron County Village A warm WELCOME awaits you Live Professional Canadian Theatre Marvellous Little Shops Quaint Bed and Breakfasts Restaurants Offering Home-Cooked Meals An Art Gallery featuring Canadian Artists The Old Mill and Bainton's Old Mill carrying Canada's largest selection of wool and leather Camping Facilities with hydro and water Enjoy a Nature Walk along the Blyth Brook Community Greenway Trail COMING EVENTS The Bluewater Kennel Club Champion Dog Show & Obedience Trials July 7, 8, 9, 1998 Huron Pioneer Threshers & Hobby Association 37th Annual Fall Show September 11, 12, 13, 1998 The Village of Blyth is committed to providing you with opportunities for a most enjoyable visit VILLAGE OF BLYTH COUNCIL AND BLYTH PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION PAGE 2. SETTING THE STAGE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1998. Blyth Festival marks 24th season with new excitement /t 's hard to believe that when the Blyth Festival opens its 1998 season, June 26, it will be the 24th opening night since the first steamy night in the re-opened Blyth Memorial Hall. It was the days before air conditioning, before new lobby space and washrooms, before the actors even had dressing rooms. But as it nears the completion of its first quarter century, the Festival is looking forward, not back. There's a sense of excitement as acclaimed playwright Anne Chislett mounts her first season as artistic director with plays by some of Canada's best-known writers and a cast of some of the most illustrious stage actors the country can boast. Known for its presentation of world premieres of new scripts (there have been 75 in it's 24 seasons, 30 of which have gone on to other theatres across Canada and around the world), the Festival is for the first time headed by a writer and Chislett has dedicated herself to polishing the scripts until they sparkle. She has also attracted top talent, both writers and performers, in her first season of plays full of laughter and love. One of North America's top playwrights, Joanna McClelland Glass, provides the opening production of the season with 'a new verSion of her play Yesteryear. Originally produced in Toronto but extensively rewritten for this production, Yesteryear takes us back to the post-World War Two era in a small prairie town when a winning Irish Sweepstakes ticket changes the lives of the town's decorator, his long-lost love and the townsfolk around them. The heart-warming comedy opens the Festival on June 26 and runs in repertory until Aug. 22. It stars such well-known veterans of the Canadian stage and screen as Michelle Fisk, Michael Healey, Sharon Bakker and long- time Blyth Festival favourites Tom Hauff, Jerry Franken and Eric Coates. One of Canada's hottest young playwrights Andrew Moodie will premiere his newest script Wilbur County Blues at the Festival beginning July 1 and running, in repertory, until Aug. 1'. Starring George Seremba, Michael Blake, Michael Healey, Caroline Gillis, Katherine Ashby, MacKenzie Muldoon and Glen Gould, Wilbur County Blues tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant who moves his son away from the tensions of Toronto to a small Ontario town but is afraid to join in the community life. It takes a teenage romance and a set of unlikely conspirators to turn Ben's village house into a home. An outstanding cast of some of Canada's top women actors and the witty and wise script of Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Carol Shields combine for 13 Hands, the third production of the year. Goldie Semple, a former star at Stratford and Shaw festivals, joins Michelle Fisk, Jane Spidel and Sharon Bakker in this story of women whose stories of triumph and tragedy are told around the bridge table. The final play of the season is Cover: Set model and costume sketches by Yvonne Sauriol for Yesteryear, opening production at the 1998 Blyth Festival. Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!, by local playwright Keith Roulston. It's a humorous look at the effect of the '90s economic crunch on the residents of one small town. This year the Festival will also be making greater use of its "Garage" studio space for intimate small-cast productions. A new musical Hot Flashes by Paul Ledoux and John Roby is the first production of the summer, beginning July 22 and running nightly until Aug. 15. Janet and Harry come to a Nova Scotia summer resort to put the spark back in their marriage but their surly teenage daughter could put out the fire forever. Michael Healey, who will also act in Yesteryear and Wilbur County Blues, will perform his one-man show Kicked at the Garage August 18 to 22. A police officer conducts three interviews in an attempt to find a little girl who went missing on her way home from school. All that has been found is her right shoe. The police officer solves the case but in doing so reveals how incapable adults are of understanding, let alone protecting children. Jennifer Fawcett brings her one- woman show The Goat Show (it features 12 characters and a herd of goats) to The Garage from August 27-29. As narrator she recreates the story of Dick and Jane, a young idealistic couple who go back to nature to raise goats. Through the hilarious antics of their young daughter Rebecca, and the painful events surrounding the end of their farming dream, The Goat Show tells the story of the strength of love overcoming sacrifices of money, time and dreams. There will also be other programs at the Garage, everything from modern dance to Fringe theatre presentations. Check with the Festival box office for details.