The Hamilton Spectator - Gary Smith Article - FINALES
"A show not to be missed".
Drury Lane Burlington June 13, 14
Get your tickets today!
Courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator - Gary Smith:
By Gary SmithSpecial to the Spectator
Gary Smith has written about theatre and dance for the Hamilton Spectator
for 45 years as well as for a variety of international publications. gsmith1@cogeco.ca
The showstoppers you know: Musical revue ‘Finales’
A celebration of Broadway and local talent
When you come out to see a show like “Finales,” you support the performing arts in our community, and you buoy the dreams and spirits of the talented.
Finales are those big numbers that cap off a Broadway musical, or maybe send you out humming at intermission.
They’re showstoppers, staged to make you tingle.
Well, what if someone took a whole series of those big blockbusters and put them together in one show?
You’d have “Finales” of course, the musical entertainment City Centre Musical productions is bringing to The Loft at Drury Lane Theatre.
Put together by musical theatre director-choreographer Michael MacLennan, and musical director John Pugh, this eclectic entertainment brings the big eleven o’clock numbers from shows such as “Funny Girl,” “Next to Normal” and “Gypsy” together in one big evening.
Michael MacLennan
Drury Lane
“It’s a musical theatre revue that is a collection of the greatest endings to Act 1 or Act 2 from 26 different shows, both classic and contemporary. It’s a full evening of singing from 10 talented vocalists,” MacLennan says.
And when it comes to musicals MacLennan knows his stuff. He’s directed plenty of them for community theatre companies in the greater Hamilton and Toronto area.
Growing up in Hamilton’s east end, MacLennan had great imagination.
“Pretending to be someone else fascinated me as a kid. My elementary report cards all said, ‘Michael talks too much.’ I think it’s pretty clear that I needed to find a way of expressing myself.”
That’s where theatre came in.
Finales
Who City Centre Musical productions
and Drury Lane Theatrical Productions
Where The Loft at Drury Lane Theatre,
2269 New St., Burlington
When June 13,14 at 8 p.m. Matinee June 14 at 2 p.m.
Tickets $40. Call 905-637-3979 or go to boxoffice@drurylane.ca
“My drama teacher, Al Straitton at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, was a huge inspiration. He saw something in me that I was probably not even aware of. This led to my first community theatre show with Hamilton Theatre Inc.
You could say community theatre was my training ground and from there I went on to study acting, singing and dancing.”
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MacLennan performed at Stage West, Drayton Festival Theatre and Limelight Dinner Theatre, as well as singing in some big cruise ship shows.
“My dream came true when I was finally cast at the Stratford Festival and I did two wonderful seasons there. I was offered a third, but I made the difficult decision to decline this as I wanted to pursue other aspects of theatre, not just performing.”
MacLennan had always been intrigued by direction and choreography, and he became an assistant director at the Thousand Islands Playhouse and at Drayton Festival Theatres. Local audiences, however, probably know him best from the professional quality productions he has directed for Drury Lane Theatrical Productions in Burlington.
“I feel my organizational and multi-tasking skills, combined with my ability to communicate clearly, make me an effective director. People seem to really enjoy my process, and they trust me. I’ve had opportunities to be an assistant director and to choreograph for professional theatres, but it was community theatre companies that embraced me.”
MacLennan admits it’s hard to make a living from directing community theatre shows.
“Professional theatres put a show together in three weeks. Community theatres take about three months, so there needs to be some other source of income to survive. But isn’t surviving the plight of most theatre artists in this country?”
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Still, MacLennan thinks young people interested in a theatre career shouldn’t be afraid to take a chance.
“I would never tell anyone not to follow their dream, but I would be very honest. There is a reason why it’s called show business. It is a business. And you have to pay as much attention to the second half of that title as the first. And you have to be courageous. You’ll be told no more than yes when it comes to getting a job.
“ Remember, you are the commodity you are selling, and it can be heartbreaking when you are rejected. If you have other skills you should foster them. They may come in handy during the lean times. And there will be many lean times. Most of all, be absolutely sure you love performing and can’t think of yourself doing anything else,” MacLennan says.
That’s what this talented showman has been doing for over 35 years, so he must be doing something right.
“I’m thankful for the folks who attend local theatres and come out to see productions like ‘Finales,’ ” he says.
“As a kid growing up in Hamilton from a steelworker’s family, going into theatre was not something I would call an obvious choice to make. Thankfully, community theatres helped me so much. They are so important because they do more than just put on shows. They provide a training ground for young artists, and they provide a safe space for people to embrace who they are. In more ways than one, they become a second family.”
MacLennan is right. When you come out to see a show like “Finales,” you support the performing arts in our community, and you buoy the dreams and spirits of the talented, enthusiastic folk who are on stage not because they’re paid, but because they love it.
