Spirited show
Performers past and present are uniting for Spirit of Newfoundland’s reunion gala.
It began as a one-off, a summer production of an original show called “Hard Tickets and High Society,” written by Peter Halley to coincide with the Cabot 500 anniversary events in 1997.
For the first two weeks or so, Spirit of Newfoundland members had to almost drag people into the Majestic Theatre to see it, doing their own marketing by leaving candy kisses at bed and breakfasts around St. John’s and giving flyers to taxi drivers. People here weren’t used to the idea of dinner theatre back then, and it took time to catch on.
But then, the show exploded. After those two weeks, “Hard Tickets and High Society” was selling out every show, and there were at least three a week.
“We were turning them away,” Spirit of Newfoundland’s COO Kathie Hicks told The Telegram four years ago. “And then the end of the summer came and the Majestic wanted their place back because the kids were coming back to university and we were like, ‘We can’t stop now!’”
That first summer run included 118 performances. Singer Sheila Williams — who was performing on the Marine Atlantic ferry at that point — was hired to play the role of Lady Maxine O’brien, show host.
“Peter just called me up and said, ‘I’ve written a show and I’ve written a part for you, do you want to do it?’ It could have been at the Cotton Club for all I knew. I said absolutely,” Williams said.
There have been 87 more Spirit of Newfoundland shows since 1997, many of them originals written by Halley, who’s the company’s president and artistic director. Williams, who has become a sought-after MC, standup comedian, singer and actress, reckons she’s been in close to 600 of those performances, her favourite being a production of “Nunsense” Spirit of Newfoundland brought to Ireland in 2005. It earned a standing ovation.
“I think we always try to touch people in some way, whether it’s with laughter or with something poignant,” Williams said. “We want people to leave feeling lifted, saying, ‘My God, I wasn’t expecting that.’”
In celebration of their 20th anniversary together, Spirit of Newfoundland is presenting “The Big Spirit Reunion Gala,” a variety show at Holy Heart Theatre, Aug. 24-26. Along with the company’s current regular performers, a number of former cast members, including originals such as Michelle Doyle and Steve Gosse, will take to the stage to perform the best songs, the funniest scenes and most memorable lines from the theatre company’s history.
The Ennis Sisters and Shallaway Youth Choir will join them for an Academy Awards-style evening, with re-introductions of characters and situations.
“It’ll be a highlight of what we love to do,” Williams explained. “I think it’s our desire to ensure that Newfoundland is best represented at every show, that we are lifted, not diminished, in every performance. I believe we’re true ambassadors for Newfoundland and Labrador, and that’s what drives us. And laughter drives us, too.”
Funds raised from the reunion shows will go toward necessary repairs of the Masonic Temple, Spirit of Newfoundland’s home base since 2008, but standing since 1885 and showing some age.
Tickets for Spirit of Newfoundland’s “The Big Spirit Reunion Gala” are available at the Holy Heart Theatre box office. Someone in the audience will win a lucky seat contest, with a prize consisting of airfare and accommodations for two in New York City, $500 in cash and two tickets to see the Broadway musical “Come From Away” — which stars Spirit of Newfoundland alumna Petrina Bromley.