Curtain to fall on Hammer Entertainment
For 10 years, Jason Dick has led the company through hundreds of performances. Now he’s heading off to the East Coast
“Nobody wants to take over.”
Jason Dick is talking about the closure of Hammer Entertainment, the musical theatre company he began 10 years ago.
Back then, when I interviewed him, he admitted, “Everything about theatre is risky. This isn’t a professional theatre company I’m starting. But it is a group working toward producing professional shows.”
Sitting over coffee in a neighbourhood café, Dick thinks back to that moment. He admits to having success and failure, always hoping his dreams would come true.”
When you ask if they did, he says, “Yes and no.”
Approaching 40, Dick is the sort of guy who goes to Disneyworld every year. He and his partner, Stacy Milford, love to ride the rides and watch the shows. Dick, in fact, loves everything Disney. He shrugs. “‘Beauty and the Beast’ is one of my favourite shows.”
“We had some good opportunities here, but for one reason or another, they fizzled away.” A large man with broad shoulders and a warm smile, Dick doesn’t ascribe blame. “It’s more like disappointment.”
“We never found a home of our own. That was crucial. We were always making do in other people’s spaces. You know, that’s difficult. We had to store costumes and set pieces all over town. It’s hard to build anything when you don’t have a home.”
Over the years Dick’s company fielded 210 performers on local stages. The shows he did had more than 500 people involved in all.
“Some productions like ‘Rent’ were big hits. Others like ‘The Producers’ didn’t attract audiences.”
Dick admits it isn’t easy saying goodbye to a dream.
“I have trouble letting go of things,” he nods. “But you know, it was a very big responsibility I had. I had help, but always the buck stopped with me.”
From the get-go Dick didn’t want to produce the same tired musicals everyone else was doing. He felt young people didn’t want to be part of the chorus of “My Fair Lady.” He felt they wanted different shows to watch, too, not just “Oklahoma!” for the 10th time.
“Hammer Entertainment brought new young audiences into the theatre and young performers, as well.
“I think one of our successes influenced other companies to do riskier shows.”
Dick admits when he started thinking about doing musical theatre he only knew the big hits: “Phantom,” “Grease,” “Les Miz.” Dick, who has a serious music background, says, “I was always singing. Right back in Grade 2 or 3, I sang. Later, I fell in love with musicals. When I was in Grade 11 my school was doing ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ A friend said, ‘Are you going to audition?’ I didn’t even know what it was. I went out and I got the role of Pilate. I’ve been in love with musicals ever since.”
Dick and partner Milford are planning to pack up and head for Canada’s East Coast. “I need a change in my life,” he says.
The final two shows for Hammer in 2018 reflect Dick’s love for musicals and for Disney. “In February, we’re doing ‘Hammer The Musical.’ It’s a journey through the past 10 years of our productions. People are coming back to sing favourite numbers. There will be one song, at least, from every show we’ve done. That means something from ‘Rent,’ ‘Songs for a New World,’ ‘Putting It Together’ and ‘Ragtime.’”
“Our very last production will be Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ with a promise of adventurous staging, the use of puppets and lots of neat things.”
Dick knows some local theatre folks call his Hammer Entertainment a vanity theatre, with Dick and a couple of friends creating a company so they could play leading roles.
“That’s simply not true,” Dick says. “I played very few lead roles and sometimes ended up in supporting parts only because we couldn’t find people to fill out the show. There are plenty of parts for people in the Hamilton area.
“I admit my reason for starting Hammer was selfish. I only knew a few musicals back then and I needed to learn more. In many ways, Hammer was all about that. But it was also about bringing something new to the city.
“I know some people criticized us for lack of production values, but we spent our money where we could. We had to think outside the box. There’s only so much you can do with a small budget.”
Will Jason Dick miss Hammer Entertainment and the shows he brought to the city? He nods his head and simply says, “Yes.”