Calgary’s New Critics Awards Hand Lunchbox 4 Nominations

Articles and Reviews,Blog Entry,Dad's Piano,Jake's Gift,Last Christmas — Kathryn Blair @ July 25th, 2012

Tim Koetting (Critics Awards 2012 Nominee) and Miles Ringsred in Last Christmas. (Photo by Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo

Calgary Critics’ Awards honour 60 nominees in 14 categories

They saw, they reviewed, they discussed as a group and they agreed. Calgary Theatre Critics, Stephen Hunt and Bob Clark of the Calgary Herald, Louis B. Hobson of the Calgary Sun and Jessica Goldman of CBC’s The Eyeopener and applause-meter.com are pleased to announce the nominees for the first annual Calgary Critics’ Awards.

Nominees were chosen from any production performed in Calgary between August, 2011 and June, 2012, with the exception of Broadway Across Canada or Dancap performances. The winners will be announced at a free public award ceremony at 8pm on August 1st at the Auburn Saloon.

The 2012 Critter nominees are:

Best Production of a Play
Penny Plain – Alberta Theatre Projects
Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects
Sia – Downstage
Summer of My Amazing Luck – Sage Theatre
Fool for Love – Sage Theatre/Shadow Theatre

Best Production of a Musical
Avenue Q –Storybook Theatre
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre
Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects
Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Stage West

Best New Play
Take a Bite – Take a Bite Productions
Dad’s Piano – Lunchbox Theatre
Taking Shakespeare – One Yellow Rabbit
Drama: Pilot Episode – Alberta Theatre Projects

Best Revival
Highest Step in the World – Ghost River Theatre
In the Wake – Downstage
When That I Was – The Shakespeare Company
Shirley Valentine – Theatre Calgary

Best Director Play
Ron Jenkins – Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects
Vanessa Sabourin – Hunger Striking – Urban Curvz
Kevin McKendrick – Race – Ground Zero/Hit and Myth Productions
Georgina Beaty – Big Shot – Surreal SoReal Theatre/ Ghost River Theatre

Best Director Musical
George Smith – Avenue Q
Mark Bellamy – Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre
Glynis Leyshon – Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects
Max Reimer– Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – Stage West

Best Actor in a Play
Haysam Kadri – Jim Forgetting – Verb Theatre
Dave McInnis – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre/Shadow Theatre
Chad Norbert – Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad
Ryan Luhning – Race – Ground Zero/Hit and Myth Productions

Best Actress in a Play
Jamie Konchak – Hunger Striking – Urban Curvz
Meg Roe – Mary’s Wedding – Alberta Theatre Projects
Denise Clarke – Taking Shakespeare – One Yellow Rabbit
Caley Suliak – Summer of my Amazing Luck – Sage Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical
Bruce Horak – Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects
Kevin Aichele – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre
Tory Doctor – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild
JP Thibodeau – Avenue Q- Storybook Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical
Roberta Mauer Phillips – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild
Madeleine Suddaby – Avenue Q – Storybook Theatre
Ksenia Thurgood – Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects
Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

Featured Actor in a Play or Musical
Alexander Plouffe – True Love Lies – Alberta Theatre Projects
Rejean Cournoyer – True Love Lies – Alberta Theatre Projects
Kevin Rothery – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre/Shadow Theatre
Bart Kwiatkowski– Avenue Q – Storybook Theatre
Tim Koetting – Last Christmas – Lunchbox Theatre

Featured Actress in a Play or Musical
Karen Johnson-Diamond – Last Christmas – Lunchbox Theatre
Laura Parken – When Girls Collide – Vertigo Theatre
Monice Peter – Race – Ground Zero/Hit and Myth Productions
Mabelle Carvajal – Drama: Pilot Episode – Alberta Theatre Projects

Best Solo Performance
Shaun Smyth – Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects
Julia Mackey – Jake’s Gift – Lunchbox Theatre
Jon Lachlan Stewart – Big Shot – Surreal SoReal Theatre/ Ghost River Theatre
Raoul Bhaneja – Hamlet (Solo) – Hope and Hell Theatre in association with Richard Jordan Productions Ltd

Best Design
Narda McCarroll – Sweeney Todd – Vertigo Theatre
David Fraser – Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects
Roger Schultz -True Love Lies – Alberta Theatre Projects
Bretta Gerecke -Enron – Theatre Calgary
Terry Gunvordahl – Rope – Vertigo Theatre

To attend the Calgary Critics’ Awards please RSVP to critterawards2012@gmail.com as soon as possible as there are a limited number of spots available. Doors open at 7pm with complimentary nibbles for everyone, the awards will begin at 8pm and the celebration will continue until they kick us all out.

