Photo Coverage: Theatre 20 presents Musicals That Fly

Theatre 20 had its final concert of its first season last Monday with John Gray's original Canadian work, Musicals That Fly: Amelia in Concert. First presented last summer in Prince Edward Island as part of the Festival Players, the show had been slightly re-vamped to work as a concert version, with the actors standing at mics and simply singing the parts. Theatre 20 founding artist Eliza-Jane Scott played Amelia, with Steven Gallagher as her husband and Karin Randoja as her sister. The simplistic nature of the ‘concert' style production served to tell a beautiful story through well-written music, and helped show the audience exactly what Theatre 20 is capable of and what they hope to achieve.

Theatre 20 is a Toronto-based, artist-led theatre company that was formed to present story-driven musicals by developing new Canadian works (such as Amelia) and by re-imagining existing repertoire. Its first season has not featured any full-scale productions, but each of its one-off concert nights have been magical, and showcased the immense talent that comprises this group.

Monday night was no exception as Musicals That Fly soared into The Panasonic Theatre for the evening. Simple, beautiful and well-acted, the story (by John Gray) was told almost entirely through song and conjured up memories of Mr. Gray's other classic Canadian piece of theatre - Billy Bishop Goes to War. Eliza-Jane Scott was fantastic as Amelia, balancing a multi-faceted role with ease and breathing new life into a heroine whose tale has been told many times over.  Her counter-parts were wonderful in their respective roles, injecting the appropriate amount of humour, sadness and realism while singing beautifully.  It is not an easy task to keep an audiences attention in concert format, without any fancy devices, set pieces, lighting or choreography. In these days of increasing production costs, special effects and stunt casting, it was a true pleasure to see a show succeed on nothing other than the talent of the performers and the strength of the material.

If Musicals That Fly: Amelia in Concert is any indication of what Theatre 20 will be bringing to Toronto next year, this city has much to be excited about. We could all do with a little reminder of the magic of Canadian theatre, and last Monday at The Panasonic, for a fleeting moment, we all had the chance to fly.

When and Where?

The next event for Theatre 20 is their Inaugural Season Celebration Launch - aptly titled ‘A Taste of 20'. It will be held Jan 23, 2011 at The National Club. Ticket details will be announced shortly.

For more information on the group, please visit their official website at www.theatre20.com

All pictures by Racheal McCaig Photography