Alan Doyle helping tune up a new P.E.I. musical

Alan Doyle is one of the most respected singer-songwriters from the East Coast of Canada and now he is helping bring a new musical to a P.E.I. stage.

The movie The Grand Seduction tells the tale of residents of a small Newfoundland town who try to convince a visiting doctor to live there full-time. Now that story is being turned into a musical called Tell Tale Harbour by the Confederation Centre and artistic director Adam Brazier.

Brazier said he's been developing the idea since 2016, but he soon realized he needed a songwriter from Atlantic Canada to write the songs for the show — so he reached out to Doyle.

"I really wanted this to be a celebration of Atlantic Canada. So finding an Atlantic Canadian voice … who not only has the tonality but understands the traditions and vernacular of Atlantic Canada … who better?" Brazier said.

Doyle said he was "delighted" to get Brazier's call.

"I was stoked," he said.

Doyle said the "big charm" that made him want to be part of the project was the fact he has never done work like this before.

"It's a different challenge," he said

Doyle said the best advice he received when it comes to writing music to a script is "it's great to know what it can't be."

"In this song we need to move the character from the bathroom out to the drug store and back to the hockey rink. OK, well that's what the song is going to be about then. It's limited, but it's also focused," he said.

"I'm learning as I go."

Doyle said because he doesn't come from the musical theater world, he hopes what he adds will be "a breath of fresh air."

"I just love getting in a room with people who have talents and skills I don't have and hoping I can contribute and that is super fun," Doyle said.

Unique writing

Brazier said Doyle's creative method is unique and entertaining.

"He putters and he hums and he haws and he sings some gibberish at himself for a while and about six minutes later he goes 'wait, wait, wait, I think got it,'" said Brazier.

The musical is only in the beginning stages and another draft will be done by the end of the month.

"We're just going to keep pounding away at it, but it's our hope we can get this up on the stage sometime in the future," said Brazier. "We're incredibly excited to be developing it."

Doyle will perform on the Island in April at the Harbourfront Theatre and he has a new recording coming out in February called Rough Side Out.

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