IS COMING TO OTTAWA & OPENING TUESDAY MARCH 13th  AT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE!
  
The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is coming to Ottawa.  WEST SIDE STORY will open at the National Arts Centre on Tuesday March 13th.  Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents’ Broadway direction will be recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway. The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life).
 
The new Broadway cast album of WEST SIDE STORY won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album on January 31, 2010. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway’s finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere.”

The new Broadway production began previews at the Palace Theatre on Broadway Monday, February 23, 2009, opened to critical acclaim breaking box office records at the Palace Theatre on Thursday, March 19, 2009, and recouped its $14 million investment after running only 30 weeks. The Broadway production played its final performance January 2, 2011. The musical played 27 previews and 748 regular performances, making it the longest-running production of the groundbreaking musical in Broadway history. The original production, which had held the record, played 732 performances on Broadway.  

WEST SIDE STORY features scenic designs by James Youmans (Gypsy), costumes by Tony Award nominee David C. Woolard (The Farnsworth Invention, The Who’s Tommy), lighting by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley (Gypsy, Jersey Boys), sound design by Tony Award nominee Dan Moses Schreier (Gypsy, A Catered Affair) and hair by Mark Adam Rampmeyer (The Farnsworth Invention).  
 
WEST SIDE STORY is written by three theatrical luminaries: two-time Tony Award winner Arthur Laurents (book) and multiple Tony and Grammy Award winners Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) in his Broadway debut.  
 
WEST SIDE STORY is produced by Kevin McCollum, James L. Nederlander, Jeffrey Seller with Terry Allen Kramer, Sander Jacobs, Roy Furman / Jill Furman Willis, Robyn Goodman / Walt Grossman, Hal Luftig, Roy Miller and Broadway Across America.
 
Performances times of WEST SIDE STORY at The National Arts Centre are as follows:  Tuesday March 13th through Friday March 16th at 8pm, Saturday March 17th and 2 & 8 pm and Sunday March 18th at 2 & 7:30 pm. 
 
Ticket prices for WEST SIDE STORY range depending on performance date and time, seat location and date of purchase.  Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday January 30th at 10 am at The National Arts Centre Box Office, via phone at 1.888.991.2787 or on line at www.ticketmaster.ca. 

American Express® Cardmembers have access to some of the best seats in the house for all WEST SIDE STORY performances. Advance tickets are available through Front Of The Line® by American Express January 18-24, 2012. 
 
 WEST SIDE STORY is a part of Broadway Across Canada’s 11-12 subscription season. 

About Broadway Across Canada:
Broadway Across Canada:  Owned and operated by British theatre producer John Gore (CEO) and entertainment industry veteran Thomas B. McGrath (Chairman), Broadway Across Canada, in association with Broadway Across America, presents first-class touring Broadway musicals and plays, family productions and other live events throughout a network of 43 North American cities.  Broadway Across America is also dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse live theatre for productions on Broadway, across America and throughout the world.  Current and upcoming productions include the Broadway premiere of Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS, Tony Award-winners BOEING BOEING and SPAMALOT, 13 A NEW MUSICAL, WEST SIDE STORY opening on Broadway in 2009, and DORA THE EXPLORER on tour.  For more information or to purchase tickets through an authorized agent go to BroadwayAcrossCanada.ca.
 

Brothers: Zac, Taylor, and Isaac Hanson

The Hanson brothers have been to Canada before, but not extensively and will be gracing Ottawa with a live show on February 8th*. In preparation for their tour through Canada, Zac, 1/3 of the band Hanson sat down for a quick phone interview with yours truly to touch base on the upcoming tour and more.

So this tour is going to be a launch of sorts, for the “Shout It Out” Album?

Zac: Yea, we’ve been to Canada before but not with as many stops. We’re excited to be coming to Ottawa, meeting new fans is a challenge we always enjoy and we hope to entertain.

You guys have a lot of songs, which song are you most looking forward to playing on this tour?

Zac: That’s a hard question actually! New music is always fun for me to play, but I also like older songs with a bit of history. This is really hard!  I’m excited to play “Thinkin’ ‘Bout Somethin’ ” among others. Fan reaction also plays a huge part for sure. We are lucky to have fans that are really engaged at our shows and make the performance energetic.

At many of your concerts you do The Walk before the event, to raise awareness for the HIV/AIDS Pandemic and poverty in Africa. Since it’s winter will there be an indoor walk?

Zac: (laughs) Yea, not on this tour! It is really cold, and the walk is a barefoot walk and it would probably be bad to send people to the hospital with their toes falling off from a Hanson walk. I know I need my toes! But also, the walk is about giving people a way to act, to make an impact. In fact, people could host their own walks, it isn’t something limited to just us. We want people to know that these walks stand for something, and it’s action that will help facilitate change.

