The Grand Theatre Announces the 2017/18 Season Casting Preview
Single Tickets on Sale July 4, 2017
London, ONTARIO - June 29, 2017 — The Grand Theatre is thrilled to announce an extraordinary line-up of local and national, returning and debuting artists in the 2017/18 Season. The season features a stunning artistic presence including Tara Rosling, Benedict Campbell, Catherine Joell MacKinnon and Daniel Williston. In addition, the Grand welcomes nationally and internationally renowned directors including Peter Hinton, Tracey Flye, Carey Perloff, and the Grand’s Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum, who makes his Grand directing debut in his first season. Single tickets go on sale Tuesday July 4, 2017.
“We’ve been incredibly busy these last several months auditioning artists from across Canada. Our coming season will be our biggest yet with 95 actors and an expansive creative team producing known and new works on our stages,” said Artistic Director, Dennis Garnhum.
Peter Hinton directs SILENCE, the inaugural production of the COMPASS New Play Development program. Hinton recently directed the Canadian Opera Company production of Louis Riel and currently is directing Octoroon at the Shaw Festival. Making her Grand debut in SILENCE is Tara Rosling, now in her 10th season at Shaw appearing in Dancing at Lughnasa and Middleton. She will perform with Catherine Joell MacKinnon, director of the biennial Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival, and Suzanne Bennett, Acting Professor at Sheridan College, among others.
Debuting in the Grand’s production of ONCE is Nathan Carroll (Andrej), who stared as Terry Fox in the Marathon of Hope: The Musical, and Soulpepper’s Daniel Williston (Billy). ONCE will be directed by Tracey Flye, Associate Director of the 2015 Mirvish production of Once.
Debuting in CHARIOTS OF FIRE, which will be directed by Garnhum with set and costumes by the award-winning Bretta Gerecke, are Harry Judge, who is frequently at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Shaw, and Charlie Gallant, who has appeared at a number of Vancouver-based theatres including the Arts Club, Studio 58, and Bard on the Beach. Judge and Gallant are the lead actors (and runners) in this North American Premiere of the stage adaptation of Chariots of Fire.
The 2017/18 season marks a return to the Grand for many artists including Jeremy Walmsley (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story ) starring as Guy in ONCE; Rachel Jones (A Christmas Story) who will be Mrs. Cratchit in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and Stratford veteran Michael Spencer-Davis (Art) starring as Gardiner Greene Hubbard in SILENCE.
Several Londoners are cast in the coming season including Jim Doucette, Patrick Monaghan, Owen Barteet (who makes his acting debut as Tiny Tim in A CHRISTMAS CAROL), and Artistic Director of London’s Original Kids Theatre Company, Andrew Tribe who will be Assistant Director for CHARIOTS OF FIRE.
The season also includes, on the Spriet Stage, Rebecca Northan’s run-away improv hit, BLIND DATE, and the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, which premiered at A.C.T in San Francisco and was directed by Carey Perloff.
On the Grand’s McManus Stage will be a three-play series that includes Ronnie Burkett’s return engagement of THE DAISY THEATRE and 2b Theatre Company’s WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW by award-winning playwright Hannah Moscovitch. The Grand’s new production of THE GLASS MENAGERIE, directed by Artistic Associate Megan Watson, will premiere in the round on the McManus Stage, representing the Grand’s return to producing in this intimate space after a 10-year hiatus. The audition call for the show received a record-breaking response from across the country with over 750 submissions for four roles. Casting begins this summer for this iconic Tennessee Williams play.
Since it began over 20 years ago, the Grand’s High School Project has produced some of the country’s top actors. Several alumni of the program return to the Grand this season including Ellen Denny, David Michael Moote, and Anwyn Musico in CHARIOTS OF FIRE, as well as Aidan deSalaiz, Kelsey Falconer, and Moote in A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
For additional casting and creative team preview listings, click here.
Single tickets for the 2017/18 Season go on sale at grandtheatre.com, by phone (519-672-8800) and at the box office (471 Richmond Street) on Tuesday, July 4, at 10 a.m. Single tickets range from $29.95 to $88.50; season subscribers save up to 25% off the regular single ticket price.
The Grand Theatre 2017/18 Season is proudly sponsored by BMO Financial Group.
About The Grand Theatre
The Grand Theatre, a community hub of creativity, culture, and imagination, stages award-winning work from around the world and Canada under Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum and Executive Director Deb Harvey. This stunning historic theatre, with one of the last remaining proscenium arches in Canada, features two stages, the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the McManus Stage (144 seats). The Grand has developed several new innovative programs: COMPASS, a New Play Development Program designed to put world premieres on stage; 100 Schools, a school outreach program called in which a production tours throughout the region at no cost to the school; 1000 Seats which offers complimentary tickets to first-time theatre goers; and the High School Project. The Grand Theatre season runs from September to May.
