This is your LAST WEEK to hear the Island songs, stories, and enjoy delicious seafood chowder and a biscuit with Glenda’s Kitchen!
It plays today, tomorrow, Thursday and Friday at 1:30pm, get your tickets and get in to see it before it closes at the Confederation Centre!
Premiering July 13, The Charlottetown Festival is proud to present a new production of the cabaret musical which charmed Islanders and tourists alike last summer. Glenda Landry returns with new songs, stories and her talented musical kitchen party team, as Glenda’s Kitchen cooks up the best kind of seafood chowder, a bowl with a story behind it!
Directed by Festival favourite Wade Lynch, Glenda’s Kitchen plays in Studio 1 at Confederation Centre of the Arts on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 1:30 p.m. until September 1.
Led by Island theatre icon, Glenda Landry, the 75-minute production offers a taste of the Island, literally and culturally, including a plated bowl of chowder for each patron. This afternoon cabaret features new tunes and tales from Glenda, her band, and a stacked cast of Festival all-stars. Landry and the ensemble explore the many bounties of P.E.I.’s people, traditions, and world-famous food.
Landry is an accomplished chef, motivational speaker, and actor, having performed in Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™for many summers, as well as memorable roles in Sound of Music and Oliver! at the Capitol Theatre, and Wizard of Oz, The Full Monty, and the world premiere of Evangeline at the Centre.
She is joined at the table by Hank Stinson, Marlane O’Brien, Julain Molnar, Cameron MacDuffee, Scott Christian andKaren Graves. Husband and wife team MacDuffee and Graves will provide the musical accompaniment alongside Christian, who serves as musical director for the production. The light-hearted musical is sponsored by the PEI Fishermen’s Association with kitchen products courtesy The Kitchen Store.
Special thanks are extended to the Government of Canada for their support of Confederation Centre; production sponsor, Tim Horton’s; and The Charlottetown Festival sponsor, CIBC. Appreciation is extended to media sponsors Ocean 100, Hot 105.5, CTV, and The Guardian.
Since stepping down as Associate Artistic Director of the Festival in 2014, Wade has completed his Masters of Education through UPEI, which has led to opportunities at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Wade is now the Development Officer for the Senior Academy for Lifelong Living, and an instructor with Bishop’s drama department. He also directed Anne™ for the Festival from 2015 to 16, as well directing for the Drayton Festival and for the Segal Centre in Montreal. Wade’s new play, Down the Road with Dutch Mason is being workshopped at Bishop’s this spring before it returns to the Festival for its third workshop this July.
“Working on Glenda’s Kitchen feels very much like coming home,” reflects Wade. “Marlane and I started at the Festival together in 1992 with A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at The Mack. That was the same summer we met and admired Glenda, Hank, and Julain, who were all performing their hearts out on the main stage. When Cam came along a few years later, this family was complete.”
For 25 years the group have all worked, played, and bonded together. “The common bond was Glenda and P.E.I. Glenda is the real thing; a genuine Islander who made a life in theatre possible, while keeping a happy home and family on the Island,” he explains. “She was the model for the rest of us, and made us believe that opportunities don’t have to be limited by geography, that a life in show business and a life on beautiful P.E.I. are not mutually exclusive. What a gift then, to be able to celebrate her good example in this engaging, intimate show.”
Glenda’s Kitchen runs four times weekly, from July 13 to September 1, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. in Studio 1 at Confederation Centre of the Arts. The Charlottetown Festival is sponsored by CIBC. Special thanks are extended to the PEI Fisherman’s Association, production sponsor for Glenda’s Kitchen. Kitchen products are supplied by Kitchens Unlimited
Confederation Centre of the Arts has announced a dazzling lineup for next summer’s Charlottetown Festival, presented by CIBC. The 2017 Festival will run June 3 to September 24 and include the 53rd season of the international sensation Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™; the iconic rock ’n’ roll mega-concert Million Dollar Quartet; the return of two beloved Festival-spawned musicals, Bittergirl and Glenda’s Kitchen; and a new Young Company production that will tour the country.
Million Dollar Quartet is a hit musical inspired by the true story of the famed 1956 recording session in which producer Sam Phillips brought together the “godfathers of rock ‘n’ roll” – Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley – for one unforgettable jam session. Set in a Memphis studio, this story-and-song musical brings to light an extraordinary tale of broken promises, secrets, and a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of four friends that is both poignant and heartwarming. Featured are such hallmark hits as Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Fever, Great Balls Of Fire, Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, and many more.
