Atlantic canada – Newfoundland Herald

Tell Tale Harbour

Herald Staff — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:34:24 +0000

Don’t dare tell Alan Doyle he can’t, because he most certainly will! The musical Tell Tale
Harbour, based on the screenplay The Grand Seduction finds one of NL’s own not only co-writing the musical but starring in the lead role this summer in P.E.I.

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The Confederation Centre of the Arts in P.E.I had some exciting news to share ahead of their 2022 Charlottetown Festival lineup announcement. Artistic Director Adam Brazier joined The Herald’s Managing Editor via Zoom for a yarn.

A Standing Ovation

Brazier was asked what it’s been like working with one of the play’s stars, Newfoundlander Alan Doyle, on Tell Tale Harbour.

As if called to join the Zoom call via a personalized standing ovation, Doyle pops on, in all his hair-tossin’, high energy, smiling glory. Even from a hotel room, Doyle manages to glow.

“Check this out. Don’t say we don’t take you to the nicest places,” he gushed as he ‘showed off’ his travelling-man living quarters – a room at a Comfort Inn in Riviere-du-Loup – while he gushed about fried chicken he used to be able to get back in the day in Petty Harbour.

‘A Glorious Time’

It was, he said, a spot to have “a glorious time,” for anyone enthusiastic about fried chicken, he reminisced fondly. “But there’s a St. Hubert’s across the street here. So it’s like all is not lost, let me tell you,” the man who lays many a golden egg when it comes to anything ‘arty,’ began happily.

Is there any other way when it comes to anything Doyle turns his hand to? Musician, author, playwright, actor: he’s been there and most certainly has the T-shirt. So what’s he up to now?

The 2022 Charlottetown Festival, held in Charlottetown, P.E.I. will have the world premiere of Tell Tale Harbour, a new musical comedy set in small-town Atlantic Canada, beginning this June.

Star of the Show

While many have known Doyle was involved in the development of the show and would be writing music, the bigger news is that the well-known Great Big Sea front-man will also be starring in the show from June through to September.

How did the beloved Grand Seduction, which starred Taylor Kitsch, Brendan Gleeson and NL’s own Gordon Pinsent, become a musical? Doyle said the credit belongs to Brazier.

“He was the genesis for this whole project, if he doesn’t mind me saying. (Brazier) recognizing this story might be a good thing to present on stage in a musical theater and so he made it happen,” Doyle offered.

Brazier nodded. “It really spoke to me when I watched it. I felt (The Grand Seduction) was this perfect fodder for a musical comedy. It’s exactly the kind of material and story that you look for. It has just enough pathos and heart behind it to make you care about the people in this situation. It speaks beautifully to our Atlantic Canada region,” Brazier said.

At their core, The Grand Seduction/Tell Tale Harbour are yarns about hard times and hope in a small rural region, but there’s so much more too, he added.

“Yeah, it’s a hilarious and absurd comedy, but it’s all based on real issues that the Atlantic community has. We have doctor shortages. We have communities that shut down when they lose employment. And so it speaks true to the region. But at the same time it is predominantly fun, funny and as I would like to say, it would make for a great night out.” Brazier said.

‘Hilarious & Absurd’

It has to be asked of Doyle, who is busier than a bayman with two wood stoves; why take on a project that will see him on stage from June through to September?

The answer? Just because. The quote he likes to re-use is a quote he accidentally said when asked about producing a record for the popular children’s group Splash ‘N Boots.

“We ended up winning a Juno, so it worked out great. But as I said to them when they asked me, and I said to (Brazier), and I’ve said so many times in my career; ‘I do things at least once because I don’t know how.’”

At first he was simply asked to “write a couple of songs,” for the musical.

“I said, ‘why not. And if you guys dig them and it feels like a good fit then use it. If it doesn’t work, just go find someone who knows how to do it because I don’t know how to do it.’ But one of the things that I’ve discovered more and more in the last two or three years of developing this fun project is that there were people in musical theater like (Brazier), who know the general rules and structures of musical theater, and they are always excited to find somebody and something or some song or some character that lives outside of what they already know.”

A Fresh Approach

And that’s where Doyle and his fresh approach came in handy, it seems. “I could actually bring something new. I’m not schooled in musical theatre, I only come at it with all the stuff that comes with me, you know? Hopefully that’ll bring something fun and exciting,” Doyle said.

No doubt. Six months out and there’s already a buzz. Tell Tale Harbour, which kicks-off the Charlottetown Festival, is a musical which tells the story of a struggling Atlantic fishing village. The community is looking for a miracle when an opportunity arises to bring a frozen French fry facility to town. Realizing this might be their last chance to save their beloved community, the townspeople come together to secure the factory.

Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, the hilarious musical comedy celebrates the people, the trials, and the triumphs of living in a small community in Atlantic Canada.

When Brazier began drafting the musical adaptation, he sought out a collaborator who could encapsulate Atlantic Canadian storytelling through song, which led him to Doyle who, as we now know, is starring in the lead role.

Invigorating Terror

“I am so excited to be a part of this project, and to be taking my first steps into musical theatre as a creator and performer. The whole deal is both invigorating and terrifying, as all good art should be,” Doyle shared when asked about his early involvement.

“I’m stoked for people to know we are crafting a show to make people feel like they’ve experienced something truly special and give them a great night out. I hope its passionate message about the meaning of home, and the hilarious situations it portrays, will move people to laugh and cry and laugh again,” he said.