The Calgary Critics would like to thank their event sponsors: Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun, Davis Jensen Law, Bottom Line Productions, Auburn Saloon, The Collectors’ Gallery of Art and Petrocraft Storage Inc. for their support and enthusiasm.

Eleven 2012 Betty Mitchell Award Nominations for Lunchbox

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Blog Entry,Dad's Piano,Jake's Gift,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 3rd, 2012

15th Annual Betty Mitchell Awards August 27th, 2012. (Image courtesy Betty Mitchell Awards)

2012 Betty Nominations were announced Tuesday, July 4, 2012 at The Auburn by 2012 Bettys host Russel Bowers. The Bettys will be presented August 27 at Stage West. The event is open to the public. For more information about the awards and purchasing tickets visit www.bettymitchellawards.com

For a complete list of nominees, click here

The following are categories for which Lunchbox Theatre and artists in collaboration with Lunchbox received nominations for:

Outstanding Performance By An Actor In a Supporting Role

Kyle Jespersen – Ash Rizin — Alberta Theatre Projects

Daniel Mallett – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Joe Perry – Sia – Downstage

Alexander Plouffe – True Love Lies – Alberta Theatre Projects

Kevin Rothery – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre/Shadow Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design

Patrick Clark– A Christmas Carol – Theatre Calgary

Brian Craik – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Stage West

Deitra Kalyn – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street– Vertigo Theatre

John Pennoyer – The Wizard of Oz- Alberta Theatre Projects

Tyler Sainsbury – Peril In Paris- Lunchbox Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design Or Composition

Ethan Cole- Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Kyprios – Ash Rizin – Alberta Theatre Projects

Matthew Skopyk – Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects

Joe Slabe – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Matthew Waddell — Mary’s Wedding –Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Musical Direction

Ethan Cole – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Kyprios — Ash Rizin –Alberta Theatre Projects

Joe Slabe – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Joe Slabe – The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Stephen Woodjetts – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Comedy Or Musical

Kevin Aichele – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

Tory Doctor – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Bruce Horak – The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Christopher Hunt – Dad’s Piano –Lunchbox Theatre

Scott Shpeley – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Comedy Or Musical

Nicola Cavendish – Shirley Valentine – Theatre Calgary

Cheryl Hutton – SHE – Trepan Theatre

Karen Johnson-Diamond – When Girls Collide – Vertigo Theatre

Jamie Konchak – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street –Vertigo Theatre

Outstanding New Play

Ethan Cole and Eric Rose — Peril in Paris

The Downstage Creation Ensemble (Ellen Close, Ethan Cole, Col Cseke, Anton de Groot, Nicola Elson, Braden Griffiths and Simon Mallett) — Good Fences

Karen Hines — Drama: Pilot Episode

Kirstie McLellan Day — Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story

Joe Slabe — Jeremy de Bergerac

Outstanding Production Of A Musical

Ash Rizin – Alberta Theatre Projects

Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Peril in Paris –Lunchbox Theatre

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Drama

Shawna Lori Burnett – Jim Forgetting- Verb Theatre

Jamie Konchak – Hunger Striking – Urban Curvz

Jamie Konchak – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre / Shadow Theatre

Julia Mackey – Jake’s Gift –Lunchbox Theatre

Meg Roe – Mary’s Wedding – Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Production Of A Play

Big Shot – Surreal SoReal Theatre /Ghost River Theatre

Jake’s Gift – Lunchbox Theatre

Mary’s Wedding — Alberta Theatre Projects

Penny Plain – Alberta Theatre Projects

Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects

Comments (0)

Christopher Hunt on being many people in one hour

Dad's Piano,Video Interviews — Kathryn Blair @ May 15th, 2012

Christopher Hunt is the actor in Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly at Lunchbox Theatre until Saturday!

