KITCHEN RADIO Opens Blyth Festival's 40th Season Today

Blyth Festival opens its 40th Season with the world premiere of a new country musical, KITCHEN RADIO, written by Blyth's Artistic Director Marion de Vries and co-composer David Archibald. Directed by Kelli Fox, KITCHEN RADIO plays at Blyth Memorial Hall from today, June 25 - August 9. Full of heart and humor, KITCHEN RADIO will be 'unplugged' to feature the beautiful, natural acoustics of the hall. Tickets are available by calling Blyth Festival's box office at 519.523.9300 or toll free at 1.877.862.5984, or online at blythfestival.com.

THE STORY: It's September 1968 and Eleanor, the lonely young wife of a bank manager, is unpacking boxes yet again, this time in a small farming town. Because she and Dan move so often, her only friends are the female country musical stars she listens to on her kitchen radio and she imagines she is one of them. Suddenly Elly finds herself entangled in the lives of local women - Sophie, Maggie, Helen and Angela - and her world is turned upside down!

THE COMPANY:

DAVID ARCHIBALD (Duane, Musical Director, Co-composer) | David's Blyth credits include Dear Johnny Deere (Music Director), Spirit of the Inland Sea (Concert), Perilous Pirate's Daughter (Composer/Co-author), The Ballad of Stompin' Tom (Musician) and Hometown (Composer/Musical Director).

REBECCA AUERBACH (Sophie) | Rebecca is thrilled to return for her fifth season with Blyth Festival. Audiences may remember her from Dear Johnny Deere, Reverend Jonah, Queen Milli of Galt, Another Season's Harvest or The Ballad of Stompin' Tom. Rebecca is an actor, musician and emerging writer based out of Toronto.

JASON CHESWORTH (John) | Jason was last seen at Blyth in Dear Johnny Deere. Other credits include Spoon River (Soulpepper, Global Cabaret Fest.), The Bricklin (Theatre New Brunswick), The Christian Republican Fundraiser In Dayton, Tennessee (Toronto Fringe '08), The Shape of Things (Manitoba Theatre Centre) and many roles with the Shaw Festival.

MARION DAY (Helen) | Marion is thrilled to be here in her seventh season: Beyond The Farm Show, Having Hope at Home, Hometown, Rope's End, Bordertown Café, The Book of Esther, Harvest, The Mail Order Bride, Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott. Other theatre includes work with the Stratford Festival as well as with Touchmark Theatre, Shakespeare Works and Mercury Theatre.

MARION de VRIES (Playwright) | Marion is an award-winning playwright. Her solo plays are big face (Finalist - Chalmers Play Award), mercedes and idiot (SummerWorks Contra Guy Playwright Award). She co-wrote Jumping Mouse with Columpa C. Bobb (Dora nomination), and the musical Ship of Fire with Suzanne Pasternak and Tom Leighton (Festival Players of Prince Edward County). Marion wrote her new musical Kitchen Radio while Canada Council Playwright in Residence at Blyth Festival.

KELLI FOX (Director) | Kelli's directing credits include This Wide Night at the Summerworks Festival 2013, Anthropocene for The Wrecking Ball and With Individual Desire, based on events in the life of American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. She has assisted Tadeusz Bradecki on Candida at the Shaw Festival and Max Reimer on The Last Resort for Regina's Globe Theatre. Acting credits include Nightwood Theatre's 2012 Dora award-winning The Penelopiad, twelve seasons with the Shaw Festival and three with the Stratford Festival.

GREG GALE (Dan) | Greg was last seen at Blyth Festival in Vimy. Other credits include Other Desert Cities (Grand Theatre), Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew (Canadian Stage), Sudden Death (NextStage Festival), The CN Tower Show (Theatre Passe Muraille), The Great Gatsby (Grand Theatre), His Greatness (Iarts/ Factory), Ghost Stories (Mirvish) and Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show (Architect Theatre), which he co-created.

NICOLE JOY-FRASER (Maggie) | Nicole is an actress, singer and dancer of mixed Woodland Cree, Métis and European descent. She has performed with a wide variety of companies around the world including the original North American cast of Mamma Mia!, the multi-award winning West End cast of Jerry Springer-The Opera, and the UK tour of Beauty and the Beast.

ELIZABETH KALLES (Eleanor) | Elizabeth is making her Blyth debut. She received her BFA Acting degree from the University of Windsor, where some of her past roles include Natasha in Three Sisters and Athena Sinclair in Suite Surrender.

EMILY LUKASIK (Angela) | Emily is entering her fourth year of Music Theatre Performance at Sheridan College, where she recently played Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House and Marathon of Hope. Other credits include Newfoundland Songbook, Country Jubilee (Stephenville Theatre Festival); Chess, High School Musical, and Mimi in Rent (Theatre Aquarius Performing Arts Program).

THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Kitchen Radio is designed by Laura Gardner (set), Jennifer Triemstra-Johnston (costumes), Rebecca Picherack (lighting) and Todd Charlton (sound). The production is stage managed by Crystal MacDonell (Production Stage Manager) and Heather Thompson (Assistant Stage Manager). Anita Nittoly is the Fight Director.

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