A couple of weeks ago, we asked the folks behind A Misfortune to create a playlist of some of the songs (both musical theatre and non) which inspired their show. After much feedback, we decided to ask the same of Rob Torr, the composer of Killer Business - The Musical, also having its premier at the Next Stage Theatre Festival in January. Set against the opening of a new musical which is unexpectedly ambushed by the appearance of a less-than-alive victim, Killer Business has everything we love: song, dance and a body count. If you’re a fan of an old-fashioned showtune dosed with a healthy side of whodunnit, we have a feeling that this could be your new favorite show.

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A Misfortune, premiering at the Next Stage Festival on January 9, is a a romantic, bittersweet musical about small moments and momentous decisions. Following a woman over a single night, full of revelation and passion, it is an examination of desire, fidelity, and the extent to which we allow love to govern our lives.

Based on a story by Chekhov, composed by the team behind the Summerworks hit Hero and Leander and starring our very own Banks Prize Winner Jordan Till, we’ve got to say we’re staying up nights in excitement over their new foray. We asked composer Scott Christian, lyricist Wade Bogert-O’Brien and book writer Kevin Shea to compile a playlist of their influences for A Misfortune.

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Our UnCovered: Sting & The Police concert is only days away! I have been immersed in Reza Jacob’s music studio, listening to amazing artists rediscover and reinterpret the Sting catalogue and I must say, this audience is in for a real treat! I didn’t know that I loved Sting. When Reza and I started talking about an artist for this year and the idea of Sting came up, I wasn’t immediately sold. But the minute I looked at his catalogue of music, I realized two things:

1. His songs are perfect for our UnCovered format, offering opportunity for amazing vocals, but with fascinating and clear stories conveyed through the lyrics.
2. I knew a ton of Sting songs and loved them, without ever even realizing they were Sting & The Police music.

So, in anticipation of this great evening, for anyone who doesn’t know his music (or anyone who doesn’t know that they know his music), here is my suggested 30-minute playlist – in alphabetical order - to whet your appetite (spoiler alert – all of these songs will be in our concert). More

Rielle Braid is a Toronto actress and writer, and just completed a successful cross-Canada tour of the Dora award winning musical hit Ride the Cyclone. Her first play, Boygirl, premiered at the Victoria Fringe Festival four years ago. Her upcoming Cabaret, A Casual Cabaret with Rielle Braid is June 18^th, at the upstairs cabaret space at Theatre Passé Muraille (click here for details). It will feature fellow actors from Ride the Cyclone, and original written material by Rielle.

Singer songwriter teams are so wonderful. The very notion that two artists have found a part of their soul in the other is so incredibly special. So specific. What one lacks, the other provides. The trust, the vulnerability, the honesty. It’s everything art should be. I like to imagine when these teams find each other, they can physically feel a change in themselves, almost like they found a twin. More

Nathan Carroll is an actor, storyteller, and singer-songwriter living in Toronto. He has been blessed to perform across the country in such shows as The Book of Esther and Bordertown Cafe(Blyth), The Sound of Music (Citadel), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Driftwood). He has been a part of numerous new works in development, including Alexandria (Acting Upstage),When the Ice Breaks (Down n’ Out), and Bremen Rock City (Theatre 20). Nathan is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School, and inaugural Theatre 20 Emerging Artist, and a member of the folk’n’b band We’re Sorry We’re So Famous. He is currently performing in Forever Plaid in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

I was raised on Rodgers and Hammerstein. The first musical I ever acted in was The King and I at our local community theatre, with my very caucasian father playing the King, my older sister playing one of his wives (it’s a small town, okay?), our next door neighbour playing Anna, and a 5-year-old me and my 7-year-old brother as two of his sons. They dyed my platinum blonde hair permanently black, an action I’ve never forgiven them for as my hair was never as blonde again. Despite being only a little older than a toddler, something stuck, and I’ve been adoring these two geniuses ever since. More