Bowlus Season Preview 2021-2022

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Welcome back to the Bowlus Dear Friends, As we witness the arts world reawakening and cracking open doors that have been shuttered for over 16 months, I want to sing and praise our community. Your continued support lifted the Bowlus as a leader of the arts in Kansas during the dark COVID chapter of our lives. With your faith and the belief in the arts as essential, we opened our doors safely for live events a year ago. To those that committed to attend in person, purchase tickets, and continue to donate, thank you.

With no capacity limits and a safe and friendly environment awaiting you, please look at the season announced in this magazine and consider becoming a season subscriber to one or both of our series. Our Music Series and Family Series offer something for everyone. Ticket purchases can be made easily online, over the phone or in person. Season tickets and individual tickets are on sale now.

Prioritize the Bowlus as your venue and live the arts live.

Daniel Kays, Executive Director

Daniel Kays, Bowlus Fine Arts Center, Executive Director

Special Event EDITORS Susan Lynn and Tim Stauffer The Iola Register, Inc. WRITERS Vickie Moss Trevor Hoag Richard Luken Susan Lynn ADVERTISING & DESIGN TEAM Michael Caywood Violeta Rodriguez-Stauffer Kristi Kranker

Buster Keaton in Changing Times Sept. 21 & 22.......................................................................................... 4

Music Series Aubrey Logan

7 p.m., Oct. 16....................................................................................................10

The Music of Billy Joel & Elton John, Starring Michael Cavanaugh

7 p.m., Nov. 20..................................................................................................12

Live From Nashville Presents: Merry Country Christmas

7 p.m., Dec. 18...................................................................................................14

Celtic Angels from Ireland

7 p.m., March 25...........................................................................................20

Family Series Sharpe Family Singers

7 p.m., Sept. 11...................................................................................................6 © 2021 The Iola Register, Inc. All rights reserved.

Printed in the USA by Fox Press (foxpress.com)

DRUMLine Live!

7 p.m., Feb. 3......................................................................................................18

Chris Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience

2 p.m., April 9....................................................................................................26

Anne of Green Gables — The Ballet

2 p.m., May 1......................................................................................................28

BOWLUS MAGAZINE | 2021-2022

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Buster’s back The Buster Keaton Celebration returns to Iola Sept. 21-22 after a 4-year hiatus “Buster Keaton in Changing Times” is a more than appropriate theme for this year’s celebration.

Starting in 1993, Iola hosted annual festivals honoring the legendary screen actor and innovator who was born in Piqua. When a grant that funded the program ended in 2017, the festival was moved to Kansas City for a year.

The committee planned to bring the event back to Iola in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to postpone the event.

That delay gave the committee an extra year to plan. As a result, the festival will be a rebirth of sorts, paying tribute to the evolving nature of life and art.

The celebration itself will morph into a hybrid of in-person and virtual programs, in recognition of the technology that allows us to share special moments while separated by distance.

Such a concept may not have been considered if not for the pandemic.

Jim, left, and Matrim Olson show off a sign for the Buster Keaton Museum in Piqua.

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This year’s theme will recognize the many iterations of the artist, from his early years in vaudeville, the silent film era, the transition to sound, his experience in television, his final films, and the last years of his life.

Special Event The festival will offer two days of movies and discussion at the Bowlus, along with tours at Piqua on Sept. 24 and 25. Feature films will be presented each night.

A two-day pass to the festival is $40, or a one-day pass for $25. Feature films in the evening are $5.

A virtual experience is available for $40. That gives someone digital access to the festival through an individual portal.

A special feature this year is a return of the beloved Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra based in Colorado.

The five-piece chamber ensemble offers live accompaniment to the silent film clips.

The musicians’ vibrant and emotional scores use the original techniques of silent film orchestras that help tell the story.

The Buster Keaton Celebration was inspired by a program at the Iola Public Library in 1991.

Local historian Clyde Toland was fascinated to learn about Keaton and his ties to the area, and became friends with the speaker, Gene DeGruson.

Toland recapped the festival’s history in a publication to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

A committee soon formed to organize the festival at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.

The first event in 1993 included the dedication of a commemorative sign in Piqua, marking it as Keaton’s birthplace.

Toland delivered a speech written by Fred Krebs, a longtime instructor at Johnson County Community College, who noted the significance of Keaton’s time in Piqua as more than “the mere accident of birth.”

“All births are matters of chance, but some would suggest that it is not chance which is the factor, but destiny.”

