January 10, 2013
The GazetteJanuary 2, 2013
By Pat Donnelly
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MONTREAL - Normally, the Montreal theatre season begins slowly in September and gradually picks up its pace until it hits a mid-November peak. Then there’s a lull during Christmas holidays and the action starts up again mid-January. After that, everything steadily builds into a spring rush which leads into festival overkill in May and June.
This season, however, the Christmas lull is practically non-existent, and the 2013 openings are starting earlier than ever. [...]
The Segal Centre begins with Waiting for the Barbarians, based on the book by J.M. Coetzee, directed by Alexandre Marine, and produced by Maurice Podbrey. It plays Jan. 27 to Feb. 17. The much-anticipated première run of the Mahalia Jackson Musical, written and directed by Roger Peace, starring Ranee Lee, is slated for March 3 to 24. Another new work, Sherlock Holmes, adapted from the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by Greg Kramer, runs May 5 to 26. Directed by Andrew Shaver, the Kramer adaptation stars Jay Baruchel as the great detective.
Still in a literary vein, Tales from Odessa, based on the stories of Isaak Babel, with music by Socalled, runs, in Yiddish, from June 16 to July 7. That’s four premières in a row, which is unusually daring for any company. [...]