We loved Robyn Hood! Every year we go to the Christmas shows and have always enjoyed each and every one! Mamma Mia, Anne of GG, Alice Through the Looking Glass, of course, were amazing too!
Great performances, witty and fun! We are so fortunate to have Confederation Centre here in Charlottetown!
The Confederation Centre is welcoming the following schools in to see a special performance of Robyn Hood – and probably see a few of their friends onstage!
Westisle Composite High
West Royalty Elementary
Bloomfield Elementary
Kensington Intermediate Senior High
Montessori School of Charlottetown
Eliot River Elementary
Charlottetown Rural High
East Wiltshire Intermediate
Enjoy the show!
When I first heard of the production Robyn Hood from one of my students in Seniors College, I thought it sounded like quite a riot, considering the play had a cast of 75—Charlottetown’s version of a cast of thousands—and the script by Adam Brazier and Graham Putnam wove several stories together with contributions from the cast. One must certainly investigate a claim of that magnitude. After opening night at the Homburg Theatre, I can say with certainty the claim is completely true.
The Confederation Centre of the Arts kicked off the Christmas season with Robyn Hood, a comic musical adaptation of the legend of Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest, except this time, Robyn is a woman out to defeat the power-hungry Prince John of the Kingdom of Charlottetown. Maria Campbell, an alumna of the Confederation Centre Young Company, belted out a charmingly exuberant Robyn Hood supported all throughout by Friar Tuck, played Alana Bridgewater, whose powerful and lovely voice filled the theatre—the two were perfectly matched singing together.
Not to be outdone was Maid Marian, played by Jessica Gallant, who matched the mood with her music as she tried to solve her dilemma: to betray or not to betray? Sarah MacPhee’s signature Town Crier role was resurrected yet once again and given the opportunity to rise in the ranks, thanks to Matt Rainnie’s dastardly pouting Prince John’s machinations. He was joined on stage by his two daughters in the Charlottetown ensemble impoverished by being taxed to the max by Prince John.
The numerous scenes offered multiple opportunities to shift around the cast of 75—filling the stage was certainly not a problem in this production. Although the production was not technically perfect, the minute slips here and there were easily covered up by the ribaldry and jokes that spared no one. A great deal of the humor, however, is strictly local and anyone who is not familiar with PEI culture might not understand why people were laughing. There was a generous dose of tongue-in-cheek wit throughout the play and even the songs were selected from a wide range of sources to provide a lively musical tapestry.
Besides the occasional dancer with lower energy levels, the performance was bursting with rollicking fun. Garnett Gallant’s set design was just right and I wonder if anyone else picked up on the bit of irony with the Bundy clock, guitar, golf cart, and Maid Marian’s selfie during the wild chase through the Christmas-lit forest, not to mention the occasional hand microphone appearing on stage after Friar Tuck declared the play would bring us back to a time before cellphones, iPads, and Netflix! Deliberate or not, inconsistencies aside, it all added up to a great deal of fun that might have started a tad slow but certainly built up to a rousing end.
If you’re in for some Christmas cheer, this is just the performance to see!
Review by Cindy Lapena. Used by permission. Originally posted on http://www.onrpei.com.
Robyn Hood and her ‘Fairly Merrily Men’ are riding to the rescue this holiday season. Adam Brazier’s comedy-musical Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier comes to life this week, premiering Friday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m. and playing select dates until December 17 at the Homburg Theatre.
From the comedic minds of Adam Brazier and Graham Putnam, Sobeys LIVE @ the Centre presents a ridiculous musical in the ‘pantomime’ tradition. Expect great music, dancing, and gags in this madcap adventure set in the Kingdom of Charlottetown and Sherwood-Parkdale Forest. Audiences are asked to boo the villain (Matt Rainnie’s tyrannical ‘Prince John’), cheer our heroes (Maria Campbell and Jessica Gallant as ‘Robyn Hood’ and ‘Maid Marian’), and revel in plentiful local humour and holiday cheer.
Robyn Hood features a cast of 75 performers, including Charlottetown Festival regular Alana Bridgewater (Spoon River, Hairspray), Sarah MacPhee (reprising her annual role as ‘the Town Crier’), Putnam (Sketch 22, Annekenstein), and students from the Holland College and Confederation Centre School of Performing Arts. See the full cast list online.