Comments (0)

Dad’s Piano behind-the-scenes video

Dad's Piano,Video Interviews — Kathryn Blair @ May 8th, 2012

Dave Kelly posted this video from Dad’s Piano rehearsals on his Youtube Channel:

Comments (0)

Calgary Herald review of Dad’s Piano

Articles and Reviews,Dad's Piano — Kathryn Blair @ May 4th, 2012

Jeffrey Neufeld, Pianist, and Christpher Hunt, Actor in Dad's Piano by Dave Kelly. Photo by Benjamin Laird.

Dad’s Piano tells tale well

By Bob Clark, Calgary Herald May 2, 2012

Piano and story go hand-in-hand in almost perfect harmony in the play that premiered on Monday at Lunchbox.

The music is mostly by Beethoven, Schumann, Bach and Chopin, performed by concert pianist and local business exec, Jeffrey Neufeld.

The 12 scenes comprising the spoken end of things are the work of Calgary TV personality-turned-actor-turned-playwright, Dave Kelly.

The solo actor playing the multiple narrators who bring Kelly’s script to life is Christopher Hunt. And the show in which everything comes together is Dad’s Piano, a memory play that lingers in the mind, a small masterpiece with a big heart.

Kelly’s writing throughout Dad’s Piano is direct, unaffected, and honest — and played that way by the very talented Hunt who here seems a master at giving depth and weight to his characters through the barest economy of gesture, movement and vocal means.

Indeed, the whole production — three years in the making, we are told — is such a model of simplicity and conciseness that the humour and warmth of the piece, its quiet joy and gentle sadness, offer special eloquence and meaning to any theatregoer who has loved and lost a father.

The string of short stories that speak of Paul’s relationship to his father, and of his relationship in turn to his own son, Nick — and of the connection of all three to the piano — open with Paul’s reflections after being told his ailing father hasn’t long to live.

Paul’s monologue is the beginning of a journey of family reminiscence that also incorporate the perceptions of some who had dealings with Papa, Paul and Nick Weiss — everyone from Paul’s piano competition adjudicator and the dying Papa’s hospital nurse to Nick’s hockey coach (who wryly observes, in one of the comic bits peppering Kelly’s musical drama, that coaching is like being in a dog park: “I know the names of all the dogs, but I don’t know the owners”).

The piano voice in all of this — the beautifully paced play is directed by Kelly’s brother Rob, involved in the Dad’s Piano project from the outset — belongs to a Fazioli, a handmade, Lamborghini of an instrument provided by Irene Besse Keyboards.

The apt playlist Neufeld performs — and performs well, with an ear for balance between instrument and actor — includes a movement from a Beethoven sonata (the Op. 53) that takes on a recurring thematic role as the piece Papa loved best, Paul tells us.

Other pieces illustrate or define a mood, with only the positive note that sounds near the conclusion of Dad’s Piano (Latvian composer Georgs Pelecis’ variegated New Year’s Music) ringing not quite true in context, because of its comparative length.

Trimmed, or replaced entirely by something more from Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood (say), this musical part of the play wouldn’t seem to have had the last word in a show that Paul’s epilogue crowns perfectly.

Lunchbox Theatre presents Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly through May 19. Tickets: 403-265-4292. Four and a half out of five.

bclark@calgaryherald.com

Comments (0)

Calgary Herald preview of Dad’s Piano

Articles and Reviews,Dad's Piano — Kathryn Blair @ April 30th, 2012

Rob Kelly, left, is directing Dad’s Piano, a musical drama written by his older brother Dave Kelly. Photograph by: Stuart Gradon, Calgary Herald

Relationships are key in Dad’s Piano (with video)

By Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald April 30, 2012

What if a piano were more than just a prop? What if it was a character, too?

That was the question, several years ago, that ignited the muse of Dave Kelly, better known to Calgarians as the onetime host of Breakfast Television, that led him to write Dad’s Piano.

The question may not have originated with Dave, but rather with his brother (and director of Dad’s Piano) Rob, who’s a decade younger than Dave.

“Rob has a buddy, Jeff Neufeld,” Dave says. “He’s the piano player in the show now, and we were sitting around back then, and he sort of wondered about — we all said, wouldn’t it be interesting if there was a play where the acting and music were equally important?

“Where the musical playing, in this case of Jeff on the piano, wouldn’t just be underscoring or wouldn’t just be mood, but would actually be part of the telling of the story?”

Well, short of enlisting Pixar to give the piano a set of teeth and some punchy dialogue to deliver, it seemed unlikely, until Neufeldt, an accomplished pianist, played the Kelly brothers a piece of classical music before explaining that it was the song his dad asked him to play at his funeral.

“Which seemed sort of sweet,” Dave says, “but also kind of intense,”

It also caused Kelly to sit down and begin writing monologues about what might be said about a Dad’s life at his funeral. Soon, after enlisting the help of actor Christopher Hunt — who just played about 50 different roles in The 39 Steps — the Kellys had themselves a piano story.

“It’s a full kind of story,” Dave says, “about how this piano was the thing that tied this guy and his dad together.”

“But (it’s) also the thing that shattered their relationship, and how they dealt with that over their life.”

And while the story behind Dad’s Piano isn’t exactly autobiographical — the Kellys’ father is alive and well and living in Edmonton — the piano has, in fact, played a pretty significant role in the family’s life.

For one thing, the Kellys — all 10 kids — grew up in Edmonton in a house without television. Instead, there was this piano.

“Dad taught me the chords,” Rob says. “He was really big into Wilf Carter and other country singers from the ’30s and ’40s.”

Second, Rob grew up playing the piano, even studying it in university, before suddenly stopping midway through his third year at the University of Alberta.

“I was in therapy a lot then,” Rob says, “realizing this (studying piano) wasn’t fitting for me, and this was right around the same time I had quit going to church, probably the year before. Within a year, I had moved in with my girlfriend. There were a lot of really significant things going on in my life when I quit piano.”

(Dave, on the other hand, played piano for a couple years before switching to guitar, and appears to have emerged from the piano experience emotionally unscathed.)

And if the piano isn’t necessarily a character in each of our lives, it still remains, even for kids these days, one of those linchpins for families: the first place where your child starts to learn how to practise, how to follow through and occasionally even how to creatively express themselves.

While that may not have been the case with Dave, writing about a piano has turned out to be a fine way to unleash his creativity.

With Rob directing, Neufeldt playing and Hunt performing his words, he’s seamlessly making the transition from likable morning TV guy (Breakfast Television) to actor (Our Town, The Santaland Diaries, True Love Lies) to playwright.

The only question remaining unanswered is whether or not Dave’s words are as charming as he is.

“Absolutely,” says Rob. “And that’s kind of the fun thing about it.”

Spotlight: Lunchbox Theatre presents Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly at Lunchbox Theatre through May 19. Tickets and info: 403-265-4292, ext. 0 or lunchbox theatre.com.

shunt@calgaryherald.comtwitter.com/halfstep

and check out the video: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/festival-guide/Relationships+Piano+with+video/6532287/story.html#ooid=BmczhsNDr6NgScagezF2C7gvo51i2B6E

Comments (0)

Calgary Sun review of Dad’s Piano

Articles and Reviews,Dad's Piano — Kathryn Blair @ April 30th, 2012

Piano hits right notes

Christopher Hunt in Dad's Piano by Dave Kelly.

BY LOUIS HOBSON ,CALGARY SUN

FIRST POSTED: SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012 10:59 PM MDT | UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012 11:31 PM MDT

In a word, Lunchbox Theatre’s production of Dave Kelly’s Dad’s Piano is remarkable.

It features remarkable writing from Kelly, a remarkable performance from Christopher Hunt and remarkable music courtesy of classical pianist Jeffrey Neufeld.

Dad’s Piano, a play for one actor and a pianist, tells the story of a bitter relationship between a father and his son.

Initially it is music that makes Paul so proud of his father, a German immigrant whose love of the piano and Beethoven is surpassed only by the adoration the man has for his only child.

Ironically, it is music that shatters their love for one another when young Paul feels his father is too controlling and too demanding.

Paul wants to play Chopin for a recital; his father demands Beethoven.

Paul wants to play pop songs; his father insists he must play only classical.

Paul walks out of a festival; his father refuses to talk to him until he apologizes, which Paul refuses to do and the antagonism continues to grow until the men no longer talk to one another.

Hunt’s transitions from one character to another are as subtle as they are believable and dynamic.

