The holiday season’s musical shows run a wonderful gamut: perennial holiday fare; more modern takes on the holiday; year-round family favourites; and, of course, pantomime.
Among the perennials this year are such shows as the National Ballet’s Nutcracker, the Shaw Festival’s A Christmas Carol, and Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre’s Wintersong compilation of dance pieces celebrating the winter solstice, while the more modern takes include a musical version of the 1983 movie A Christmas Story about to take the stage at Theatre Aquarius directed by Artistic Director Mary Frances Moore. And headlining the year-round family favourites are My Fair Lady, also at the Shaw Festival, and The Sound of Music at The Grand Theatre London, both of which run right into the waning days of December.
Pantos soar on stage at theatres across the province at this time of year, usually combining contemporary comedy with songs in the telling of traditional fairy tales or equally well-known magical tales. This year’s crop includes Sleeping Beauty…A Fairy’s Tale at Theatre Orangeville and what seems to be a panto-oriented Christmas Carol at Tweed & Company’s stages in Bancroft and Tweed. Even Ross Petty’s madly modern yet traditional panto, The Wizard of Oz: The Toto-ly Awesome Family Musical, is back, at the Elgin Wintergarden Theatre Dec 6 to Jan 5. It is now under the banner of Canadian Stage but with many of the former creative team in place. Written by Matt Murray, it will be directed by Ted Dykstra with music directed by Mark Camilleri, and stars audience favourites Dan Chameroy (Plumbun) and Eddie Glen (The Scarecrow), along with multi-Dora-Award-wining Vanessa Sears as the Wicked Witch.
Beyond the tried and true, I also like to keep my eye open during the holiday season not just for new shows but for unusual takes on well-known repertoire. Last year’s hit “Hallmark movie as a holiday musical» Chris Mrs, by married Canadian duo Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr, comes to mind: they have just put out an album of the show, and various singles that can be found here: www.chrismrs.com/music.
And this year what particularly caught my eye and interest was one of my favourite Sondheim musicals, Into the Woods, coming to an unusual venue for a musical – the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall, for four performances only (Dec. 28-31). Directed by Richard Ouzounian and featuring some of Canada’s top musical theatre talent such as Sara Farb (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Tess Benger (Sunday in the Park with George), Heeyun Park (Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), along with Mike Nadajewski (Damn Yankees) and Gabi Epstein (Funny Girl) as the Baker and his Wife, and theatre luminaries Fiona Reid and and Eric Peterson as Jack’s Mother and the Narrator respectively.
Back in 2021, Richard Ouzounian and producer Mervon Mehta made Canadian theatrical history at Koerner, with a wonderful staged concert version of Sondheim’s Follies, with generations of Canadian stars in the cast. This Into the Woods promises to be equally theatrical and fun for the whole family,
I reached out to the director to ask how and why this production came about:
WholeNote: Why did you and producer Mervon Mehta choose Into the Woods for your third Sondheim outing, and why during the winter holiday season?
Richard Ouzounian: Mervon had never programmed anything between Christmas and New Year’s, but the tremendous success of our first two Sondheims inspired him to try it. I thought that the family appeal of Into the Woods made it a logical choice for that time of year. It’s one of the most produced musicals by high schools every year in North America.
Why do you think audiences respond so viscerally to Sondheim’s work, and to this musical in particular?
His musicianship and lyrical skills are both superb, but he also finds a way to touch on deep human truths we can all relate to, and the parent-child relationships at the heart of Into the Woods made this one a bonanza for the emotions.
What makes this format – staged concert – so enjoyable for audiences?
Because it puts the emphasis on the material and the performers, which is always a good idea. And it allows us the ability to hire an assortment of star talent who couldn’t be available for the months you’d need for a conventional rehearsal and run.
Into the Woods is such an ensemble show, but was there a key piece of casting you looked to make first? Or did you have a wish list for each character, or combinations of characters?
The heart of the piece rests with the Baker and his Wife, the only two characters not derived from the original Grimm Brothers fairytales. The minute I thought of doing the show, Mike Nadajewski and Gabi Epstein came to mind. They are wonderful talents with a flair for Sondheim. Also, I’ve known and worked with them for many, many years, and I thought they brought the right contemporary “zing” that I was looking for in all the characters.
How does your process of creating a staged concert production differ from that of a full production?
Casting comes first. Then an overall style. Follies (2021) was very much “we’re doing a show,” and A Little Night Music (2023) was very close to a semi-staged version of the original. That’s what those pieces needed. Into the Woods is more presentational: “Here we are in Toronto in December of 2024 and we’re putting that on the stage for you!”
Your staged concert of Sondheim’s Follies at Koerner Hall in 2021 following the worst of COVID was remarkable – thrilling theatrically and musically. And it brought back to life a Sondheim show that some people still describe as unstageable. Do you see taking this format forward for other lesser-known works by Sondheim 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 important thing at Koerner is that the music has to be the primary attraction. With that venue and that size of orchestra, the sound of the evening must 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 always turn to Mervon for advice.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this production?
I alluded to this earlier; we’re setting it unapologetically in Toronto in December of 2024. We haven’t changed a word or a note of the original, but the spirit of our rendition will be solidly contemporary. Enjoy!
Yes, Virginia, there is life after Santa Claus! After the holidays, in January, I am looking forward to seeing the Canadian premiere of Just For One Day – the hit musical from London, England about the unprecedented Live Aid global music event for charity in 1985, the brain child of Bob Geldoff that captured the imagination and hearts of the world. Filled with hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madona, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and more, it recalls the iconic artists who made history at simultaneous charitable concerts in London and Philadelphia. Written by John O’Farrell (Something Rotten) this new show apparently “blew the roof off” (Baz Bamigboye) the Old Vic Theatre in London earlier this year.
Later in the new year, musicals to watch for are the return in a revised version of Canadian composer and librettist Britta Johnson’s wonderfully moving Life After as part of the Off-Mirvish season in April, directed by Annie Tippie; and the Canadian premiere, also in April, of the Broadway hit A Strange Loop under the joint banners of The Musical Stage Company and Crow’s Theatre, and directed by Musical Stage’s outgoing artistic director Ray Hogg.
Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight director and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a rich mix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.