Musical Director Craig Fair leads the production’s many vocalists and community orchestra through an electric song list of musical theatre and pop hits, including ‘9 to 5′, ‘Feel the Same Way Too’, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘Proud Mary’, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and many more. Choreography is from Taryn Verkerk, stage management from Anne Murphy, set design from Garny Gallant, and lighting design from Steve Ross.
Starting at just $25, tickets are on sale now. Visit confederationcentre.com/theatre or contact the box office at (902) 566.1267. The official hashtag is #RobynConfed. Appreciation is extended to production sponsor Maid Marian’s Diner and media sponsors The Guardian, Hot 105.5, and Ocean 100.
“Build That Wall!” — Matt Rainnie Joins ‘Robyn Hood’ as Wicked Prince John — Local actor, writer, and broadcaster to play chief villain in Centre’s Christmas musical
Enter Matt Rainnie as the artist formally known as Prince. The well-known CBC broadcaster and performer joins a stacked cast this Christmas for Confederation Centre’s holiday musical, Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier.
Rainnie plays bad boy Prince John, the tousle-haired tyrant of Sherwood-Parkdale Forest, and foil to Robyn Hood (Maria Campbell) and her Fairly Merrily Men. Prince John rules the Island with an iron-fist, taxing the poor and scheming to contaminate their water and construct a wall around the entire province. The Adam Brazier-directed musical is penned by Graham Putnam and Brazier, and plays select dates, December 9 – 17.
“I’m excited to step into this bright and musical and incredibly silly world,” remarks Rainnie, “and to be the bad guy? Oh, it’s the best. Prince John is a sniveling, arrogant bully and that’s so much fun to play. I even get an awful wig, so I’m adjusting to having bangs for the first time in many years.”
Rainnie joins a fun-loving ensemble of theatre pros, Holland College/Confederation Centre School of Performing Arts students, hobby actors, and emerging talent of all ages, including Charlottetown Festival veterans Jessica Gallant and Alana Bridgewater, fellow Islanders Sarah MacPhee, Jordan Cameron, Nadia Haddad, Lexi Durant, Cameron MacDonald, Fraser McCallum, Tamara Gough, Ellen Carol, Al Baldwin, Ken Williams, and dozens more.
“I think with these shows, Adam and the Centre have created a welcome new holiday tradition,” Rainnie continues. “It can be a really busy time of year and these productions offer escape to this colourful and wonderfully ridiculous world, a chance to laugh and sing along to great tunes. Robyn Hood aims to do that again.”
Rainnie is the host of CBC Radio One’s popular P.E.I. morning show, Island Morning. Active in the community, he has also hosted countless charitable events across the province and remained connected to the local theatre scene where he was a founding member of Sketch 22, and cast member with Annekenstein and the improve comedy quartet 4Play.
“Theatre was a rewarding part of my life but I put it on hold the last few years,” he offers. “My daughters were both in Adam Brazier’s holiday show Aladdin last year. That gave me the chance to see this phenomenal crew in action and to see how much fun everyone was having both on stage and off. I knew I wanted to be part of that experience this time around.”
The broadcaster began his career with CBC PEI in 1993. He was a TV reporter and journalist before finding his home in radio. For several years, he hosted and produced the afternoon show, Mainstreet. During that time he was occasionally guest host of Sounds Like Canada and Weekend Mornings, and was host and producer of the national summer program, Lost and Found.
He has also worked as a film reviewer for CBC across the Maritimes, as a writer for stage and screen, and in animation voice-over. He lives in Charlottetown with his wife and three children, two of whom will join him on stage in Robyn Hood.
Adam Brazier’s holiday musical has added a local star, with the pride of Ten Mile House, Jessica Gallant joining the production as Maid Marion.
Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier marks the first time the Charlottetown Festival mainstay has performed in a Christmas musical comedy for Confederation Centre, and Gallant is excited for everything this hilarious adventure will hold.
“I’m thrilled to be performing at home during my favourite time of year — Christmas!” says Gallant, who spends the fall and winter months in Toronto. “Although the Island temperatures may feel cold, the season is so warm and exciting. I’m expecting nothing but belly-laughs and wit with Adam’s take on Robyn Hood!”
Although this marks her first role in one of Brazier’s holiday farces, which include Cinderella and Aladdin, Gallant has been a Festival favourite for more than five seasons. She first debuted with the Confederation Centre Young Company in Abegweit: the Soul of the Island before making her Homburg Theatre debut as Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™.
