Stanstead

STANSTEAD, QC – Eastern Townships writer Ross Murray will release his third collection of humor, A Jerk in Progress, at Black Cat Books in Lennoxville on Sunday, September 15 at 3:00 p.m.

Subtitled “Various Nonsense,” the collection features more than 80 columns and essays that originally appeared in The Sherbrooke Record and Life in Quebec magazine as well as in audio form on CBC Radio’s afternoon program “Breakaway.”

The book can be purchased on Amazon through this link.

The book is split into two sections – “From the Makers of Rictusol,” which contains satire and whimsy covering everything from public service announcements to Bethlehem’s Three Kings at the shopping mall; and “Contains Minimum Two Dead Mice,” which offers up episodes from the author’s life.

Ross Murray has written a weekly column for The Sherbrooke Record for over 15 years and prior to that in The Stanstead Journal.

He has also been a regular contributor to CBC Radio, McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, and other publications.

In addition to his two previous collections, Murray published his debut novel, A Hole in the Ground, in 2016, and in May of this year directed his original play, All Together Now, based on a local legend about how the former Beatles almost met at the Haskell Free Library.

The launch at Black Cat Books is free and open to the public.

Murray will also be at the Townships Expressions table at Townshippers’ Festival in Cowansville on Saturday, September 21 and will be participating in the Townships Authors round table at the Knowlton Literary Festival, Saturday, October 19 at 9:30 a.m.

You can order the book by emailing Murray at: rossgrantmurray@gmail.com or through his Facebook page.

You can also sample his writing at his website Drinking Tips for Teens at: https://rossmurray1.wordpress.com

DERBY LINE — The crowd-pleasing musical Mamma Mia! comes to the Haskell Opera House in Stanstead and Derby Line, on August 9-11 and 16-18.

Featuring over 20 songs by the Swedish pop phenomenon ABBA, the musical centers around Sophie, whose dream of a perfect wedding includes her father giving her away.

The problem? Sophie doesn’t know who he is. Her mother, Donna, refuses to talk about the past, so Sophie secretly invites her three possible fathers to the wedding, convinced that she’ll know her father when she sees him. But when all three turn up, it may not be as clear as she thought.

“After years of waiting for Mamma Mia! to be available for community theatres, this production is a dream come true for me,” said director Mary Hoadley. “It has personal meaning for me, but it’s truly a fun and uplifting show. You simply can never hear enough ABBA, and our cast is so abundantly talented that it just makes it that much better.”

The cast features local stage veteran Ruth-Ann Fletcher as Donna and Holly Lillis as Sophie.

Potential dads are played by Mike Desjardins, James Merriam and Todd Cubit, joined by Sarah Comtois and
Tiffany Quinn as Donna’s former bandmates along with a large supporting cast from both sides of the
Canada-US border:

Meghan Corbett, Jessi Sackett, Lourdes Ortiz, Thomas Alexandre, Shannon Quinn, Roderick Owens, Jaime Comtois, Amy Nadeau, Autumn Cubit, Debbie Bishop, Dayna Alexandre, Emmie Wilkie, Dorothy Moffatt and Charli Kellaway.

Choreography is by Hope Guisinger.

The performances will include the live band last seen backing last summer’s hit production of Little Shop
of Horrors and will once again be led by musical director Mark Violette on keyboards, with Gideon Yellin,
guitar; Lloyd White, bass; and Alex Lepanto, drums.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday, August 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee Sunday, August 11 at 2:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, August 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m., with a second matinee Sunday, August 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets (at par) are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors and are available at the MAC Center for the Arts in Newport and the Colby-Curtis Museum in Stanstead or online (U.S. funds only) at https://borderlineplayers.org.

Tickets also available at the door.

Reserve in advance by contacting Borderline Players via email borderlineplayers@outlook.com or Facebook.

DERBY LINE — Borderline Players is getting ready to present an original comedy by border humorist Ross Murray, All Together Now. The show promises to be a love letter to the Haskell Free Library, life on the line and a resilient local myth.

Performances are set for May 10-12 and May 17-19.

It’s Labor Day, 1973. In Holland, Vermont, a rock festival is set to begin while, at the Haskell Free Library, rumors begin to fly that the former Fab Four will be meeting there.

But when a mysterious stranger and confused American tourists turn things upside down at the world’s only international library, soon no one knows whether they’re coming or going.

The comedy mixes local characters and history – including the infamous Mac’s Party at Mead Hill, and whimsical fiction in a comedy that doesn’t explain the myth of how the Beatles didn’t come to the Haskell so much as add new layers of possibilities.

“I wanted to create a play that would appeal to local audiences by drawing on actual historical events,” says writer/director Murray. “Other than hearsay, there’s no actual record of this Beatles meeting ever being planned, so it leaves the door wide open to create my own version and mix some fictional characters with the historical ones. No one knows the truth, so why not make up my own.”

In fact, the subtitle of the play is “A Possibly True Story of a Thing That Almost Happened.”

