Northern Tracks: A Canadian Mixtape premières on Stratfest@Home
New original series is a love letter to Canada’s musical greats
Stratford, ON… Northern Tracks: A Canadian Mixtape is the newest original release on the Stratford Festival’s worldwide streaming platform, Stratfest@Home. Each of the nine episodes shines a spotlight on a Canadian musical great with selections performed by the country’s top talents. A thrilling highlight: three Oscar Peterson selections that have never before been recorded with lyrics.
Directed by Richard Ouzounian and Thom Allison, with Director of Photography Nicholas Shields, the series is a melodic ode to beloved singer-songwriters Susan Aglukark, Leonard Cohen, k.d. lang, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Oscar Peterson, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Rufus Wainwright and Neil Young.
Current and former members of the Stratford Festival’s acting company reimagine the classics in new and exciting video performances captured in a variety of locations throughout the new Tom Patterson Theatre.
The series features singers Thom Allison, Robert Ball, Kyle Blair, Alana Bridgewater, Tiffany Deriveau, Beau Dixon, Barbara Fulton, Alexis Gordon, Evangelia Kambites, David W. Keeley, Chilina Kennedy, Jani Lauzon, Jacob MacInnis, Robert Markus, Heather McGuigan, Mike Nadajewski, Marcus Nance, Lucy Peacock and Erica Peck.
The featured accompanists are Franklin Brasz, Éric Charbonneau, Ryan deSouza, Wayne Gwillim, Paul Moody and Paul Shilton. Full details of the numbers can be found below.
Ouzounian and Allison have worked together many times over the years and are delighted to be doing this series together. Ouzounian has helped shaped the story of the arts in Canada through both his journalism career and his work as a director at the Festival and beyond. Allison, a performer and director whose credits read like the greatest hits of musical theatre, is at the helm of Stratford’s 2023 production of Rent. He has been celebrated as an actor on film, TV, Broadway and stages across Canada.
Their vision for the series was inspired by the richness of Canada’s singers and songwriters and the talents of Stratford Festival performers. For shooting locations Shields, Ouzounian and Allison explored the corners and catwalks of the stunning new Tom Patterson Theatre, which curves along the Avon River.
Ouzounian, who created the series, says “it combines some of the greatest Canadian songwriters with some of the most exciting talents to ever perform at the Stratford Festival – past and present. The combination is unbeatable!”
Says Allison: “Good songwriters share their stories. Great songwriters share their souls with such unfiltered authentic feeling that everyone who listens can hear their own life stories in the songs. They feel ‘true.’ Northern Tracks celebrates the universality and breadth of the experience of being human, as expressed by these nine artists. What adds to the joy of this project is that these artists, who are considered worldwide to be masters of their craft, are also proudly Canadian.”
The first episode of Northern Tracks is available this Sunday on Stratfest@Home and a new episode will be released each Sunday for the following eight weeks.
Episode One celebrates Leonard Cohen, with Erica Peck (2023 season: Rent, A Wrinkle in Time) seducing us to “Dance Me to the End of Love” from the catwalk over the Tom Patterson stage. Heather McGuigan (2023: Monty Python’s Spamalot, Frankenstein Revived) follows with a heartfelt, firelit rendition of “Bird on a Wire.” Then Robert Markus (2023: Rent, A Wrinkle in Time) comes from a place of deep personal sorrow for “Song of Bernadette.” Chilina Kennedy (four seasons at Stratford; star of Beautiful on Broadway) is framed by an otherworldly sunset as she sings the deeply spiritual “Suzanne.” Marcus Nance (2023: Frankenstein Revived, Richard II) brings us home with a stark and powerful delivery of “Anthem.” Throughout, the words of Cohen himself tie it together with the honesty he is known for.
The new Oscar Peterson selections featured in the series are “I Never Dreamed I’d Be Without You,” “Why Think About Tomorrow?” and “The Land Is White.” “The Land Is White” has been sung only once, by Diana Krall, at Peterson’s funeral. The lyrics to “I Never Dreamed I’d Be Without You” were written by Canadian Songwriters Hall of Famer Harriette Hamilton, who also wrote the lyrics to Oscar’s “Hymn to Freedom.” Rocker (and husband of Diana Krall) Elvis Costello, wrote the lyrics to “The Land Is White” and Peterson himself wrote the lyrics to “Why Think About Tomorrow?”
For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca. Covering media may contact Melissa Mae Shipley via email at mshipley@stratfordfestival.ca for screener access.
The Northern Tracks Trailer
Pictured: Marcus Nance in performance. Photo by Kaitlyn Krestiankova.
Subscribe to Stratfest@Home for just $10 a month and gain access to the best in Canadian digital theatrical productions, including the Stratford Festival’s acclaimed Shakespeare films, selected productions from the 2021 and 2022 seasons, original digital content and selected events from the Festival’s Meighen Forum, along with documentaries and original content from around the world.
Support for Stratfest@Home and Stratford Festival On Film is generously provided by The John and Myrna Daniels Charitable Foundation, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, The Jenkins Family Foundation, The Henry White Kinnear Foundation, Elizabeth Lang and Family, Ophelia & Mike Lazaridis, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Sandra & Jim Pitblado, The Slaight Family Foundation, Robert & Jacqueline Sperandio, and an anonymous donor.
SERIES DETAILS
NORTHERN TRACKS: A CANADIAN MIXTAPE
A STRATFEST@HOME Production
Episode One: Leonard Cohen
“Dance Me to the End of Love”
Performed by ERICA PECK
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Bird on a Wire”
Performed by HEATHER McGUIGAN
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Song of Bernadette”
Performed by ROBERT MARKUS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Suzanne”
Performed by CHILINA KENNEDY
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Anthem”
Performed by MARCUS NANCE
Accompanied by FRANKLIN BRASZ
Episode Two: Buffy Sainte-Marie
“Now That the Buffalo’s Gone”
Performed by JACOB MacINNIS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Until It’s Time for You To Go”
Performed by BARBARA FULTON
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“Universal Soldier”
Performed by DAVID W. KEELEY
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“Cod’ine”
Performed by EVANGELIA KAMBITES
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“My Country Tis of Thy People You’re Dying”
Performed by JANI LAUZON
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
Episode Three: Neil Young
“Only Love Can Break Your Heart”
Performed by TIFFANY DERIVEAU
Accompanied by PAUL MOODY
“Helpless”
Performed by ROBERT MARKUS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“The Needle and the Damage Done”
Performed by BARBARA FULTON
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“Ohio”
Performed by BEAU DIXON
“Harvest Moon”
Performed by DAVID W. KEELEY
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
Episode Four: Rufus Wainwright
“Foolish Love”
Performed by KYLE BLAIR
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“J’ai Reve Toute La Nuit”
Performed by ALEXIS GORDON
Accompanied by RYAN deSOUZA
“Poses”
Performed by MIKE NADAJEWSKI
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“When In Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes”
Performed by ROBERT BALL
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk”
Performed by LUCY PEACOCK
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
Appearance by DEVIN ALEXANDER
Episode Five: Susan Aglukark
“O Siem”
Performed by THOM ALLISON
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Forgiveness”
Performed by JACOB MacINNIS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Walk With Me”
Performed by EVANGELIA KAMBITES
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“Journey Home”
Performed by ROBERT BALL
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“I Will Return”
Performed by TIFFANY DERIVEAU
Accompanied by PAUL MOODY
Episode Six: Joni Mitchell
“The Circle Game”
Performed by ROBERT MARKUS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“A Case of You”
Performed by CHILINA KENNEDY
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Cactus Tree”
Performed by MIKE NADAJEWSKI
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“The Last Time I Saw Richard”
Performed by DAVID W. KEELEY
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
“Both Sides Now”
Performed by LUCY PEACOCK
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
Episode Seven: Oscar Peterson
“Hymn to Freedom”
Performed by MARCUS NANCE
Accompanied by FRANKLIN BRASZ
“The Land Is White”
Performed by ALEXIS GORDON
Accompanied by RYAN deSOUZA
“I Never Dreamed I’d Be Without You”
Performed by TIFFANY DERIVEAU
Accompanied by PAUL MOODY
“Why Think About Tomorrow?”
Performed by ALANA BRIDGEWATER
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
Episode Eight: k.d. lang
“Trail of Broken Hearts”
Performed by ALANA BRIDGEWATER
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Miss Chatelaine”
Performed by HEATHER McGUIGAN
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Simple”
Performed by CHILINA KENNEDY
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Diet of Strange Places”
Performed by ERICA PECK
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Constant Craving”
Performed by ROBERT BALL
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
Episode Nine: Gordon Lightfoot
“Beautiful”
Performed by JACOB MacINNIS
Accompanied by WAYNE GWILLIM
“Talking In Your Sleep”
Performed by EVANGELIA KAMBITES
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Black Day in July”
Performed by BEAU DIXON
“Last Time I Saw Her Face”
Performed by CHILINA KENNEDY
Accompanied by ÉRIC CHARBONNEAU
“Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Performed by DAVID W. KEELEY
Accompanied by PAUL SHILTON
SERIES CREDITS
Creator RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
Directors RICHARD OUZOUNIAN, THOM ALLISON
Director of Photography NICHOLAS SHEILDS
Music Sound Editor THOMAS RYDER PAYNE
Producer GENNA DIXON
Production Manager CYNTHIA TOUSHAN
Production Coordinator MARIE FEWER-MUNCIC
Technical Director GREG DOUGHERTY
Camera Operators CAMERON HUCKER, AARON HUCKER, JORDAN KRUG, CHRISTOPHER PICKLE, DECLAN RINTOUL
Head Stage Carpenter ART FORTIN
Head of Electrics DOUGLAS LEDINGHAM, CHRISTOPHER WYLIE
Head of Properties, Stratford Festival DONA HRABLUK
Head of Properties ALAN HUGHES
Head of Sound MICHAEL DUNCAN
Sound Operators VERNE GOOD, ALLAN LAIDMAN, MICHAEL WALSH
Costume Director, Stratford Festival MICHELLE BARNIER
Head of Wardrobe, Stratford Festival DANA OSBORNE
Wardrobe Head INEZ KHAN
Wardrobe Attendant LUCI POTTLE
Head of Hair and Make-Up TRACY FRAYNE
Hair and Make-Up CAMESHA JOHNSON
On-Set Photographers KAITLYN KRESTIANKOVA, HEATHER McLEOD
Graphic Design by SUEDE PRODUCTIONS
Archival Interview Recordings CBC LICENSING
Research Assistants YASH CHHABRIA, VANESSA SHIELDS
Director of Music FRANKLIN BRASZ
Music Administrator JANICE OWENS
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