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Acadians will sing and dancers will leap at the Chrysler Theater this week and next with the return of productions from St. Clair College’s music theater performance program.
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The public is invited to watch theatrical students show their well-practiced skills in two shows: The epic Canadian musical Pélagie, and the original dance recital program Soundtrack.
The first of the two productions, Pélagie, puts the tribulations of 18th century Acadians into story and song.
Set in the late 1770s, the musical is named after its heroine, Pélagie LeBlanc, who must lead her fellow Acadians from the plantations of Georgia, where they have been exiled, to their homeland of the Canadian east coast.
“It’s a Canadian story,” explains director and program faculty member Katherine Kazhas. “This community was broken up and scattered throughout the eastern seaboard.”
The Acadian diaspora might be 250-year-old history at this point, but Kazhas believes the issues it touches remain relevant in modern times. “I think the shifting and moving of peoples throughout the world is one of our great global crises today.”
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The production involves 23 students in a variety of roles, with full costumes and stage settings, accompanied by a live orchestra.
“It’s kind of Mother Courage meets Les Miserables meets Fiddler On the Roof,” Kazhas says.
Next week, the focus shifts to performances of a more physical nature: Soundtrack is the title of an original dance program by choreographer Melissa Williams and musical director Michael Karloff.
A total of 16 students will take the audience on a trip through popular musical history, with each song segment bringing era-appropriate costumes and dance moves.
“We conceptualized it ourselves,” Williams says. “We called it ‘Soundtrack’ to weave in the idea that music takes on a personal aspect for us, as humans. Lots of times, a song can take you back to a special moment in your life.”
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You’ll see students jive to the birth of rock n’ roll in the 1950s — accompanied by the sounds of Elvis Presley and more.
Then it’s onto the Motown era of the 1960s, with students offering their best impressions of The Supremes, The Temptations, and others.
After a nod to the “Summer of Love” sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival, it’s right into the nightclub strut of the 1970s, heralded by the likes of ABBA, the Bee Gees, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Then watch students emulate the 1980s stylings of Cyndi Lauper, Guns N’ Roses, and more, followed by some 1990s Girl Power with the Spice Girls, Vogue-era Madonna, and Alanis Morissette.
In total, there are 33 song references in the show. Williams said some of the choreography was designed by the cast members themselves. “A couple students took on that role, which is great. I think it’s really important to let ideas come to fruition.”
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All shows take place at the Chrysler Theater (201 Riverside Dr. West).
Pelagie will be performed on Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm, and on Saturday at 2 pm
sound track will be performed on April 28 and 29 at 7:30 pm, and on April 30 at 2 pm
For ticket-buying information, call 519-252-6579 or visit www.chryslertheatre.com.
Find out more about St. Clair College’s music theater program at www.stclaircollege.ca/programs/music-theatre-performance.