In keeping with the theme of the play, the cast features players from both sides of the border, with Leanne Harple of Glover, Sue Kuzma of Derby Center, Mike Desjardins of Newport, Eric Alexandre of Georgeville, Que., John Young of Newport, Jessi Sackett of Newport, and making their local stage debut Benjamin Tabah of Lennoxville, Que., Crystal Hall of Newport, and Adam Spirk of Stanstead, Que.

Having appeared in a number of QNEK productions and last season’s Fuddy Meers, Ross Murray is directing his original script.

A resident of Stanstead, Quebec, Murray writes a weekly humor column for The Sherbrooke Record and has contributed to CBC Radio and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency among other publications.

All Together Now is his first script.

Show times are Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $15 adults, $12 seniors and students and are available now online through https://borderlineplayers.org or Catamount Arts.

Tickets are also available at the MAC Center, in Newport, and the Colby-Curtis Museum, in Stanstead.

For more information, contact borderlineplayers@outlook.com.

DERBY LINE — Borderline Players, a new theater company registered in Vermont and Quebec, will present Fuddy Meers at the Haskell Opera House stage for four performances on May 11, 12 and 13.

Written by American playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, Fuddy Meers tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who starts each morning with no memory, her husband and teenage son having to fill her in daily about her life.

When she is kidnapped, Claire – and the audience – must piece together the ensuing mayhem.

The original Broadway production was described by The New York Times as a “dark, sweet and thoroughly engaging comedy.”

Performance times are Friday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are only $15 and available by calling the Haskell Opera House box office at 819-876-2471, ext. 205 or 819-873-3022, ext. 205.

You can also grab tickets at: haskellopera.com/event/fuddy-meers, through Catamount Arts, or at the door.

Please note that this play contains adult language and themes and is not recommended for young children.

The Borderline Players’ production of Fuddy Meers is directed by Kim Prangley, a veteran of QNEK productions during the company’s 25-year run as the Haskell as the resident theater company, a tradition that continues in 2018 with the debut of the new community-based company.

Prangley also takes on the role of Claire, accompanied by local actors from both sides of the border including Calvin Longe, Ross Murray, Chris Planetta, Mark Rumery, Pamela Frohn and Susan Neumann.

Set design is by Bradleigh Stockwell.

DERBY LINE — Auditions for Borderline Players’ premiere production, Fuddy Meers, will take place on Saturday, January 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the First Universalist Parish Hall in Derby Line.

Performances are scheduled for May 4-6 and 11-13, 2018 at the Haskell Opera House.

Written by American playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, Fuddy Meers tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who starts each morning with no memory, her husband and teenage having to fill her in daily about her life.

When she is kidnapped, Claire–and the audience–must piece together the ensuing mayhem.

The Borderline Players’ production will be directed by Kim Prangley, a veteran of QNEK productions during the company’s 25-year run as the Haskell as the resident theater company, a tradition that continues in 2018 with the debut of the new community-based company.

Seven roles are available; 4 male and 3 female. They are Claire (about 40, generally sunny woman with amnesia); Richard (about 40, chatty, friendly, sometimes nervous man); Kenny (17, a troubled teen); limping man (about 40, a limping, lisping, half-blind, half-deaf man with secrets); Gertie (60s, a clear-headed lady who’s had a stroke); Millet (30s or 40s, an odd man with a puppet alter ego); and Heidi (30s or 40s, tough woman in a uniform).

No appointments are necessary for auditions, and scripts will be available at the hall.

For more information, contact Kim Prangley at kadelaide2000@yahoo.com

Auditions for the summer and fall productions will be announced at a late date.

DERBY LINE — The Haskell Opera House recently announced they will host a kid-friendly, free Halloween concert on Sunday, October 29, at 2:00 p.m.

The concert includes an introduction of the instruments and several seasonally spooky selections.

The highlight of the performance is a narration with music based on the book, “A Symphony of Whales,” by Steve Schuch, taking its inspiration from a true story about whales stranded in the Siberian Sea, and the heroic efforts by villagers and a Russian icebreaker to free them.

Music plays a key role in the heartwarming rescue, and audience members get to participate in a crucial decision.

Organizers are inviting everyone to wear Halloween costumes, join the parade of costumes and take home treats afterward.

Free tckets are available the MAC Center for the Arts in Newport and the Haskell Free Library, in Derby Line.

Seating is limited.

For more information, please contact opera@haskellopera.com, www.maccenterforthearts.com, or call 802-873-3022 (x205).

DERBY LINE — Fiddle and guitar duo Wood and Belsher will return to the Haskell Opera House in Derby Line on Sunday, October 8, for a 7:30 p.m. show.

Richard Wood, Prince Edward Island fiddler, artist, composer, and entertainer, has come full circle, not just in his musical career, but from the sheltered innocence as a child prodigy to learning life’s lessons the hard way.

Joining Wood on stage again this year is Gordon Belsher.

With a gentle charm that has become his trademark, Belsher’s versatility, engaging personality, and exceptional musicality have earned him the prestigious Music PEI 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Whether playing before festival crowds or intimate folk settings, his talent is extraordinary.