In time, the event grew, attracting film buffs and scholars from across the country. The Kansas Humanities

Council also became a major sponsor of the event. Keaton’s widow, Eleanor, attended the second and third years of the Iola festival. Other family members and members of the International Buster Keaton Society have been regular attendees.

Special guests this year include Melissa Talmadge Cox, Keaton’s granddaughter, Barbara Talmadge, Keaton’s daughter-inlaw, and Harry Keaton, Keaton’s nephew.

Each celebration has featured a unique

theme, eventually expanding to include recognition of Keaton’s contemporaries, including Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields and Mary Pickford.

The events also delved into the role of comedy during dark times, such as World War I. The festival offers opportunities to learn not only about Keaton but about the silent movie industry and the context of history across different eras.

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5

Lookin’ Sharpe The Sharpe Family Singers bring a viral sensation to town on Sept. 11 The Sharpe Family Singers, the global TikTok internet-sensation, are bringing the “family” back to “family entertainment.”

Led by Broadway-star parents, Ron and Barbra Sharpe, the Sharpe Family Singers have emerged as one of the hottest new content-creators, and influencers, on the

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scene with over 800 million worldwide viewers, 110 million “likes” and 6 million followers on TikTok. With a recent appearance on ABC’s Disney Family Singalong, and YouTube beating down their door to become the next biggest stars, this incredibly talented family is fast-becoming one of the world’s

Family Series most recognized singing groups.

What is TikTok, you may be asking?

TikTok is currently one of the most popular social platforms, particularly among Gen Z, where users view shortform user-made video clips from around the world. Some of the most popular creators have millions of followers who

watch them as they grow into high-profile “influencers.”

The Sharpes’ live show is primed and ready to hit the stage.

Their story begins many years ago, when Ron and Barbra first met onstage in the Broadway production of Les Misérables playing the romantic lead roles of Marius and Cosette. After being married onstage over 1,000 times, they decided to do it for real and have now shared wedded-bliss for over 25 years.

Their show features their two adult children, Samantha and Logan Sharpe, their fanfavorite adorable twin boys, Connor and Aidan Sharpe, and three “adopted” family members (a boyfriend, a best friend, and a lovable uncle).

In addition to performing classic Broadway showstoppers from Les Miz, Phantom, West Side Story and more, the Sharpe Family has a show whose repertoire includes songs from smash hit musicals like “Hamilton,” and

“Dear Evan Hanson.” They also put the Sharpe-spin on hits of the Disney songbook, blockbuster soundtracks

from films like “The Greatest Showman,” and a wide variety of Top 40/Contemporary Pop Hits.

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The Queen of Sass The multi-talented Aubrey Logan defies definition on Oct. 16 She’s a singer. She’s a trombone player.

She’s a songwriter. She’s a performer.

It would have been a lot easier if Aubrey Logan would have just picked one. But she’s never been one to be pigeon-holed.

She lives her life outside the box and that makes her difficult to define. And that’s OK with her because she purposely defies definition.

Her Top 5 debut album in 2017 helped establish her as one of the premier young singer-instrumentalists in the country.

Her participation in Dave Koz’ #1 album, Summer Horns, in 2018 helped cement her position. But it was her own #1 album in 2019 that really helped Aubrey Logan become a household name with music aficionados around the world. Because it was that album, Where the Sunshine is Expensive, that showed the depth of songwriting that she’s capable of.

In between her recording commitments, Logan finds time to share the stage with Alabama Shakes, Meghan Trainor, Pharrell Williams, Josh Groban Dave Koz, The Commodores, and Boston Pops at venues as diverse as Ronnie Scott’s famous jazz club in London to the expansive Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. She’s appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and the Grammys’ Award Show and ABC’s The Goldbergs. She’s recorded a duet with her childhood hero, Gloria Estefan. She’s won multiple awards at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She’s beloved by not just the dedicated fans of Postmodern Jukebox, but she considers the creator, Scott Bradlee, and her colleagues within the collective her true friends. And she

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loves performing. But it’s in her writing that we find out who Aubrey Logan really is.

Her title track, LA, revealed to the world just how difficult it is to be an artist living in the biggest entertainment town on the planet. She opened up her soul in the song, Understand. She gave

Music Series

us songs that told us how much travel takes its toll and songs that tell us what’s truly important in a world that glorifies superficiality. She even takes us back a few decades with some retro songs that ask us to remember what it was that first captured our imagination on the radio.

But mostly, Ms. Logan has finally given

us a glimpse into the complexity of the mind of the artist. She’s still known as a world-class singer-instrumentalist. But she’s revealed that there’s so much more.

