Diana Leblanc, Daren A. Herbert and More to Star in First Three Shows of TIFT's 2013-14 Season; Cast Announced!

Talk Is Free Theatre has announced principal casting and creative teams for the first three productions of the current season. Some of Canada's most renowned artists are scheduled to appear, with additional casting announcements expected to follow at a later date.

Stratford Festival stars Lucy Peacock, Nigel Bennett and Brian Tree will reunite in The Sneeze by Anton Chekhov. The collage evening will include material Chekhov wrote for the stage, as well as Chekhov stories adapted by Michael Frayn. The Sneeze is directed by Marti Maraden (Stratford Festival, National Arts Centre), with design by Nick Blais (Terminus).

David Ferry and Diana Leblanc will star in The Last of Romeo and Juliet, a conceptual adaptation by Mitchell Cushman, based on the words by William Shakespeare. The production will also feature Clare Coulter, John Gilbert, Alex Poch-Goldin, Luke Humphrey, Jennifer Phipps and Sandi Ross. The Last of Romeo and Juliet will be set in a Canadian retirement home. All teenage characters will be played by senior artists, while the adult figures will be portrayed by actors of biological age to be their children. Through this relocating of Shakespeare's text, the production will explore the present-day dilemma in which the Baby Boomer generation find themselves responsible to parent their parents, as well as the fated powerlessness and the subject of "old love", which can feel more impossible and just as star-crossed as that experienced by Romeo and Juliet. Cushman (whose TIFT's production of Possible Worlds recently played to critical and box office success at Munich's BeMe Theatre) will also direct, with design by Nick Blais.

Floyd Collins by Adam Guettel and Tina Landau, in co-production with Vancouver's Patrick Street Productions, will star Daren A. Herbert in the title role, with Arctic Air's Kevin McNulty and Republic of Doyle's Krystin Pellerin as Floyd's father and sister. Other cast members include Nathan Carroll, Jay Davis, Michael Torontow, Katey Wright and others. Floyd Collins will be directed by Peter Jorgensen with musical direction by Jonathan Monro. Set in 1925 Kentucky, this riveting musical is based on the true story of an American cave explorer and entrepreneur who, in his search for the ultimate tourist attraction, found himself trapped 100 feet below the earth.

The Sneeze previews on November 28, opens on November 29 and runs to December 7, 2013.

The Last of Romeo and Juliet previews on January 9, opens on January 10 and runs until January 18.

Following its run in Vancouver, Floyd Collins plays as part of the TIFT's season in Barrie previewing on April 10, opening on April 11 and closing on April 20.

The remaining two productions in the season are the world premiere of The Wakowski Brothers - A Canadian Vaudeville, a musical by Wesley Colford, with direction by Richard Ouzounian and Miss Caledonia, written by and starring Melody Johnson.

All performances are held at the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts in Barrie, Ontario. Single tickets and subscriptions are available at www.tift.ca or by calling (705) 792-1949.