Victoria theatre to welcome back live audience for first time since pandemic began
Victoria's Blue Bridge Theatre is set to launch its new season with a classic love story.
Frankie and Johnny in the Claire De Lune is about two people who meet for a one-night stand and discover the potential for a deeper love.
The Tony-nominated Terence McNally play has been revived multiple times on Broadway and was turned into a movie in 1991 starring Michelle Pfieffer and Al Pacino.
Although it was written during the late 1980s, director Brian Richmond says the theme remains relevant today.
“Mr. McNally decided he wanted to write a play about connection, and the importance of connection, and about the importance of love and finding love, no matter what stage you happen to be in your life,” Richmond says.
“I hope they find hope in this,” says Kelly Hobson who plays Frankie. “Especially in a time like this during the COVID pandemic. We’re all a little afraid to love each other at this moment and show that love, and I feel like this play kind of hits home with that a little bit.”
The director describes it as a little bit “salty” as it contains some nudity and coarse language.
“Probably the audience in the first few second will go, ‘Oh, they are just going to be dropping swear words,'” says Jacob Richmond, who plays Johnny, a short-order cook. “It actually starts to build throughout the two hours and turns into something quite poetic.”
“It’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for sure,” adds Hobson. “Sort of a mix between comedy and drama. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s tough and it’s beautiful.”
This will be Blue Bridge's first full-capacity production since the start of the pandemic and the cast and crew are excited to perform in front of a live audience.
“I’m very excited,” Jacob says. “There’s an unfathomable thing that happens when it’s live bodies in a room watching live bodies performing.”
“There’s nothing like the energy of a full house,” beams Hobson. “It just brings so much to the show and to the actors.”
There will also be a livestream available for those who can’t make it in person or prefer watching from the comfort of their home. Either way, the cast and crew hope people will support the theatre and buy a ticket.
Frankie and Johnny in the Claire De Lune opens Thursday at the Roxy Theatre and runs through Nov. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Iran's judiciary confirms rapper Toomaj Salehi death sentence
Iran's judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported on Thursday.