It’s Monday morning, and Peter Jorgensen is on the homestretch. Sure, there’s a long week ahead – lighting design, technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals and some production tweaking – but he’s very nearly there.
“There,” of course, being the opening of a brand-new Canadian musical, The Best Laid Plans.
The musical is set to open Saturday, Sept. 19 at Vancouver’s York Theatre – the culmination of a four-year journey that began when Jorgensen started mulling the idea of creating a piece of Canadian musical theatre.
Jorgensen and his wife, Katey Wright, are New West residents and the co-artistic producers of Patrick Street Productions. Their past productions have brought to the stage lesser-known or more rarely seen pieces of contemporary musical theatre, and Jorgensen has also created and staged a Rodgers and Hammerstein revue.
But creating an entirely new show from the ground up was something altogether different.
“The act of creating something brand new is unlike anything I’ve done before,” Jorgensen says. “It already feels like a career highlight for me.”
Jorgensen was inspired to create the musical after reading Terry Fallis’s satiric Canadian novel of the same name. Knowing that his own small company wouldn’t have the resources to go it alone, he approached Touchstone Theatre, which has a history of developing new Canadian work.
He also emailed Fallis about the idea and got immediate and enthusiastic support for the endeavour.
“He’s been on board right from the get-go,” Jorgensen says. “He’s been so generous and supportive of the process.”
From there, the team was slowly built.
Governor General Award-winner, the veteran playwright Vern Thiessen, came on board to write the book for the musical. Benjamin Elliott and Anton Lipovetsky teamed up to create the music and lyrics.
Nico Rhodes came on board for the orchestration – orchestrations that everyone got a chance to hear for the first time just this past weekend during the “sitzprobe” (theatre-speak for the first rehearsal where the singers work with the orchestra).
“It was just thrilling,” Jorgensen says, noting it’s rare to have a chance to hear work performed, literally, for the very first time. “Everybody’s jaw was dropping at times.”
Jorgensen himself is directing, with Jonathan Munro on board as musical director.
“It’s just been an incredible collaboration from the beginning,” Jorgensen says.
Adding to that, of course, is the talent onstage. The 10-member cast is headed by Nick Fontaine as Daniel Addison, who has the luckless job of finding a new Liberal candidate to run in a staunchly Conservative riding.
“I just think this is going to be a breakout role for him,” Jorgensen says. “He sounds great.”
Starring alongside him is veteran performer Andrew Wheeler as Angus McLintock, the irascible Scot who’s set up to lose the election – but whose play-it-straight style may just cause problems for that plan.
“Andrew is fantastic. Watching him find Angus in the rehearsal process has been wonderful,” Jorgensen notes.
They’re joined by rising star Meaghan Chernosky as Nick Fontaine’s love interest, Patti Allan as her grandmother-turned-political advisor, and other well-known Vancouver names including Shannon Chan-Kent, Zahf Paroo, Gordon Roberts, Hal Wesley Rogers and Katey Wright.
“It’s a great cast, super-talented,” Jorgensen says.
And no, if you wondered, it’s not entirely accidental that this political satire happens to be opening just in time for the federal election.
Way back four years ago, Jorgensen and the others thought the timing would be great if they could make it all work with the next planned federal election date – and though, along the way, it sometimes felt like it would be too soon, Jorgensen notes that everything has come together and right now feels like the perfect time for the production on all fronts.
The Best Laid Plans runs Sept. 19 to Oct. 3 at the York Theatre, with shows Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees on Sept. 20, 27 and Oct. 3 at 2 p.m.
Previews are on Sept. 17 and 18 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available through the Culture box office at 604-251-1363 or tickets.thecultch.com.
