Men got you down at lunch?

By Nadirah Noordin

When the night becomes their salvation and the blues become their therapy, three women realize being hurt by a man is not the end-all be-all of the world. Set in the 30s and overflowing with songs by legendary female blues singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, Blues in the Night promises an emotional roller coaster, beginning with sorrow and ending with hope.


Set in a rundown , seedy hotel, the musical focuses on one night of these women’s lives. The three main female characters–a girl, a lady and a woman–tell of their, as the people at Lunchbox describe them, “sweet, sexy, and sorrowful experiences with a snake of a man.” Unlike other musicals like Oklahoma and West Side Story, there is no spoken text throughout Blues in the Night. Instead, the main form of communication is the blues. Art director Johanne Deleeuw claims, “the musical can be seen as a journey of the blues and the cathartic nature of the blues allows the women an opportunity to get their emotions out there.”


Boasting a cast of Jackie Richardson, Natascha Girgis, and Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, under the musical direction of legendary Calgary Bluesman Tim Williams, the musical is the first of the 30th season of Lunchbox Theatre. Brian Craik designed the set and costumes with lighting by Peter Cochrane and stage managing by Marcie Januska.


“We wanted to start off the 30th season of Lunchbox Theater with some old friends,” claims Deleeuw. Four of the cast and crew have previously worked together on Big Mama: The Willie Mae Thornton Story. Keyboardist Ron Casat, director John Cooper, Calgary Bluesman Tim Williams and blues songstress Jackie Richardson all share the stage again to begin the 30th season with a bang.


Who could say no to an afternoon filled with rants and stories of a two-faced man all of us have known in our lives? I certainly couldn’t. In the midst of a busy day, stop for a while, breathe, and think of the man who got right under your skin, and check out the latest offering from Lunchbox Theatre.

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