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Jovanni Sy, artistic director of Richmond's Gateway Theatre contemplates his final season.
Photo by Chung Chow
Sy's final season looks to be a winner
Published 3:48 PDT, Thu September 13, 2018
Last Updated: 2:12 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
As Jovanni Sy prepares to helm his last
season at as artistic director at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre, he looks forward
to the plays he’s chosen for the year ahead.
Sy teases with what’s in store for Richmond
audiences: “There’s a musical, some comedy, some drama. And, in Glory, lots of
dance and spectacle – not to mention hockey!”
Sy offers more details about each of the six
productions he picked for the upcoming season:
“We’ve got a terrific lineup. We launch with
the Vancouver professional premiere of Michel Tremblay’s masterpiece Les
Belles-soeurs. We follow that with a revival of Tetsuro Shigematsu’s popular
one-man show Empire of the Son.
Our holiday musical is a new look at a beloved classic, It’s a Wonderful
Life. It features popular songs
from the 40s and a 10-piece orchestra,” Sy says.
Back again this year, on the heels of last
year’s directorial success with A Little Night Music, Peter Jorgensen will
direct his version of It’s a Wonderful Life.
“I know people loved seeing a musical in
December. So we’ve got a really
great one with It’s a Wonderful Life,” Sy says.
Jorgenson might not be the only familiar
face, “And I might happen to be on stage for that show too,” he says.
But, wait, that’s not all. Gateway’s season
is only half over when the New Year comes in.
“Then, there’s the Canadian premiere of the
hilarious comedy Yoga Play which pokes fun at Lululemon culture. There’s the
world premiere of Meghan Gardiner’s hard-hitting drama Gross Misconduct. And
finally, the Vancouver premiere of Glory which tells the story of a
Depression-era women’s hockey team through swing dance choreography.”
Saying there are so many wonderful plays out
there, Sy lists his criteria for the choices he makes: “I look for great
stories that will resonate with Richmond audiences. I was looking for pieces
that are entertaining and that have something relevant to say.”
And lastly, looking further into the future,
as he leaves to concentrate more on his own projects, what about Jovanni Sy the
writer? “I’m working on a piece about the great playwright Arthur Miller. It
may show up at Gateway someday,” he says.
For more information on the upcoming Gateway season, click here.
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