Two legends of the Canadian musical theatre scene are coming to Prince Albert next week, for an intimate, bare-bones musical performance.
Michael Burgess and Rebecca Caine met in the Toronto theatre scene while Burgess acted as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables and Caine acted as Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera.
“About a year-and-a-half ago it just tuned up among friends that we thought we might do some concerts together, and it’s worked out very well,” Burgess said.
With minimalistic accompaniment by pianist David Warrack, the two singers plan on going through not only their own repertoires, but others as well, delving into musical theatre past and present.
With the recent release of the Les Miserables movie, Burgess hopes to provide those introduced to the play through the movie with its musical origins.
“I found it interesting,” he said. “They made certain decisions, and obviously, they didn’t want to concentrate on the singing because they didn’t really hire singers, so it’s a different kind of experience.”
Going through the play’s songs during much of the second half of their upcoming show in Prince Albert, Burgess will add this depth to the play, while Caine will do the same with Phantom of the Opera.
“The lyrics are very, very deep and rich, and as well is the music,” Burgess said. “I think it’s a very unique show and we have a lot of fun doing it.”
With new plays written all the time, there’s an endless cache of songs to pull from, he said.
Next week’s show will be something of a homecoming for Burgess, who grew up in Regina.
“I usually try to get back to Saskatchewan every year or two, but I haven’t been there for a couple of years, now, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I just love being there.”
This will be his first time performing in Prince Albert.
A few days, the duo face a much larger audience and sound in Winnipeg, where they will perform with the Winnipeg Symphony.
Next week’s show in Prince Albert, titled the Dream Concert, will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are still for sale at the E. A. Rawlinson Box Office, which can be contacted at 765-1270, or online, at www.earawlinsoncentre.ca.