Bob Foster, Music Director of Come From Away, joined Doyle as he began to pen the tunes that shaped this worthy hits-close-to-home yarn.

Brazier shared that the excitement is real and working with not only Doyle and Foster, but alongside award-winning writer Ed Riche and director Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre English Theatre in Ottawa, and with choreographer Linda Garneau, has been a COVID gift of sorts.

“COVID has been a real blessing in a way because it opened up so many people’s schedules to focus on this. And not just us as writers and collaborators, but also with artists that we’ve brought in to do workshops we’ve had. We’ve had the joy of being able to have incredible talent supporting us and helping us develop this piece,” he shared.

And as for Doyle? “He has this natural ability, not only as a songwriter, but as a lyricist, to find ways to keep the stories active and going. He is very natural at it, his songs have a narrative and they take you places and that is what we look for in musical theatre as well. So it’s been a really good fit that way.”

Doyle is encouraging all to ‘come to ‘The Harbour,’ Tell Tale Harbour, that is!

“People, like if you want to come to The Harbour, you should really get it together really quick because I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a busy, busy, busy summer in Charlottetown.”

We ask Doyle if there’s any nerves, or simply excitement. “Oh, I’m just excited to be taking a step onto the stage as a musical theater performer. It’s like I’ve lived a very lucky life in the arts. This is just another round of good fortune for me, so I’m very excited about it and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Tickets for the 2022 Charlottetown Festival are on sale and tickets can be purchased online at confederationcentre.com or via phone at 1-800-565-0278.

ARTS | Alan Doyle Makes Live Theatre Debut in ‘Tell Tale Harbour’

Herald Staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:13:41 +0000

Alan Doyle is comfortable with the stage, to be sure, but this will be completely different.

Based on the screenplay The Grand Seduction by Ken Scott, Tell Tell Habour is an all new musical comedy that celebrates the people, the trials, and the triumphs of living in a small community in Atlantic Canada.

Co-written by, and starring music icon Alan Doyle, the story of Tell Tale Harbour is as relatable as it is ridiculous, as hilarious as it is heartfelt, and full of East Coast pride.

“Tell Tale Harbour will be a night of laughs, cries and songs through Summer 2022 in beautiful Prince Edward Island,” Doyle shared of the event that will take place in Prince Edward Island next summer. “I am beyond excited to tell you that the fella in the lead role in this musical is me.

Deep in the heart of Atlantic Canada sits a small harbour slowly losing hope. The once bountiful fishing village is struggling to survive, and half the population is relocating to the mainland for better opportunities. The community is looking for a miracle when an opportunity arises to bring a state-of-the-art frozen french fry facility to town. There’s just one major obstacle; to secure the factory, the harbour must have a full-time resident doctor. Realizing this might be their last chance to save their beloved community, the townspeople come together to charm an interim doctor into moving there permanently.

Tell Tale Harbour opens June 23 at the 2022 Charlottetown Theatre Festival and is set to run until Sept. 24. Preview shows begin June 14.

A Little Piece of Heaven

Herald Staff — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 11:32:32 +0000

With a year’s worth of surviving a pandemic under our collective belts, we can say one thing for certain and that’s this: thank goodness we live where we do. Beyond the fact that being surrounded by water has made our contact with COVID somewhat more manageable, that we also have some of the best people and the most amazing scenery in the world has made lockdown feel a little less like a punishment and a whole lot more like a reward. That’s a lot to be grateful for.
Another thing to be grateful for? I’ve seen more of this island of ours over the past year than I’ve seen in a lifetime and some of my more favourite spots I’ve visited again and again just to experience the changes through each season.

Edge of the Atlantic

Walking along the edge of the world at Cape Spear in early June is very different than it is in August. When we visited Point Zero last Spring, there was still an iceberg hanging out on the horizon. The air held that hint of cool, enough to keep us moving swiftly along the trails, with just enough tease of warmth to encourage us to linger at the top to take it all in for just a little longer. Returning in late summer on a warm but windy day, the waves were captivating. Hanging out of the edge of the Atlantic invigorates the soul and awakens the spirit no matter the time of year, but August in Newfoundland is a gift from the gods.
Fall is around the corner, and cooler temps will come, but in the moment, just enjoy. There’s no rush back to the car for a blast of heat. There is, however, a long pause or two on the expansive staircase to reach the best ocean views near the lighthouse. It’s warm and the moss-covered rocks call to be rested upon. Step off the path. Take a breather. Let your hair blow in the breeze. There’s no rush.

On a sunny, but cold winter’s day, we head back again. While the view could be described by some as desolate, it’s also commandingly majestic. The unforgiving Atlantic swirls and rises and teases the shore. You wonder if taking the path to Point Zero would even be wise on this day. The angry waves might go rouge and wash the works out to sea. Or that’s how it appears from a distance, anyway.
As you cautiously inch closer you realize things are not exactly as they appear, and the waves are far below where you stand, low beneath the cliffs where you gaze in awe and gratitude. You are safe upon the shore.
But it’s not only Cape Spear that captivates at any time of the year. Ferryland. Signal Hill. Gross Morne. Each nook and cranny of this island, no matter the time of year, is worth exploring more than once.

Take it all in

It’s Easter and times they have changed. Gone are the busy brunches and the trips down south. There’s no kid camps to be booked and no busy extended family schedules to juggle.
As we take time off with our family, why not take the time to take it all in. Get out and explore the shores. Hike the trails. Climb to the top and look down to the bottom. Breath in. Breath out. And experience our little piece of heaven from wherever you happen to stand.