There have been a lot of news releases and items of interest to cross my desk this week, so I thought I would round them all up and present them in this space this weekend, and hopefully give you lots of opportunities to get out and about on the first weekend of March.
I wrote last week about the neXt Theatre Company presentation of Khalida - A Play for the Arab Spring, written and directed by Co-Artistic Director David Fancy. I attended the opening performance on Tuesday evening at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre, and it is definitely worth seeing before the run ends this weekend. It is about 90 minutes without intermission, with the lone actor, Toronto's Jason Jazrawy playing Said, a man who has fled a war-torn country in the Middle-East and is living somewhere in the Western world. The play was written and directed for a friend of Fancy's who was once Saddam Hussein's favourite actor, so you can guess which country is depicted in the play.
Jazrawy is great in the role, and the play moves along at a good pace, but it is not light entertainment, so be prepared for some thought-provoking theatre. Something else that might provoke your thoughts was the news this week someone broke into the theatre prior to the Wednesday evening and stole one of the computers integral to the show. It was a cheap laptop, but it contained the lighting program and cues on it, so as a result the performance had to be cancelled. In all, 70 patrons had to be turned away. Sad story, for sure, and one wonders if there was a political motivation to the theft given it was the cheapest technology piece in the theatre at the time. One wonders...
Still, the show must go on and after getting hold of another computer later that evening and programming all the cues and such into that computer, Khalida returned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances before the run ends. So today your last chances to see this intelligent and interesting piece of theatre come at 2 pm and 8 pm. For tickets, call the Centre for the Arts box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 or pick them up at the door.
The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts at Brock presents their 3rd Festival of the Arts starting this weekend and running through to the end of the month. There are too many events and performances to list here, but highlights this weekend include a couple of Visual Arts events: the exhibition Renew opens tonight at 7 with a reception and in the afternoon at 3, In the Works - Donna Akrey, Scott Sawtell and Jessica Thompson gets underway. Both exhibitions are at the Niagara Artists Centre, 354 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines. I have all the events listed on my website at www.finemusic.ca on the Calendar page, or you can contact 905-641-0331 for information on this weekend's exhibitions.
Chorus Niagara presents their third concert of the season, with a world premiere of a new work by Niagara composer Michael Kositsky, commissioned by Chorus Niagara and funded by the Cultural Capital of Canada program. The new work, A Mighty Cry - An 1812-2012 Celebration, reflects the horrors of war and honours the sincere wish for peace that comes at the end of a conflict. The new work is paired with Welsh composer Karl Jenkins' popular and thought-provoking The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace in a concert commemorating the War of 1812.
Chorus Niagara is joined by the Chorus Niagara Players, Chorus Niagara Accompanist Lynne Honsberger and a quartet of emerging young solo artists, featuring St. Catharines natives Jocelyn Fralick, soprano and Stephanie Tritchew, mezzo-soprano, as well as Niagara Falls native David Diston, bass and Toronto-based tenor Antonios Varahidis. Also joining Chorus Niagara is the Side-By-Side High School Chorale.
Sounds like an interesting concert, and it takes place tonight at 7:30 at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 67 Church Street in downtown St. Catharines. For tickets, call the Centre for the Arts box office at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 or pick them up at the door.
By the way, Chorus Niagara is also looking for singers to perform Verdi with Chorus Niagara as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary Gala Event coming up May 4th at the Lake Street Armoury. They are looking for 20 skilled singers for this one-time only performance. For information and to apply, contact Diana McAdorey at 905-934-5575 or by email at cad min@becon.org.
One more performance on a busy March weekend in Niagara comes up Sunday afternoon at 2 at St. Barnabas Church on Queenston Street, when the Gallery Players of Niagara present Let's Tango!, a concert of music by Piazzolla, Jobim, Villa-Lobos and others performed by a trio of local musicians. Douglas Miller on flute, Timothy Phelan on guitar and Margaret Gay on cello are the trio and it promises to be a nice way to warm up as winter continues to drag on here in Niagara. For tickets, call the Gallery Players at 905-468-1525 or go to www.galleryplayers.ca.
One final note before I wrap things up this weekend, the next open house to see what the proposed Performing Arts Centre may look like comes up this Thursday evening, March 7th at Market Square downtown. If it is as well attended as the first open house to view the original design, this will be a busy place so I suggest you go early; it begins at 5 pm and I plan to be there. Of course, I will report on my findings in this space next weekend.
Enjoy the weekend!
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