Ensemble cast named for world premiere of A Misfortune
Katerina Georgieva | CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2017 10:26 AM | Last Updated: July 21, 2017
Kelsey Falconer and Connor Lucas land the lead roles
Confederation Centre of the Arts has announced its ensemble cast for the world premiere of A Misfortune, a Canadian musical opening this September at the Charlottetown Festival.
Connor Lucas and Kelsey Falconer landed the lead roles in the show set in pre-revolutionary Russia.
"I'm so excited to be a part of such an incredible show — especially for the world premiere," said Falconer.
The story follows Ivan, a young lawyer (played by Lucas) and Sofya, a married woman (played by Falconer) as they journey through the woods during a critical moment in their friendship. The characters meet with friends for a dinner party in the country during which "sordid secrets are revealed."
Lucas said he's thrilled to be a part it: "I've had a chance to read through the script and work on a couple of the songs and I can already tell it's going to be pretty special."
Both Lucas and Falconer are currently performing in Anne of Green Gables — The Musical.
Cast includes festival veterans
Lucas is a recent Sheridan College graduate and has also previously appeared in two Young Company productions, The Voices of Canada and We are Canadian. Working for the Charlottetown Festival has been a dream of his for a long time, he explained.
"I mostly feel very lucky right now," said Lucas.
Falconer is a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate. She is playing Josie Pye in Anne this season. It's her first professional theatre job out of school. She has previously performed at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The cast also includes Réjean Cournoyer, Brendan Wall and Melanie Phillipson who have all performed at the Festival before.
Cournoyer is well-known at the Charlottetown Festival for his roles in Mamma Mia!, Evangeline, and Alice Through the Looking-Glass.
Wall performed in last year's Festival/Soulpepper musical Spoon River. This month, he is performing with Soulpepper in New York City in the productions of Spoon River and Of Human Bondage.
Phillipson is also in this year's production of Anne. She made her debut at the Festival last year in Belles Soeurs: The Musical.
Only nine performances
A Misfortune is adapted from a short story by Anton Chekhov.
In a news release from the Confederation Centre, the show is described as "a romantic, darkly comedic musical about small moments and momentous decisions. We follow Sofya's journey from innocence and youth towards knowledge and self-actualization."
It will be directed by Festival alumna Eliza-Jane Scott, who is known for her performance in Mamma Mia! last year.
Scott Christian is the composer, orchestrator and music director of A Misfortune, with lyrics by Wade Bogert-O'Brien and book and additional lyrics by Kevin Michael Shea.
"I'm very excited to jump into rehearsals with such an insanely talented cast," Falconer said. "I'm just so excited to work with [Eliza-Jane Scott] and to start exploring this incredible character and this incredible piece."
The show will have a short run, with just nine performances, running from September 7 to September 22 at Confederation Centre's cabaret theatre, The Mack.
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