She also appeared in the world premiere of Evangeline, and productions of Mamma Mia! and Alice Through the Looking-Glass. She played Canada’s favourite redhead for the past two Festival seasons while continuing to perform in musicals and workshops in the Toronto area during the year.
Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier will be staged at Confederation Centre on select dates, December 9 to 17, 2016. Enjoy an alluring song list of musical theatre and pop hits – including ‘9 to 5,’ ‘Holding Out For A Hero,’ ‘Imagination,’ and ‘The Final Countdown’ – and a cast of dozens of Island school children and community performers.
Artistic Director Adam Brazier will direct and the script is by Brazier and Graham Putnam, with Festival mainstay Craig Fair as music director and Matthew MacInnis as production stage manager. Maria Campbell stars as the female Robyn Hood with Alana Bridgewater as Friar Tuck, and more principle casting to be announced next week.
Confederation Centre Conducting Auditions for ‘Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier’
Robyn Hood is riding to the rescue this holiday season and Confederation Centre is looking to build a company around the hero of Sherwood-Parkdale Forest.
Artistic Director Adam Brazier – who is directing and co-writing his third musical pantomime for Confederation Centre – will be holding auditions on Saturday and Sunday October 22 and 23 at the Centre. Audition appointments can be booked by contacting Cindy Riley via email at criley@confederationcentre.com. Those with an audition time will be asked to prepare one song of choice – with sheet music for the accompanist piano player – and tell a short joke.
All are welcome for this fun and exciting adventure.
Following the tradition of 2014’s Cinderella: A Fairly Tall Tale and last year’s Aladdin: Another Fairly Tall Tale, the Centre brings you a new ridiculous musical celebration at Christmastime this year. Enjoy stunning music, dancing, and laughter, plentiful local references, and a cast of dozens of Island children and performers, including some students from the School of Performing Arts – a partnership between the Centre and Holland College.
Additional core casting announcements will be made in the weeks ahead. For more on Robyn Hood, visit this earlier announcement. Follow along on social media @confedcentre (Instagram and Twitter); via Confederation Centre of the Arts; and using #RobynConfed.
Holding Out For a Hero? Robyn Hood and her Fairly Merrily Men are riding to the rescue this holiday season! From the comedic minds of Adam Brazier and Graham Putnam comes Robyn Hood: This Tale’s Even Fairlier, at Confederation Centre on select dates, December 9 to 17, 2016.
Following the tradition of 2014’s Cinderella: A Fairly Tall Tale and last year’s Aladdin: Another Fairly Tall Tale, the Centre brings you a new ridiculous musical celebration at Christmastime. Enjoy stunning music, dancing, and laughter, plentiful local references, and a cast of dozens of Island children and performers.
Artistic Director Adam Brazier will direct, with Festival mainstay Craig Fair (Ring of Fire; Canada ROCKS!, Mamma Mia!) as music director and Matthew MacInnis (Mamma Mia!; Evangeline; Alice Through the Looking-Glass) as production stage manager.
P.E.I.’s own Maria Campbell (Jasmine in 2015’s Aladdin; Stan Rogers: A Matter of Heart) stars as the female Robyn Hood in the Kingdom of Charlottetown. The Evil Prince John rules the capital city with an iron first, but just beyond the castle walls, in Sherwood-Parkdale Forest, Robyn Hood has hatched a plan to take back the Kingdom and steal from the 1% to give to middle class.
Campbell is an alumna of the Centre’s Young Company who performed at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. The Charlottetown native also appeared in Leslie Arden’s Harvest Moon Rising (The Guild) as well as in Albert Herring while completing her Master of Music at The University of Auckland.
She’ll be joined by Charlottetown Festival veteran Alanna Bridgewater as Friar Tuck. Known for her towering voice, Bridgewater is a Gemini-nominated vocalist/performer who’s been a member of Johnny Reid’s touring band and appeared in Mirvish’s We Will Rock You, as well as Festival credits in this summer’s Spoon River and as ‘Motormouth’ in Hairspray! Belfast, P.E.I. native, Sarah MacPhee also returns in the role she is still forced to play, The Town Crier. Additional core casting will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Starting at just $25, tickets are on sale now for members of Confederation Centre, with tickets available to the general public as of Thursday, September 8.
Visit confederationcentre.com/theatre or contact the box office at (902) 566.1267.
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