Canadian stage legend to join cast of ‘Evangeline’

Brent Carver, a Tony-Award winning star of Broadway and London’s West End to play Father Felician

Confederation Centre and The Charlottetown Festival have announced the casting of Brent Carver, one of the finest stage actors and musical theatre stars in the business, for this fall’s return of the heroic love story, “Evangeline”.

More than 40 years after first starring here as Hamlet in Kronborg: 1582, the acclaimed British Columbia-born actor will make his return to the Charlottetown Festival when Ted Dykstra’s Evangeline opens here on Sept. 10. In both Charlottetown and then at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Carver will play Father Felician, the peaceful, much-loved priest and spiritual guide for Evangeline, Gabriel, and the Acadian people of Grand Pré.

“I am thrilled that Brent has joined this incredible cast,” says Bob Baker, director of “Evangeline” and artistic director at the Citadel. “His extraordinary talent, his emotional intensity, and bright spirit will make for a memorable performance. Audiences in both Charlottetown and Edmonton are fortunate to witness the art of this national treasure.”

Renowned for his remarkable versatility, Carver has tackled the classics at the Stratford Festival and in cabaret, TV and film. He is best known for his Broadway debut in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, which earned him his first best actor Tony, and for other leading roles on Broadway and London’s West End, including another Tony nomination for Parade.

“I am thrilled and humbled to a part of this breathtaking, lifegiving story,” says Carver. “Evangeline is a quest for home, for heart, and for true faith.

Over 40 years ago both the Charlottetown Festival and the Citadel Theatre generously offered me, as a young actor, each of these precious gifts, for which I am ever grateful. And now to share in this part of “Evangeline’s” journey, with Bob and Ted and Josée and Mr. Longfellow, and these two fine companies, as one, is a privilege.”

After an outstanding appearance in 2014 where he shared the stage with Rufus Wainwright at the Luminato Festival, Carver was honoured with a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Theatre). His celebrated career in TV and film includes roles in “This is Wonderland”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Atom Egoyan’s “Ararat” and “Deeply” with Kirsten Dunst. He is also a founding artist with Toronto’s Theatre 20.

Evangeline begins previews Sept. 14 in Charlottetown and runs until Oct. 10, beginning again Saturday, Oct. 31 in Edmonton. For more information, visit www.confederationcentre.com or www.citadeltheatre.com.