Cabaret a grand spectacle

Some women take a break from raising kids by improving their golf swing or going out for coffee with girlfriends.

St. Albert singer Lucy Haines is carving out her own identity, apart from being the mom of four kids from seven to 15, as a busy member of Edmonton’s musical theatre scene.

Haines, an active singer/dancer with about half a dozen shows at Edmonton Musical Theatre and Sherrard, is singing for yet another company.

This year she is one of featured performers in Ensemble for Lyrical Operetta Productions Edmonton’s (ELOPE), A Grand Night for Singing, which continues running until June 6.

Grand Night is a 90-minute musical revue, an elegant pastiche of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s lesser-known works — tunes from Allegro, Flower Drum Song, State Fair and Pipe Dream.

“Musicals suit my voice and there’s a bit of dancing which I enjoy. But it’s the beautiful lyrical songs that appeal to me,” says Haines, a lower soprano in this show.

Although there is no real story line, the 11 cast members sing about love in every aspect of its development. “We cover it all in all its different ways — friendship, new love, unrequited love, romance and an older, wiser love.”

Haines performs four major songs as well as singing in the ensemble. You can spot her singing the crisp A Wonderful Guy from South Pacific, a head-over-heels kind of love whereas in The Man I Used To Be from Pipe Dream, she’s lamenting about the fun, free-wheeling guy she used to date.

And in If I Love You from Carousel, she sings of an innocent, fragile love, and in Something Wonderful from The King and I, it’s of a more mature, accepting love.

Pulling this whole extravaganza together is musical director Randy Mueller, a musician who Haines describes as a genius. “He’s an awesome accompanist and he fills the music with flourishes.”

And choreographer Marie Nychka is a professionally trained ballerina “with an incredible eye for detail.”

“Anyone who loves musical theatre will hear new takes on old favourites, and there will be songs you’ve never heard of. We’re wearing long black glittery gowns, but it’s more like an intimate cabaret.”