Three unique musicals will be showcased this month by The Musical Stage Company (August 19 to 22, 2019). Each story was prompted by newsworthy headlines and images from the Globe and Mail archives. REPRINT takes us beyond the pages with stories from the wild Beatles concert photo taken at Maple Leaf Gardens, a look at the city’s youth culture and the fascinating world of Freestyle Frisbee, and yes, that unforgettable Blackout of 2013.

REPRINT, the inaugural production of three original musicals generated in LAUNCH PAD – the ground-breaking musical development residency created by The Musical Stage Company and Yonge Street Theatricals. They have been working over the past ten months to develop their musicals.

All three musicals will star Brandon Antonio, Kaylee Harwood, Michael De Rose, and Kelsey Verzotti.

We chatted with the creators of CYGNUS (inspired by an article written by Sean Fine that ran in the Globe and Mail on August 16, 2003. The headline read: “In the hot, muggy heat of the blackout, millions were left to count the minutes.”), Steven Gallagher (writer) and Anton Lipovetsky (music/lyrics).

What were you doing on August 14, 2003 when we experienced the power outage here in Toronto along with the north-eastern provinces?

SG: The convenience store on my corner was having a sale on popsicles, and the whole neighbourhood was out in full force. It was a hot day, so we all sat on our front porches and drank wine and gossiped. The blackout forced us to connect on a deeper level than just saying hello while running in and out of our houses.

AL: I was in Vancouver, so I missed all the action!

This musical was inspired by a photo used in the Globe and Mail. Can you tell us about that image and how it helped shape the storyline?

SG: The image is of a couple sitting at the top of the hill in Riverdale park overlooking the Don Valley and the city. It was taken at sunset, so the sky is glowing, but there are no lights on in any building. It’s quite mysterious, and there is a sense of “what’s going to happen when the sun goes down?”. The photo led us to explore what might happen on a very special night and, how might people connect differently in the dark. It almost felt like “what happens tonight, stays in tonight” type of situation.

AL: I was drawn to the romance of the photo…two people sat close together overlooking the city as the sun sets…a city usually shining and teeming with life for once dark and quiet. There was such a lovely, atmospheric vibe to the photo that I wanted to capture in song.

Those of us who were around when that happened saw the city in a different light. What were some other story ideas that came to mind when the creative team worked on this particular musical?

SG: There was a real sense of camaraderie that night, and other story ideas we talked about were how neighbours who never say more than a few words to each other might connect on a night like this. New friendships might be formed, or perhaps, secrets might be revealed about the people who live next door that you never wanted to know.

AL: An experience that our musical references but doesn’t directly show is the camaraderie and banding together that happened during the blackout. Our musical focuses on the drama of our characters, but by many accounts it was a happy night. Magical, even. After the initial shock, with their plans uprooted and forced outside together, a lot of people just enjoyed wandering the streets, or barbecuing, or spending quality time together without distraction. They were suddenly present. I wonder if this would happen today?

What else would you like us to know about CYGNUS?

SG: Cygnus is about finding connection and hope in places we weren’t expecting. Our show might make people take a moment to look at the stars with a loved one and take in the vastness of the sky.

AL: Cygnus is about how we need each other. And I think it’s a uniquely Toronto story–city life brings us closer together but also drives us further apart. I hope people will be moved by the story of two strangers who share a real connection on an unforgettable night.

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About Steven Gallagher (Bookwriter)

Steven is a writer, actor and director based in Toronto. His award winning play, Stealing Sam, made its American premiere in 2014 where it won Best Drama at the United Solo Festival in New York. Pollyanna, written with Linda Barnett, was shortlisted for Playwrights Guild of Canada best new musical. Drama 101, written with Kevin Wong, premiered in Toronto in June 2017. His musical, The Last Party, written with Nicky Phillips, premiered at the Toronto Fringe in 2018. He is the recipient of a 2013 Harold Award.

About Anton Lipovetsky (Composer/Lyricist)

Anton is a composer and performer based in Vancouver. His composition credits include Elbow Room Cafe (ZeeZee), Best Laid Plans (Touchstone/Patrick Street), cool beans (Solo Collective), Broken Sex Doll (Virtual Stage/Jessie Award) and FLOP! (Delinquent). He is a graduate of the Stratford Birmingham Conservatory and Studio 58.

Productions will take place August 19 to 22 at the Globe and Mail Centre on the 17th floor. For more info about Musical Stage Company, REPRINT & tickets here.

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Now, Chris Nuttall-Smith has a slightly different role as a resident judge on Top Chef Canada: All-Star season premiering on April 2 on The Food Network. We had a chance to chat with him recently about this new role…

So, how were you convinced to be one of the judges on Top Chef Canada All-Star season?

CNS: It’s funny because it really wasn’t all that hard for me. I’ve been approached a lot throughout my career to do different TV things but timing was right. It was ten years that I’ve been a critic that I was coming up on so I was definitely ready to something that didn’t involved going out four or five nights a week.

The show, and the competition, was clear that they wanted to refresh it and really focus it more on food and cooking more than ever. They wanted to make it something extra special this season and they managed to do that. So, it wasn’t a hard decision once that all got started and once the shooting started I realized that this was really a cool thing to do.

The line-up of chefs is incredible and stakes are high (no pun intended). You know a lot of these chefs, so how did that factor in? How did you stay calm and focused on the job at hand?

CNS: It’s not that dissimilar from my old job. There are some key differences for sure but at the end it comes down to what they are cooking and how it lives up to expectations of taste and presentation. What thought went behind it and how well they met the brief of the competition. In the end you’re judging the food and the personalities are certainly a part of that but I didn’t find that all distracting. I think the line up of judges are all pros. We all do this everyday or every week. But what was a challenge was to pick sometimes between incredible dishes or trying to pick between two very bad showings and you need to figure out who has to go home that week.

