World Première | Stratford Festival Commission Music and Lyrics By STEVEN PAGE | Book by DANIEL MACIVOR | Additional Music and Lyrics by CRAIG NORTHEY | Directed and Choreographed by DONNA FEORE | JUNE 5 to OCTOBER 24 | Opens JUNE 30 | Venue: Tom Patterson Theatre
Featuring Sean Arbuckle as George Rhodes, Scott Beaudin as Young Walker, Dan Chameroy as Walker Earle and Robert Markus as Young George
With Robert Ball as Brent, Robin Hutton as Carla and Vanessa Sears as Angela
Also in the cast are: Eric Abel, Gabriel Antonacci, Henry Firmston, Bonnie Jordan, Heather Kosik, Jordan Mah, Amanda Mattar, Chad McFadden, Stephen Patterson, Chelsea Preston, Jennifer Rider-Shaw, Genny Sermonia
Canadian Music Hall of Famer Steven Page, Siminovitch Prize-winning playwright Daniel MacIvor and musical-theatre director extraordinaire Donna Feore will bring a brand new musical to a brand new stage. Here's What It Takes is a vibrant, funny and moving exploration of two lives lived creating music.
It charts the musical highs and living-the-life lows of rock duo Walker and Rhodes on their journey from performing at children's birthday parties in the early '80s to the top of the pops in the '90s and on to the rocky roads of the new century.
What better way to highlight the excitement of a new theatre than with a new musical - especially one created by this extraordinary team of outstanding Canadian artists?
From his days in Barenaked Ladies on, Steven Page has been a Canadian music icon, and is a longtime contributor to the Stratford Festival, composing the music for six of Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino's productions.
Daniel MacIvor is a brilliant writer and dramatist, who has brought dozens of celebrated projects to the stage and screen, including The Best Brothers, a poignant and funny drama that had its world première here in 2012.
Donna Feore has directed a string of hit musicals for the Festival, including this season's Billy Elliot the Musical and Little Shop of Horrors, as well as the longest running show in Stratford history, The Rocky Horror Show.
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