Sky’s the limit for revamped Spoon River
Theatre company opts to add vocal ringers to cast for T.O. and New York runs
Spoon River opens with the tune “The Hill,” in which the various dead denizens of the town cemetery recount their histories, both good and bad, before they were all put six feet under.
Out come the instruments — guitars, banjos, tambourines, ukulele — and a set of drumsticks used to beat a wild wake-up call on the coffin of the latest arrival.
There are also new arrivals among the 19 living and breathing performers on that hill.
After four years and five incarnations, Soulpepper Theatre has snagged new actors for the production opening Monday at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts before it heads off-Broadway this summer, where Of Human Bondage and Kim’s Convenience will also be shown.
“We have brought new and very strong material to it in terms of text and music,” says director Albert Schultz. “I think the sky’s the limit in terms of where this version can go.
“I hope it will remain part of our repertoire here in Toronto, that it will play other theatres in Canada and that our summer run off-Broadway in New York will create an appetite for a future in America and elsewhere.”
Spoon River now features cast members from Of Human Bondage, including John Jarvis, Sarah Wilson, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster and Jeff Lillico. Schultz calls this “an embarrassment of riches.”
Well-known soul and R&B singer Alana Bridgewater recently joined the team for the tour to Charlottetown and, the icing on the cake, brought actress and noted jazz singer Jackie Richardson on board, for whom a song was specifically written.
Richardson loves the musical so much she has seen it three times as a regular ticket buyer. When Soulpep- per learned of her availability, they leapt at the chance to bring her on the team.
Lots of the ensemble members at Soulpepper sing well; a special song was written for the “distinctive” voice of Hailey Gillis, for example. But director Schultz and composer Mike Ross began to realize some of the songs would be better served with top notch vocal chords.
Ross, who wrote all of the songs and is Soulpepper’s music director, had one for Richardson from the very first and getting the singer, who won a Dora Award for Cookin’ at the Cookery ( the story of Alberta Hunter), was important to him. “She’s one of the few people in the world who can do what she does at that level.”
Many of the songs needed someone “who can move an audience right out of their chairs,” he added.
Richardson, who has never performed in New York (although she did record there), is looking forward to the trip.
“To have something from my bucket list come to fruition is fantastic,” she says. “It’s all plus, plus, plus.”
The score is a mixture of Americana, Appalachian folk tunes and gospel: the kind of music prevalent in 1915 when American poet Edgar Lee Masters wrote the words that provide the lyrics to the songs.
Most notable is Bridgewater’s gospel song, says Richardson. “She does a gospel song that will tear the roof off the building.”
Although she studied theatre at the University of Windsor, Bridgewater devoted her energies toward a singing career. Now she’s loving the theatre experience and working with an ensemble.
“I’m really looking forward. The more of this the better. For a long time, Canada felt we were second class in the world of theatre. That just isn’t so.”
Fiddle player and singer Miranda Mulholland, who toured with Great Big Sea for years, says, “I am so in love with this show. There are questions: ‘Are you living your life and doing enough?’ I think of that, how can I make this useful and beautiful?”
Ensemble member Raquel Duffy, who plays six different people, says, “It’s unlike any other musical theatre.”
The uplifting show has many high points for Duffy, who has been in numerous Spoon Rivers.
“There are still songs where I weep after I don’t know how many times I’ve heard them.”
As for facing a New York audience, “I feel confident. This show is really a joy to do, be a part of, to see people leaving the theatre elated.” Spoon River is at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, April 3 to 21, Go to soulpepper.ca or call 416-866-8666.