https://www.thesuburban.com/arts_and_en ... a0256.html
Following the wildly successful run of the musical comedy Titanique, the Segal Centre is coming back with another sure crowd pleaser in The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience. It will be presented December 8 to 22, take a holiday break and return from January 4 to 12, 2025.
“It is the first time we are trying a schedule like this,” said Segal Centre Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin. “We need to give this show more time. The demand for tickets is strong. It is a real friends and family outing. We are feeling the energy and buzz.”
Created by Frank Cox-O’Connell, Marni Jackson, and Mike Ross, and directed by Frank Cox-O’Connell, The Secret Chord is described as concert with a lot of Leonard Cohen storytelling. “In between each number we set up the next song with some dialogue, poetry, diary entries and things taken from interviews,” explains Toronto instrumentalist Andrew Penner, one of the five main performers, adding, “I am a huge Leonard Cohen fan. My parents gave me a real adult dose of him growing up”.
Rubin says this show will immerse audiences in a uniquely powerful celebration of Cohen’s artistry, noting that the late Westmount singer, writer and poet’s extraordinary life, music, and poetry will be presented with depth and reverence by Penner, Divine Brown, Evan Buluing, Travis Knights, and Emily Schultz, accompanied by a five-piece band. The performers each take the lead on specific songs. “Each of these five singers are so strong,” Rubin says.
Soulpepper Theatre of Toronto introduced this show in 2018, two years after Cohen’s death. Penner was in last spring’s production, which Rubin went to see. Bringing the production to the Segal Centre was a no brainer for her. “A Leonard Cohen retrospective on stage has been long overdue,” she says. “For fans of his, The Secret Chord is a chance to hear his lyrics and music as if for the first time and rediscover their genius. It’s a moving testament to why he remains one of our county’s greatest music icons.”
Leonard Cohen nostalgia is stronger than ever it seems these days. The TV series So Long, Marianne began streaming in late summer on Crave. In October Christophe Lebold, a literature professor from Strasbourg, France, was in town to promote his new book, Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall. And there is a larger than life mural commemorating Cohen downtown on Crescent Street.
Beyond the stage, there will be an enlightening pre-show discussion on the themes of the show released as podcast on iTunes and Spotify on Monday, Dec, 9 at 6 p.m. and the popular Monday Night Talkbacks on Decemeber 16 and January 6 with the creators and actors after the curtain goes down.
Another link here - https://www.segalcentre.org/en/shows/20 ... xperience-
A Concert Tribute to the Bard of Montreal
Montreal, don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience this tribute to one of Canada’s most beloved artists, after several sold out engagements in Toronto. Leonard Cohen constantly reinvented himself throughout his long career, helping generations of fans understand the changing society around them. His extraordinary life, music, and poetry will be celebrated by a remarkable company of artists.