The National Arts Council Theatre will be staging the world premiere of a new work by one of Canada’s most acclaimed playwrights this spring.
The show, simply called Rose, is a musical with book, lyrics and music by Tomson Highway, noted for his plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing. This musical will act as a follow-up to those two in his “rez” cycle depicting life on Canadian Indigenous reservations. The story follows three women named Rose as they intersect in the life of motorcyclist Emily Dictionary.
The production will combine Highway’s noted wit and humour with full musical productions. This performance will be directed by Kevin Loring as part of the NAC Indigenous Theatre initiative. The cast will include actors such as Patricia Cano, Josee Bourgeois and Luciano Boccia. The show is intended for adult audiences and runs approximately three hours.
Rose will premiere with eight shows across two weeks, including two Saturday matinees. The April 4 show will also include interpretation in American Sign Language. Musical productions like this often use tools like poster printing and television advertisements to help attract audiences to give new shows a chance.
The world premiere of Rose will take place at the Babs Asper Theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from March 25 to April 4.
