P.E.I. theatre guide 2019: What's on stage this summer

From Hamlet to Hootenanny, there is a wide range of offerings on P.E.I. stages this summer.

Here are a few highlights from Island theatres.

Confederation Centre of the Arts

Death, taxes and Anne of Green Gables: The Musical take centre stage at The Charlottetown Festival.

There are few sure things in life, but Anne at the Confed Centre, which has been playing for 55 straight years, is one of them.

So it's always interesting to see what else is playing on P.E.I.'s biggest stage — and interesting to see who Island favourite Aaron Hastelow will be playing. Last year it was Jesus Christ. This year it's Hamlet in another rock opera, Kronborg — The Hamlet Rock Musical.

Last year I wore all white, this year I wear all black.— Aaron Hastelow

"Last year I wore all white, this year I wear all black," Hastelow told CBC Radio: Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie. "It goes to darker places, for me personally. So that is a challenge but it's the dream. I think that's why people want to play Hamlet."

Hastelow said the Hamlet part came about when he was in line at a coffee shop in Charlottetown in 2017. Adam Brazier, the artistic director at the Confederation Centre, was standing behind him.

"And he goes, 'Hey, so how would you feel about singing the Hamlet track in Kronborg?' And I was like, 'Oh yes, please, I was hoping you would say this!' It's not often you get job offers at Receiver, but I'll take it."

Hastelow said audiences will love the music and "epic" sword-fighting scenes.

Kronborg runs until July 20.

Other highlights include the comedy Spinning Yarns: Tales and Tunes from a homesick Newfoundlander at The Mack theatre as well as Atlantic Blue with Tara MacLean and the return of the popular Abba musical Mamma Mia!

Victoria Playhouse

The curtain rose on Victoria's summer season on June 25 with the first performance of Where You Are by Canadian playwright Kristen Da Silva.

They play is centred around the dynamic between sisters Suzanne and Glenda, living a peaceful retirement selling homemade jam on Manitoulin Island. 

There's some tension in the air when Suzanne's daughter Beth comes to visit, said Benton Hartley, who plays Patrick, their "very kind, very innocent" next-door neighbour.

There's just so much love that I think anyone who comes to see it is going to be touched by something."​​​​​​— Helen Killorn

"Patrick and Beth might have a moment or two, a little spark, a little love-at-first-sight kind of moment thing," Hartley said.

Oh, did we mention Patrick had been left at the altar, and Beth's engagement just ended?

"One of the main underlying themes of this show is love," said Helen Killorn, who plays Beth.

"But it's not just like the love of a man and a woman — there's this love of the sisters, there's this love of an aunt and her niece, there's a love of a mother and her daughter and there's a love of neighbours. There's just so much love that I think anyone who comes to see it is going to be touched by something."

The show runs until July 28.

Also on the summer calendar are the romantic comedy Real Estate, Chris Gibbs — A Legal Alien from the Brit-turned-Canuck comedian, and the return of Fascinating Ladies.

Watermark Theatre

A dark comedy and a farce will be staged as part of the Watermark Theatre season.

Crimes of the Heart and Boeing Boeing both feature P.E.I. actors Jenna Marie and Jacob Hemphill.

Hemphill, a Dalhousie theatre student and son of P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, is back for his second summer at the Watermark, while Marie, a graduate of the Holland College School of Performing Arts program, will be making her season debut on the North Rustico stage.

Both say they love the intimate, cosy setting of the theatre.

"You're basically a fly on the wall to the story that's going on on the stage. You're not only an audience member, you're probably a character in our eyes, so it's lovely."

You're not only an audience member, you're probably a character in our eyes, so it's lovely.— Jacob Hemphill

Hemphill said the actors have "no place to hide" on the stage.

"The eyes are always on you and you can really connect to the audience, which is awesome. They're right there with you and you can feel their energy, which is just an incredible feeling."

Hemphill says it can be a challenge going from a dark comedy to a farce.

"It's quite a drastic difference in between shows and especially when you're rehearsing both shows the same day," he said.

"So it's a challenge but it's also a fun challenge as an actor to be able to do that. You go from this real serious moments and then you walk up the street and then you're just running around doing physical comedy."

Crimes of the Heart, which "examines the plight of three young Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions," runs from July 5 to Aug. 30.

Boeing Boeing, which is about a successful architect named Bernard who is juggling three flight attendant fiancées, runs from June 25 to Aug. 31. 

Kings Playhouse

Only one of the Four Tellers is back at the Kings Playhouse in Georgetown this season. But the show will go on in a new format: as Tellers and Tunes with Gary Evans and P.E.I. musician Rachel Beck.

The Four Tellers disbanded last year when David Weale retired to write his memoirs and Dennis King "got some job with the government," Evans said.

"He'll have good stamps when he's done," Evans joked.

I think if people like the four tellers they're going to love this show, too.— Gary Evans

Evans and Beck will host each week and bring in a guest storyteller and guest musician. It will be set up like a songwriter's circle, Evans said.

"So we're all on the stage for the entire show and there'll be stories and songs and banter and stories and songs and banter and it'll be the whole night. So I'm I'm really looking forward to it and I know Rachel is. 

"I think if people like the four tellers they're going to love this show, too."

Something else to watch for at Kings Playhouse is Hootenanny. 

What's a Hootenanny, you ask?

"It's just a good time, it's a party with music with dancing," said Kings Playhouse interim executive director Catherine O'Brien. "It's people gathering together, sharing community. It's all of those things."

It takes on an open-mic format. Hootenanny host Joanne Ford, who'll back up the musicians along with Michael Buell, explained the show was formerly called the Ceilidh but people were more interested in performing country songs than Celtic music.

"You'll still get Celtic music but mostly old rock and mostly country," Ford said. 

Tellers and Tunes will be held Monday nights, and Hootenanny Tuesday nights through the summer.

The summer lineup at the playhouse also includes a Sunday family musical, a murder-mystery comedy and Friday night dinner theatre.

The Guild

Is there are harder-working cast on P.E.I. than that of Anne and Gilbert? They've been performing since April 30 and won't wrap the show until after Thanksgiving — more than 170 shows!

But it's not all "Island through and through" at The Guild.

Little Mermaid Jr. and Madacascar Jr., featuring students from The Guild's Music Theatre School, will have matinees throughout July and August that are fun for all ages. 

And from Aug. 30 to Oct. 12, Singalong Jubilee, based on the popular CBC-TV show from the 1960s and '70s, will take the stage. It stars Julien Kitson, the son of veteran Island musician Joey Kitson.

Harbourfront Theatre

Searching for Abegweit, the Island Songs & Stories of Lennie Gallant returns to Summerside for eight performances in July and August.

The show first opened in 2014 at The Mack in Charlottetown and is still going strong. It's described as a "musical love letter to Prince Edward Island."

The theatre is also offering behind the scenes theatres tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

"We're excited to welcome the public to explore the theatre with us again this summer," said Kieran Keller, Harbourfront's executive director, says on the theatre's website. "For those who want to learn more about how a theatre works, going behind the scenes can be a really fun experience."

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