The SaskExpress musical theatre troupe brought its action-packed summer show to the Prince of Wales Centre鈥檚 auditorium in Assiniboia on July 5. The group鈥檚 new show called 鈥淥h! Canada 2017 Summer Tour鈥� celebrates Canada150. This is the last show featuring the choreography from out-going musical director Carol Gay Bell. The new artistic director Danny Balkwill, Saskatchewan Express alumni, acted as the vocal coach and music director for this show and starts his new show in the fall.
The 14 cast members sang and danced to well known tunes from every era, genre and style of music in Canada from the patriotic to the pop. The show was fast-paced, but still served up a balance between high energy song and dance like BTO鈥檚 鈥淭aking Care of Business鈥� and quieter dreamy pieces like Connie Kaldor鈥檚 鈥淲ood River鈥�. In between songs, cast members gave brief historical vignettes and histories of Canadian song. The entire cast was engaged in each performance singing either lead or back up and dancing.
The musical selections resonated with the audience and they performed a broad range of hits from famous songs written by Canadians like 鈥淎ge of Aquarius鈥� to music from classic artists like Gordon Lightfoot and today鈥檚 rising stars like Jess Moskaluke. The audience heard trendy pop by artists like Carley Rae Jepson and Justin Bieber as well as a medley of hits by Juno award winners Shaun Mendez and Drake. They showcased Canadian jazz and paid tribute to Leonard Cohen with a cover of his best-known 鈥淗alleluiah鈥�.
Saskatchewan Express performers are chosen from all across the province and this concert demonstrated that they are true ambassadors of song for the whole country.
