ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The Charlottetown Festival The 2021 season focuses on the East Coast-and its stellar musicians
f For decades, Charlottetown Festival performances have been the high point of perfect summer days on the Island. And although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Confederation Centre of the Arts from staging 2020’s festival, a carefully chosen season--and social distancing measures implemented with the Chief Public Health Office’s guidance-mean 2021’s festival can go ahead safely. The festival can now stage the world premiere of Dear Rita , which organizers say has been in the works since 2019. This fascinating production reframes the music of Rita MacNeil, and it’s certainly the show Islanders have anticipated longest. As Artistic Director Adam Brazier puts it, “ Dear Rita is a musical toast to Cape Breton’s ‘First Lady of Song’—a true fixture of Canadian culture.” Like Dear Rita , 2021’s amphitheatre show--the Young Company’s THE RISING! -showcases songwriting (classic pop/rock “protest songs”). But the production isn’t geared toward nostalgia; the festival’s online audition
By Rebecca Spinner Photos Courtesy of CCOA
▲ Steve O’Connell, Bernardine Stapleton (Photo: Ritche Perez)
122
www.pei-living.ca SUMMER 2021
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker