A New Westminster director is at the helm as Footlight Theatre returns to the stage with a new musical at the Shadbolt Centre.
The Burnaby theatre company is staging The Marvelous Wonderettes, opening tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 6) in the Shadbolt's James Cowan Theatre.
Wayne Nolan, newly arrived in the Royal City from Ottawa, is directing the production, which stars Katherine Alpen, Sabrielle McCurdy-Foreman, Carolyn Bergstrand and Stefania Wheelhouse.
The four appear as members of Springfield High School's 1958 Songleader Squad, who are pressed into service at the senior prom when the group originally scheduled to perform is forced to drop out. The first act takes them to the prom; in the second, they're back together at their 10-year reunion.
Along the way, audiences are treated to a hit parade of songs from the era, including Mr. Sandman, Lipstick on Your Collar, It's My Party, Lollipop and more.
"A lot of the songs are familiar," says Susan Reid, president of the Footlight board. "The music is unbelievable. People who see it are like, why is this not being done everywhere?"
Reid is enthusiastic about the quality of production that's shaping up under the leadership of Nolan and musical director Kate MacColl - both new to the Footlight fold.
She's pleased that Nolan sought out the theatre group after his arrival from the east, where he has been involved with community theatre since his debut role in a 1980 production of Guys and Dolls with Ottawa's Orpheus Musical Theatre Society.
Over the years, Nolan has amassed an extensive resumé that includes both performing and directing - including directing a dozen community theatre productions and earning the Capital Critics Circle Award for Best Director in community theatre.
Reid promises that, under his leadership, The Marvelous Wonderettes will be the kind of high-quality show that Footlight has always been known for.
She's hoping the show will appeal to a broad base of audience members - from those who know the music through their parents or grandparents, to those who grew up to the music themselves.
"I think it's going to be anybody that loves the music of the '50s and '60s," she says. "It's music that everybody will know."
The Marvelous Wonderettes is onstage for 10 performances, with 8 p.m. shows Nov. 6 through 8 and Nov. 13 through 15, plus 2 p.m. matinees on Nov. 8, 9 and 15.
Tickets are $25 for all seats, available through tickets.shadboltcentre.com or by phone at 604-205-3000.
