I have to admit that I was pretty excited to go into Canada. I’ve been to other countries in Europe and Central America, but never on my own continent. Now, there are different, very diverse parts of Canada, and none of them could be further from the U.S. (culturally speaking) than Montreal, Quebec. It. Was. FRENCH! About 95% of people around you speak French. Ads, billboards, street signs, banners, etc. are all in French. Restaurant menus are in French with the English translation in a smaller text below. Because the citizens of Montreal also speak English, it made some of the cast feel ignorant. I consoled them by saying that they didn’t go out of the way to learn two languages- they’re surrounded by it. If we’re immersed in eight languages as we mature from children into young adults, we learn all eight of them. It’s just how their culture works. We don’t quite find it necessary to learn more than one language, so most of us don’t.
The French thing also prevented our audiences from understanding some of the more subtle jokes in the show- those that are either cultural or are hidden in the lyrics or subtext. This, along with lower ticket sales, made some of our Montreal audiences somewhat drab.
Pelletier-Place des Arts, Montreal, Quebec, CAN
I didn’t get too much of a chance to go out and explore Montreal. I mostly just walked over to the theater to play piano and compose. I was also a little preoccupied with how much money I was spending- our hotel, the most expensive hotel on our tour, was slightly over a hundred dollars per night. Everything’s a little more expensive in Canada, but as far as how their society works, there may be something to that- they’ve really got it together.
Canadian Money (or, as I refer to it, Play Money)
Our 200th show occurred in Montreal. It didn’t seem to be as much of a feat as when we reached our 100th show in Miami in December, however. I guess the tour has just been going on so long that people are numbed to it.
I wasn’t planning on doing much for St. Patrick’s Day. The day became even less celebratory when I learned of the death of my friend and beloved Quad-Citian Brian Nelson. I had done a few shows with him, culminating in our performance of Jesus Christ Superstar in July/August. One day after a rehearsal, he had told me that out of the many times he had performed the show over the previous decades, mine was the band/orchestra that best captured the flavor of the show. Compliments are a wonderful thing, but are made more precious coming from someone so talented and respected. It pained me not to be there for his funeral, but from all of the comments I saw/heard about it, there probably wouldn’t have been room for me anyways. He will be missed by so many.
Our third and final two-week stay was in Toronto. Toronto was quite a change from Montreal. It felt much more like the U.S. I heard a lot of comments from the cast comparing it to New York City. And aside from Times Square and Central Park, nothing makes you feel like you’re in New York more than the subway. Our travel to and from the theater was by subway. It was about a 20 minute ride each way. It was sometimes tedious, but I’ll admit that it was a nice way to mellow down after the show. If/when I do live in New York City, I’ll be anxious to use the subway in lieu of a car, saving me SO much money on gas, parking, insurance, etc.
Toronto Centre for the Arts, Toronto, Ontario, CAN
I love a mall. Our first night there I happened to stumble upon what I understand is the biggest mall in Toronto. In urban areas, the malls blend into the scenery a lot more than what I’m used to, so I just kind of walked inside off of the street and wound up in the Eaton Centre Mall. I returned here at least three or four times throughout the two weeks.
Our second Monday there was a Golden Day (no travel, no shows), and a group of fourteen of us went to Niagara Falls. A tour van picked us up from the hotel and the driver familiarized us with a few things in Toronto. On the way to the falls, we stopped at a winery for a tasting- if you haven’t tried ice wine, I highly recommend it. Then we strolled around the small town of Niagara on the Lake, perusing boutique and specialty shops. The falls were beautiful- so much so that I hardly minded the temperature being in the 30’s, feeling even colder with the mists. We arrived in time to see the falls in the daylight with its many rainbows, and after dinner got to see them lit up with spotlights. This is a place I probably wouldn’t have gone to any other time, so I’m glad I got to see it on tour.
With a few members of the band, I attended a rehearsal of the Toronto Symphony on one of our last days there. It was so refreshing to hear classical music again- I feel like it’s been forever. Sometimes I need a little Brahms/Mahler/Prokofiev to cleanse my palette.
Toronto Symphony Building
Our third and final Canadian city was London. And for the first time, one of our shows was cancelled. We originally had two shows in London, but we knew a few weeks ahead of time that our second show would be cancelled. We therefore travelled back to the U.S. a day early and enjoyed a Golden Day in Milwaukee. Our show in London was our second venue in an arena (the first being in Tallahassee at Florida State University). We did the show on a hockey rink with plastic tiles covering the ice. The orchestra was on the floor behind the stage and it was pretty chilly.
LaBatt Centre, London, Ontario, CAN
Well, the entire cast is relieved to be back in the U.S.- using our own currency, our cell phones, banks, certain restaurants, etc. And now we’re on the home stretch. It won’t be long until I’m back in the Quad-Cities!
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