A saucy, singing take on Shakespeare tops this weekend's list
The Bard gets a cheeky musical makeover, an R&B legend lends her voice to Dylan's songbook and a new dance gets its world premiere at sunset on this weekend's list.
Miss Shakespeare
What if Shakespeare's daughter wrote a musical? That's the premise for Miss Shakespeare, which finds the Bard's youngest daughter rounding up her friends and putting on a show.
There's not much known about the personal life of William Shakespeare, but we do know he had two daughters (his only son died as child). When he died in 1616, the playwright left the bulk of his estate to his elder daughter Susanna, who had married well, and a small sum to his younger daughter Judith, who wed under scandalous circumstances.
Miss Shakespeare imagines Judith as a feisty woman who has inherited her father's creativity. In an age where women were forbidden from appearing on the stage, she gathers six friends in a tavern cellar to swap stories and saucy songs.
"It being a time when women's stories aren't being represented on stage, they don't have a chance to connect and share their experience in the way we do today," said director Bronwyn Steinberg.
Presented by Three Sisters Theatre Company, with book and lyrics by Tracey Power.
Where: Gladstone Theatre, 910 Gladstone Ave.
When: Runs until Saturday, June 2.
Cost: $20 for students, $32 for seniors $36 for adults. Tickets can be purchased here.
LaVette sings Dylan
With her crackling, gutsy delivery, R&B legend Bettye LaVette, 74, is reaping raves for her exhilarating reinvention of the Bob Dylan songbook. Born in Detroit, Mich., LaVette starting singing professionally when she was 16. Her voice possesses a gritty, authentic quality that makes you feel she's lived every word she sings.
She wasn't always a Dylan fan. "His music didn't get much play on black radio,"said LaVette in an interview from her home in Jersey City, N.J.
Taking on the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter's repertoire didn't faze her.
"Songs are nothing but words on a piece of paper, until they're sung, It's absolutely up to the singer, what kind of song it is," LaVette said.
"If Mahalia Jackson sang them, they'd be gospel. When I sing them they're rhythm and blues. If Elvis Presley sang them they'd be rock 'n' roll."
Where: Babs Asper Theatre, National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St.
When: Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets start at $49.50 and can be purchased here.
Love and Other Things
Choreographer Tedd Robinson and his collaborator, composer and percussionist Charles Quevillon, have been working for two years on Love and Other Things: a drama for flower, clay and bone, a new dance working having its world premiere in the NAC's Rossy Pavillion.
Robinson describes the piece as "kind of an opera, kind of a dance drama, kind of performance art."
The performance gets underway at sunset, when dancers will move through a dreamlike atmosphere, accompanied by a choir and Zen-like soundscape.
Where: Rossy Pavillion, NAC, 1 Elgin St.
When: May 25-27, May 30-June 1, starting each night at 7:57 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.