Presented in rep with Quartet is the Island festival’s crown jewel, Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™. For the first time, the internationally acclaimed musical will be directed by Artistic Director Adam Brazier, leading a company of 23 amazing triple threats from across the nation. Having delighted more than 2.5 million people over 3,200 times at the Centre, Anne of Green Gables–The Musical™ remains the quintessential Canadian musical, and Brazier is thrilled to put his creative stamp on the iconic piece.
“2017 is a year to celebrate Canada and being Canadian, and this storied musical rests at the very heart of our national identity,” says Brazier. “Searching for love and belonging in a time of strife and strain, Anne represents all Canadians coming to this country, or those searching for light every day in their own trials.”A Misfortune
He continues, “Million Dollar Quartet is an electrifying true story perfectly built for our Homburg Theatre and our Island audience. Presley, Cash, Lewis, and Perkins — this is one unbelievable studio session that changed rock’n’roll forever.”
Back at The Mack is the howlingly funny cabaret show on getting over getting dumped — Bittergirl: The Musical. This Canadian-made comedy virtually sold out its entire run when first premiering at the Festival in 2015. Having now played Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre and headed for Winnipeg and a tour of British Columbia, it will return in 2017 with new songs and scenes, and the same great soundtrack of doo-wop favourites, including I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I Will Survive, and Too Many Fish In The Sea.
Also playing The Mack, will be the world premiere of a new Canadian musical, A Misfortune. The story follows a young lawyer and a married woman in pre-revolutionary Russia on a walk through the woods; their friendship has reached an impasse. Soon they gather with three friends for a night in the country, discussing the inanity of their lives over an evening drink—and with each drink, more sordid secrets are revealed. Adapted from a short story by Anton Chekhov, one of the world’s most celebrated and enduring writers, A Misfortune is a romantic, bittersweet musical about small moments and momentous decisions.
Returning to the intimate Studio 1 theatre is Glenda’s Kitchen offering curious patrons a taste of the Island, literally and culturally! Festival icon, Glenda Landry and The Charlottetown Festival Orchestra lead this charming musical, exploring the many bounties of P.E.I.’s people, deep-seated traditions, and world-famous food. This afternoon cabaret is a must-see for Islanders and travelers alike and will feature new tunes and tales from Glenda and cast.
The Centre has already announced a new national touring production for the Young Company — Dream Catcher. With support from the Canada 150 Fund, the Centre will engage youth from across the country to create a new musical inspired by their dreams for Canada’s future. Around 20 young professional artists, who reflect the country’s cultural diversity, will be cast in two Young Companies – one touring and one on P.E.I., supported by TD. Participants will meet with Indigenous artists who will speak to them about the symbolic importance of dreamcatchers in their cultures. Small dreamcatchers will be created and integrated into an immense visual that will be on display outdoors at the Centre in 2017.
“We are thrilled for the 2017 Young Company to hit the national stage to celebrate the dreams of our nation’s founders, those of our youth, and those of the Indigenous Peoples in Canada, with a Canada-wide tour and original musical theatre project,” says Jessie Inman, CEO.
“Continuing our long history of national touring, Dream Catcher will seize the momentum of Canada’s sesquicentennial and engage young people from every province and territory, channeling their bold hopes and dreams for our nation’s future.”
The final production of the summer season has opened at The Charlottetown Festival — a hot new matinee show that offers a taste of the Island, literally and culturally. Starring P.E.I. actress and accomplished chef Glenda Landry, Glenda’s Kitchen is sponsored by CAA, and plays select dates in Studio 1 at Confederation Centre until August 26.
Glenda Landry is a 45-year veteran of The Charlottetown Festival, having shone for many seasons in Avonlea as Diana and later Mrs. Pye, among others, and in Centre productions such as The Kitchen Witches and Wizard of Oz. The Island native has also moonlighted for years as a chef, having completed the apprenticeship program at the Culinary Institute and plied her second trade alongside Chef Emily Wells at The Dunes and at Sim’s in Charlottetown.
This summer she leads a talented kitchen party cast, including fellow Islanders and Festival veterans Charlotte Moore, Marlane O’Brien, and Hank Stinson, all backed by the 12-piece Charlottetown Festival Orchestra, as they cook up the best kind of seafood chowder — a bowl with a story behind it. Glenda’s Kitchen plays Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 1:30 p.m. and concludes with a steaming bowl of chowder with an Island biscuit for every audience member.
Offering a bounty of songs, stories, and soup, Glenda’s Kitchen is directed by Artistic Director Adam Brazier and co-written by Brazier and Stinson. Musical direction and arrangements are by Scott Christian, and stage management is from Al Gadowsky.
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