Rosebud Theatre’s executive director Bob Davis sums up the excitement for the upcoming season.
Davis adds, “The architectural design of the Rosebud Mercantile in an old-time bank and livery stable theme is in keeping with the unique heritage values of the hamlet of Rosebud. The facility will be an integral part of Rosebud’s renowned dining and theatre experience, the revenues of which help support the education and training of theatre artists from across Canada.”
One of the most notable changes will be the spacious Rosebud Gifts and Crafts retail shop now located on the main floor. As well, patrons now have the option of choosing from the buffet or a plate meal (extra charge for non-season ticket holders) in the new Harvest Room dining space.
Visitors to Rosebud can also experience Wild Horse Jack’s Bistro & Grill which will be open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.
On the second floor is the Encana Conference Centre with catered meeting space for up to 250 people. Several weddings and meetings have already been booked for 2011.
This year promises to fulfill our 2011 theme and be full of stories that end “Beyond Your Wildest Expectations”. There are plays with Canadian connections and plays with connections to stories that have been told in the past at Rosebud Theatre.
Opening the season is A Bright Particular Star by Ron Reed, running March 25 - May 14. The daughter of a famed 19th-Century writer is a gifted actress and feels her calling to the stage. She shines in the little amateur productions their family troupe produces for the poor but the professional stage is no place for a reputable woman in Victorian England! So, the daughter George MacDonald, who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, sets out to follow her own path toward the theatre.
W.O. Mitchell’s Jake & the Kid: Prairie Seasons, adapted by James B. Douglas runs through the summer.
Just outside the town of Crocus, Saskatchewan (home of the infamous “oldest man in the world”, Daddy Sherry), a boy and the family’s hired hand forge a friendship in the absence of the boy’s dad. With each season comes a new adventure as the Kid watches Jake and the cantankerous Old Man Gatenby argue about life on the prairie with all its joys and trials.
Also this summer, The Diary of Adam & Eve, the very first romantic comedy from Mark Twain’s story is on the Rosebud Studio Stage. It is a delightful retelling of human creation and the first true battle of the sexes! Mark Twain humorously recreates the first days when Adam, a quiet man who enjoys the simplicity and peace of Eden, is unexpectedly joined by Eve, an energetic and much too talkative woman. As Adam and Eve discover each other, audiences will get a new look at the famous first couple.
This fall Queen Milli of Galt by Gary Kirkham runs September 9 - October 22. When the Prince of Wales visits Galt, Ontario at the end of the Great War, the whole town is eager to meet him. Bored with the pomp and circumstance, he slips away from his official duties and finds a young woman working in her garden. Milli tells him exactly what she thinks about the pomposity of royalty and captures his heart. Years later, when 82-year-old Milli has her tombstone engraved stating she is the wife of Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, everyone is eager to hear the story.
The theatre closes out the season with the musical retelling of a Christmas classic. The Gifts of the Magi runs November 4 – Dec 23. It’s Christmas in New York, but Jim and Della are out of work and penniless. In the desire to give each other something meaningful, they give away more than expected. This classic story is framed by a host of characters who scurry through the streets preparing for Christmas, including a paperboy and an old bum who is not above doing something illegal in order to spend a few nights in a warm jail. Christmas doesn’t get much warmer than this story.