What do you want fans to take away from this tour?

Zac: You know, we hope to create a unique experience for them, we want it to be memorable. This isn’t going to be one of those shows where everybody stands around with their arms folded, and looks somber. We want fans to feel a connection to our songs, we want them to be engaged.

*For official  tour dates and more info please visit Hanson.net

If you would like information on The Walk, please visit Take The Walk

Check back with us for the official Ottawa concert review!

**Special thanks to Zac for taking the time out,  and Catrina Jaricot from Strut Entertainment for setting this up!

That’s where Fevers comes into play.  Fevers are an Ottawa-based five-piece unit that call refer to themselves as the purveyors of independent, electronic pop but with their own unique take on the genre. Their unique modern sound comes from combining indie rock and electronic music.

Fevers are Colin MacDougall, Jim Hopkins, Martin Charbonneau, Mike Stauffer and Sarah Bradley.

I recently had the chance to speak to Jim and Colin about the band, their musical influences and the electronic scene in the nation’s capital.

How did Fevers come together?

Jim: It’s kind of a long story! Colin and I met through mutual friends a couple of years ago – I was fresh off the boat from England and looking to play in a band. We started jamming together just to have some fun really. Colin was already in a band, so it was a side project of sorts. We started writing some songs together, and nearly had an album’s worth. We recorded everything on my laptop, adding electronic instrumentation here and there. We then met Martin, our sound genius – this was a pretty big turning point, as we started doing regular practices. Colin then left his old band, bringing Mike with him to play drums. The final piece of the puzzle was Sarah, an incredibly talented singer and keyboardist, who joined in early 2011. Since then we’ve been practicing, recording, and playing shows when we can.

Colin: Jim is being a bit modest.  I was completely over-steeped in “indie rock” music, having written & played a similar style of music since the age of 15.  Jim basically swept in and said “hey, why don’t you consider stepping out of your comfort zone”?  I couldn’t.  But thankfully he took my comfort zone, added wicked beats & loops to it, and made it into something a little less comfortable.

If you had to list music that has influenced your sound what artists/bands would appear on that list? 

J: That’s a tough question. Our song writing method varies a lot – sometimes it’s the traditional approach of writing a song on the acoustic guitar and building from there, and other times it’s simply a synth part that we create a song around. So the influences vary on who starts writing the song. Usually I end up mixing the final song, so I’d say my influences for our sound are contemporary electro/indie acts like M83, Passion Pit or LCD Soundsystem. 

C: I actually haven’t changed my music listening all that much in a number of years.  I try to keep up with the M83′s and Passion Pit’s, but often find myself coming back to the Pixies, Breeders, Radiohead, and perhaps The National (if I’m trying to feel ‘contemporary’).  But whether it’s Jim or I who has the first skeleton idea for a song we do, the end result usually does sound more like Neon Indian than Blonde Redhead.  Funny what beats & loops can do.

How would you describe the Ottawa electronic scene?

J: I actually don’t think there are a lot of bands doing what we’re doing here – there’s definitely a healthy indie, punk and metal scene in Ottawa, but as far as an electro-scene I don’t know! Maybe we don’t get out enough!?

C: Agreed.  If there are other bands doing this kind of thing in Ottawa, please write us!  We feel guilty booking shows as the only band with the ridiculous rig including 3 synths & 2 samplers!  (Also agreed that we don’t get out enough…)

Any story behind the single ‘Passion Is Dead [Long Live Fashion]‘? 

J: I’ll leave that one to Colin.

C: Ooooh… thanks for throwing me the hot potato, Jim. Well, I will perhaps simply say that all of the songs that I have recently written usually fall into 2 categories: cynical love songs or songs about a Zombie Apocalypse (pilfered from my ongoing but mainly-failed attempt to write a Zombie rock opera.). PIDLLF falls primarily into category 1 (with a touch of “lamenting the Hipster Apocalypse” thrown in for good measure). 

As a band what music are you listening to now that you can’t get enough of?

 C: I’ll leave that one to Jim.  I’m just getting through listen #6,929 of High Violet…

J: Our music tastes really vary across the band, but right now I’m listening to a lot of Hooray For Earth, Of Monsters and Men, Youth Lagoon, Neon Indian, James Blake… I listen to this awesome Seattle radio station called KEXP – I find a lot of my music that way.

Favourite spots to source out new music in Ottawa?

J: There’s some really cool venues in Ottawa – Raw Sugar Cafe, Mavericks, Babylon, Zaphods, Cafe Dekcuf – they get some good acts playing there. I guess I’d say you just need take a chance every now and you’ll see something unexpected!