Aubrey continues to headline sold-out shows and festivals. She continues to wow the crowds at symphony dates all over the world and she touches us in those rare

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Hear The Music of Billy Joel & Elton John, Starring Michael Cavanaugh on Nov. 20 Michael Cavanaugh is the new voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook and a charismatic performer and musician made famous for his piano/lead vocals in the Broadway musical “Movin’ Out.” Billy Joel tapped Cavanaugh to star in the production. Cavanaugh evokes a style that rivals that of the Piano Man’s. He appeared in the show for three years with over 1,200 performances and received multiple accolades. The show culminated in 2003 with both Grammy and Tony award nominations.

Michael began playing at age seven, when his parents bought their first piano.

Encouraged by family and friends, and inspired by his hero Billy Joel, Michael formed his first band at age 10 and began playing at local functions, fine-tuning the craft that would become his chosen career.

His first full-time gig as a musician was an extended engagement in Orlando, Florida, at a piano bar called Blazing Pianos.

In January of 1999, he received an offer that would unknowingly change his life: an opportunity to play in Las Vegas at the famed New York, New York Hotel and Casino. It was there that Billy Joel spotted Michael and joined him on stage one fateful night of February 2001. It took only two songs before Billy was convinced that he had found his new Piano Man: Michael Cavanaugh. Michael closed up shop in Las Vegas and moved to New York City to work alongside Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp to shape the Broadway musical that would be called Movin’ Out. In the lead role, he received both Tony and Grammy nominations.

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With the close of Movin’ Out at the end of 2005, Michael began touring in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook. Michael soon became one of the hottest artists in the private events market, and he continues to perform worldwide for company and charity events as well as sporting events including many PGA tour events, the Super Bowl, and the Indy 500.

His interpretation of the modern rock/

Music Series

pop songbook led to Billboard calling him “The New Voice of the American Rock and Roll Songbook,” and he was recognized by Reuters as Entertainer of the Year for the private events market.

It wasn’t long before symphony orchestras discovered Michael’s talents and audience appeal. He accepted his first orchestral booking, “Michael Cavanaugh – The Songs of Billy Joel and More,” which debuted in April 2008 with the

Indianapolis Symphony and continues to tour today. In October 2008, he signed with Warner/ADA to distribute his first CD, In Color. In June 2010, Michael debuted his second symphony show in the Generations of Rock series titled “Michael Cavanaugh: The Songs of Elton John and More” and then debuted his third symphony show, “Singers and Songwriters: the Music of Paul Simon, Neil Diamond

and James Taylor,” in 2012. In 2015, he debuted his fourth symphony show: “Rockin’ Christmas with the Pops.”

He continues to tour all four symphony productions along with performing with his band in performing arts centers and other public venues.

“The Way I Hear It,” his second commercial album, was released in April 2017, and it debuted at #17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

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Country carols Live from Nashville Presents: A Merry Country Christmas on Dec. 18 Celebrate the world’s happiest holiday with a Merry Country Christmas indeed, when all your favorite Christmas songs are presented in authentic Nashville country style with dazzling guitars and fiddles along with soaring harmonies. Everyone is in their best country Christmas attire and the barn is decked with boughs of holly and colorful strings of lights.

The joy of Christmas comes to you in this delightful production

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of toe-tapping, heartfelt music of the holidays. Colorful costuming, brilliant musicianship, boot-scootin’ dancers, topped off by a cadre of voices. Tis the season of joy and hope; the traditions of the holiday season served up country-style.

In a captivating production as American as pumpkin pie, Frosty the Snowman, Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Dolly, Garth, and cowboy boots, this is the ultimate way to kick off the holidays.

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Bang the drums Get to steppin’ with DRUMLine Live! on Feb. 3 DRUMLine Live, the show stopping attraction created by the musical team behind the hit movies, “Drumline” and “Drumline: A New Beat,” embodies the soulful, high-stepping style of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching band experience. With its riveting rhythms, bold beats, and ear grabbing energy, DRUMLine Live is a high-octane musical roller coaster ride that is guaranteed to touch every emotion in your body.

Incorporating original compositions and soul-infused interpretations of top 40 hits, group performances range from colorful, choreographed routines to heavy doses of drum riffs and cadences.

Creators are Don P. Roberts and Jacques Anthony Bell.

Roberts served as the executive band consultant for the Twentieth Century Fox hit movie, “Drumline.”