Does it freak you out that your face is everywhere now?

CNS: It is a little odd! I’m diluting myself for a while and pretending my face isn’t out there. I’ve see pictures of me at Yonge and Dundas Square and it freaked me out a little bit but it’s fun. It’s so cool to see how excited people are about this show and the content of the show.

To be honest, I never knew what you looked like and when I first saw a photo so, I was surprised!

CNS: (Laughs) I get that reaction sometimes with people saying “Oh I never thought you looked like that!” Some people expect some crusty old dude with food on his face. I think I might have disappointed some people.

Yikes! That’s not what I meant lol.  I didn’t know what to expect and even though photos have been leaked, I didn’t want to know. I liked keeping you as a mystery. Sorry, is that weird to say?

CNS: Oh no, but the funny thing about the purported leaked photos of me is they weren’t actually me. There’s one of a writer, David Bezmozgis, who was the first hit you get when you search my name for the last seven years. As I tell everybody, I really hope he got good food and service.

(I’m googling now – oh yeah!) Anyway, I loved, loved, loved reading your reviews especially in the Globe and Mail. There are a few unforgettable ones that still comes up in conversation. 

CNS: You know, you always try to remember that most people that read your review are never going to eat that food and it’s the same with TV. Most of the people who are watching are never going to eat that food. You really need bring them there and to help them experience the food, environment, and atmosphere. You want to take them along with you. It’s like a form of escape for people. I was lucky that people really responded well to what I did and still do. I’m still writing and it’s a lot of fun to bring people to where they may not necessarily go themselves.

Well, I definitely have gone to places because you’ve written them up, but I live in the city, so that helps! But do you ever get tired of eating out?

CNS: Of course. One of the first rules of being a food critic is you’re never, ever, ever allowed to complain about being a food critic. I definitely keep that in mind. It’s an amazing job and you find yourself going out at night to restaurants and you’ve already been once or twice and you know it’s not a good restaurant and you wish you can just be home and eat Kraft Dinner. But on the whole it’s so much fun. You get to live a part of the city that very few people get to. You really get to see the face of the city that is fascinating and constantly changing. It says so much about who we are, where we are at, and where we are going. That’s what I love. It more about life than what’s on your plate.

And you go more than once when you review a restaurant?

CNS: It’s nice to get to know a place, for sure. I’ve been really lucky throughout my career that the publications I’ve worked for, whether it’s Toronto Life, The Globe or freelance, all  have budgets. I think it’s so important to be a restaurant critic that’s not on the cheap. You need to go and experience a restaurant the way the people who read your stories would. That’s sometimes expensive. Going back more than once is really crucial when you’re going to pass judgement on a place and know that that judgement is going to matter to a restaurant. So always as a critic I didn’t endeavour just to have an opinion, everyone has an opinion, but my goal was to always be right. In some ways I know it’s a ridiculous goal because restaurants are constantly changing. But when people respond to my reviews and tell me that they had a similar experience, then that to me is really gratifying. It meant I did my job.

Are you your own worse critic?

CNS: I think you have to be. To do anything well, you have to critical of your own work for sure.

So, I understand that not only do you love to eat out but you also love to cook? What are some of your go-to dishes?

CNS: Cooking is how I got into all of this. I was a journalist that covered politics so all through my time as a non-food journalist I was cooking like a fiend. I was really ambitious and I still am. But I have dishes that I lean on like simple roasted chicken or grilled mackerel on the barbecue. I also do a ton of vegetable dishes like smoked eggplant with lemon, garlic, pomegranate and olive oil. And pastas! I have a nine year-old boy who loves eating pasta. I’m pretty wide range when I cook and I also do it for work as well testing out recipes or techniques. I wouldn’t say that I make things over and over again but I certainly have my favourites.

Your ultimate comfort food?

CNS: Oh! That’s a hard question! It depends on the day. But I would say a beautiful spaghetti or bucatini with a great fresh tomato sauce. In the summer I’ll take those tiny little baby tomatoes, throw a ton of them in a pan with olive oil, garlic and wait until they pop because they are super hot  and they splatter and pop. Then you toss the pasta in with a little water and that to me is heaven. I also love a great pork chop from Sanagan’s. I think they have the best pork chops — nice cuts with a bit of fat on them. You do them on the grill so they are just barely pink on the inside. I love that with a good mustard and serve with lots of vegetables. I  like dandelion and bitter greens. I could go on and on. I love eating, can you tell?

Okay, now I’m getting hungry! I love eating too but how the heck do you stay so fit? Is there a food critic secret? I see what you look like.

CNS: (laughs) Well, I ride my bike everywhere for everything.

Okay, so what’s been more pressure, to review restaurants or being a judge on Top Chef Canada? 

CNS: Being a judge on Top Chef has been really fun. I had no idea how I was going to like it until I got in there. There’s a lot of pressure to be right and to get it right. Definitely the stakes are high. It’s TV and people really care about this. People are working so hard to do great work and to deliver big food. But when you do a job that you’re comfortable with and you’re at the table with these incredibly talented, smart food people like Mark, Eden, and Janet who know their stuff and have been at this  for a long time, it’s ultimately as stressful as a really great dinner party. Which to say it’s not stressful but it’s a lot of fun. It’s also illuminating. You learn a lot from everyone’s experience.

Top Chef Canada: All-Stars premieres April 2 on the Food Network. This season brings back some of the most accomplished chefs from the past four seasons. Judges include Mark McEwan, Chris Nuttall-Smith (acclaimed restaurant critic), Janet Zuccarini (restauranteur Gusto54 group), Eden Grinshpan (Eden Eats, Chopped Canada), and Mijune Pak (food blogger FollowMeFoodie.com).

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