Show pays homage to musical divas

In the celestial pantheon of Broadway’s musical theatre, there are many minor deities. Sandwiched among them are a dozen divine goddesses that have been immortalized forever in our collective consciousness.

Barbra Streisand. Rita Moreno. Shirley MacLean. Patti Lupone. Carol Channing. Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli. These incredible women have defined pop culture and they are the focus of Edmonton Musical Theatre’s (EMT) annual spring revue.

Ladies in Lights, a tribute to the women of musical theatre and the men who stood by them, brings the brightest luminaries into the modern age. It runs at the Westbury Theatre in the TransAlta Arts Barns from June 10 to 12 and June 15 to 19.

This lush revue style show of 33 adults and a youth cast of 24, “gives a lot of opportunity for individual members to have a moment, whether it’s a scene or solo line,” says general manager Steffni Ault.

In the cast of 33 adults, only five singers are men. “The concept started because we usually have a two-to-one ratio in favour of women. This year we decided to write a show that would be a vehicle for females and give them an opportunity to shine.”

Once again musical director Randy Mueller, a nuanced interpreter of musicals, pairs up with writer Colin MacLean’s deft turn of the phrase.

MacLean’s dialogue introduces Gus (John Rusich), an old stagehand, who through the decades has witnessed everything there is to see. “He talks to the audience. He’s seen all the Broadway stars. He’s the thread that holds everything together.”

Three St. Albert performers that wear the diva mantles are Barb Hubbard, Jamie Johansson and Sabrina Thievin. And behind the scenes, stage manager Jen Magel calls the shots.

Hubbard, a veteran EMT performer, promises to have no shortage of fun during Duelling Divas, a match between Mary Martin’s Peter Pan and Julie Andrew’s Mary Poppins. Garbed in vest and tights as Pan, Hubbard belts out the uplifting I’m Flying.

Johansson instead covers a soulful tune from Mame — Angela Lansbury’s torch song If He Walked into My Life. And Thievin, founder of the St. Albert-run Sabrina’s Dance Instruction, uses her ballroom finesse in several dance sequences. “She’s a very accomplished dancer.”

Ault describes the two-hour production as a tour down memory lane. “It’s high-energy. The cast is large and it’s a lavish production.”

For more information visit www.edmontonmusicaltheatre.ca