Welcome to SCENE CHANGES

Festival Theatre

All photos by Shin Sugino

An Inspector Calls. By J.B. Priestly. April 17 to November 2. Opens May 21. A spring evening, 1912, and the prosperous Birling family has gathered for an intimate dinner. Their daughter's engagement to a fine young man of means is the cause for celebration, but the festivities are interrupted when a police inspector unexpectedly calls. He is looking into the death of a young woman and as Inspector Goole questions each member of the family, skeletons come clattering out of the closet and a remarkable web of connections unfolds. Directed by Neil Munro, with Benedict Campbell, Peter Hutt and Mary Haney.
Photo: Benedict Campbell and members of the ensemble.

Wonderful Town. Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. April 1 to Oct. 5. Opens May 24. A musical adventure about being young and pursuing a dream, based on the play My Sister Eileen and the stories by Ruth McKenney. Sisters Eileen and Ruth arrive in New York City in 1935, fresh off the bus from Columbus, Ohio, to find fame, fortune and love. Lucky for them, they've landed in Greenwich Village, where artists, bohemians and a cast of colourful characters greet them. Seen through the eyes of these two young hopefuls, New York never seemed more charming, vibrant or fun as the sisters slowly come to discover what wonderful things life can really bring in this town. Directed by Roger Hodgman, with Lisa Horner, Chilina Kennedy, Jay Turvey and Thom Marriott.
Photo: Catherine Braund, Melanie Phillipson.

Mrs. Warren's Profession. By Bernard Shaw. July 6 to November 1. Opens July 18. Shaw's story of the ultimate test of a mother-daughter relationship is one of his most enduring and best-loved plays. Mrs. Kitty Warren has worked hard to provide for her daughter Vivie, to give her the genteel upbringing she never had. Now that Vivie is about to embark on her own career, her mother decides that it is time for her feminist daughter to finally learn the truth about her mother's profession. The shocking news sets the stage for a battle royal between mother and daughter about sex, love, money and morality. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, with Mary Haney and Moya O'Connell.
Photo: Moya O'Connell, Mary Haney and members of the Ensemble

Court House Theatre

The Stepmother. By Githa Sowerby. April 29 to October 4. Opens May 23. A refreshing twist on the ‘wicked stepmother' story – the young stepmother, Lois Relph, cares deeply for her new daughters. It's her husband who's the problem – he can't seem to hold on to money and everyone in town knows it. Except his wife. She's a hard-working dressmaker who must support her family and when their daughter wants to get married, more than one secret must be revealed. An undiscovered theatrical gem from the author of Rutherford and Son , and the North American premiere of a play written in 1924. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, with Claire Jullien and Blair Williams.
Photo: Patrick McManus and Tara Rosling

A Little Night Music. Book by Hugh Wheeler, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. June 1 to October 4. Three mismatched couples gather for a weekend in the country – the lawyer and his much younger wife, the actress who is having an affair with a jealous military man, and the lawyer's son who is hopelessly in love with his young stepmother. Under the mystical lights of Sweden's midnight sun, loves are lost and found, longed for and forgotten, all set to some of musical theatre's most enduring songs – including the classic “Send in the Clowns”. Based on the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night , the original production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical. Directed by Morris Panych, with Goldie Semple, George Masswohl and Thom Allison.
Photo: Goldie Semple, David Schurmann and members of the Ensemble

Belle Moral. By Ann-Marie MacDonald. July 12 to October 5. Opens July 19. On a foggy Scottish coast lies an ancestral home called Belle Moral. There, by day, young Pearl MacIsaac considers questions of science and nature, and by night, dreams of mythical creatures and mysterious brides. This is a house full of mystery – just who is in the attic and why does Pearl have an ear in a jar? Part magic, part philosophy and part who dunnit, the play is a hilarious and spellbinding story and a rousing call for tolerance and diversity from Ann-Marie MacDonald, one of Canada's most beloved writers. Directed by Alisa Palmer, with Fiona Byrne, Jeff Meadows, Donna Belleville and Peter Hutt.
Photo: Jeff Meadows and Fiona Byrne and members of the Ensemble.

Royal George Theatre

Getting Married. By Bernard Shaw. April 11 to November 1. Opens May 22. Marriage à la Shaw! The bishop's daughter is getting married today. Or at least she was until she and her groom begin to have their doubts. They've each received a pamphlet titled “Do You Know What You Are Going to Do? By A Woman Who Has Done It“ and they both begin to question whether marriage is any kind of sensible union. Soon the whole household – from the bishop to the green grocer – has an opinion to share. A witty, provocative and thoroughly modern look at this venerable institution. Directed by Joseph Ziegler, with Peter Krantz, Fiona Byrne, Laurie Paton, Martin Happer and David Schurmann.

Photo: Patrick Galligan, Ken James Stewart and members of the Ensemble

The Little Foxes. By Lillian Hellman. May 3 to November 1. Opens May 24. Family and money – a lethal combination. When the Hubbard siblings decide to invest in a cotton mill, the struggle for the biggest slice of the pie begins. Brothers Ben and Oscar connive and scheme, but it is their powerful sister Regina who will seemingly stop at nothing to get what she wants. The treachery of these Southern foxes is a timeless story about the power of greed. One of Lillian Hellman's best known works, the deliciously treacherous Regina Giddens has been played by some of theatre and film's most commanding women including Tallulah Bankhead, who originated the role on Broadway, and Bette Davis, who starred in the 1941 movie. Directed by Eda Holmes, with Laurie Paton, Ric Reid, Peter Krantz and Sharry Flett.
Photo: Laurie Paton.

After the Dance. By Terence Rattigan. June 25 to October 5. Opens July 5. It's 1938 and the generation of Bright Young Things are still carrying on like it's the Roaring Twenties. They're that “lost generation”, the ones that missed World War I and are trying desperately to deny the looming threat of the next war. And to the younger generation, their life of endless parties seems utterly frivolous. But David and his wife Joan can't stop looking back to a time and place when the bright lights shone on them. When a young woman enters their lives, however, it seems to signal the party might be ending. Directed by Neil Munro, with Patrick Galligan, Deborah Hay and Marla McLean.

Photo: Blair Williams and members of the Ensemble

The President. By Ferenc Molnar. Adapted by Morwyn Brebner. June 7 to Oct. 4. Opens July 5 (Lunchtime Theatre). In this fast-paced comedy, the clock starts ticking for a powerful bank president when the young heiress under his care announces her secret marriage to a Communist taxi driver! Norrison tries in vain to convince her to divorce him but she is prepared to make her big announcement to her parents, who are arriving imminently. So what does a Chief Executive do? Simply transform this wholly unsuitable suitor into the perfectly well-bred, well-mannered, well-spoken son-in-law – all in under an hour! Directed by Blair Williams, with Lorne Kennedy.
Photo: Michael Ball and members of the Ensemble.

For theatre tickets and full season brochures, please phone the Shaw Festival box office at 1-800-511-7429. Brochures and tickets may also be ordered through the website at www.shawfest.com.