BY WENDY ELLIOTT
The Advertiser
NovaNewsNow.com
Great shows
CentreStage Theatre has another year of great shows lined up for 2008. Jump in on Friday, Jan. 10 with Senior Follies. This comedy by Billy St. John is set in a retirement home.
According to director Mindy Vinqvist-Tymchuk, “daily routine is disrupted when a pair of con artists pretends to move in as residents, but then sets out to fleece two of the residents. Some of the other residents don't trust that all is as it appears and start sleuthing to help their friends.
“Can they discover the truth before it's too late, and their friends are not only fleeced, but maybe even killed? Although that makes it sound like a mystery, in truth the play is a comedy - and it is really, really funny.”
Cast member Teresa Patterson says people should come to see the show because it will give them pause to think about their own inevitabilities; for those who are concerned about their aging parents leaving their own homes and being cared for in a group setting, it will ease some of their concerns.
But mostly it’ll make audiences laugh out loud and let them know that life doesn’t stop just because you enter another decade.
Fellow actor Franklin Sherrard notes, “most of the humor is aimed at grown-ups, and anyone with a senior in their life will find some funny stuff to relate to.”
Diana Bishop adds,"the younger audience may recognize and enjoy a similarity to a grandmother or older relative and may be given a wee eye-opener that an interest in the opposite sex doesn’t end at 30."
Senior Follies stars Cherie Zinck, Peter Booth, Diana Bishop, Teresa Patterson, Wayne Marriott, Franklin Sherrard, Liz Stern, Rose Meagher and Wayne Akin.
It opens Thursday at 8 p.m. for the preview, and continues every Friday and Saturday night until Feb. 16. Phone 678-8040 for further information and reservations.
A list of upcoming shows can be found on the website at
www.centrestagetheatre.ca.
Celtic airs featured
A unique Celtic Airs Concert will take place Sunday, Jan. 13. It will begin at 3 p.m. at the Grand-Pre National Historic Park Reception building.
The concert will feature: Ian Beaton, fiddle; Rob Kehler, concertina; Maggie Keppie, singer; Duncan Keppie, accordion; and Johanne McInnis on harp and flute.
Proceeds go to the Kings County Historical Society. Tickets are $10 each.
Hear Daniel
Well-known local musician Daniel Heikalo will perform Saturday, Jan. 12 in the Garden Room of the Irving Centre in Wolfville.
The 7 p.m. concert will include original compositions and improvisation on recorder, guitar and cittern.
Fundy Film gears up
Fundy Film begins its winter Documentary Series with McLaren’s Negatives and McLaren Retrospective. McLaren’s Negatives, directed by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre, is an animated documentary that shares the secrets of the legendary Canadian animator Norman McLaren and his personal view of filmmaking.
McLaren’s Negatives will screen alongside the National Film Board’s McLaren Retrospective of 11 animated shorts at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.
Then the winter Main Series will show Across the Universe. The Beatles’ songs may have provided the soundtrack for the lives of the youth of the 1960s, but their extensive catalogue is the real soundtrack in this romantic musical from Julie Taymor, whose gifted direction makes the film so fascinating. Working with a strong cast and a superb cinematographer, she proves herself an artist with creativity that few can match.
It will screen at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville Jan. 20 at 4 and 7 p.m. and Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. For further information, see
www.fundyfilm.ca or call 542-5157. Tickets ($8) are available 30 minutes prior to the film.
Authors @ Acadia
Poet Anne Simpson will read at Acadia University Jan. 15. The Authors @ Acadia series presents a poetry reading at 7 p.m. at the Vaughan Library in the quiet reading room.
Simpson is the author of three poetry collections: Quick (2007); Loop (2003), winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize; and Light Falls Through You (2000), winner of the Atlantic Poetry Prize; as well as the novel Canterbury Beach (2001). She lives in Antigonish.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
Call to artists
The Annual Acadia Art show is in its 17th year in 2008. Entry forms with submission guidelines are available at the Acadia University Art Gallery and on the gallery’s website.
Works may be submitted Jan. 11–17 during gallery hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 1–4 p.m. Exhibition dates are Jan. 25 to March 28, with an opening reception Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.
Coward here
The Acadia Theatre Company presents Noel Coward’s timeless comedy Fallen Angels Jan. 15-20. Anna Migliarisi directs the student production.
Written in 1925, Fallen Angels is a smart and sassy comedy about love, sex and marriage. The plot revolves around the antics of best girlfriends, Jane and Julia, both happily married for five years. But before their marriages, both Jane and Julia had brief affairs with a French charmer, Maurice, who arrives in town unexpectedly, asking to see them both….
The play runs Jan. 15-19 at 8 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19 and Sunday, Jan. 20. All performances will take place in Lower Denton Theatre, Acadia University.
Ticket prices are $12 and $10 for students/seniors and may be purchased at the Box of Delights Bookstore in Wolfville or at the door. Tickets may be reserved by calling the Reservation Line at 585-1766. Ticket sales are cash or cheque only.
Please note that reserved tickets not picked up 10 minutes before the show will be sold at the door.
Tommy’s in fine form
For close to three decades, thousands of Canadian families gathered in the living room once a week and watched the Tommy Hunter show.
This month the legendary entertainer, in celebration of his 70th year, and his 60th year entertaining audiences, is on the road again and coming to Wolfville Thursday, Jan. 17.
Hunter picked up his first guitar at the age of nine and by 1956 he had established himself in Canada’s fledgling television business as a regular on Country Hoedown. At the age of 28, he was given his own show.
A spotlight and a guitar propped up by a simple wooden stool were synonymous with Hunter. His timeless music and affable stage presence have made him an audience favourite for decades.
Canada's Country Gentleman reigned for 27 years as a major force in Canadian television before leaving the air in 1992. The production would make history as the longest-running weekly show of its kind around the world.
"The biggest thing I've learned over the years has been to respect the audience. Whenever I performed my music I tried to present it with an image of class and distinction, because I believed in it with all my heart," he said in a phone interview.
He tours eastern Canada every two to four years to keep in touch with the people who watched his TV show loyally. “I love touring the Maritimes,” Hunter said, noting he has favourite stops for homemade clam chowder.
"Every single show I do is new. We often have to do double shows to accommodate the crowds," he says. “When I can’t hit the mark anymore, I will retire.”
The 7 p.m. concert is at Acadia University’s Convocation Hall.
Coming up
Until Jan. 9
Elements of Light exhibition, Acadia Art Gallery, Wolfville
Jan. 15
Anne Simpson reading, Vaughan Library, Acadia University, Wolfville, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19
Mocean Dance, Festival Theatre, Wolfville, 8 p.m.
