Elegies: A Song Cycle has only 10 performances left, and we’re certain you don’t want to miss the show the Toronto Star gave 4/4 stars to. As if that isn’t enough, you certainly want to check out Joel Gomez, the newest cast member in the production, in his first professional Toronto musical. A recent graduate of Sheridan’s Performance Musical Theatre Program, this is just the beginning for Joel and we are so psyched to see what he does next!
What musical’s score will you always remember?
Sweeney Todd. I was sixteen, knew only Phantom, West Side Story, and Wicked, and thought I should probably learn to sing properly. I took up lessons, and I don’t know how he did it, but my voice teacher managed to convince me that performing in a musical about “a barber that kills people and gives their corpses to a lady who bakes them into pies” would be great fun. So there I was, at Theatre Aquarius, taking on my first musical about revenge and gore. My grandma loved it.
I had the opportunity to revisit the show again seven years later, while I was in my final year at Sheridan, and that’s when I noticed how profound an effect the score had on me. I remember Jeffrey Huard playing, and this angelic soprano, Andréane Bouladier, rehearsing “Green Finch”, and all the memories flooded back, and I just welled up over that warm nostalgia. Then came the fortississimo at the end of “Johanna”, and all the butterflies flew back. When I was sixteen, I played Tobias, and my first entrance was during this very moment in the song, and yeah… my heart just began to pound as if I were about to go on again. Even after all these years, something in that score had clung to me, and I’ve happily clung back.
More
Our office (and Toronto) is abuzz as we are deep in rehearsals for the final show of our tenth anniversary season: our reimagined revival of our hit 2007 production of Elegies: A Song Cycle. We start off our Triple Threat’s for this show with Eliza-Jane Scott, a true Triple Threat, founding artist of Theatre 20, and most recently a member of the National Arts Centre 2013-14 Ensemble.
What musical’s score will you always remember?
I would say most definitively Myths and Hymns by Adam Guettel. The score was created as a song cycle; it does not have a book (although a recent staging in New York had additional text added to create a narrative). The score is engaging because of its variety, complexity and indulgence. Also, modern musical theatre seldom treads into ancient/classical history (with the exception of bawdy comedies) and I connect with the universal in the songs. The song cycle allows Guettel to break with tradition, mix genres and create newness. As a performer, the songs are killer. They are tough to sing and even tougher to sing well. The challenge is rewarding to say the least. It leaves a lasting impression because the compositions ask your ear to work harder for melody and movement. Maybe not a score for everyone, but for the actor’s composer, a jewel.
More
Our office (and Toronto) is abuzz as we start to get ready for the final show of our tenth anniversary season: our reimagined revival of our hit 2007 production of Elegies: A Song Cycle. We start off our Triple Threat’s for this show with pianist John Hughes, whose credits span the country and who has taken part in practically every musical you can think of.
What musical’s score will you always remember?
She Loves Me, because the music is so evocative of the era, and there’s so much of it. I believe it was the first cast recording that came on two LP’s. The show is like a mini-opera and every song advances the plot.
More
The first day of rehearsals for Elegies: A Song Cycle has thus far been a very special day for everyone in the room. Familiar faces greeting new faces, and the excitement of reunion and drive in the air. We just had to share some of the thrill with you, and captured it in some photos and a special video from the cast and crew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=515kFNAjEHo
Eliza-Jane Scott
Costume and set designer Robin Fisher explains her design to the company
The Cast and Creative Team
Our PR Intern Tia Teeft, Producing Assistant Ari Weinberg, and Banks Prize Winners Dana Jean Phoenix and Jordan Till
Joel Gomez is the new addition to the cast!
Steven Gallagher, Thom Allison and Joel Gomez
