Whiskey Bars (PG)
Created and performed by Bremner Duthie
Featuring the songs of Kurt Weill
Directed by: Tracy Darin
One Act. 70 min., $17, BB & EE
Toronto & Paris
Saturday, Festival Tent, 7pm
About the Play: Mr. Duthie has won international acclaim for his performance as the jaded cabaret artiste preparing to revive his flagging career with a come-back concert. The audience becomes the ‘silent reporter’ interviewing a man “who played his hand against the universe and lost.” Kurt Weill’s songs, circa 1930’s Berlin, permeate the show and Bremner delivers them with nuance, power and mastery. "A gem of a show, beautifully acted.... An absolute MUST." (CBC Winnipeg)
About the Performer: From pop to avant garde, to opera, to contemporary musicals, to cabaret, Mr. Duthie has done them all! Formally trained as an opera singer, he found his true calling several years later when he won two consecutive scholarships to Banff School of Music where he immersed himself in the centre’s unique focus on modern theatre and song. “I find truth more easily in a song”, says Duthie, “especially when I can reach out and almost touch the audience.” Recent highlights include a tour of Japan with a 20 piece big band, and France with a new production of the 1930’s musical The Cradle Will Rock by Mark Blitzstein.
About Kurt Weill: Kurt Weill, a Jew who fled Germany before the outbreak of the 2nd World War, is best known for his work with Brecht on The Three Penny Opera. However, his songs were extremely popular with the wider public in Germany in the 20’s and 30’s. After immigrating to America in 1937, he devoted himself to composing for the Broadway stage.