By Mary Alderson
Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre has kicked off the launch of its 2027 season with great fanfare and fun! If the shows they announced are even half as good as the performances promoting them, then we are in for a very good season.
Rob Kempson, the Capitol Theatre’s Artistic Director is excited. I had the chance to chat with him recently about his plans for the 2027 season, and he lit up at the opportunity to talk about his vision. “It’s a celebration of identity,” he explains, “Ten of the 11 plays we will be doing are Canadian.”
Kempson’s 5th season at the Capitol is about to wrap up with the Christmas panto. He sees this coming season as a look at “who we are”; in fact, that is the theme for 2027. It’s a chance for Canadians to look at themselves, with characters just like us right there on the stage.
Artistic Director Rob Kempson and Managing Director Erin Peirce. Photo by Sam Moffatt.
Four productions grace the Mainstage in 2027:
Canadian classic Salt-Water Moon by David French: A 1926 love story, set in Newfoundland. This is a play I’ve heard much about, but I must confess, I’ve never seen it on stage, and I’m really looking forward to it. Kempson is directing this play and he’s excited to have a real-life couple starring in it. Aaron Macpherson (And No Birds Sang, Prairie Nurse) and Yunike Soedarmasto (Hansel & Gretel, A Year with Frog & Toad, Rapunzel, Prairie Nurse) first met onstage at the Capitol when they worked on Prairie Nurse. The couple sent a charming video which was shown on the big screen. They certainly seem pleased to be back at the Capitol in Salt-Water Moon. May 14 – 30.
Modern Canadian comedy, The Birds and the Bees by Mark Crawford: Crawford wrote past favourites presented at the Capitol – Bed and Breakfast, and Stag and Doe. His plays are always funny, often with a little message and a tug at the heart strings. I call The Birds and the Bees a fun, sexy comedy for the over 65 crowd, but Kempson is quick to point out that the story has characters from the next generation, too. Crawford sent video greetings to the launch audience. I think this is his funniest play. June 11 – 27.
Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical Urinetown (Music & Lyrics by Mark Hollmann, Book & Lyrics by Greg Kotis): This is the only non-Canadian work on the roster. Urinetown, just as it sounds, is a musical about, yes, pee. And paying to pee. It’s actually a clever musical comedy about corrupt politicians and taxes. Get past the rather unappealing name of the show, and come for the laughs. Julie Lumsden sang “It’s a Privilege to Pee” with her fantastic belting voice. Yes, in Urinetown you are charged a fee to pee. July 16 – August 8. (More about Julie Lumsden and her own show Songs for Blondes below.)
A homecoming for the Capitol’s original musical Rez Gas by Cale Crowe & Genevieve Adam! This new production will be at the Capitol before it tours to the National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre in October of 2027. Rez Gas was developed through the Capitol’s Creators’ Unit, and is a finalist for this year’s national Carol Bolt Award for excellence in Canadian playwriting. If you didn’t see Rez Gas in 2025, here’s your chance before it moves to Ottawa. If you did see it, come and see it again to see if it’s evolved. Described by the writers as Come From Away meets Corner Gas, Rez Gas is about a young man coming to his own understanding of what home means. Cale Crowe, who along with Genevieve Adam, wrote this musical, sang the show’s opening number, a clever combination of rap and song. August 20 – September 6.
The Capitol’s 2027 winter holiday musical will be the world premiere of The Emperor’s New Clothes: A Pins & Needles Panto, written and directed by Kempson himself. Here’s how he describes it: “When the clothing-obsessed Emperor is told about a most magnificent new fabric, visible only to those who are worthy of his respect, he cannot wait to commission the most beautiful outfit for the upcoming parade. But his pride gets the best of him, and everyone ends up showing off their birthday suit! With songs you love, hilarious characters, and a twisted story about telling the truth, our annual holiday panto in 2027 will shock, surprise, and delight audiences of all ages!” Joel Cumber, who played Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad, sang Madonna’s “Material Girl”. Cumber nailed it with his wonderful voice, and Kempson informed us that they did not have to change the key for him; he sang it just the way Madonna did! November 19 – January 1.
For the third year in a row, the Capitol has also programmed a rich Second Stage Series:
The world premiere of Songs for Blondes, written and performed by Julie Lumsden. You may remember Lumsden as the airplane pilot in Come From Away this past summer, where she perfectly belted the show’s 11:00 o’clock number “Me and the Sky”. A raven-haired beauty herself, she will be performing a concert of songs written for blondes. To give us another sample of her powerful voice, she sang “Popular”, as sung by the character Glinda in Wicked, made famous by Kristen Chenoweth. Lumsden sang this tricky number perfectly (and I’ve seen Kristen do it in the show) including the cute comedic action to go with it.
Julie Lumsden as the pilot in Come From Away. Photo by Sam Moffatt.
Playlist, written and performed by Ivan Coyote. They have crafted a playlist of stories and songs on how they managed to discover a coded but very possible queer, trans, and non-binary future hidden in songs. Coyote heard the music coming out of the AM radio in the kitchen, lurking in their parent’s record collection, and leaking out of the lyrics in their elementary school musical. Coyote sent greetings on the big screen.
Performance Review, written and performed by Rosamund Small, will be an immersive experience. It will be the first full production to be performed outside of the Capitol, taking place across the street at Milly’s Market, Port Hope. Milly’s will replicate the Second Cup where Small first worked when she was just out of high school. Small presented one of the seven scenes that will come to life at Milly’s. She is a great entertainer and story teller – she had the audience’s rapt attention laughing at her hilarious story, at the launch event. She will serve coffee to the audience of 50 that will be present at Milly’s, while telling her entertaining stories, inspired by true events. The proprietor of Milly’s, Liza Smith, was also welcomed on stage.
Rosamund Small. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
The Capitol also hosts concerts year-round in its historic venue.
In 2027 the Capitol’s Music Lovers’ Series will centre around three original works:
Piano Heist, created and performed by Nico Rhodes and Patrick Courtin. The pair both play keyboards or pianos, while keeping up witty banner. Remember when the Smothers Brothers played and sang with frequent funny interruptions? Or perhaps these performers are more like Victor Borge. The launch night audience had a taste of the keyboards and comedy on screen.
Over the Rainbow: The Harold Arlen Story is conceived and directed by Adrian Marchuk. You may remember Marchuk as half of How We Got to Jersey: Tale of Two Frankies with Jeff Madden in 2025. Marchuk has put together a concert of music written by Harold Arlen. Among Arlen’s compositions are “Stormy Weather”, “Get Happy”, “Paper Moon”, “Come Rain or Come Shine”, and the classic “Over the Rainbow”, which was sung beautifully at the launch be Taylor Lovelace. Lovelace has a show later this month at the Capitol called I’m Every Woman: The Whitney Houston Songbook.
Taylor Lovelace
Feelin’ Bublé, created and performed by Jay Davis provides an evening of Michael Bublé’s hits. With Davis’ silky-smooth voice and charming stage presence, you will feel like you’re at a Bublé concert listening to Canada’s favourite crooner. Davis will be backed by a live band, and on launch night we had an amazing sample of him singing a marvellous Bublé hit.
Jay Davis in Feelin’ Bublé.