We had a new experience last Friday night. We actually attended a premiere of a movie in Toronto. No, sorry, there was no red carpet, but we were welcomed at the cinema by writer/composer/actor Eli Batalion. Soon several of the stars arrived, and after purchasing the requisite popcorn, everyone headed into the theatre to see the Canadian Premiere of the horror-musical-comedy movie, Stage Fright.
It was a thrill to meet Steffi D (AKA Steffi DiDomenicantonio) a former Canadian Idol top 5 finalist. I was also star-struck meeting Ephraim Ellis. I recognized him from one of my favourite TV shows, Murdock Mysteries, where he played newspaper reporter Paddy Glenn who was also the “Kissing Bandit”. Meeting actor Kent Nolan was very exciting – he’s appeared in almost every Canadian TV show, from Corner Gas to Little Mosque on the Prairie. In fact, I had just seen him recently on TV in the movie Christmas Song, as Carlo who uses a wheelchair. It was also great to meet Leeanne Miller and Ryan Bobkin, both of whom have good parts in Stage Fright.
Unfortunately, two big names weren’t at the premiere: Minnie Driver and Meat Loaf. But we saw lots of both of them on the big screen. Minnie Driver is currently on TV in the new sit-com About a Boy, but I loved her in Will and Grace as Lorraine Finster. Meat Loaf, of course, is the voice of the 1977 hit album Bat Out of Hell. He is also remembered for his part in another horror musical, Rocky Horror Picture Show
In Stage Fright, children are attending a musical theatre summer camp, when a maniac who hates musical theatre geeks systematically starts killing them off, in gory murder scenes. It is billed as “Scream” meets “Glee”.
Our son, Thomas, plays the role of David Martin, the stage manager. He was unable to attend the premiere; he’s performing in Mary Poppins at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax.
The movie was filmed in September 2012 at a summer camp near Parry Sound. Ironically, it is indeed a musical theatre camp that Thomas actually attended as a kid!
Anyway, it was great to be at the opening and meet some of the cast. And while the show is very gory with many frightening scenes, there’s a lot of fun, too.
Here’s a trailer for Stage Fright: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmzxIBTPfJA
And a featurette:
1 thought on “Stage Fright: Frightening and Funny!”
It must have been a disappointment that Thomas wasn’t there! He’s a busy guy! Glad you enjoyed it in spite of Thomas missing! I’ve been watching “About a Boy, with Minnie Driver”, and I quite enjoy the show!