The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines recently announced its 2022-2023 season, with a line-up of shows from September to next summer featuring an assortment of music, dance, theatre, opera, comedy and cultural experiences that are sure to appeal to just about everyone.
“That’s sort of the key,” director of programming and marketing Sara Palmieri said in a recent interview. “Part of being a presenter is curating, which makes us a bit different from a promoter or a road house. It’s important to us to put something together that represents the world and the times that we live in.”
Palmieri admitted that it felt a bit surreal to be curating an entire season of performances again after two years of live venues being shuttered off and
on due to COVID-19 restrictions. She was happy to book a number of artists who were just itching to get back onto a performing arts stage to present what they’ve been working on since before March, 2020.
The season kicks off with the sixth annual Celebration of Nations gathering of Indigenous arts, culture and tradition Sept. 9 through 11. Juno, Gemini, Golden Globes and Academy Award winner and Companion of the Order of Canada Buffy Sainte-Marie headlines the Sept. 10 event in downtown St. Catharines.
On the musical side, Canadian talent grabs the spotlight right from the start of the season, with Tom Cochrane and Red Rider taking the Partridge Hall stage on Sept. 29. Five days later the Tenors make their debut at the same concert hall with their outstanding harmonies that blend classical music and contemporary pop.
Juno Award winning singer-songwriter William Prince appears in November, while other Canadian acts include Bachman and Bachman (Randy and his son Tal), Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Cape Breton’s Men of the Deeps, Jann Arden, flamenco guitar wizard Jesse Cook and Vancouver-born DJ Kid Koala.
International acts include bluesman Robert Cray, the Original Wailers (members of reggae superstar Bob Marley’s original band) and 15-time Grammy winner Ricky Skaggs with his expert bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder.
“We are finally getting to present the Wailers,” a relieved Palmieri smiled. “They were scheduled before the pandemic and had to be postponed. And the picking on that Ricky Skaggs show will be phenomenal. You can’t overstate how great those musicians are.”
Canada’s Ballet Jörgen is the first dance performance, with Anne of Green Gables - The Ballet on Oct. 7. The Aluminum Show combines movement, dance, visual theatre and humour on Dec. 29, while Ballet Edmonton makes their Partridge Hall debut in January with a mixed repertoire program under artistic director Wen Wei Want.
Opera lovers will enjoy Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom in February. The two-act opera tells the Tubman story through the singing of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Canada’s first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles.
Comedian Shaun Majumder, who spent 17 seasons on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, brings his act to downtown St. Catharines on Dec.1. Ali Hassan, well-known for his role as host of CBC Radio One’s weekly comedy program Laugh Out Loud, performs his Does This Taste Funny? show at Partridge Hall on Jan. 17, while the Girls Night Out Sketch Comedy Troupe celebrates International Women’s Day in March.
Palmieri points out that performances from Brooklyn, New York’s Red Baarat, combining Indian bhangra with hip-hop and jazz, Lightwire Theatre with their presentation of the classic children’s tale The Ugly Duckling, and Ukrainian quartet Dakhabrakha will be like nothing ever seen or heard in the region before.
“It’s important to lean into that notion of experiencing something you might not be familiar with,” she told The Local.
There’s much more in the lineup, including a full season of movies at the Film House, Bravo Niagara! Festival’s December presentation of the Count Basie Orchestra, a tribute to the late Gord Downie on the fifth anniversary of his death in October, and acrobatic performances from Cirque Kalabanté and Femmes Du Feu.
Palmieri urges fans of the arts to consider becoming a PAC member for $125 plus HST. Members are able to order tickets before the general public, save up to 25 per cent off regular ticket prices, can bring friends for free to selected events, and also receive invitations to special events.
Tickets went on sale to the general public this Tuesday. For the full 2022/2023 lineup, visit firstontariopac.ca.
