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Talk is Free Theatre offers new treats all season long

The season opens in late November with Leonard Bernstein’s musical satire 'Candide'
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Could this be the best of all possible theatrical seasons ahead of us in Barrie?

Arkady Spivak is banking on it. The artistic director of Talk is Free Theatre will open the company’s 2017-18 season in late November with Leonard Bernstein’s musical satire Candide, the adaptation of Voltaire’s 18th-Century literary classic in which the characters are taught they live in the best of all possible worlds – only to find the opposite is true.

The show was initially presented in 1956 in the traditional proscenium Broadway sense, before being scaled down in the mid-1970s to a kind of arena setting presented much like a carnival.

Spivak says this Candide will be given a more intimate treatment.

“But in choosing to produce Candide, we wanted to zero in on the story of abandoned optimism without short-changing the scope or the lushness of the work. Much like we did with Stop the World – I Want to Get Off! in 2015, in which a musical written for a cast of 10 was performed by one gifted actor, Daren Herbert, we thought that the way to give the work the dramatic lift here was to do a similar thing – to bring only five gifted actors who would perform an entire show in a very unique way.”

Spivak maintains idealism in this day and age can work against those in whom the seed is planted.

“More and more, our youth, the Candides of today, are asked to become adults sooner than they are ready to, given, for example, the weekly reports of terrorist actions. In other words, the wholesomeness of a young person is not only quickly destroyed in today’s world, but hardly has a chance to form in the first place.”

Then, in February, TiFT tackles Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, about the collision between Mozart’s genius and those around him.

“I believe that (Antonio) Salieri (Mozart’s chief antagonist) was a genius as well. It’s just that we love sensationalism and want to romanticize that Salieri was jealous. Of course, he was. But he was jealous of the ease of Mozart’s gift. Whereas Salieri had to pay to price for his gift, Mozart didn’t – he had multiple women in one night, showed up drunk and then wrote beautiful music without going to bed.”

In April, theatre-goers who dare may take in a new work, For Both Resting and Breeding, by Adam Meisner, depicting a gender-neutral world of the 22nd Century. Two historians want to transform an old late 20th-Century house into a living museum commemorating Millennials for the upcoming sesquicentennial. The inhabitants of that world fall for their gendered counterparts of years gone by, creating catastrophe.

Spivak suggests those who see this play may walk away trembling with fear for the future. But he adds, (while) “Adam IS concerned about the future, as you can imagine, this means that we also have a lot to worry about much sooner.”

The season winds up with a revival of Tales of an Urban Indian, held on a moving city bus, something Arkady says has put the company on the map.

“We have toured our version to the U.S. and to Iqaluit, so the word is getting out there. By bringing this production back we wanted to share it with the new generation of public, particularly before we launch on the four-year tour from coast to coast.”

Candide runs Nov. 23 through Dec. 2, Amadeus Feb. 15 through 24, For Both Resting and Breeding Apr. 12 through 21 at the Mady Centre at the Five Points, and Tales of an Urban Indian on a city bus May 3 through 12.

Season tickets will likely go quickly for this stellar set of plays. To buy yours, click here.


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Glenn Wilkins

About the Author: Glenn Wilkins

Glenn Wilkins, in a 30-year media career, has written for print and electronic media, as well as for TV and radio. Glenn has two books under his belt, profiling Canadian actors on Broadway and NHL coaches.
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