THUNDER BAY – Magnus Theatre is returning to the stage next month.
The Thunder Bay theatre on Thursday announced its 2021-22 schedule, with begins on Sept. 16 with Home: A Bluegrass Celebration, a music revue conceived and written by Jo-Ann Waytowich, an icon of the local theatre community.
The show, directed by Thom Currie under the musical direction of Danny Johnson, uses bluegrass music as the backdrop to take a hilarious, yet relatable look at a year in isolation from the point of view of three women at various stages in their lives.
Norm Foster’s Lunenburg is next up, running from Oct. 21 to Nov. 6.
According to a Magnus release, it’s the story of Iris, a woman who inherits a house she didn’t know existed. She travels to Nova Scotia to take a look and it leads to a series of surprising and heartwarming transformations.
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol takes theatre goers through the holiday season. It’s a revisionary look at Charles Dickens’ classic tale, through the eyes of Marley, business partner to Ebeneezer Scrooge, the tightwad whose sees his own life on display one lonely Christmas Eve, thanks to the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.
It runs Dec. 2 to Dec. 18.
After more than a month off, Salt Baby, Falen Johnson’s modern comedy, marks the start of the 2022 portion of the schedule. It’s the story of a young Indigenous woman whose light skin sets her apart, both at home in her small community and in the city as she navigates trying to fit into two very different worlds.
It premieres on Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 12.
Sheila Hoffman and Stephen Sparks’ Smarty Pants is next up, running from March 10 to March 26. A woman named Linda and her friends break into her ex-husband’s house, a man who made millions of a wearable technology invention – smart underwear that can control one’s home. It’s a comedy that reminds the audience of the power of relationships.
The season wraps up with the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha, written by Dale Wasserman, which hasn’t been staged at Magnus Theatre in more than 40 years. Described as one of the most enduing works of musical theatre, it’s inspired by Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote, the story of the mad knight, a play within a play performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners waiting for a Spanish Inquisition hearing.
Man of LaMancha runs from April 21 to May 14.
Tickets for Home: A Bluegrass Celebration go on sale on Magnus Theatre’s website on Tuesday, Aug. 31, with tickets ranging from $20 to $45. A pay-what-you-can performance will be held on the first Sunday of each show’s run.
Public health and safety protocols will be observed at the theatre and patrons will be required to wear masks at all times while indoors. Capacity at the theatre is limited to 50 per cent.
For more information, visit www.magnustheatre.com.
