New company will present two productions at WC O’Neill Arena Complex Theatre during the summer months.
Residence and visitors to the storied sea-side community of St. Andrews, New Brunswick will have the opportunity to experience live theatre this summer when St. Andrews Summer Theatre brings its inaugural season of work to the stage.
The company was founded by veteran actor Jody Racicot who feels professional theatre is a prefect fit for the coastal community’s summer entertainment schedule.
“I approached the arena board and town council last November with a proposal to lease the 120 seat WC O’Neill Arena Complex Theatre to host a summer season of plays,” said Racicot. “St. Andrews has a thriving cultural community and the addition of a seasonal professional theatre seemed natural.”
The company will run two separate performances throughout the summer months, alternating between the Broadway hit, Souvenir and Shipwrecked!: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as told by himself).
“The shows were chosen firstly because they are both fantastic plays,” said Racicot. “They are inherently theatrical. By that I mean they represent the best kind of story to be told from the stage. They’re both a bit magical.”
Souvenir tells the real life story of opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins, who gained a reputation in the 1940s for delivering a series of hilariously off-key performances. The production will be directed by Richard Beaune and feature Sally Dibblee alongside Toronto based actor and pianist Ostap Soroka.
Shipwrecked, a fantastic tale featuring four actors playing dozens of roles, is being called a high-octane, family-friendly adventure, and will feature Canadian stage actor Kevin Burnett performing alongside Racicot.
“I wanted plays that spoke to a wide audience, that were smart and sophisticated and would be moving in a positive way,” said Racicot. The two plays are complimentary. Souvenir, although about an opera singer is not a musical. It’s a touching comedy about the nature of self-delusion and the devotion of friends. Shipwrecked is a great adventure tale that delves into the question ‘what is truth, what is fiction?’. It’s celebrates the power of the imagination.”
Racicot believes theatre serves to unify a community by bringing people together to enjoy a story well told, and is excited for St. Andrews Summer Theatre’s first season to begin.
“I believe theatre brings communities together,” he said. “The best theatre is a big room full of friends, neighbors and perfect strangers laughing and crying together. It adds value to our communities. I have met so many great theatre artists from New Brunswick and we’re pleased to have been able to hire several. It is our hope that St. Andrews Summer Theatre will give those artists and audiences one more place to gather and share stories for years to come.”
To learn more about the productions, see performances dates and times and to find tickets, visit www.standrewstheatre.com
