Calgary celebs select their favourite performances

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The Herald surveyed a few prominent Calgarians and asked for their favourite Calgary-area performing arts moments of 2015.

Shelley Youngblut, Director, Wordfest

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2015 High Performance Rodeo: What the Thunder Saw, One Yellow Rabbit 

A highly stylized, yet bravely raw theatrical mash-up that took on the challenge of making sense of senseless loss — globally through the First World War and T.S. Eliot (my favourite poet) and highly personally through Led Zeppelin and Richard McDowell (our Rabbits’ steady sonic soul). I was there for the final show, which was also Michael Green’s last performance with his compadres, and I left the Big Secret Theatre devastated and uplifted by what had happened and what was yet to come.  

Brian Burke,President of Hockey Operations, Calgary Flames

My highlight was Illuminasia at the Calgary Zoo. Enjoyed the entire evening very much.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Dear Johnny Deere,  Theatre Calgary. The music! The singing! The scaring of the horses!

Romeo and Juliet, The Shakespeare Company.  I normally can’t stand this play (just be more careful!), but this production was unbelievable.

Everything at the Calgary International Film Festival, but especially Remember (and meeting the director, Atom Egoyan) and the Youth by Youth Cinema Competition.

Revv52’s Gospel Revolution.  First time I’ve seen them.  Just go see them. You won’t stop talking about it for days.

And since the theme of Calgary’s Arts Development Plan is Living a Creative Life, my last three moments are ones that I participated in, despite having no discernible talent of any kind. I had a hoot co-hosting the 10-minute Play Festival (at the High Performance Rodeo), with the force-of-nature Julie Orton (though I note I was not asked back), narrating the Carnival of the Animals for the 40th Anniversary of the Calgary Civic Symphony was incredible,  and I pulled on the entire musical community from the Heebee Jeebees to Cowtown Opera to help me sing Let it Go after the Flames lost to Anaheim.

And a bonus event: In early July, I went to my friend Rene’s 100th birthday party.  We were all asked to go out to the front lawn for a surprise just as ominous clouds were gathering. I heard thunder, then … something else, coming from down the street.  “It’s a marching band!” someone yelled. “It’s not just a marching band,” I said, “it’s the world-champion Calgary Stampede Show Band. In the middle of Stampede!”. The skies opened, most people ran for cover, but Rene and I and a few hardy others stayed out as the kids got wetter and wetter and played their hearts out.  We were drenched to the bone, but filled with joy that these artists would do such a kind thing for a lovely woman on her special day. That’s the power of art in our community.

Janice Price, President and CEO, Banff Centre

Betroffenheit, Electric Theatre Company and Kidd Pivot. One of the standout performances of the year, created at The Banff Centre which debuted to rave reviews in July at the Centre and at 2015’s Panamania, the cultural program of the Pan Am games. 

The Mikado, Calgary Opera. There is something magical about al fresco opera and the Calgary Opera really delivered a delightful interpretation of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic last summer.

A Little Too Cosy, Against the Grain Theatre and The Banff Centre. Joel Ivany and Against The Grain Theatre’s stagings of contemporary opera at The Banff Centre’s “Open Space” program really push the limits of what one would traditionally expect from the art form. A Little Too Cosy took Mozart’s classic Cosi Fan Tutti and reimagined it as a 21^st century dating reality show.

The Midway and all the shows at this year’s Calgary Stampede. As a new Albertan, I attended my very first Stampede this year. The experience of the midway’s outstanding Young Canadian singers, live stages and all the shows, were a perfect Calgary cultural indoctrination.

Honen’s 2015 Piano Competition. A world leader in piano excellence and classical music, this competition brings the world’s classical music lovers attention to Calgary. An important spotlight for our classical music scene.

 Kent Hehr, Veterans Affairs Minister

Tribute to Michael Green. A Celebration of his life. A tearful ceremony that celebrated a uniquely Calgarian personality that defied stereotypes, built part of the cultural industry in Calgary, and helped put Calgary on the map for theatre. 

MoMo Dance Theatre: I Didn’t Wear My Raincoat Mixed-ability dance troupe exploring the four seasons through movement. 

Sage Theatre: Shakespeare’s Will  Canadian piece (by Governor-General Award-winner Vern Thiessen), this was a play that is a one-woman monodrama (performed by Elinor Holt) that deals with Anne Hathaway on the day that her husband William Shakespeare dies. 

Theatre Encounter: The Dumb Waiter Upstairs-downstairs piece of English drama by Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter (co-directed by Hehr communications lead Ben Charland and Val Duncan), that draws attention to class and cultural differences inside Britain.

Ann Connors, Managing Producer, High Performance Rodeo

Betroffenheit – Crystal Pite/Jonathon Young, Banff Centre. I couldn’t possibly pick one moment from this stunning show. It was perfection.

What Happened to the Seeker, Nadia Ross and STO Union at Theatre Junction Grand. The moment when Nadia Ross (creator) puts on her red shoes and dances across the stage. Killer.

Listen To Me, Vertigo’s Y Stage. This is more about the kids than any particular show. Post show Q & A’s for these kids shows are the BEST THING EVER. Such smart kids. These are the moments we all need to remind us why we do what we do. Gets me every time.

What the Thunder Said. I know this is a One Yellow Rabbit show, but please indulge me with this one. It is very personal. But the moment when the Rabbit’s did a complete switch in performance style and the Music for Kashmir started to play – wow. It was an homage of the highest order. And beautifully played.

