What’s new? The weekend on Edmonton stages, that’s what: three new Canadian plays and a musical

By Liz Nicholls, .ca

Hey Edmonton! It’s a weekend to be surprised and excited by something new on the stages of this theatre town. As the country has found out, E-town has longtime cred as a generator and showcase of new plays. And this the weekend to explore a surge of possibilities, including two high-contrast plays set during World War I, a thorny and surging love story with music we know, an eerie goth thriller.

Patti Murin and Christopher Ryan Grant in The Ballad of Johnny and June, La Jolla Playhouse at Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price Photography.

•Opening tonight at the Citadel, a new musical about the challenges and intertwined lives of country music’s most celebrated couple, Johnny Cash and June Carter, a love story (with the famous musica) seen through the eyes of their only son. The Ballad of Johnny and June, which premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse last summer has been in further development here at the Citadel en route to the big bad world. Meet the director/co-writer of the musical Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys. The Who’s Tommy, Big River) in this preview. It runs at the Citadel through Dec. 8. Tickets: citadeltheatre.com, 780-425-1820.

Garrett C. Smith in The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow, Shadow Theatre. Photo by Marc J Chalifoux

•At Shadow Theatre, The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow, by Neil Grahn, retrieves from Canadian history the remarkable story of the Indigenous warrior and Ojibwa Chief, who turned activist on behalf of his people when he returned from World War I to find he couldn’t even vote. Read the preview interview with the playwright, and the review here. The premiere production directed jointly by John Hudson and Christine Sokaymoh Frederick runs through Nov. 24 at the Varscona Theatre. Check out the preview interview with Neil Grahn here, and the review here. Tickets: shadowtheatre.org.

Meegan Sweet and Gabby Bernard in Stars On Her Shoulders, Workshop West. Photo by Marc J Chalifoux

•Stephen Massicotte’s Stars On Her Shoulders, premiering at Workshop West Playwrights Theatre, has a World War I setting too. This latest play (from the author of the Canadian classic Mary’s Wedding), beautiful, funny and heartbreaking, takes us overseas to that terrible conflict, to a convalescent hospital in France. We meet five women, in a deft exploration of love and friendship, the position of women on the precarious threshold of a new world of equality. Highly recommended. Heather Inglis’s production, which runs through Sunday, is also the debut of Workshop West’s bold experiment at the box office: all tickets, for the entire season, are pay-what-you-will. Read the interview with playwright Massicotte here, and the review here. Tickets: workshopwest.org.

Julia van Dam in Monstress, Northern Light Theatre. Photo by Brianne Jang, BB Collective Photography

At Northern Light Theatre, Monstress, a new gothic two-hander thriller from Trevor Schmidt (who directs, and designs set and costumes), spins a dark (and visually stunning) web from the Frankenstein story, and the thorny issue of the relationship between creator and creation. The two-hander (Sydney Williams and Julia van Dam) does its exploring from the female perspective: An ambitious doctor, thwarted in her career, brings back to life the daughter of a wealthy father. Is she God? And the play wonders “who is the monstress?” in the end. It runs through Nov. 23 at the Studio Theatre in the Fringe Arts Barns (10330 84 Ave.). talked to playwright/director Trevor Schmidt in this preview. The review is here. Tickets: northernlighttheatre.com.