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Music of the Beatles
September 16, 2026
Real Stories and Emotions Reviewed by Marilu Murphy Taking my seat in the balcony and glancing at the stage, I immediately stepped back into my childhood. A wave of pure nostalgia hit me the moment I saw those photos. Suddenly, I was a kid again, smelling the sweet wrappers and tasting the gum that came with those prized cards. They held my first true crushes. I treasured every piece of cardboard, falling in love with Paul one day, and George, John, or Ringo the next. I loved them all, they were the Beatles. Music of the Beatles is now on stage at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia. The backdrop was smartly lit with tiny lights and many screens showcasing early Beatles photos. The stage set looked instantly familiar—the drum kit a similar replica of the one Ringo sat behind, reminding me right away of their historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I remember being immediately caught up in the excitement all over again, just like when I was a kid, watching those four long-haired guys play their guitars while jumping up and down on our sofa. Marc Payne, Mr. Music himself, has done it again with Music Of The Beatles. He has brought another amazing and jaw dropping performance to the Victoria Playhouse. Taking the stage to recreate that legendary moment, the band was identically dressed in sharp black suits, crisp white shirts, and narrow black ties. Marc Payne and Nathan Nykor each had their keyboards, with Matt Ballagh on guitar, Malcolm Connor on bass, and Evan Chambers sitting behind that wonderful drum kit. The first song is “Its a Hard Days Night” and along with that clean performance by Alex Baerg, Colleen Furlan, Seth Zosky and Jenn Kee comes some of the history of The Fab Four making their debut on ...
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Mary's Musings
Karen Coughlin-Melo AKA Linda Ronstadt!
June 15, 2026
Great to see Karen on stage! By Mary Alderson, June 14, 2026 It was a delight to see the beautiful and very talented Karen Coughlin-Melo in a tribute concert as Linda Ronstadt last week. We used to see Karen on a regular basis, starting in 2005, when she had a lead role in a cute little musical called Suds. Suds was presented at the Hiawatha Horse Park near Sarnia. At the time it was touted to be a future location for musical theatre, but I think Suds was the only show presented there. The next time we saw Karen on stage was also in 2005, when she starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend. She performed the same role the next year at the Grand Theatre in London. She sang all the Belle songs beautifully. Also in 2006, she played Patsy Cline in the musical A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, where she wowed the audience with her country sound. In 2007, she was the beloved Miss Stacey, the school teacher, in Anne of Green Gables at the Grand Theatre. Her clear, bell-like voice was perfect for the role of everyone’s favourite teacher. In 2010, she was back at Huron Country Playhouse as part of the Country Legends show, where Karen again sang some Patsy Cline favourites, among others. Later in 2010, she played the prim and proper Sarah Brown, the Salvation-Army-type woman, in the hit musical Guys and Dolls at Drayton Theatre. To finish off 2010, Karen was the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Grand Theatre in London. Here’s what I had to say about Karen in my review: “Karen Coughlin is incredibly good as the Narrator. Her voice is in ...
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