FOX, JETT STEAL THE SHOW
Surprise performance at awards gala
Artists honoured with a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award are not expected to perform at the gala that pays tribute to them. All that’s required is to bask in the glory of the nation’s highest honour for the performing arts.
Michael J. Fox was an exception during the 25th anniversary edition of the GGPAA gala that took place at the National Arts Centre on Thursday. The B.C.-born actor made a surprise appearance on stage, armed with an electric guitar and set to perform with rocker Joan Jett on Light of Day, the Springsteen-penned theme song for the 1987 movie of the same name that they both starred in.
Seeing the pair go head to head at the mic 30 years after they did it on screen (in front of images from the film) was an inspiring moment that sent a surge of excitement rippling through the well-coiffed crowd. It went all the way up to the balcony where the rest of this year’s laureates were seated. Singer Michael Bublé, comedian-actor Martin Short, director Jean Beaudin, Winnipeg philanthropist William H. Loewen and theatre artists Brigitte Haentjens and Yves Sioui Durand looked tickled at watching their fellow laureate, who has Parkinson’s disease, rock out.
It was one of several highlights of a lavish, star-studded evening designed to underscore the power of the arts.
“Thank you for entertaining us and enlightening us, and for expressing what is meaningful to all of us,” said Gov. Gen. David Johnston to the laureates. He was presiding over the final GGPAA gala of his term.
Hosted by actor Colm Feore, the gala featured a National Film Board-produced short film, along with a musical segment, as part of the homage to each laureate. The segment dedicated to Loewen was the first in the awards’ history to feature the NAC Orchestra performing a live soundtrack to the short film. The piece, Music in the Prairie Night, composed by Randolph Peters, reflected Loewen’s love of Sibelius’ violin concerto.
Several high-profile special guests were in attendance to help shower the praise. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney told the story of discovering Bublé when his wife, Mila, booked the singer for their daughter’s wedding, while actors Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin spoke of their pal Short in glowing terms. Martin, who is Short’s sister-in-law, called him “the Benjamin Button of showbiz” because he seems to get more youthful every year.
There were nuggets of comedic gold during the Short tribute, which featured a video appearance by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, as well as images of Short’s beloved oddball characters such as Ed Grimley and Jiminy Glick. No less entertaining was the Fox tribute, packed with scenes from Fox’s television shows and movies, plus a touching video message from Hollywood actor and friend Ryan Reynolds, who watched his own father struggle with Parkinson’s.
Innu singer Florent Vollant provided the musical tribute to Durand, and Juno-winning Edmonton singer Ruth B performed Bublé’s hit, Home, earning a standing ovation from the crooner himself. Although Bublé did not perform on the stage, you could hear him belt out the national anthem from his seat, one of hundreds harmonizing with Susan Aglukark, the past laureate at the microphone.
The short film about Bublé was particularly revealing. The 41-year-old is seen having a playful FaceTime chat with his son, Noah, a happy-go-lucky boy who showed no sign of his recent cancer treatment. But Bublé also expresses his doubts as an artist, and admits that he loves being liked.
“I made a lot of money and sold a lot of records,” Bublé says in the film, “but I stopped challenging myself. It’s time for me to challenge myself. The real question isn’t whether I’m brave enough to take the risk; the real question is am I strong enough to accept what happens if it fails?”
After what he’s been through, Bublé can handle anything.
Thank you for entertaining us and enlightening us, and for expressing what is meaningful to all of us.