An All-Canadian, All-Star Team Brings Centre Ice to Centre Stage

The Hockey Sweater: A Musical

Lace up your skates! The Segal Centre presents the world premiere of The Hockey Sweater: A Musical based on the short story by Roch Carrier, with Book and Lyrics by Emil Sher (Hana’s Suitcase, The Boy in the Moon, and Beneath the Banyan Tree), and Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Monro (Composer of No Matter What, Variations on a Nervous Breakdown, and Music Supervisor on The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz: The Musical). The Segal is honoured to continue the legacy of this treasured Quebec story by reinventing the classic tale into a modern musical for the whole family.

Commissioned and produced by the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, this original Canadian production is directed and choreographed by Stratford Festival hit-maker Donna Feore, whose recent production of Guys and Dolls has been wowing audiences this festival season.

Homegrown talent takes a leading role!
Trading off the part of Young Roch are two performing dynamos. Alessandro Gabrielli has been seen on many Montreal stages, along with numerous television appearances; including the role of Michael Banks in Juste pour rire’s ongoing and acclaimed French-language production of Mary Poppins. Jesse Noah Gruman whose musical passion began at the age of three when he took up violin and who has been studying dance since the age of five, will be making his professional debut in this production.

Six more of the country’s most talented young artists join the team
The Segal Centre is pleased to welcome a dynamic and gifted group of young artists, all between the ages of 11 and 13, to the Segal stage in this new homegrown musical. The young cast will feature Drew Davis, who began his acting career on camera at the age of five on Rookie Blue, and currently voices the roles of Marshall on Paw Patrol and Justin on Justin Time; Annelise Forbes, whose many credits include Pollyanna in Pollyanna, A New Musical (Lab/Yonge St. Theatricals) and Young Clara in The Nutcracker (Hamilton City Ballet);  Jayden Greig, who has previously appeared as Ralphie in A Christmas Story (Neptune Theatre), and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins (Neptune Theatre and Drayton Entertainment); Lucas Kalechstein, who has also played Michael Banks in Mary Poppins for three seasons at the Lower Ossington Theatre and Flounder in Little Mermaid (UTC); Riley O’Donnell, who just recently performed throughout North America in the Acrobat Tour of Matilda the Musical as Lavender for which the ensemble received a 2017 Dora Mavor Moore award nomination; and Berkley Silverman completes the young group. She is a competitive dancer, and trained singer, best known for her 2017 Young Artist Award-winning role as the voice of Everest in Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol.

Talented artists of all ages
Richard Jutras, whose many theatre credits include Crazy for You and Damn Those Wedding Bells at the Segal, will be playing the part of an adult Roch Carrier looking back on his childhood. No stranger to rink-side hi-jinks, Jutras was nominated for a Gemini Award in both 2005 and 2006 for Best Ensemble in a Comedy for the hit CBC series, The Tournament. In the role of Roch’s mother is Claire Lautier who has played leading roles on stages in New York, across the United States, and Canada; including six seasons as a leading actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. In the role of village priest (and referee) Father Delisle, is another Stratford and Shaw festival regular, Ian Simpson; he has previously worked with Director Donna Feore on The Sound of Music. Also making their Segal Centre debuts are Scott Beaudin who in addition to his musical theatre credits, has appeared on several television shows including Saving Hope, Murdoch Mysteries, and Degrassi: TNG, as Gaétan Ouellette; and Kate Blackburn who has performed in beloved musicals across the country like Little Mermaid (Globe Theatre) and Crazy for You (Gateway Theatre) as the school teacher, Mlle Therrien.

Theatre is a team sport too!
Rounding out the exciting company are Andréane Bouladier (as seen in the North-American/Broadway tour of Les Misérables), Geneviève Dufour (who has performed many times at the Théâtre Français de Toronto), Jean-François Poulin (winner of the Juste pour rire Victor Award for Artist of the Year 2016 for his role as Bert in Mary Poppins), and Brandon Howard Roy who will be making his professional stage debut following three seasons with the Confederation Players. All four are graduates of Sheridan College’s illustrious Musical Theatre Program.

A tribute to one of Montreal’s great passions!
Originally published in 1979, The Hockey Sweater recalls Carrier’s childhood hockey mishaps during the winter of 1946. Like many young people in small towns across Quebec, Roch and his friends lived for one thing only: hockey. They idolize the Montreal Canadiens’ star-player Maurice Richard; each emulating “The Rocket’s” every move. When Roch’s favourite hockey sweater–a glorious “tricolore” emblazoned with the iconic #9–becomes over-worn and too small, his mother insists he get a new one. But when a mail-order mix-up leaves him dressed in the enemy colours of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Roch must learn the importance of what’s in your heart, even when it’s not on your sleeve.

“We are thrilled to welcome this extraordinary company of adults and children as the final piece of the puzzle to this exciting production’s development. Shining a light on this quintessential Québec story with such a brilliant group of artists is a musical theatre dream come true and a special gift to our city and country,” said Segal Centre Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin.

The Segal Centre is at the forefront of the Canadian musical revival
The Globe and Mail has recently named the Segal Centre “a prime location for developing new musicals under Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin” and has listed The Hockey Sweater: A Musical a production to watch out for this fall due to the “impressive team behind it.”

PERFORMANCES
October 19 – November 12, 2017

Previews:
Thursday, October 19 – 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 21 – 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 22 – 1:30 pm
Monday, October 23 – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, October 24 – 8:00 pm
Wednesday, October 25 – 8:00 pm

Regular Run:
Mondays – 7:00 pm
Tuesdays – Saturdays (closed Fridays) – 8:00 pm
Sundays – 7:00 pm

Matinées:
Wednesdays, November 1 & 8 – 1:00 pm
Sundays, October 29, November 5, and November 12 – 2:00 pm

SUNDAY @ THE SEGAL
“The Making a New Canadian Musical”: an in-depth look at the creative, legal, and technical aspects of producing a new Canadian musical.
Sunday, October 22 – 11:00 am
Entrance is free.

MONDAY NIGHT TALKBACKS
A chance to interact with the creators and actors of the play after the curtain goes down.
Mondays, October 30 and November 6

Group, Senior, Student, Under 30 discounts available. Subject to availability.

For tickets and information: www.segalcentre.org    514-739-7944

Segal Centre
5170 chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, H3W 1M7