One minute Hunt has us laughing; the next, he brings us to tears not only because he is such a skilled chameleon but because Kelly has given him such beautiful, insightful dialogue to work with.

What Kelly has written verges on poetry yet it sounds so real and poignant when Hunt brings it off the page.

Neufeld’s presence is no gimmick. We need to hear the music these characters talk about and Neufeld is as much a wrapped observer of Kelly’s people as any member of the audience.

I did not want Dad’s Piano to end.

I could have and would have gladly spent a second hour in the presence of Hunt and Neufeld.

Director: Rob Kelly

Starring: Christopher Hunt

Five Stars

Comments (1)

FFWD Preview: Dad’s Piano

Articles and Reviews,Dad's Piano — Kathryn Blair @ April 27th, 2012

From Breakfast to Lunch(box)

Dave Kelly’s theatre debut tackles biggest theme: death
Published April 26, 2012 by Tanya Hagen in Theatre

DETAILS

Dad’s Piano presented by Lunchbox Theatre
Lunchbox Theatre
Monday, April 30 – Saturday, May 19

How do we honour the promises made in youth, promises complicated by the passage of time, by the fracture of relationships? Are there limits to a son’s obligation, a father’s expectation? What is the power of music to bridge the long arc of story between childhood and adulthood, between the intimation and the reality of death?

Calgary-based (and Alberta Media Production Industries Association-nominated) Kelly Brothers Productions debuts its first theatrical piece at this season’s Lunchbox Theatre with Dad’s Piano, a short experimental work that juxtaposes monologue with live concert piano to tell the story of an adult son’s confrontation with his father’s impending death. Written by former Breakfast Television host David Kelly, and directed by Rob Kelly, the play features the collective local talents of actor Chris Hunt and classical concert pianist Jeff Neufeld, and takes its subject from a biographical episode in Neufeld’s own life.

As Dave Kelly tells it, the mandate to produce a theatrical piece that incorporates live concert piano performance as part of the narrative — rather than simply as mood or underscoring — provided the initial impetus for the production. The nucleus of a story came by accident at an early stage in the creative process, when a selection of piano pieces Neufeld had chosen to perform for the Kelly brothers included Beethoven’s Appassionata (Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57).

“Jeff finishes playing,” Kelly recounts, “and says, ‘the crazy thing about this piece is when I was 13, 14 my dad loved it and said can you play this at my funeral.’ Sweet, sure, but also a little something heavy to lay on your 14-year-old.”

Neufeld’s chance observation prompted a series of questions about a fictitious relationship between a dying father and his pianist son.

“What would that funeral look like? What if they’re not getting along? What if they haven’t spoken in years? And you find out he’s died? Do I show up and play piano at his funeral? Because I said I would when I was 14, and I’m 50 now?” says Kelly of the questions the piece posed.

Beyond this, the collaborators asked themselves, how would this intimate story play out for the people surrounding that event, for those both peripherally and directly involved in the long watch over the dying?

And how would the music play a role in telling the story?

The response to this (three-year) process of questioning takes shape in a series of 10 monologues, each representing a different character in a unique scenario — all played by Hunt — interspersed and connected by Neufeld’s live interpretations of piano pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, Bach, Chopin and Pelecis. Loosely unified by the single defining event of an impending death, each character comes with his or her own backstory: a construction worker snubs outdoor port-o-potties for the appeal of well-maintained hospital toilets and finds himself consoling the dying man’s father; a nurse obsesses over his wife’s hideous Crocs while re-inserting an IV in the patient’s fading arm; a neighbour worries at the load of baking she’s promised for the funeral.

The accompanying music — selected by Neufeld and Rob Kelly — is intended both to flesh out and complement the narrative, but also to tell the story in its own right.

“What I’m hoping,” says Kelly, “is that the people who aren’t really into classical piano will find this a compelling way to get into classical piano, and the people who are into classical piano will find this an awesome way to get into a good story. If I were to hear this music just played —– without having a great appreciation of classical piano — I might hear it and think, ‘that’s good.’ But, I don’t think it would grab me in the same way it does in this play.”

