Tag Archives: Charlottetown Festival

News Flash

Last Chance!

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🚨 Last chance alert! 🚨

Today is the final day to enter our “Feel it all at opening night” contest and secure your shot at the ultimate opening night experience at the Charlottetown Festival!

🎉 Don’t miss out on the opportunity to win a prize pack valued over $2,000! 🎁

Imagine the VIP treatment, the thrill of MAGGIE and The Play That Goes Wrong premieres, a luxurious stay at the Holman Grand Hotel, a $600 Food Island gift card, travel cards, and the chance to meet the incredible cast and the one and only Johnny Reid himself!

To enter 👉🏼 Like our page @confedcentre and visit our website to enter right now before it’s too late – confederationcentre.com/contest/

#CharlottetownFestival#FeelItAll#OpeningNight#ContestAlert

Theatre PEI

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On Stage

The Men and Women of Maggie

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We’re excited to announce the full cast and creative team bringing MAGGIE – the heartwarming story of Johnny’s gran to life at The Charlottetown Festival.

Starring the talented Dharma Bizier in the titular role, with an incredible score by award-winning artist Johnny Reid, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

The musical will be directed by Mary Francis Moore, a fellow Scot and artistic director of Theatre Aquarius, where the show recently premiered.

Sponsored by The Gray Group – Real Estate & Development, MAGGIE will be playing at The Charlottetown Festival from June 21 to September 2.

Visit confederationcentre.com/news/ to read the full press release and learn more about this inspiring musical.

Don’t miss out on this unforgettable production!

#MAGGIE#CharlottetownFestival#MusicalTheatre#PressRelease#VisitWebsite

Theatre PEI

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News Flash

Feel It All

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Are you ready for the ultimate opening night experience at the Charlottetown Festival? 🤩

🌟 Don’t miss your chance to win our “Feel it all at opening night” contest and enjoy VIP treatment at the premiere of MAGGIE and The Play That Goes Wrong.

Plus, stay at the Holman Grand Hotel, receive a $600 Food Island gift card, travel cards, and meet the cast and Johnny Reid himself!

Like our page @confedcentre and click the link in bio to enter the contest.

Read the full terms and conditions on our website.

#CharlottetownFestival#FeelItAll#OpeningNight#ContestAlert

Theatre PEI

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News Flash

Audition Notice

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📢 GENERAL AUDITION NOTICE

Neptune Theatre and The Charlottetown Festival are holding joint general auditions for Island-based artists from August 31 – September 1. Submissions are now open!

Video submissions for all performers (including off-Island) will be open from August 15 – 31

All information can be found here: https://confederationcentre.com/auditions/

Questions can be directed to Rosie Shaw at rshaw@confederationcentre.com

Theatre PEI

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News Flash

The Red Head is Back

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Full Cast and Creative Team Announced for Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™ at The Charlottetown Festival

After a two-year hiatus, P.E.I.’s most iconic redhead is back with a talented cast of performers from across Canada.  

Proudly sponsored by The Gray Group Real Estate & Development, The 2022 Charlottetown Festival includes seven productions across Confederation Centre of the Arts’ three venues – including Tell Tale Harbour, Betty’s Song, and Hey Viola! 

Sponsored by CAA Atlantic, this summer marks the first time Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™ has been staged at the Centre since 2019 due to COVID-related challenges.  

The Centre previously announced that the titular role will be played by Kelsey Verzotti, a Calgary-born, Toronto-based performer who has entertained audiences across the country. The character’s best friend and kindred spirit, Diana Barry, will be performed by Emma Rudy, who returns after playing the titular character in the Festival’s 2019 production as well as the 2020 broadcast special Feelin’ Mighty Proud.  

The ensemble features a mixture of Festival alumni and fresh faces. Laurie Murdoch and Islander Marlane O’Brien, who were originally cast in the cancelled 2020 production, will play reluctant adopters Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, with Justin Eddy as foe turned friend Gilbert Blythe.  

Other Islanders in the cast include Cameron MacDuffee, Charlotte Moore, Kristen Pottle, and Charlottetown’s Nadia Haddad, who will make her mainstage debut after performing at the Centre’s Outdoor Amphitheatre. “I have always dreamed of being on the Centre’s mainstage,” says Haddad. “It is really special to have my debut in a show that means so much to P.E.I.”  