Roberts was responsible for training the actors, writing the precision drills, rehearsing the band, and more. As the chief band consultant, he played a vital role in the making of “Drumline” and its success. The movie received national and international acclaim. In 2003, it was nominated by the NAACP as “Most Outstanding Motion Picture” and also nominated for an “American Choreography Award” for outstanding achievement in a feature film. Mr. Roberts also serves as the president and CEO, director, playwright and creator of DRUMLine Live.

In 2017, Roberts had the same

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responsibilities for the BET movie, “The Yard.”

He also served as chief band consultant for the VH-1 and Fox Television Studios movie, “Drumline: A New Beat,” the sequel to “Drumline,” which premiered on VH-1 in October 2014, and was nominated for “Best Music Supervision” for Television: Long Form and Movies, by the Guild of Music Supervisors.

Roberts was also the associate producer and executive band consultant for the ESPNU Television series, “The Battle,” which featured some of America’s best Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands. The five series weekly show debuted in the fall of 2010. ​In March of 2016, the DRUMLine Live Marching Band performed for more

Family Series

than 8,000 “Googlers” as a part of the Google (Engage) Employee World-Wide Convention in Anaheim, California. The DRUMLine Live Marching Band was featured on worldwide television as they performed with Grammy award winning artist, Ne-Yo, as a part of the 2008 National Hockey League All-Star Game halftime show.

JACQUES BELL is one of Atlanta’s bestkept secrets in entertainment. Known as the “Jacques” of all trades, he has grown to encompass a multifaceted range of talents from dance and choreography to music, theater, and film.

Originally from Montego Bay, Jamaica, Bell relocated to Long Island, New York, where at a young age he began to exhibit

a noticeable love for the arts. Years later he moved to his current home of Atlanta where as a high school student, he received countless accolades as an instrumentalist, performing in some of Georgia’s most accomplished student and professional ensembles.

While quickly gaining recognition

for his work with industry personalities such as Def Jam recording artist, Ne-Yo, Mr. Bell began to receive numerous high profile opportunities in music videos, television, and stage productions, with his work being showcased on major television networks including MTV, BET, and VH1.

Bell was named head choreographer

and assistant stage director of the “DRUMLine Live” stage production in 2008.

He attributes his success as a dancer/ choreographer to his strong foundation in the fundamentals of music, and is driven by the belief that there is always more to learn.

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Send me an angel You’ll be enthralled with The Celtic Angels of Ireland on March 25 A joyous celebration of everything Irish will touch American soil this spring when the energetic and exciting young stars of Celtic Angels Ireland tour the U.S. This troupe enables audiences to experience Ireland — all for the price of a concert ticket — through their shared zeal and passion for Ireland’s rich musical traditions.

Celebrating their cherished heritage through Irish dance, music, and song is something these entertainers take seriously. From the moment the lights dim, you’ll be enthralled by the sweet and stirring songs, rigorously precise dances, and traditional musicianship.

Some of the sweetest voices under heaven make up the Celtic Angels: Vocalists Victoria Kenny, Amy Penston, Eimear Crealey, Nuirgen O’Mahoney

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Music Series

and Sari Greenberg are accompanied by accomplished violinist Danielle Marien Turano. The seasoned entertainers are Irish to the core. These ladies cut their teeth in such musicals as “West Side Story,” “Grease,” and “Jury’s Irish Cabaret”

in Dublin.

The Celtic Knight Dancers, featuring two former lead dancers of Riverdance, perform with athletic precision in routines that leave audiences breathless.

Their rhythm and artistry are astonishing.

The Trinity Band Ensemble of Dublin round out the show with flawless interpretations of authentic Irish Trad instrumentals, and their accompaniment to both the singers and dancers is to perfection.

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The Bowlus: A look back During his final illness in 1960, Iola citizen and banker Thomas H. Bowlus drafted a will directing his estate be used to build and equip a fine arts center. The mission of the center is defined in the will as “to broaden the cultural background of area youth and make available to the citizens of the area facilities, programs and entertainments not otherwise available.”

The Center opened its doors in the fall of 1964, with Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Thomas H. Bowlus Bartle as the featured speaker at the grand opening and dedication. A few weeks later the Kansas City Philharmonic performed the first major concert in the new auditorium. Since its opening, the Bowlus Center has become an organization of regional significance and a sought-after venue for touring artists.

In addition to the 700+ seat auditorium the building also boasts the 120-seat Creitz Recital Hall, the Mary L. Martin Art Gallery, several practice rooms, dressing rooms and faculty and staff offices.

Among the artists who have performed on the Center’s stage are such luminaries as Count Basie, Robert Merrill, Henry Mancini, Hal Holbrook, Minnie Pearl, Marcel Marceau, Lionel Hampton, Steve Allen, and a host of others.

