News: (Toronto) Soulpepper's Spring Season, 2014 (Press release)

SOULPEPPER IN SPRING: THE GIGLI CONCERT; THE ROAD TO MECCA; OF HUMAN BONDAGE; TWO PARTNER PRESENTATIONS; & A NEW CABARET SERIES Toronto, ON - March 5, 2014: Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced casting details for Soulpepper's spring lineup, including: the world premiere of Vern Thiessen's adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's classic novel Of Human Bondage; Tom Murphy's The Gigli Concert; and Athol Fugard's The Road to Mecca. Two Soulpepper partner presentations will also take place at the Young Centre this spring: a limited run of Why Not Theatre's award-winning family comedy A Brimful of Asha by Ravi and Asha Jain; and Michael Hollingsworth's Trudeau and the FLQ performed by the electric VideoCabaret ensemble. A new Cabaret Series has also been added to the 2014 schedule, helmed each week by a different Soulpepper artist. For tickets and more information visit soulpepper.ca. THE GIGLI CONCERT (IRELAND 1983) Tom Murphy is considered by many to be the greatest living Irish playwright and this, his masterpiece. The services of self-titled "Dynamatologist" JPW King, an Englishman living in Dublin, are retained by a mysterious Irish building contractor who wants to sing like the famed operatic tenor Beniamino Gigli. King, anything but a voice teacher, and the mysterious and dangerous Irishman begin a process of exploration unearthing the power of the mind in their mutual search for salvation. Irene Poole and Soulpepper Founding Members Diego Matamoros and Stuart Hughes are directed by Soulpepper Founding Member Nancy Palk. The Gigli Concert runs from March 28 to May 16; opening night is April 2.  OF HUMAN BONDAGE BY VERN THIESSEN  based on the novel by W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM (CANADA 2014) A Soulpepper commission, Governor General Award-winner Vern Thiessen has adapted the first-ever stage version of W. Somerset Maugham's classic novel, Of Human Bondage. Albert Schultz directs this world premiere. A broken man. A damaged woman. An impossible love. Considered one of the greatest novels ever written, Of Human Bondage is an epic tale of loss, lust, obsession, and the pursuit of beauty in a world dominated by war, greed, and poverty. The cast features Dan Chameroy, Oliver Dennis, Raquel Duffy, John Jarvis, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, Jeff Lillico, Michelle Monteith, Gregory Prest, Paolo Santalucia and Sarah Wilson. Of Human Bondage runs from April 15 to May 17; opening night is April 24.  THE ROAD TO MECCA BY ATHOL FUGARD (SOUTH AFRICA 1987) In an archly conservative village in Apartheid-era South Africa, an elderly white woman has turned her house and yard into a highly personal and unorthodox work of art with contentious results. This play, by one of the great humanist playwrights of the 20th Century, was inspired by a true story, and examines the nature of friendship, the necessity of self-expression, and the struggle of a free-spirited individual in an intolerant society. David Storch directs David Fox, Shannon Taylor and Soulpepper Founding Member Diana Leblanc. The Road to Meccaruns from April 30 to May 28; opening night is May 5.  A BRIMFUL OF ASHA BY ASHA & RAVI JAIN (CANADA 2012)  WHY NOT THEATRE  Award-winning actor, director, and producer Ravi Jain shares the stage with his real-life mother in A Brimful of Asha - a funny and touching story of family, arranged marriage, and the quest for the perfect bride. A Brimful of Asha runs from March 19 to March 22.  TRUDEAU AND THE FLQ  (THE HISTORY OF THE VILLAGE OF THE SMALL HUTS, 1968-1972)  BY MICHAEL HOLLINGSWORTH (CANADA 1996) VIDEOCABARET in association with SOULPEPPER  As the centenary of Canada's Confederation approaches, Quebec separatists crank up the violence. On a stage lit by terrorist bombings, Professor Trudeau pirouettes to power. The acid-tripping rock-throwing '60s are conjured up by a master storyteller with the magical stagecraft of the 2013 Dora Award-winning VideoCabaret ensemble.Trudeau and the FLQ runs from March 27 to May 3.  WEEKLY CABARETS  A new series of weekly cabarets will begin at the Young Centre on Saturday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m. Each Cabaret will run for 60-90 minutes, and will feature a different guest artist or musical ensemble each week. The first show will feature Soulpepper Resident Artist and accomplished cabaret singer, Patricia O'Callaghan. The second on March 22 will feature composer and artist Mike Ross, Soulpepper's Slaight Family Director of Music. Tickets are only $15 in advance and are available at soulpepper.ca. Tickets for The Gigli Concert, Of Human Bondage and The Road to Mecca range from $29 - $74 (including 13% HST and service charge). Tickets for A Brimful of Asha and Trudeau and the FLQ range from $25 - $55. Cabaret tickets are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. Student tickets for the Cabarets are $10.  Tickets are available by calling the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666 or by visiting soulpepper.ca. $23 tickets are available for 21-30 year-olds at stageplay.ca. StagePlay is sponsored by TD Bank Group. The $23 Rush Ticket / $5 Youth Rush program is sponsored by Sun Life Financial.  The 2014 Soulpepper brochure can be viewed here. StagePlay is sponsored by TD Bank Group. The $23 Rush Ticket / $5 Youth Rush program is sponsored by Sun Life Financial.  2014 Soulpepper Lead Sponsors are: Scotiabank, TELUS and the Michael & Karen Vukets Family Foundation.  Soulpepper gratefully acknowledges annual operating support from the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts. The Soulpepper Academy is supported in part by the Canada Arts Training Fund at Canadian Heritage.  Located in its multi-venue home, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Distillery Historic District, Soulpepper is Canada's largest urban theatre company. Founded and guided by artists, under the leadership of Artistic Director Albert Schultz and Executive Director Leslie Lester, Soulpepper has a complex and integrated mission which includes: industry-leading youth outreach initiatives; the Soulpepper Academy, Canada's only multi-year paid professional training program for theatre artists of all disciplines; and a year-round diverse repertory season which is grounded in the classics and committed to the creation of new works, new forms, and innovative practices.