Volume 30 Issue 3 | December 2024 & January 2025

you’d need for a

you’d need for a conventionalrehearsal and run.Into the Woods is such anensemble show, but was there akey piece of casting you lookedto make first? Or did you have awish list for each character, orcombinations of characters?The heart of the piece restswith the Baker and his Wife,the only two characters notderived from the original GrimmBrothers fairytales. The minute IRichard Ouzounianthought of doing the show, MikeNadajewski and Gabi Epsteincame to mind. They are wonderful talents with a flair for Sondheim.Also, I’ve known and worked with them for many, many years, andI thought they brought the right contemporary “zing” that I waslooking for in all the characters.How does your process of creating a staged concert productiondiffer from that of a full production?Casting comes first. Then an overall style. Follies (2021) was verymuch “we’re doing a show,” and A Little Night Music (2023) was veryclose to a semi-staged version of the original. That’s what those piecesneeded. Into the Woods is more presentational: “Here we are in Torontoin December of 2024 and we’re putting that on the stage for you!”Your staged concert of Sondheim’s Follies at Koerner Hall in2021 following the worst of COVID was remarkable – thrillingtheatrically and musically. And it brought back to life a Sondheimshow that some people still describe as unstageable. Do you seetaking this format forward for other lesser-known works bySondheim and other composer/librettists?I have a list as long as my arm that I’d love to do: Kurt Weill,Gilbert and Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe...so many! But the importantthing at Koerner is that the music has to be the primary attraction.With that venue and that size of orchestra, the sound of the eveningmust come first and foremost. Who knows, if we do another show,it might even not be a Sondheim! But I never say never. And I alwaysturn to Mervon for advice.Is there anything else you would like to tell us about thisproduction?I alluded to this earlier; we’re setting it unapologetically inToronto in December of 2024. We haven’t changed a word or anote of the original, but the spirit of our rendition will be solidlycontemporary. Enjoy!Yes, Virginia, there is life after Santa Claus! After the holidays, inJanuary, I am looking forward to seeing the Canadian premiere of Just ForOne Day – the hit musical from London, England about the unprecedentedLive Aid global music event for charity in 1985, the brain child ofBob Geldoff that captured the imagination and hearts of the world. Filledwith hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madona,The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and more, it recallsthe iconic artists who made history at simultaneous charitable concerts inLondon and Philadelphia. Written by John O’Farrell (Something Rotten)this new show apparently “blew the roof off” (Baz Bamigboye) the OldVic Theatre in London earlier this year.Later in the new year, musicals to watch for are the return in arevised version of Canadian composer and librettist Britta Johnson’swonderfully moving Life After as part of the Off-Mirvish season inApril, directed by Annie Tippie; and the Canadian premiere, also inApril, of the Broadway hit A Strange Loop under the joint bannersof The Musical Stage Company and Crow’s Theatre, and directed byMusical Stage’s outgoing artistic director Ray Hogg.Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fightdirector and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a richmix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.CHORAL SCENEPacked Oshawabanquet hallfor RESOUND’sfifth anniversaryANGUS MACCAULLChandeliers shone down on empty tables. A handfulof other early-admitted guests chatted next to thecash-only bar as RESOUND Choir warmed up. Manyof the 60 singers wore a gold pin with the choir’s symbol:a phoenix. Their dress for the evening was otherwisebusiness casual.The singers filed off their risers and front-of-house openedthe doors. Within ten minutes, an audience of almost 300packed the room.I’d gone to LVIV Pavilion Banquet Hall in Oshawa mid-October fora concert called Sips & Shanties. RESOUND Choir was celebrating itsfifth anniversary with a program of Canadian folk music and worksby contemporary Indigenous composers. I was particularly curious tohear how they’d handle songs popularized by the Rankin Family, whoformed a big part of the soundtrack of mychildhood in Nova Scotia.Artistic director Thomas Burton walkedto the podium in a sharp light-grey suit. Hewelcomed the sold-out crowd and offered aheartfelt land acknowledgement. “Our pastdefines our present,” he said. “But if we moveforward as friends and allies, it does not haveThomas Burtonto define our future.” The first song of theevening, “Ambe”, was inspiring and stayedwith me. By Cree composer Andrew Balfour,its Ojibway text translates as “Come in, two-legged beings. Come in allpeople. There is good life here.”Collaborative pianist Cheryl Duvall joined the choir for the secondsong, as did assistant conductor Kai Leung. It was one of the tunes I’dcome for: Fare Thee Well Love by Jimmy Rankin, and the choir did notdisappoint. The next song was also an East Coast number, Watchingthe Apples Grow by Stan Rogers, about being in Ontario and wishingyou were back in the Maritimes. Burton told the audience he couldrelate: like me, he grew up in Nova Scotia. (Rogers, who even has aMaritime folk festival named after him, actually grew up in Ontario!)At several points, the choir broke out into chatter, everyone turningto a neighbour to create the bubbly feeling of being in a friendlycommunity. It was very effective.Chat breaks: A chat break for the audience followed, so that thecommunity gathered to hear the choir could also spend time together.Local councillor Rick Kerr presented a certificate acknowledgingthe impact the choir has had on Durham Region in only five years.Choir co-founder Michael Morgan gave the history of RESOUND,18 | December 2024 & January 2025 thewholenote.com

JOANNE LAVOIE“Sips and Shanties” Resound Choir’s fifth anniversary celebrationhighlighting the efforts of co-founder Kim Alexander in setting thechoir up for success. “It’s easy to dream up ideas and programs,”Morgan said. “Process, however, is a different beast.”Alexander’s business acumen ensured the choir had non-profitstatus and an organized structure early on, enabling them to apply forsubstantial grants. They commissioned works and were even able toalmost double their membership through the pandemic.After the first chat break, the choir sang a Cree lullaby by singer-songwriterSherryl Sewepagaham. Sleepy Song describes a mother rockingher baby. The sopranos soared beautifully above the lower harmoniesand a baby cooed a couple tables over (there were several families withkids enjoying the concert). Then it was back to the East Coast again,this time all the way to Newfoundland for a version of a traditional seashanty popularized by the Fables, Heave Away. Each time the choirsang “Heave-away-ya!,” the phrase snapped through the hall and in thebrief punctuated silence after, I could hear the audience listening. Thefinal song before a second chat break was Ian & Sylvia’s Four StrongWinds and Burton’s brief intro drew a knowing laugh. “We moved fromNova Scotia to Ontario and we were sad about it,” he joked. “Now we’removing from Ontario to Alberta and we’re even sadder about that.”The choir held the closing note of the song, for a touching, bittersweetfinish to the set.thewholenote.com December 2024 & January 2025 | 19