Show runs on ‘Gilda’s magic’
14th annual Gilda’s Club fundraiser features Chantal Kreviazuk, Francesco Yates
A year ago last Friday, Laura-Louise Tobin’s friend Alicia Merchant died from ovarian cancer at the age of 34. In 2010, they had started the storytelling group Raconteurs, which continues to fill the Tranzac Club.
When Gilda’s Club asked Tobin to host a storytelling workshop for people with cancer, their family and friends, Tobin thought it was appropriate. “Alicia was so instrumental in the storytelling community and an active advocate for people with cancer. It was a fitting tribute to her and to her continued influence on the city,” she says.
It’s just one of over 140 free programs hosted by Gilda’s Club, which focuses on social support for those affected by cancer. The group’s biggest fundraiser, the It’s Always Something Variety Show, plays the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Wednesday. In 13 years, it has raised more than $5 million.
All performers volunteer their time and the eclectic lineup has included Will & Grace star Eric McCormack singing Burton Cummings in a rocker shag wig; a duet between Anne Murray and Nelly Furtado; and a set by Bryan Adams.
The 14th annual production boasts performances from singers Chantal Kreviazuk and Francesco Yates, comedians Colin Mochrie and Sean Cullen, with comedy star Russell Peters returning to host for an eighth year. Like many of the performers, Peters has a personal motivation to participate, having lost his own father to cancer.
Rick Muller, the co-executive producer of the show, says the evening’s inspiration, actress and comedian Gilda Radner, who died of cancer in 1989, “watches over all of us.”
“I get emotional even speaking about it,” he says. “When we’re in the dumps and we’re working 20 hours a day on this, when we’re frustrated with, ‘Oh, he didn’t get back to me’ or ‘Oh, we can’t do that,’ we just say OK, we need some of Gilda’s magic. For 14 years, Gilda’s magic has trickled down over us.”
The Detroit-born comedian got her start at Second City in Toronto before becoming the first person cast on Saturday Night Live in 1975, where she created such memorable characters as Roseanne Roseannadanna of “Weekend Update” and Baba Wawa, made all the more hilarious by Barbara Walters’ fury over the impersonation.
After Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 40, “it’s always something,” Roseannadanna’s catchphrase, gained a new poignancy.
Gilda’s Club focuses on support that can include programs as diverse as group therapy, healthy cooking classes and yoga.
“We might get someone who won’t go to a traditional cancer support group, but they might talk about chemo treatment in an exercise class, in tai chi or in an art workshop,” says Elana Shapiro, development associate for Gilda’s Club Toronto.
“Gilda truly believed that when you are diagnosed with cancer, you should learn to live with cancer. Gilda’s Club is about living with cancer.”