Highlands Summer Festival

The great Haliburton Highlands experiential packager, Yours Outdoors is offering two opportunities to enjoy some of the finest musical events in the Highlands. Expose Yourself — A Little and Expose Yourself –A Lot are packages which include opportunities to see one of the Highlands Opera Studio’s Excerpts Concerts or Menotti’s The Medium. Also included in the packages is a selection of Haliburton Forest Festival concerts at the magnificent outdoor Bone Lake amphitheatre. For more information visit the Yours Outdoors website at: http://www.yoursoutdoors.ca/packageinfo.php?id=67

The review of Looking in the County Voice suggests that the audience is laughing too much and that lines are being missed…a problem every comedy should have.
Check out what Will Jones has to say about the second Highlands Summer Festival production.
http://ezread.ca/countyvoice/voice/cv-july2111/HTML/index.html#/9/zoomed

Here is a look at Looking as provided by Terrance Gavin of www.haliburtonnews.ca:
http://www.haliburtonnews.ca/2011/07/1599/
Enjoy

If you missed the opening Archibald & Regina concert, there are two more on our scheduled: Friday July 29 and Monday, August 1……and if you need any more convincing check out these videos and the comments from Terrance Gavin at: http://www.haliburtonnews.ca/2011/07/video-regina-and-archibald-what-okay-okay-archibald-and-regina/

We continue to be impressed with the amount of effort and hard work that is often an unseen part of making the season happen. While we certainly admire the work of the actors as they bring the story to life on the stage, I have learned that backing up every successful performance are a host of individuals with a wide range of skills. While we attempt to ensure their participation is acknowledged in the program, often a simple notation hardly reflects the time and effort they have contributed to the success of the productions our audiences enjoy year after year. Their work often starts early in the year, and most often ends long before the a particular show opens (although it is fair to admit, on occasion the paint on some portions of the set can still be wet on opening night).

To help make the season happen the Highlands Summer Festival and the Highlands Opera Studio relies on an army of volunteers. Painters, carpenters, seamstresses and a myriad of other tasks are shouldered by volunteers prior to opening night. These people give freely of their time and enjoy being a part of the magic that is live theatre. Likewise, when the season opens, volunteers take turns as ushers, refreshment servers and 50/50 ticket sellers, welcoming our patrons to the theatre and a great night of entertainment.

The season would not happen if it weren’t for the hard work of these many volunteers and we are most appreciative of their willingness to help and occasionally go beyond the call of duty to get that last lick of paint in place just before the curtain opens. So a special salute to our many volunteers who have assisted not only in this season, but in the years gone by. If you are interested in assisting in any capacity with the summer theatre and opera season, please let one of our front of house staff know. They will take your name and contact information, and as the next season unfolds, you could be a part of the Highlands Summer Festival and The Highlands Opera Studio teams.
To see photos of some of our volunteers in action, follow this link: http://www.highlandssummerfestival.on.ca/volunteers.shtml

Angelica Blenich of the Haliburton County Echo loved our opening production of Anne of Green Gables. Here is what she had to say in this week’s edition of the newspaper:

Anne sparkles and shines as she sets off summer festival
By Angelica Blenich
Posted 13 hours ago

A stunning voice, dazzling expressions and that red hair.

It was a recipe for success as the curtain came back on Anne of Green Gables The Musical, the beloved Canadian tale of a girl from P.E.I., which opened this year’s Highlands Summer Festival at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion July 3.

And without a doubt or little surprise Anne Shirley, played by 16-year-old Breana LaRue, stole the show.

Breana’s vivacious charm and animated facial expressions had the audience giggling, laughing and at times full out howling.

Played to a full house, the two-hour-plus performance was smooth from start to finish with strong musical numbers, quick choreography and authentic costumes and props.

Boasting a cast of more than 20 performers ranging in age, the stage was set alight with both young talent and experienced actors all under the direction of Scot Denton, artistic director of the festival.

Set in Avonlea, a village in P.E.I., Anne of Green Gables is the story of a young orphan with a vast imagination, quick tongue and terrible temper.

An orphan from Nova Scotia, Anne is sent to live at Green Gables farm with siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who are displeased to learn the boy they requested is nowhere to be found.

Lauren McInnes resonates as a stern and sensible Marilla, completing the character with a powerful and full vocal ability.

However it is David Mills as Matthew who quietly and humbly steals the show with an understated touch of dry humour, compassion and true sense of love and devotion.

It isn’t long before Anne wins over their hearts and finds a home in Avonlea, amongst a plethora of town gossips and a best friend named Diana Barry, played by Jessica Bishop.

And who could forget Gilbert Blythe? Certainly not Ben Ward, who brings a boyish charm and a sense of honest adolescence to the young man who eventually captures our girl Anne’s heart.

But you wouldn’t want to hear anything more than that. For that would take all the fun out of the production, not allowing you to enjoy it for yourself.

And enjoy it you will.

From Anne’s antics, imagination and sunny disposition, to the dancing, singing and laughter that fills the stage, Avonlea is a place you’ll want to stop into before the show’s run slips by.

Anne of Green Gables The Musical is on now until July 15.

For photos, visit The Echo website at: http://www.haliburtonecho.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3200193