For the first time since the 1988 Winter Olympics Theatre Calgary has partnered with the Shaw Festival to stage a play at the Max Bell Theatre. This time around it’s Philip Barry’s The Philadelphia Story a lavish production directed by Dennis Garnhum who was also at the helm during its run at the Shaw Festival’s Niagara-on-the-Lake home in spring 2014. Most of the cast has made the trip to Calgary as well including Moya O’Connell as Tracy Lord who earned rave reviews in the role that helped revive Katharine Hepburn’s career. Those who’ve seen the movie will be familiar with the romantic comedy about love and money in which a woman finds herself torn between three different men on her wedding day but Garnhum says the play has more layers to reveal. The Philadelphia Story runs until February 22 — read more online.
Calgary Opera’s co-production of The Marriage of Figaro (pictured) also has a connection to the Shaw Festival — it features a new design by Canadian Cameron Porteous who is best known for his work there. Considered a masterpiece this popular comic opera by Mozart hasn’t been staged by Calgary Opera for more than a decade. The cast features Lyne Fortin Etienne Dupuis Marianne Fiset Josef Wagner and Krisztina Szabo. Performances run January 31 February 4 and February 6 at the Jubilee.
The provincewide Exposure Photography Festival starts January 30 and runs throughout February at multiple venues ranging from diners to galleries. The official Calgary opening takes place Thursday February 5 at The Founders’ Gallery at the Military Museums which is currently featuring Burnt Generation an exhibition of contemporary Iranian photography. This festival is held in Calgary Edmonton and the Bow Valley and along with shows by both emerging and established artists there are film screenings workshops contests and special events. One of the participating artists Noel Bégin — featured in our cover story this week — is pulling double-duty for Emmedia’s Particle + Wave Media Arts Festival. Showcasing an artform that is “constantly evolving and growing with the integration of everchanging technological processes” the second annual Particle + Wave runs from February 4 to 8 and includes exhibitions installations screenings workshops and more.
A second major visual arts exhibition opening this week is Mass MOCA’s Oh Canada: Contemporary Art from North America which is so massive it can’t be contained by one local gallery. Instead the artworks will be shown at four venues: Esker Foundation Glenbow Illingworth Kerr and Nickle Galleries. Special events will also be held throughout its run starting with the Canadiana-themed party on Saturday January 31 at all four locations — you can take an Oh Canada bus to visit them all. Get the details at OhCanadaYYC.com and see next week’s issue for a breakdown of the exhibition.
