New musical by Johnny Reid to headline Charlottetown Festival in 2023

A new musical co-written by country singer-songwriter Johnny Reid about his grandmother's life in Scotland will headline the 2023 Charlottetown Festival lineup.  

Maggie will play at the Sobey Family Theatre — the largest theatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts — from June to September, a news release from the centre said Thursday. 

The Play That Goes Wrong, a comedy that has received rave reviews in London's West End and on Broadway, will also be presented at the Sobey Family Theatre.

Two cabaret shows will play at the Mack next summer: the P.E.I.-created Songs of Johnny and June, which celebrates the work and lives of Johnny Cash and June Carter, and I'm Every Woman, a revue featuring iconic music from women artists such as Aretha Franklin and Taylor Swift.  

At the centre's outdoor amphitheatre, Munschables returns for a second year, featuring a new selection of stories from Robert Munsch, this time with an all-Island cast. 

P.E.I.'s Mi'kmaq Heritage Actors will also return with a new show in the amphitheatre, Mi'kmaq Stories of Rabbit and His Friends. 

"The 2023 Festival is full of stories of resilience, inspiration, empowerment, and lots of laughter," Charlottetown Festival artistic director Adam Brazier said in the news release.

Missing from the lineup's announcement was Anne of Green Gables — The Musical. 

Organizers had earlier announced that the centrepiece of the Charlottetown Festival for more than 50 years will be produced only every other year from now on, with no production in 2023. 

The new musical Maggie, set between the 1950s and 1970s, is based on the life of Johnny Reid's grandmother, who lived in a small coal-mining village in Scotland. 

Her husband, Reid's grandfather, died when Maggie was just in her early 20s, said Reid, who is Scottish-Canadian and immigrated to Canada as a teenager.   

"The story of Maggie is an everyday story," Reid told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie. "It's a story of people leaving her."

Reid's father moved to Canada and his two uncles ended up leaving Scotland as well, Reid said. 

"What led her to finding positivity in life through a sense of humour and music and good friends?" said Reid. 

"There's a lot of people that are going to be able to identify with this and my biggest thing was just a chance for people to get to know her." 

Reid began working on the musical six years ago, and co-wrote it with Matt Murray and Bob Foster. Foster co-created Tell Tale Harbour, which played at the centre in 2022 with co-writer Alan Doyle starring. 

Maggie will be produced by Reid and Michael Rubinoff, the originating producer of the smash hit musical Come From Away, said the centre's release. 

Mary Francis Moore, the festival's former associate artistic director, will direct the show. 

'Big learning curve'

As a singer-songwriter, writing a musical was a new challenge, Reid said. 

"I'm used to writing songs that last about, you know, three minutes, three-and-a-half minutes… When you're writing for a musical, the lyrics of the song need to advance the story. So that was a big learning curve for me." 

Reid will not perform in the show, but said he is excited to see the cast take the stage and experience the audience's reactions. 

"I would love people to leave that night having a greater understanding in my granny — and not only just my granny, but that generation," he said. 

Tickets for the 2023 Charlottetown Festival go on sale to the public this Saturday, Dec. 3.