Comments (0)

Dad’s Piano Calgary Sun Preview

Articles and Reviews,Dad's Piano — Kathryn Blair @ April 27th, 2012

Lunchbox to end season on high note

BY LOUIS HOBSON ,CALGARY SUN

FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012 11:06 PM MDT

Dave Kelly’s play Dad’s Piano, which closes Lunchbox Theatre’s current season, started out as a challenge.

Kelly was sitting around with his brother Rob and their longtime friend Jeff Neufeld, who is a concert pianist.

“We were bemoaning the fact people didn’t write plays that required a concert pianist as an integral part of the show so we decided to see if we could write a series of monologues that required one,” says Kelly.

Neufeld played the Kelly brothers a Beethovan Sonata and from that grew the idea of a play.

“We worked with the idea that it was a father’s favourite piece of music and he had asked his young son to play it at the father’s funeral and the boy promised.

“That’s all well and good when the father and son relationship was good, but what happens when that relationship soured later on?

“Is that promise still a promise?”

Kelly asked Calgary actor Chris Hunt to become part of the development process.

“I wanted there to be more characters than the father and son but I only wanted the one actor.

“I knew Chris could bring any character I wrote to life without turning them into caricatures.”

When a first draft of the script was completed and the music selected, the team workshopped the play in the Epcor Centre’s Motel Theatre two years ago.

The response encouraged Kelly to approach Lunchbox’s artistic director Pamela Halstead.

“She turned me down several times but I was persistent enough that she agreed to workshop the play herself,” says Kelly, who admits it was a scary venture.

“It was like being naked.

“Pamela said that someone simply telling a story isn’t dramatic and that we had to find the deep need the person has to tell this story.”

Dad’s Piano runs at Lunchbox Theatre from April 30 to May 19 starring Christopher Hunt and Jeff Neufeld.

Tickets are on sale at 403-265-4292.

Comments (0)

Media Release: Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly

Dad's Piano,Media Release — Kathryn Blair @ April 8th, 2012

Press Release/Media Call
For Immediate Release – August 19^th 2011

Classical Music and Family at Lunchbox Theatre

Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly

Calgary, AB – This May, Lunchbox Theatre showcases classical music, and how that music can help heal old wounds, in Dad’s Piano by Dave Kelly. Dad’s Piano runs April 30^th to May 19^th and features actor Christopher Hunt and pianist Jeff Neufeld with direction by Rob Kelly and produced in conjunction with Kelly Brothers Productions. Through monologues interspersed with selections from Bach, we learn of a man whose just lost his father, and how he comes to terms with their turbulent relationship.

“Dad’s Piano was performed at Motel in the EPCOR CENTRE in 2010, and since then I’ve been providing dramaturgical support. It’s been expanded from its original format, but stays true to the purity of its form – monologues and music,” says Lunchbox Theatre Artistic Director, Pamela Halstead. “Irene Besse Keyboards has graciously sponsored the show and is donating a fabulous grand piano, so Jeff Neufeld will have an instrument worthy of his talent!”

Dad’s Paino features Christopher Hunt with Jeff Neufeld. The production team features director Rob Kelly, set designer Martine Evans and lighting designer Dave Smith. Dad’s Piano runs April 30^th to May 19^th, Monday to Saturday at 12:10 pm, Fridays at 6:10pm and Saturdays at 7:30 pm at Lunchbox Theatre, 160 – 115 9^th Avenue SE. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre, online at www.lunchboxtheatre.com, or by phone at 403-265-4292 x 0.

The world’s longest running lunchtime theatre, Lunchbox Theatre is a professional company that caters to downtown office workers over the noon-hour by producing seven plays per season, as well as the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival and the Emerging Director Program. Lunchbox Theatre is located at the base of the Calgary Tower.

Media are invited to a Media Call on Monday, April 30 at 1:15 pm.

1:15 pm – B-Roll of Dad’s Piano (2 minute scene)
1:30 pm – Interviews as requested with actor Christopher Hunt, pianist Jeff Neufeld, playwright Dave Kelly, director Rob Kelly, or Lunchbox Theatre’s Artistic Director Pamela Halstead.

www.lunchboxtheatre.com

For more information, to RSVP, or to request an interview:
Kathryn Blair
Marketing and Communications
Lunchbox Theatre
403 265 4292 x 229
kathryn.blair@lunchboxtheatre.com