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Above, Carol Mix and Doug Strickler, center, were featured in “South Pacific” in 1985.

At right, Dale Creitz served as the first director of the Bowlus and served in that role for 10 years.

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Opera singer David Holloway, a native of Gas, performs at the 50th anniversary celebration.

The Kansas City Philharmonic was the first performance at the Bowlus on Nov. 30, 1964.

Susan (McCrate) Raines, also a Bowlus director, stars with Don Spencer in “The Sound of Music” in 1972.

Jim Huskey and Kelly Beshore were in the production of “Teach Me How to Cry” in 1982.

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The Iola Community Theatre cast of “Annie” performs at the 50th anniversary celebration in 2014.

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We We wish w i s h yyou ou ccontinued ontinued success. s u c c e s s.

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Dog days

Who let the dogs out? It’s Chris Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience on April 9 If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

Chris Perondi and his stunt dogs were supposed to perform in Iola in 2020, but the show was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will finally make its way here on April 9, 2022.

This cast of performers and dogs will delight audiences of all ages, with high energy excitement from beginning to end. During The Stunt Dog Experience you will witness some of the most incredible stunts and behaviors ever performed by dogs. The experience has amazing tricks, big air stunts, comedy antics, dancing dogs, athletic feats, and is the most entertaining show of its kind.

Paws down, they are the most entertaining in the industry.

Perondi is the “Stunt Dog Guy” and is the creator of the famous “Extreme Canines Stunt

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Family Series

Dog Show,” the “Stunt Dog Experience,” the “All-Star Stunt Dogs — Challenge & Splash,” “Fido’s Got Talent,” the “Golden Bone Showdown,” the “Stunt Dog Adventure,” and the “All-Star Dog Challenge” as seen at the Indianapolis Zoo. Chris and his dogs perform the most innovative tricks and stunts in the world. His family-oriented show is made of the most talented handpicked performers, dogs and trainers.

Perondi’s love of dogs as a child evolved into training dogs in 1996 as a hobby. The legacy began with the rescue of his first celebrity dog star, “Extreme Pepper.”

He created the world’s first stunt dog show in 1999, titled the “Extreme Canines

Stunt Dog Show” and over the years has produced thousands of shows across the nation for major theme parks, performing arts theaters, zoos, wildlife parks, state fairs, county fairs, festivals, schools, theaters, non-profit events, corporate events, and sporting events.

Besides entertaining, Perondi will be sure to instruct the audience on the importance of spending quality time with your dog and remind you to check the local pounds and shelters before selecting your next dog.

Perondi also has a blog in which he offers training tips, reviews pet-related products, recommends books, brings you silly facts and discusses adventures while on the road.

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Kindred spirits Anne of Green Gables — The Ballet on May 1 offers an enchanting journey

Family Series

In 2020, Bowlus organizers were excited to announce the ballet adaptation “Anne of Green Gables” would make its U.S. debut with a stop in Iola. Because of COVID-19, that didn’t happen.

But the show will go on, and it will happen May 1, 2022.

Choreographed by Bengt Jorgen, “Anne of Green Gables — The Ballet” is based on a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a children’s classic since the midtwentieth century.

Anne Shirley, a

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young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London, Prince Edward

Island), is sent to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their fifties and sixties, after a childhood spent in strangers’ homes and

orphanages. Marilla and Matthew had originally decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm at Green Gables,

which is set in the fictional town of Avonlea. Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne instead.

Anne is highly imagina-

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tive, eager to please and, at times, quite a dramatic individual. However, she is defensive about her appearance, despising her red hair and pale, thin frame. She is often quite talkative, especially when it comes to describing her fantasies and dreams. At first, stern and sharp Marilla says Anne must return to the orphanage, but after much observation and consideration, along with Matthew’s strong taking to Anne, she decides to let her stay.

Anne takes much joy in life and adapts quickly, thriving in the closeknit farming village.

Her imagination and talkativeness soon brighten up Green Gables.

“Anne of Green Gables – The Ballet” is a playful, colorful and evocative production that will transport audiences to early 20th century Atlantic Canada.

This performance is the first time the story has been authorized for creation as a full-length ballet and is made possible through the assistance of the heirs of Lucy Maud Montgomery and in partnership with the heirs of Norman Campbell and Don Harron.

The ballet premiered in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sept. 28 with two sold-out performances with the Symphony Nova Scotia and has since toured to Markham Ontario, Quebec, Utah, Idaho and Colorado.

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