Ten Island youth have also been cast as the children of Avonlea: Cole Brioux, Blaire Dudley, Nathan Dudley, Paige Dudley, Katie Grandy, Brielle Hunter, Adia Laureijs, James Morum, Hanaye Ono, and Zoe White.  

Several Festival alumni are set to make their return, including Stephen Guy-McGrath, Alana Hibbert, Jacob MacInnis, Laurie Murdoch, Jamie Murray, and Nicole Norsworthy. 

Cast members making their Festival debut include Michelle Bardach, Jahlen Barnes, Alexander Batycki, Lyndsey Britten, Justin Eddy, Taran Kim, Tama Martin, Trevor Patt, Shakeil Rollock, Brian Ross, Stéphanie Visconti, Marquita Walsh, and Alison Woolridge. 

The musical will be directed by Adam Brazier, the Centre’s artistic director of performing arts. “We are so excited to bring the Island’s most beloved orphan back to the stage,” he says. “This talented ensemble will breathe new life into this classic show while honouring the cultural and historic importance of the piece.”

Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™ starts previews June 18, with opening night slated for June 25. The production will run until September 3. For tickets and more information, visit confederationcentre.com or call the box office at 1-800-565-0278.  

Theatre PEI

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News Flash

At a Glance

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THE 2022 CHARLOTTETOWN FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE 

MAINSTAGE 

Tell Tale Harbour  

Musical adaptation by Adam Brazier, Alan Doyle, Bob Foster, Edward Riche

Based on the original screenplay The Grand Seduction by Ken Scott

June 14 – September 24 | Opening June 23 

Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™

Book by Don Harron. Music by Norman Campbell. Lyrics by Don Harron and Norman Campbell. Additional lyrics by Mavor Moore and Elaine Campbell.  

June 18 – September 3 | Opening June 25 

THE MACK

Betty’s Song

Created by Ashley Condon 

July 5 – 29 | Opening July 8 

Hey Viola! 

Created by Krystle Dos Santos and Tracey Power

August 3 – 13 | Opening August 4

OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATRE

Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq Voices

Created and performed by the Mi’kmaq Heritage Actors

July 6 – 22 

Munschables

July 29 – September 1 | Opening July 30 

Island Vibe

Written and choreographed by Dawn Ward and Joe Dames in association with Xclusiv Crew 

August 5 – September 3 | Opening August 6 

Theatre PEI

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On Stage

A Gem From Newfoundland

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‘Between Breaths’: The Charlottetown Festival Returns with a Newfoundland Gem

-‘Breathtaking Performance’ coming to Confederation Centre’s Mainstage on June 3-

Inspired by the true story of Dr. Jon Lien – known as ‘the Whale Man’ – Between Breaths is a profound memory play that sails through Dr. Jon’s career and the death-defying work of saving whales trapped in fishing nets off Newfoundland. 

“I have always been drawn to true stories in the theatre”, offers Artistic Director of Performing Arts, Adam Brazier. “Experiencing real life stories on stage connects me to our past while demanding creativity from both the storytellers and the audience. Between Breaths reminds us how small we are and the immense influence we can have.” 

This dynamic memory play begins late in Dr. Jon’s life and moves backwards, to his first whale intervention. With his head down in freezing waters and armed only with a snorkel and knife, Dr. Jon would save the lives of over 500 animals and earn the hard-won respect of Newfoundland’s fishers. Featuring an evocative live score from Island favourites, The Once, Between Breaths weaves dynamically from the Whale Man’s origins in the American Midwest, throughout his incredible career, right up to the biggest fight of his life—facing dementia in his later years.

Directed by Jillian Keiley (Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre) Between Breaths plays June 3-19 in the Mainstage Theatre. 

Sponsored by CAA Atlantic, the play features a tight-knit ensemble of Newfoundland-based actors and musicians. These include: Steve O’Connell as Dr. Jon Lien; Bernardine Stapleton as his wife and caregiver, Judy Lien; and Darryl Hopkins as Wayne the Fisher, and other roles. The actors are accompanied by Andrew Laite (vocals/guitar); Kelly McMichael (vocals); and Josh Sandu (mandolin/bodhran/vocals). 

Patron capacities continue to be limited to 300 per-performance and theatre seats are safely staggered. Shows will be presented with no intermission and concessions are to be ordered online in advance. Mask-wearing and social distancing remains mandatory throughout the Centre.

Theatre PEI

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News Flash

Charlottetown Festival 2020 is Cancelled

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For the first time in its 55-year history, The Charlottetown Festival will not entertain audiences from around the world this summer. Confederation Centre of the Arts CEO Steve Bellamy announced today the cancellation of the Festival along with changes to visual arts and heritage programming at the Centre in 2020.

