New West Theatre explores the folk rock scene of the ’70s before disco music invaded, with their new show Fire & Rain: Folk Rock Classics, running at the Yates Theatre June 29- July 25.
They have a new look and a new artistic director and are excited to take the audience back 40 years with the cast and crew.
“I may be a child of the ’80s, but I grew up on the ’70s folk rock,” said Richie Wilcox who is excited to direct his first New West production.
The show features ’70s favourites by performers like James Taylor, the Mamas and the Papas, Stan Rogers, Janis Joplin, Carly Simon Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Simon and Garfunkel and much more even the Traveling Willburies who rose to prominence in the late ’80s, but who featured several icons from the 1970s.
“It’s a little bit different. It is set up more like a concert set in 1974. So we’re in that era. We have all of this beautiful facial hair and costumes,” Wilcox enthused.
“A lot of it is based on “The Last Waltz, the filmed last concert for the Band,” he said.
The live band takes centre stage in this production.
“Bente Hansen plays a grand piano in the middle of the stage and there are some fantastic guitar solos from Scott Mezei. And Kelly Roberts plays in the band and makes a return to the stage,” he continued.
“And Paul Walker plays lots of instruments,” he said, noting cast members get to flex their instrumental muscles.
“Kathy plays piano and Erica even plays congas,” he continued.
The cast includes newcomer Tom Debello and lots of familiar faces including Scott Carpenter, and original New West member Kelly Roberts, plus Erica Hunt, Kathy Zaborsky and Andrea Gedrasik.
Aaron Collier is designing the set including a projection screen and Jay Whitehead is choreographing the dance for this show.
“It’s still a folk show, but there are definitely some dance numbers. So it ranges from dance numbers to more traditional folk songs,” he continued.
“We’re having a lot of fun with ’70s TV shows like MASH and Welcome Back Kotter. It’s the ’70s before disco,” he said.
“It’s a really live sound. They’re having so much fun,” he said.
Kelly Roberts is excited to perform in his first New West Theatre main-stage production since 2004, which ironically was also a folk show, though a more hippie inspired folk show called ‘Good Vibrations.’
“ That was way back in the Pleistocene era,” Roberts quipped.
“So it is very good to be back.”
He gets a workout playing guitar as well as participating in 90 per cent of the numbers on stage.
“ It’s so much fun to work with Erica and Scott again,” he said.
“We love the material and are excited to deliver it for an audience,” he said.
“ I’m really enjoying singing the Stan Rogers tune ‘Northwest Passage’ and I’m enjoying playing the guitar for ‘When Will I be Loved.’ And playing the guitar for the James Taylor medley is a real workout,” Roberts said.
“But I’m enjoying the challenge.
“ And I’m dancing, which is something I’m really not known for,” he said.
He also grew up listening to a lot of the songs in the show.
“But you really don’t need to be ‘of an age’ to be familiar with this material,” he said.
He is also enjoying comedic numbers like “ Don’t Pet The Dog.”
“I’m looking forward to laughing with Scott Carpenter. ‘ Don’t Pet the Dog is not really scripted, so there’s lots of opportunity for improvisation,” he said.
Fire & Rain represents a new beginning for the long standing theatre troupe as former artistic director and general manager Jeremy Mason is moving on to new projects, paving the way for newcomers General manager Jeff Newman an artistic director Claude Giroux.
“We have five shows this season,” said Mason on his last day as artistic director.
“Last season was a great season. Audiences wanted us to expand on some of the things we did last year. So the shows this year are different, but also very comfortable,” he said.
The august production “ Get Down” will be the first one directed by new artistic director Claude Giroux, Aug. 6-29.
The Christmas show this year is “All Spruced Up, Dec. 14-Jan. 2. While Munsch takes a break for the year as the December/ January Theatre for Young Audiences show will be a reworking of “Three Little Pigs” by Jeremy Mason
Giroux is excited to be on board with New West.
He graduated from the University of Victoria 12 years ago and since then has performed everywhere from New Brunswick to Vancouver and Fort MacMurray.
Giroux said he is busy learning how New West Theatre works.
“ New West Theatre has been around for 25 years. There is a lot of history. So I’ve been learning it. It’s not a good idea to steer an organization without knowing its history,” he said, adding he is also getting to know cast members like Erica Hunt and Scott Carpenter and music director Paul Walker who have been involved with the organization for many years.
“I’m really excited to direct my first production,” he said, adding he will be directing “Get Down,” the August production, Aug. 6-29.
“I’m getting to know the community, he continued.
Roberts encourages everyone to come and see Fire and Rain.
“I remember one show, a couple of friends had a falling out with each other, but they’d already bought the tickets in advance. So they said to each other ‘we already bought the tickets, we might as well go anyway.’ And they sat there laughing at the same things and by the end whatever rift they had was mended because they were laughing at the same thing. I just find it really cool that people can be affected like that through the power of comedy,” he said.
“And music,” Wilcox chimed in.
Fire & Rain runs June 29-July 25 at 7:30 p.m. and every Tuesday through Saturday night except Canada Day. There are also 1 p.m. matinees, July 11,18 and and 23.
