It’s summer already!  I wanted to let you know  that my writing partner, Doug Hughes, and I have had a very busy few months.  In the Spring we were delighted to hear that our play TOO MANY COOKS had been picked up for publication by Samuel French Inc. NYC.  It will be joining our other plays WHO’S UNDER WHERE? and  A PARTY TO MURDER in the SF catalogue and, like its sister plays have done over the years, we anticipate that it will now reach audiences around the world.   Speaking of which, we just found out that A PARTY TO MURDER was recently produced in Shanghai –in a Chinese translation!  Too bad we weren’t able to go and see it! WHO’S UNDER WHERE? has been done in Pakistan, Turkey and Greece to name a few of the more exotic places it has visited! And it is now available in five languages!

Back home we’ve been plugging away on our new comedy, JACK OF DIAMONDS, and have completed the first draft. We look forward to picking it up again in the Fall and moving it along into a second draft–with an eye to a workshop.  We anticipate it will be ready for perusal by end of the year, so watch this spot for updates. You’re going to want to read it!  Finally, look out for Top of the Pops-The British Invasion, opening in December at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Canada. It’s a jukebox musical I wrote with Van Wilmott and it’s a blast. It contains close to 100 tunes and some very recognizable characters all performed by a  super-talented cast.  

Enjoy your summer and see you later!

 This is my first ever blog and I’m not too sure what to say. Since we’re approaching the end of the year I guess I’ll just babble a bit about what’s been going on.  It’s been a bit of a banner season for me.

My new play For This Moment Alone premiered in March at Theatre Aquarius which was super-exciting. A wonderful cast and a tremendous reception from the audience made me very proud. It took a long time to write that piece–which is based on a true story–and I’m glad I stuck with it.

In the summer I directed the “newly envisioned “Anne of Green Gables at the Charlottetown Festival. For those who don’t know, this lovely Canadian musical had been running annually for the past 46 years–with the same set and costume designs.
For the first time since it premiered we “re-envisioned it” on many levels but without changing a note of the music or a word of the script. In essence we took it from the drop-show it was written to be and transformed the way we told the story, making it more –well, modern! A challenge for all but in the end a wonderful success. The costumes remained the same but the set was totally new–designed by Doug Paraschuk with video projections by Sean Neuenhuis and lighting by Leigh Ann Vardy. A great company of actors and a brand new Anne (Tess Benger) made the show a joy.

Meanwhile, in Quebec City, my show Discovering Elvis (A La Recherche d’Elvis) was getting a slap-up production at Theatre Beaumont-St. Michel.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it but the reviews are stunning and so are the little bits I see on You Tube –and, since it was such a hit– it extended! All very cool. The show is very popular in Quebec–it’s been produced there about 6 times now, in various cities including Montreal, and it also toured the province.

Back in Ontario, I was lucky enough to direct my play Who’s Under Where? (written with Doug Hughes) for Drayton Entertainment. It was, once again, a wild hit –which was great to see. The show is almost 20 years old now and I haven’t seen it in about 15 years, so getting to direct it again and watch it still work was very gratifying.

In September my screenplay (written with Mary Colin Chisholm) now titled ” A Belly Full” was optioned by Tall Order Films in L.A. Very exciting. Fingers crossed it will go the distance .  As the year closes out, my juke-box show Poodle Skirts to Platform Shoes– will entertain the Christmas crowd at Theatre Aquarius. It too has a fabulous cast. How lucky can a girl get?

I guess that’s it for now. The first blog is done. See you soon!