Foreigner-inspired musical a tale of rock star as city saviour
Maritime singer and actor Geordie Brown knows what love is.
It’s snagging the role of a lifetime. The 26-year-old Halifax native has been cast as the rock star who must try to save his former rustbelt town after its major factory is closed, plunging the workforce into unemployment in Jukebox Hero — a new musical featuring the hit tunes of the band Foreigner.
Jukebox Hero, which will be produced by Calgary’s Annerin Productions in conjunction with Mick Jones — the remaining founding member of Foreigner — will have its world premiere at the Calgary Jubilee Auditorium Aug. 10-12 before moving to Edmonton’s Jubilee for performances Aug. 16-19.
After a brief hiatus, Jukebox Hero will then transfer to Toronto for an extended run at the CAA Theatre.
Brown recalls the auditions in Toronto, particularly for the role of rock star Ryan, were gruelling.
“I had three callbacks in less than 24 hours. I think I had to sing I Want To Know What Love Is at least six times, and Mick Jones was on the audition panel, so that was an added pressure,” says Brown, who has been a featured performer at Neptune Theatre and Spatz Theatre in Nova Scotia, the Dalhousie Opera in New Brunswick and the Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island.
He admits that when he saw the audition notices for Jukebox Hero he didn’t really know who Foreigner was until he read the list of songs incorporated into the musical by writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
“I knew them all. My parents are huge fans of Foreigner. They have all their albums on vinyl so I’d been listening to them for as long as I can remember without actually knowing anything about the band.
“My favourite music is country, but when you talk about vocalists, my top three are k.d. lang because we have similar voices, Freddie Mercury and Celine Dion.”
Brown recently created and performed a musical tribute called The Songs of the Rat Pack, which he says he owes to his grandmother.
“I started taking piano lessons when I was five. When I’d play for my grandmother, she’d ask me to play and sing the songs of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra,” says Brown, who released an album based on this one-man show.
“The music I really love to sing though is rock because that allows me to show off my vocal range.”
Jukebox Hero is not about the band Foreigner, but rather uses the band’s hit tunes to tell a story of a rock star who not only has to save his town, but his relationships with his brother, father and the girl he left behind.
The show will feature 16 iconic Foreigner songs such as Waiting for a Girl Like You, Jukebox Hero, Hot Blooded, Cold As Ice, I Want to Know What Love Is and Urgent.
“I will have to put my own stamp on these great Foreigner tunes, but I will also have to pay tribute to the original vocalists. The fans of Foreigner will be coming to the musical to hear Foreigner’s songs and they will, but through the storyline we’ll give them so much more,” promises Brown.
Jukebox Hero will begin rehearsing in Toronto in July before moving to Calgary for the staging of the musical under the direction of veteran American director Randy Johnson.