“Our province has responded admirably to this unprecedented challenge, and we are grateful for the leadership they have shown to keep Islanders and visitors safe. Unfortunately, with the necessary restrictions on large gatherings and the need for social distancing remaining in place for some time, our ability is limited, not only to host audiences, but to prepare with rehearsals and construction in the months ahead of our performances”, says Bellamy.

He continues, “We are truly saddened not to be able to share in the joy of live theatre together this season and I want to express to all of our members, partners, patrons, and artists that we cannot wait to celebrate the arts as a community again when the time is right.”

Sponsored by CIBC, the Festival was slated to run from June 3 to September 26, featuring four major productions as well as the long-standing TD Confederation Centre Young Company. This marks the first time since 1965 that the Festival, and its flagship production Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™, will not be staged.

“With respect to the legacy of our crown jewel musical, we recognize the added weight of not being able to present the 56th season of this incredible production,” offers Artistic Director Adam Brazier. “Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™ is a rite of passage for thousands of Islanders and visitors every year. While it is upsetting to put this legacy on hold, this is the right thing to do for the safety of all involved. Anne’s spirit, humour, and optimism are so deeply ingrained in our culture that whether she is on stage or not, her legacy lives on. Our patrons can be assured that Anne will be here in 2021.”

For those currently holding tickets please fill out the online form<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FestivalRefunds> for ticketing options. The Centre team is dealing with a high volume of bookings and greatly appreciates the patience and support of patrons in this process.

The Confederation Centre Art Gallery (CCAG) summer season is also being impacted, with major exhibitions A Life’s Work: Canadian Artist Robert Harris 1849-1919 and BGL: Two Thumbs Up Arts and Crafts being delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic. A revised schedule will be announced in the weeks ahead, offering alternative programming for when the Gallery reopens.

“We are looking forward to a time when we can once again welcome the community into the Art Gallery,” says Gallery Director Kevin Rice, “and in the meantime, we are continuing to work on future exhibitions and connect to our patrons through virtual projects.”

The CCAG is currently participating in FIELD TRIP<https://www.fieldtrip.art/field-trips/the-gallery-at-rest-a-tour-of-the-temporarily-darkened-confederation-centre-art-gallerynbsp>, an online national visual arts initiative, alongside more than 25 other Canadian galleries and museums, and also offering ‘Art Class from Home’ visual art activities, found here<https://confederationcentre.com/art-class-from-home/> on the Centre’s website.

In the weeks ahead, an announcement will also be made outlining summer presentations of the Confederation Players guided walking tours and the Confederation Chamber replica exhibition. The Centre is exploring options for presenting these celebrated heritage programs.

The Centre team continues to monitor the pandemic situation day-to-day and is accessing the potential for additional programming this summer. Please continue to visit the website<http://www.confederationcentre.com/> and social media for up-to-date information.

The Centre complex itself remains closed to the public based on guidance from Public Health, but many staff are working from home and are available via email and phone.

PEI Professional Theatre Network

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PEI Theatre is the Guild, Harbourfront Theatre,
Confederation Centre for the Arts,
Watermark Theatre, and the Victoria Playhouse
Music

Raising Up Rita

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Full Cast Announced For ‘DEAR RITA’ at The Charlottetown Festival

World premiere will feature six actor-musicians channeling Rita MacNeil’s songs and spirit

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Tickets are ‘flying on their own’ for this summer’s new cabaret production,Dear Rita, playing June 25 to September 25 at The Charlottetown Festival. Sponsored by Key Murray Law, Dear Rita is a musical toast to Canadian icon and songwriter Rita MacNeil that celebrates the life, tenacity, and musical legacy of the late singer.

This week, the company and creative team are gathering together for the first time to workshop the new musical. Artistic Director Adam Brazier is pleased to reveal the full cast, including Islanders Mike Ross and Michelle Bouey; Alana Bridgewater; Quinn Dooley; and Sheldon Elter. All five are veterans of the Festival, known to patrons for a wealth of beloved shows.

This marks Ross’ first time performing at the Festival in over a decade. A Charlottetown native, he is a leading force as a performer and composer in Canada. The founding director of music at Soulpepper Theatre Company, his musical, Spoon River was a critic’s pick in the New York Times. He was an international fellow at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and also composes for the screen, having written the theme song for CBC’s Kim’s Convenience.

