Melody Johnson Returns To Collingwood To Tell Another Great Story

Theatre Collingwood is known for bringing some of Canada's best live performances to our regional stages. Often their performers can be seen performing at The Stratford Festival, The Shaw Festival or in Mirvish Productions.

That's the calibre of artists they work with. Their next performer is no different. Melody Johnson is talented and experienced, and her comedic timing is second to none! She will be performing in LEFTOVERS THE LOTTERY: A Celebration of Shirley Jackson May 11th-13th at The Simcoe Street Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

"Melody is an amazing entertainer," said Erica Angus, Executive Director of Theatre Collingwood. "We first brought her in with her play Miss Caledonia and then again for last year's Porchside Festival in Person of Interest. Our audiences love her!"

Melody Johnson is originally from Brantford, Ontario, which she says is mostly known for Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Graham Bell (not bad company.) While working on traditional theatre she also worked in the improv and comedy worlds, where Colin Mochrie hired her for The Toronto Second City Touring Company. After being a mainstage actor Melody began directing Second City's touring company. Perhaps this is where she developed her incredible sense of timing. Nominated for a 2023 Canadian Screen Award for her work in the animated series Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, Melody is an award-winning comic and dramatic actor known for quirky offbeat characters on screen (Michael Everyday, Ordinary Days). Her voice work also includes Letterkenny, (Miss Fire), and Dog and Pony. As a Toronto Second City Mainstage vet and director she's also a Dora winning actor, and Canadian Comedy award winner.

Melody's husband, Allen Cole, is originally from Nova Scotia. He has worked as composer, musical director, and writer for The Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, the National Arts Centre and many other theatres across the country. Allen Won numerous awards, including four Dora Mavor Moore awards, six Robert Merritt awards, and a Best Film Score Award from The Atlantic Film Festival. His musical Rockbound won five Merritt Awards, including Best New Play, Best Music and Best Production, and was nominated for the Lieutenant-Governor's Masterworks Award.

Combining reading, performance, and live piano, LEFTOVERS & THE LOTTERY takes us on an exciting journey, as we celebrate one of America's finest writers, Shirley Jackson. But you don't have to be familiar with Jackson's work to enjoy this show. She was a "ordinary housewife" who shook up the world with her stories of everyday life and human nature. The show is entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking live theatre, and Melody Johnson and Allen Cole are definitely worth the price of admission!