 C: Club Saw is also a pretty awesome place. Nothing like listening to interesting music surrounded by interesting art.

So the single that I’ve had on repeat all week long on my shiny red iPod is ‘Passion Is Dead [Long Live Fashion]…check it out here. Love it x 1000.

You can catch Fevers live on Friday, December 2nd with Distractor (MTL) and Dreamphone (Ottawa) at Café Decuf (221 Rideau Street). Licenced 19+ event. Doors swing open at 8PM and it $6 at the door.

The Fevers latest EP, Passion Is Dead,  is available for free at BandCamp.

Zombies Arrive at the Parliament Hill.

You can watch the rest of the videos here.

Video By Kevin Burton

SCBWI Canada East invites the public to a celebration of children’s books on Friday, October 14, from 6-9 p.m. at Collected Works Bookstore (1242 Wellington St. W., 613-722-1265; http://collected-works.com/). Adults and kids are invited to come meet the people who are creating the latest books for young adults, tweens, and children; to hear about new releases directly from the authors; and to have them autographed on the spot.
 
RACHEL EUGSTER chats with author Rachna Gilmore and illustrator Ben Hodson about the art and business of creating books for kids, the party at Collected Works, and the writers’ and illustrators’ conference to follow (“The Courage to Create,” October 15-16, the Sheraton Hotel: www.scbwicanada.org/east/ .)

 
Authors appearing at the October 14 party include:
 
R.J. Anderson* (Ultraviolet, Spell Hunter, Wayfarer)
Catherine Austen (My Cat Isis, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6, All Good Children)
Lizann Flatt (Let’s Go! The Story of Getting from There to Here)
Alma Fullerton (Burn, Libertad)
Rachna Gilmore (That Boy Red, The Flute)
Ben Hodson* (Richard Was a Picker, Jeffrey and Sloth, Hear My Roar)
Deborah Jackson (Time Meddlers, Time Meddlers: Undercover)
Kate Jaimet (Dunces Anonymous, Slam Dunk)
Caroline Pignat (Greener Grass, Wild Geese, Timber Wolf)
Marsha Skrypuch (Stolen Child, Daughter of War)
 
 *featured speaker at the October 15-16 conference

‘With Glowing Hearts – The #van2010 Social Media Story’

Video courtesy of Kevin Burton

Wyatt was the band chosen by fans in an on-line contest to appear as an opening act at this year’s Capital Hoedown. The Saskatchewan band took a few minutes during sound check to talk with our Kimberly G.

The Wet Dream Catcher
and its slam poet Keeper
Appear at the Fringe.
 

The ghost of Joni
And a T Rex named Marcel
Show up with RC . . .

. . . for spoken word poems
mixed with hallucination
and threatened species.
 
Dead cherubim tongue!
An Adelaide blue-tongued skink,
and its dying call.
 
Fantastic writing
and outrageous imagery:
I giggled throughout.
 
You may not like it
(Audiences affect it),
But give it a try.
 
Weslowski on tour:
Five Canadian cities
Watch for him near you.

RACHEL EUGSTER is an actor, singer, music director, and a bunch of other stuff. She is currently appearing in Momma’s Boy at the Ottawa Fringe Festival (don’t miss that, either!). Her work as music director can be sampled at the Fringe (and in parks across Ottawa this July) in Salamander Shakespeare Co.’s production of Othello.

The show features Rachel Eugster as Daphne, who has spent most of her adult life raising goats in the North; Bronwyn Steinberg as her daughter Ginny, who wants nothing more than to make a life anywhere else; and William Somers as Jordan, who in coming North has finally found everything he wanted—and then some. Eleanor Crowder’s tight storytelling style, as playwright and director, brings this story to life without a wasted word or gesture.

Rachel Eugster stepped out of the frame to interview her fellow actors about this exciting project for Ottawa Tonite.

In Ottawa, Crowder is known primarily for her work with Salamander Shakespeare Co. and GNAG theatre. Momma’s Boy shows off a depth and breadth of skill that may surprise this audience. Rachel sat down with Eleanor to learn more about the show’s genesis and the playwright’s intentions.

Music and improvised sound provide the driving pulse of Momma’s Boy—a theatrical manifestation of the soundtrack that Crowder believes we all carry in our heads. A stellar team of musicians brings that to life: Tony Nguyen on clarinet and Daniel Tarof, alternating with Kevin Guerette, on guitar and bass. Rachel sat down with the guys to get their perspective on providing the musical spine of the show.

All videos courtesy: Kevin Burton