When springtime arrives in Victoria, thoughts of sunshine, cherry blossoms and the tweeting of birds instead of Twitter addicts often spring to mind.
So you had to wonder why a small crowd of theatre lovers who gathered at the Roxy one spring afternoon last week were feeling as blue as the sky above.
They were marking the launch of Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s ninth season, and to celebrate its survival in the face of economic adversity.
“It’s a miracle when any arts organization survives, and this is a miracle for us,” said artistic director Brian Richmond, standing beside a bouquet of blue balloons onstage.
“We are so grateful to our creditors who have given us this second life, to be able to push that reset button. It’s why this season is going to happen.”
He was referring to a proposal recently accepted by unsecured creditors that would see the theatre repay a reduced amount of debt over three years, pulling it back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Returning to its origins as a summer theatre company, Blue Bridge will continue to fulfil its mandate to stage professional productions of classic plays, Richmond pledged.
The season opens April 25 with Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, starring Paul Fauteaux and directed by Jacob Richmond, his co-star in the theatre’s production of True West.
Next up is Born Yesterday, director Janet Munsil’s fresh take on Garson Kanin’s 1940s political comedy that Richmond says today’s generation of Washington-watchers should be able to relate to.
“It’s weird how every play written in 20th-century America seems to have a special resonance in the Trump-election era,” Richmond noted.
Blue Bridge alumnus Kassianni Austin will play showgirl Billie Dawn opposite Jacob Richmond as her sleazy sugar-daddy Harry Brock.
Austin, eight months pregnant with her second child, has grown accustomed to the family joke about starring in Born Yesterday, which opens May 30.
“It won’t be born yesterday, but born seven weeks ago, I think,” laughed Austin, who credits support from her husband and two sets of grandparents who live here with enabling her to do it.
“Balancing a newborn and doing a show will be a new challenge.”
Richmond promised to put a compellng new spin on Thornton Wilder’s 1930s classic Our Town when he helms the 20th century American theatre classic that opens July 4.
“I’ve directed a few plays in my life and I don’t get terrified very often, but I have to say [this] terrifies me,” said Richmond, whose huge cast will be headlined by Gary Farmer as the Stage Manager.
The First Nations actor, activist and musician who co-starred with Johnny Depp in Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man made his Blue Bridge debut playing Lenny in Of Mice and Men five years ago.
“It’s a beautiful play,” Richmond said. “It takes a lot to do a play about ordinary, everyday things and that is what Our Town is all about.”
The season’s final production (Aug. 1-13) is Red, Hot Cole, a Cole Porter revue conceived and directed by Darcy Evans, with musical direction by Brad L’Ecuyer.
The show will star Kholby Wardell, fresh from doing Ride the Cyclone off-Broadway, and Sara-Jeanne Hosie, last seen together in Blue Bridge’s Little Shop of Horrors, as well as Jennifer Gillis and Jacob Woike.
He also announced some special-event fundraisers, including Mike Demers’s May 13 Roy Orbison tribute, and Zachary Stevenson’s Buddy Holly and Hank Williams tribute on June 30.
Actors in the house included Blue Bridge stalwarts Wes Tritter (My Fair Lady) and Brian Linds, whose Blue Bridge shows include Of Mice and Men and Waiting for Godot.
“As an actor, Blue Bridge gives you a chance to play iconic roles in famous plays,” said Linds. “Doing Waiting for Godot is like the top of the mountain for an actor.”
Community support and the company’s tenacity and spirit of collaboration is what keeps the theatre alive, said Richmond.
“One thing I’ve learned is that you just have to stick with things. You can’t give up,” says Richmond.
His answer when someone asks how Blue Bridge is doing: “Well, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re just not sure whether it’s the light of an oncoming train, or the sun.”