Untitled Feminist Show, Young Jean Lee at Theatre Junction Grand. The whole show was a stunner. We often say that good theatre is a mirror in which we see ourselves reflected. When I first saw this show in Toronto, this 50 +++ woman remembered thinking “That is the first time in quite some time that I have seen myself on stage”. But I will admit that I was nervous about programming the show and what the reaction would be. When I bought it to Calgary, the women who waited to meet the cast post-show and reflect on that very thing assured me that it was the right decision. Those were the moments that you dream of when presenting work. Success!

The Grandstand Show at the Stampede. It was my first Stampede Grandstand show. I remember thinking “they can’t possibly fit anything else on the stage” And then the angels dropped in from the sky. And it was awesome.

Patti Pon, President and CEO, Calgary Arts Development Authority

What the Thunder Said. One Yellow Rabbit teamed up with former National Arts Centre artistic director Peter Hinton in a First World War themed drama that featured the final performance by Michael Green.

Revv52: Inside the Wall of Sound. It is just so amazing to see this group of singers having such a great time on stage.  Their passion is contagious!

Borderland, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks show (at Arrata Opera Centre), which featured choreography by the company’s seven dancers.

Equinox Vigil at Union Cemetery. Calgary artist Sharon Stevens curated an evening of performance, art installation and live music at the Union Cemetery, in an event (inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead), that paid tribute to the dead.

Animate the Avenue. Showcased some of Calgary’s arts treasures,  including the BassBus, Kris Demeanour, Chantal Vitalis and Eya-Hey Nakoda, Cowtown Opera, Antyx Community Arts (Play on Wheels), MoMo Dance Theatre,  the hip hop dancers of Pulse Studios, Rubim de Toledo and his Dixieland Jazz Band and so many more!)

ALSO: Making Treaty 7, ACAD Spring Show and Sale, Honens Finals, Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS,  Ronnie Burkett and the Daisy Theatre, and Mump and Smoot

Biggest regret (re: an arts experience that I didn’t get to in 2015): Ute Lemper Sings the Seven Deadly Sins with the CPO.

Dave Kelly, Playwright, actor, broadcaster

Mozart’s Requiem. Luminous Voices.  Haunting, big, and enough beyond my musical grasp to make me feel like I was visiting a foreign country – a place I’d never been and wouldn’t normally go. When Calgary’s Luminous Voices – one of our country’s great professional choirs – decided to do it as their first concert in the new Bella Concert Hall at Mount Royal University. I sat there, listening and was transported to my youth, to cathedrals around the world, to sadness and mystery.

Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show. OK, I helped write the show – but this summer we thought we’d try doing citizenship ceremony for a different family every evening as part of the show. On the first night, a young Muslim family walked out on the Grandstand stage, shaking with excitement and proudly swore their allegiance to Canada while 20,000 of us in the audience stood and roared our welcome to our country, to our city. It was one of the most human, touching, dramatic moments I’ve ever been part of.

Storybook theatre – Awesome Allie – First Kid Astronaut. My son John had just turned four. He’d never been to a play. Neither had his best friend, his rabbit Roger. He’d never looked at a program. He’d never sat in a theatre seat. He’d never been in a room where it went dark and then lights came up on a stage – and live people put on a show. And he’d never been to outer space. He watched the play. I watched him.

W. Bret Wilson, Muckraking Philanthropist

Favourite fundraising event and live musical performance: Watching two great Alberta singer/songwriters—Corb Lund and Brett Kissel—perform at my annual Garden Party. The event raised over $400,000 to support adolescent mental health.

Favourite film event: The smalls, forever is a long time, presented at the Calgary International Film Festival. Featuring Corb Lund’s unlikely yet remarkable metal-punk-country band’s reunion tour, this film is a feature-length musical documentary well worth taking the time to enjoy. 

Favourite Experience: Curated by my friend Paul Hardy, Kaleidoscopic Animalia, currently showing at the Glenbow Museum, a must-see fascinating look at animal-inspired artifacts and artwork from different cultures and periods, depicting the positive and not-so-positive use of animals in art, fashion, and culture – all relying on the extraordinary collection embedded in the archives of the Glenbow.

Mike Morrison, Mike’s Bloggity Blog

Look out Fallon!  This year, two different styles of talk shows emerged as an alternative to your traditional theatrical experiences.  First, Late Night at The Plaza is a wild and hilarious weekly spectacle that takes place at the Plaza in Kensington. It’s a mix of a college radio show, Saturday Night Live and early Conan O’Brien, but it’s expertly produced and almost so good it’s hard to believe that they produce a brand new show each week!

The other show is Dave Kelly Live, which produced four specials this year at the Lunchbox Theatre. Those of us who’ve missed Dave Kelly since he left Breakfast Television have been treated to the good ol’ Dave that we all know and love, but without the restraints of television and all its rules.  By bringing in some of the city’s biggest newsmakers, musicians and special guests, Dave Kelly Live has the air of something bigger that’s just getting started. 

My favourite theatrical production this year was Front Row Centre Player’s production of Urinetown. First, because I love Urinetown, I was happy to get to see it again, probably for the millionth time. But also because FRC’s production was just so good. Amazing singing, fun adaptions for the Calgary audience and a really, really solid cast. There’s definitely some stars in the making in this city, and Urinetown featured many of them! 

shunt@calgaryherald.com

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