by WGO staff
The Cape Breton Summertime Revue returns for 2019 with some big surprises. Well, they’re not really surprises anymore, but certainly some very big news.
After wrapping up a highly-successful eight-season stint as the quick-witted and hilarious Trudy Walsh on the hit CBC comedy show Mr. D, and a stellar tour of the music and comedy show Island Girls, Bette MacDonald is returning to the Cape Breton Summertime Revue.
Known for such beloved characters as Mary Morrison and her iconic catch-phrase of “Good Dear, Good”, MacDonald captured the hearts of show-goers for nearly a decade as a featured performer with the original Revue. Her ability to send an audience into raucous laughter with just the lift of an eyebrow or a snappy one-liner from her original and memorable characters, quickly earned her the loyalty of large audiences everywhere.
Since her first Revue days, MacDonald has added a long list of credits to her name. She is a comedian, actor, writer and Gemini Award winner who has been performing on television, radio, and on stages across the country to sold-out houses and critical raves. She also stars in and is co-writer of Tis The Season, a holiday-themed show that has toured in Nova Scotia with great success for the past 12 years.
Audiences can expect to see MacDonald’s signature characters return to the Revue stage as well as a few new ones as she joins fellow performers Jenn Sheppard (who also toured with MacDonald during Island Girls), Jordan Musycsyn, Margaret MacPherson, Peter MacInnis and the MacArthur dancers. The Revue band features some of Cape Breton’s top musicians, including Allie Bennet, Brian Talbot, Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen (of Còig), who are under the direction of band leaders Stephen Muise and Fred Lavery. The show will once again be directed by Maynard Morrison, who will also be appearing on stage during this year’s production.
Featuring comical, topical, local content, mixed with a light-hearted Cape Breton perspective and top-notch original and traditional music, the Revue built on the success of The Rise & Follies of Cape Breton Island (1977, 1980, 1981 and 1985), and was staged annually from 1986 until 1998 with reunion productions in 2010 and 2011. In 2015, the show was revived as The Cape Breton Summertime Revue: The Next Generation for a run at the Savoy Theatre and it has been going strong ever since. [Read an incomplete and subjective history of the Summertime Revue here.]
The 2019 Cape Breton Summertime Revue plays at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay July 23, 24, 25, August 6, 7, 8, 14 and at SAERC Auditorium in Port Hawkesbury on July 31. They are also taking the show on the road with dates on the Mainland in Pictou (July 28-29) and Halifax (July 30). Tickets are available for the Savoy shows at the Savoy Theatre Box Office (116 Commercial Street, Glace Bay; 9am-4pm, Monday to Friday), by phone 902-842-1577 and online.
