THUNDER BAY - With a new look and a new lineup, Magnus Theatre is promising a year of change for its upcoming season.
On Monday, Magnus Theatre artistic director, Thom Currie announced next season’s line up, which will include a Broadway musical, a hilarious farce, classic Christmas tale, and a gripping mystery.
Currie said leading off the season will be a Broadway musical. However, because negotiations are still ongoing for the rights to the production, it has not been officially confirmed yet.
The second show in the lineup is Drew Hayden Taylor’s Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, followed by Miracle on 34th Street for the Christmas season.
To kick off 2018, Magnus will be presenting The River by Jez Butterworth, a mystery that Currie says will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
“The real one for me is The River,” Currie said. “I’m really excited about that. It is a gripping show, a great drama. I’ve found with Of Human Bondage, there is a huge thirst here in Thunder Bay for serious drama.”
To close out the season, Magnus will be presenting two comedies, Bed and Breakfast by Mark Crawford and Perfect Wedding by Robin Hawdon.
While longtime Magnus patrons will be used to a comedy by playwright Norm Foster to close out the season, Currie said he wanted to change things up a little next year.
“There will be Norm Foster again in the future,” he said. “I don’t like to repeat myself and I want patrons at Magnus to be able to have a different experience every time they walk through the door.”
But productions on the mainstage are not the only changes patrons can expect next year. Currie said the 2017/2018 season will also see the return of two summer productions, which include Mama’s Country Record Collection and Back in 59, both written by Currie.
“It’s been quite some time since Magnus has produced a summer show,” Currie said. “There is a lot going on in Thunder Bay in the summer months, and we want to be part of that scene.”
Summer productions are not the only new addition, with Magnus bringing back Theatre in Education to communities throughout Northern Ontario.
“I spent 18 years of my career in Theatre in education,” Currie said. “I believe very strongly that every student should have access to live performing arts and that’s not really happening these days.”
The program was originally funded through a grant from the Ontario Arts Council, but that funding has not been available for the last two years.
“We are actively fundraising right now to be able to send our shows specifically designed for schools into schools next year,” Currie said. “And schools off of the TransCanada Highway.”
There are other, smaller changes to expect as well, including all main stage productions being performed for an additional weekend.
To round out what Currie calls a year of change, the Magnus logo itself will be getting a facelift, though still keeping the essence of the original design.
“If you look at the old logos, they are beautiful products of their time and we didn’t want to get to far from that, so we kept the Magnus crown,” Currie said. “The current logo has been there for about two decades. It served us really well.”
