New & Familiar Faces at the Playhouse

1000 Islands Playhouse

CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT – 2014 SEASON

GANANOQUE, ON- The Thousand Islands Playhouse is proud to announce the cast, crew and design teams that will form the 2014 season, opening May 16. Audiences will be excited to see many familiar faces from past Playhouse productions, as well as some they will recognize from other theater festivals, TV shows or films.

“I’m thrilled about the top-notch teams that we’ve assembled and can’t wait for our season to come to life with their hard work,” says Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran. “Assembling these teams is a process that I work on for many months to ensure that the Playhouse has some of Canada’s best talent on our stages.”

The season kicks off in May with DRIVING MISS DAISY (May 16 – June 14 in the Springer Theatre, produced in Association with Western Canada Theatre, Kamloops, BC), directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran, and welcomes back Nicola Lipman as Daisy (No Great Mischief, 2013) with debut performances from Walter Borden (stage veteran and Member of the Order of Canada) and Brian Linds.

Next, SHE LOVES ME, directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran, will take the Springer Theatre stage (June 20 – July 19) and features the largest cast and creative team that the Playhouse has had in many years, including return performances by Alison MacDonald (Marvelous Wonderettes, 2011; Suds, 2013) as Amalia, Kristin Galer (Nunsense, 2012; Little Shop of Horrors, 2012; Suds, 2013) as Ilona, with Music Direction from James Smith (Spelling Bee, 2013), and with choreography by Shelley Stewart Hunt (Spelling Bee, 2013). The Playhouse is excited to welcome Ron Pederson (MADtv) as Georg, and Ken James Stewart (Charlie Brown, Stratford Festival, 2012) as Arpad.

Opening the Firehall Theatre’s 10th Anniversary season is the multi award-winning JAKE’S GIFT (July
1 – 26), written and performed by Julia Mackey with direction from Dirk Van Stralen.

Fans of last season’s hit comedy Boeing Boeing will be excited for THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (July 25 – August 23 in the Springer Theatre) as we welcome back Director Daryl Cloran and Set and Costume Designer Dana Osborne. We also welcome back actors Kirk Smith, Brett Christopher, Alison Deon and Tess Degenstein, who were the four lovers in Boeing Boeing last season. Also joining this team is Gemini Award-winning actor Diane D’Aquila, well known for her many roles at the Stratford Festival. 

Next in the Firehall Theatre is THE UGLY ONE (August 15 – September 20), directed by Thousand Islands Playhouse Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran, who directed the Toronto premiere of this play at Theatre Smash, as well as the recent production at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Playhouse audiences will recognize Tracy Michailidis (Marvelous Wonderettes, 2011; Suds, 2013) as Fanny, and may recognize two members of the original Theatre Smash cast, including Hardee T Lineham as Scheffler, and Jesse Dwyre as Karlman. Also returning from Theatre Smash’s original team is Set and Costume Designer Camillia Koo, winner of the Dora Mavor Moore award for “Outstanding Set Design” for The Ugly One at Theatre Smash, 2012. 

WAITING FOR THE PARADE (August 29 – September 20, produced in Association with Western Canada Theatre, Kamloops, BC) is the next show in the Springer Theatre. Directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran, it stars five very talented ladies, including Anita Wittenberg, who may be remembered as the witty French maid from 2013’s Boeing Boeing, prolific Canadian actor Janet Michael – who has performed across the country, including at the Vancouver Playhouse, the Richmond Gateway Theatre in Vancouver, the Belfry in Victoria, and the Resource Centre for the arts in Newfoundland – and Shannon Currie, a recent grad from the National Theatre School of Canada.

Wrapping up the 2014 season in the Springer Theatre is EDUCATING RITA (September 26 – October 18) directed by well-known Canadian Director Micheline Chevrier and starring Thousand Islands Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Charlotte Gowdy as Rita, and Blair Williams – known for his acting and directing work at the Shaw Festival – as Frank.

In addition to the cast and creative teams for these seven plays, the Thousand Islands Playhouse is also proud to announce the casting for their Young Company Travelling Troupe of emerging young professionals. They will tour Eastern Ontario with the imaginative children’s show BIRD BRAIN from April 22 – June 30, directed by Thousand Islands Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Charlotte Gowdy and starring Luke Brown, Nan Chen, Alexandra Montagnese, and Dylan On.

Visit www.1000islandsplayhouse.com for full cast and creative team lists for the 2014 season shows, or see the complete list that follows. To buy tickets, contact the Thousand Islands Playhouse Box Office at 613-382-7020 or 1-866-382-7020, or visit them at 185 South Street, Gananoque (open Monday – Friday, 11am – 5pm).