Kenny and Shania Cabaret a smash hit in Gananoque

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Lorraine Payette

---

EMC Entertainment - With winter shucking and jiving all around us, Gananoque has decided to have some fun and throw some music into the mix.

From Jan. 20-22 the first of the five-part winter/spring music series of cabarets was run at the Firehall Theatre. Dedicated to the hits of Kenny Rogers and Shania Twain, the band played to nearly 200 people and capacity crowds over the three-day run.

"We've just finished the first of a series of five shows," says Cliff Edwards, lead male vocalist and acoustic guitar for the day's band. "We're trying to build an audience here in Gananoque and the surrounding area through the winter months, which can be a challenge."

As with many towns in the area, Gananoque sees a large drop in arts and entertainment revenues in the cold weather. However, they are working together to find ways to turn the tourist season into a year-round phenomenon, and to encourage people throughout the region to come and enjoy all that the town has to offer.

Each cabaret features local talent, and some include names which have become household words as well. The band for Kenny and Shania was made up of Cliff Edwards, Tim Hallman, Doug Gravelle, Dan Kasaboski, and Michelle Kaz, all known and appreciated in the local community. And although the names and faces change, the music remains high quality, upbeat and fun to both listen to and participate in.

"I think it's great," says Sheila Burtch. "Tim Hallman is the best keyboard artist around. I could listen to him any time."

Lois Creed, 87, of Dexter, N.Y., agrees. "The music was wonderful. I felt right at home here."

"I can't believe how wonderful the town was for the first show of the series," says Jan Gravelle, who worked with Edwards to bring it all together. "Darn close to capacity crowds for every show. The Sunday matinee was really an experiment, because we've never done it before. We've done Friday and Saturday nights for quite a few years, but this was something new and it turned out very well. People reserved tickets, people came out, and we had more at the matinee than we had on the Friday night, which was excellent. We're really proud, and (almost) everybody is from Gananoque. Local people, local crowd, local musicians, local talent, local everything. It wakes the winter right up."

Many fans had turned out specifically to hear Edwards and Doug Gravelle (formerly of the Bells), while others are closely watching Michelle Kaz. At only 20 years of age, her strong voice and vivacious style are making her a true up and coming phenomenon. At a show with something for everyone, audience members ranged in age from late teens on up.

"We're doing a music series. They're all different. The next one is called 'Songs in the Key of Love', which is a Valentine's show on Sunday, Feb. 12, and includes Island Voices, Paul Harding and the Wilkins," says Edwards.

The weekend of Feb. 24-26 will be a tribute to the Maritimes, and showcasing the music of Anne Murray, Gene McLellan, and Rita MacNeil. Similar to the show of Kenny and Shania, Mary Jo Mallory will perform along with Kevin Head on guitar, Gravelle on drums, Hallman on keyboards and Edwards doing vocals and acoustic.

"Following that is a Celtic festival (at the end of March)," says Edwards. "We've been asked about that for some time now, so we'll be doing it in (the Firehall) as well as at some of the clubs with Kelly Trottier, Crooked Wood, Roger James and Bobby Watt, so it's a wonderful festival of Celtic music."

The series will finish up on April 28-29 with "Steppin' Out", a tribute to the music of Irving Berlin featuring "Anything Goes", "Puttin' on the Ritz", and other favourites.

Tickets for the series are 20 per person, with seniors' group discounts available. Evening performances start at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:30.

For more information or to buy tickets, please contact the Firehall Theatre box office at 613-382-7020 or go to www.1000islandsplayhouse.com.




blog comments powered by Disqus