Kate Rapson, Communications Manager, the Grand Theatre
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ONCE
October 17 to November 4, 2017
Book by Enda Walsh
Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová
Based on the Motion Picture
Written and Directed by John Carney
Directed by Tracey Flye
Musical Direction by Joseph Tritt
A co-production with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
Cast
| Isaac Bell | Svec |
| Zoë Brown | Ivanka |
| Nathan Carroll | Andrej |
| Duncan Cox | Emcee |
| Quinn Dooley | Ex-Girlfriend |
| Jeff Hamacher | Bank Manager |
| Amanda LeBlanc | Girl |
| Duff MacDonald | Eamon |
| Jane Miller | Baruska |
| Alicia Toner | Reza |
| Jeremy Walmsley | Guy |
| Daniel Williston | Billy |
| Cory Wojcik | Da |
Creative Team
| Tracey Flye | Director |
| Joseph Tritt | Musical Director |
| Brian Perchaluk | Set and Costume Designer |
| Louise Guinand | Lighting Designer |
| William Fallon | Sound Designer |
| Thomas Alderson | Assistant to the Director |
| Leslie Watson | Stage Manager |
| Melissa Cameron | Assistant Stage Manager |
| Fran Barker | Apprentice Stage Manager |
A Christmas Carol
November 28 to December 30, 2017
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and Directed by Dennis Garnhum
Cast
| Owen Barteet | Tiny Tim |
| Benedict Campbell | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| Ian Deakin | Mr. Fezziwig |
| Aidan deSalaiz | Fred |
| Jim Doucette | Topper |
| Kelsey Falconer | Mrs. Dilber |
| Tracey Ferencz | Mrs. Fezziwig |
| Leah Gliddon | Fan |
| Manya Hegde | Belinda Cratchit |
| Rachel Jones | Mrs. Cratchit |
| Amrit Kaur | Abigail |
| Nathaniel Keith | Boy Ebenezer |
| Michael Man | Dick Wilkins |
| Patrick Monaghan | Jacob Marley |
| David Michael Moote | Spirit of Christmas Future |
| Christopher Newton | Voice of Charles Dickens |
Creative Team
| Dennis Garnhum | Director |
| Megan Watson | Associate Director |
| Allan Stichbury | Set Designer |
| Kelly Wolf | Costume Designer |
| Bonnie Beecher | Lighting Designer |
| Jamie Nesbitt | Videographer |
| Jeremy Spencer | Composer |
| Jim Neil | Sound Designer |
| Kelly Luft | Stage Manager |
| Lani Martel | Assistant Stage Manager |
| Jordan Guetter | Apprentice Stage Manager |
Silence
World Premiere
January 16 to February 3, 2018
By Trina Davies
Directed by Peter Hinton
Cast
| Suzanne Bennett | Gertrude Mercer McCurdy Hubbard |
| Graham Cuthbertson | Alexander Graham Bell |
| Catherine Joell MacKinnon | Eliza Bell |
| Madelyn Narod | Berta Hubbard |
| Tara Rosling | Mabel Bell |
| Michael Spencer-Davis | Gardiner Greene Hubbard |
Creative Team
| Peter Hinton | Director |
| Michael Gianfrancesco | Set and Costume Designer |
| Beth Kates | Lighting and Projection Designer |
| Richard Feren | Sound Designer |
| Michael Hart | Stage Manager |
| Sandi Becker | Assistant Stage Manager |
| Kelly Boudreau | Apprentice Stage Manager |
Chariots of Fire
North American Premiere
April 17 to May 5, 2018
Stage Adaptation by Mike Bartlett
Screenplay by Colin Welland
Directed by Dennis Garnhum
Cast
| Al Braatz | Ensemble |
| Erin Breen | Jennie Liddell |
| Ben Cookson | Ensemble |
| Ellen Denny | Florence |
| Fraser Elsdon | Sandy |
| Alex Furber | Aubrey Montague |
| Charlie Gallant | Eric Liddell |
| Kyle Gatehouse | Andy |
| Jonathan Gysbers | Running Ensemble |
| Aaron Hastelow | Running Ensemble |
| Harry Judge | Harold Abrahams |
| David Michael Moote | Running Ensemble |
| Anwyn Musico | Sybil Evers |
| Joe Perry | Running Ensemble |
| Edmund Stapleton | Ensemble |
| Tim Welham | Running Ensemble |
Creative Team
| Dennis Garnhum | Director |
| Andrew Tribe | Assistant Director |
| Bretta Gerecke | Set and Costume Designer |
| Gerald King | Lighting Designer |
| Jim Neil | Sound Designer |
| Kelly Luft | Stage Manager |
| Fran Barker | Apprentice Stage Manager |
The Daisy Theatre
October 23 to November 4, 2017
Created and Performed by Ronnie Burkett
Music and Sound Design by John Alcorn
Stage Managed by Crystal Salverda
What a Young Wife Ought to Know
February 6 to 10, 2018
A 2b Theatre Production
By Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Christian Barry
The Glass Menagerie
April 3 to 14, 2018
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Megan Watson
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
2018 School Tour | Classical Kids
School Tour launches Spring 2018
Series Creator Susan Hammond
Written by Barbara Nichol
Special March Break public engagement on the McManus Stage March 12 to 17, 2018.