Dooley and Bouey’s repertory casting were both announced earlier this winter. Dooley recently appeared in the Grand’s Ring of Fire and performed in 2015’s Evangeline. Bouey recently performed in ROSE at Soulpepper and is an alumna of the TD Confederation Centre Young Company.

“It’s the kind of theatre that gives you more of a chance to connect with your audience,” she offers during a break from the workshop in Toronto. “I grew up listening to Rita McNeil and watching her Christmas TV specials. To think that a small group of us get to honour her legacy on East Coast soil is so special”

Sheldon Elter is a versatile actor, writer, musician, and comic, known nationally for his one man show, Metis Mutt, which he performed at the Festival in 2018. He also performed there inEvangeline and Stories from the Red-Dirt Road. His TV acting and writing credits include CAUTION: May Contain Nuts, Hank Williams’ First Nation, Delmer & Marta, and Hell on Wheels.

Alana Bridgewater has appeared at the Festival in Spoon River, Hairspray, and the Christmas panto Robyn Hood. An experienced professional, she has performed throughout North America with Soulpepper, Mirvish, and The Grand; live on live with Johnny Reid and others; and in TV and film.

Confederation Centre wishes to acknowledge the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Government of P.E.I., and the City of Charlottetown for their continued support. Experience it all, this summer at The Charlottetown Festival, sponsored by CIBC. Dear Rita is developed in association with the Savoy Theatre in Cape Breton, and will play there from October 1-4, following its run on P.E.I.

PEI Professional Theatre Network

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PEI Theatre is the Guild, Harbourfront Theatre,
Confederation Centre for the Arts,
Watermark Theatre, and the Victoria Playhouse
News Flash

Riding the Rita Rodeo

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The Charlottetown Festival and The Savoy Theatre Announce Dear Rita is Coming Home

World Premiere production will play June to September on P.E.I., then head to Cape Breton

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Rita MacNeil is coming home. Today, The Charlottetown Festival, in association with The Savoy Theatre, is pleased to announce that the new musical celebration Dear Rita will make its Nova Scotia premiere in October 2020.

Sponsored by Key Murray Law, Dear Rita is a musical toast to Cape Breton superstar Rita MacNeil. Celebrating the life, tenacity, and music of the late singer, the production is being written by Cape Breton’s own Lindsay Kyte with creative new imaginings of Rita’s songs from P.E.I.’s Mike Ross.

“We are so excited to be sharing this work with The Savoy Theatre,” states Adam Brazier, artistic director of The Charlottetown Festival. “Rita’s home and heart were in Cape Breton and the Savoy was one of her favourite theatres. It is so very appropriate for this production to be shared on Cape Breton Island.”

 Playing at The Mack, a part of Confederation Centre, from June 25 to September 25, the show’s 2020 season will now include an exclusive, one-week run in Glace Bay at the Savoy. The 760-seat Victorian theatre is Cape Breton’s premium entertainment and cultural showplace, and will play host to Dear Rita from October 1 to 4. Tickets for both theatres are on sale now.

“Rita MacNeil’s connection to The Savoy Theatre was very strong, and so we are beyond thrilled to be able to present Dear Rita on our stage, where Rita spent countless hours,” says Pam Leader, executive director of the Savoy. “We are also extremely grateful for the opportunity to co-develop this project with Confederation Centre. Rita’s incredible journey and her vast catalogue of songs deserve to be shared with anyone who will listen.”

Developed closely with Rita’s son Wade Langham, Dear Rita features traditional and new, re-imagined arrangements of Rita’s songs. Director Mary Francis Moore, Kyte, and Ross will weave Rita’s lyrics and music into new perspectives, inviting her spirit into the room and letting her songs live on through the audience’s own experiences.

The cast includes actor-musicians who both sing and play instruments, channeling MacNeil’s stories and spirit through their own identities as oppose to a literal depictio of the Canadian icon herself. A full company casting announcement will be made in late February, during a week-long workshop in Toronto for this exciting new production.

For more on the historic Savoy Theatre, visit their website. Confederation Centre wishes to acknowledge the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Government of P.E.I., and the City of Charlottetown for their continued support. The title sponsor of The Charlottetown Festival is CIBC.

PEI Professional Theatre Network

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PEI Theatre is the Guild, Harbourfront Theatre,
Confederation Centre for the Arts,
Watermark Theatre, and the Victoria Playhouse