The idea for Canada Sings started with a song.
The co-artistic directors of Victoria Playhouse were listening to a radio station which only played Canadian music one day. “We couldn’t get over it,” says Hogan. “We kept saying that’s Canadian? We had no idea that was a Canadian song.”
That sparked the creation of the VPP’s latest show Canada Sings. The ensemble cast of 12 walks the crowd through songs with a Canadian connection. All of the songs were either written or performed by Canadians.
And Hogan says it was not hard to find enough music to fill the show. “We could have been five hours long.”
Hogan says the process of choosing the songs was difficult. The duo had to leave out some of the more obvious Canadian songs, like the blockbuster songs such as “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic choosing instead songs which people would be surprised by, such as Signs (Signs Everywhere Signs).
The music is grouped in “chapters…like the greatest love songs and there is a patriotic chapter.”
Once the show was compiled, the cast was chosen and Hogan says they deliberately chose “Glee-like” singers who could put a lot of energy into the show. That meant they were on the younger side.
“They don’t even know half these songs,” says Hogan recalling the first time they got together to go through the show. “I reminded me of when we did The Sinatra Seven – they didn’t know those Sinatra songs but they loved them…These guys don’t even know who Bryan Adams is.”
But like the Sinatra Seven, Hogan is sure the cast and people in the audience will earn a greater appreciation of the Canadian music scene from Canada Sings.
The show runs until July 27.