Theatre Calgary Gets Set To Launch World Premiere of BOOM YZ This October

Theatre Calgary is getting ready to welcome Rick Miller back to wow our audiences as he brings the world premiere of his one-man show BOOM YZ to the Max Bell stage. The show, produced by Kidoons and WYRD Productions, in association with Theatre Calgary and The 20K Collective, is the third and final chapter in the BOOM trilogy. His previous shows BOOM (2014) and BOOM X (2018) also received their premieres at Theatre Calgary.

Picking up where BOOM X left off in 1995, BOOM YZ brings to life the people and music that have shaped our last quarter-century. Miller plays more than 100 characters (in 100 minutes) from Generations Y and Z, including his own daughter, to reflect on the aspirations and anxieties of young people today, and brings his multi-generational BOOM series to a compelling close. There is no better way to return to our theatre than with the visual wonder and spectacle of music, personal stories and multimedia that Miller ignites on stage.

"BOOM was the story of my parents generation, BOOM X was the story of my generation, and now BOOM YZ is the story of my kid's generation and the world they are inheriting from us," says Miller. "I want to help build bridges between generations, and not walls. Telling the stories of these generations is what I can do."

"What makes BOOM YZ so fitting to open our 2021-22 season, is Miller's plays are true love letters to the theatre, "says Stafford Arima, Theatre Calgary's Artistic Director. "BOOM YZ (like its predecessors) is pure theatre - a simple stage, one performer, engaging text, a few songs, and some lights and projections that all come together to create captivating characters and cultural icons sharing an engaging narrative. That is what theatre is at its purest level - making magic within a black box, while transporting an audience to Babylon, Xanadu, and Beyond."

While Miller not only performs in the show, he is also the writer, director, video & projection co-designer, and set and sound designer. With him on this show are Aidan Ware (lighting designer, technical director), Nicolas Dostie (video and projection co-designer), Irina Litvinenko (video and projection co-designer), Virginie Leclerc (costume and props designer), Craig Francis (stage manager, dramaturg), Laurel ONeil (stage manager), and script consultants Maev Beaty, Ryan Cunningham, and Sébastien Heins. The executive producer of BOOM YZ is Jeff Lord.

Heading back into the Max Bell Theatre for audiences this season will come with new health and safety measures in place. Proof of double vaccination (or negative test within 72 hours) will be required, along with mandatory masks in the theatre during the performance.

Performances at Theatre Calgary run Tuesday thru Sunday with evening curtain at 7:30pm (Tuesday-Sunday), weekend matinees at 2:00pm. Tickets start as low as $38, and can be purchased through Theatre Calgary at 403-294-7447, or online at theatrecalgary.com. All performances take place at the Max Bell Theatre in Arts Commons.

For all public performance showtime and up-to-date information, along with comfort and safety protocols, please visit theatrecalgary.com. Calgary's first professional theatrical company, Theatre Calgary's mission is to stimulate, provoke, and delight through ambitious programming created to ignite local, national, and international engagement. For more information, visit us at theatrecalgary.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

To post a comment, you must register and login.