Latest news with #FridayonMy
Montreal Gazette
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Friday on My Mind: A Queen musical, a mini ska fest and a roller-skating bash
Friday on My Mind is a highly subjective, curated rundown of five of the cooler things happening in Montreal on the weekend. We Will Rock You Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Théâtre St-Denis Steve Bolton is a big Queen fan and apparently he is far from the only Quebecer who really digs this iconic British rock band. We Will Rock You, a brand-new Québécois adaptation of the hit jukebox musical that opened in London's West End in 2002, has already sold more than 25,000 tickets for its Quebec run. It continues at Théâtre St-Denis until May 18 and then moves down the highway to Théâtre Capitole in Quebec City, where it runs from June 20 to July 13. It will also be playing in the fall at Amphithéâtre Cogeco in Trois-Rivières and Théâtre du Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. Bolton, who is the director of the show, has loved the band fronted by the late Freddie Mercury since he was a kid. 'I'm a classic-rock fan,' said Bolton, who has worked extensively as a choreographer and director, with the Cirque du Soleil and for numerous TV shows, including So You Think You Can Dance Canada. 'So it worked out that I got this opportunity, because I love classic rock. I grew up on Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Zeppelin, Queen, Genesis, you name it. With my dad, when I was growing up, that's all we listened to. Like Chris de Burgh and Gowan. On road trips, it was Pink Floyd.' Annie Villeneuve portrays the Killer Queen in the show, and yes, she does belt out the Queen song that inspired her character's name. She said she's become a Queen fan because of the musical, admitting that she only discovered many of the deep-catalogue Queen tracks when she began working on the project. 'Every song has its own special particularity, often inspired by different musical genres,' said Villeneuve. We Will Rock You features 25 Queen songs, including all of their biggest successes, notably Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love, Another One Bites the Dust, We Are the Champions, Under Pressure and Don't Stop Me Now. Villeneuve's Killer Queen, as the name suggests, is the villain, 'a character who is so far from my own personality,' said Villeneuve. 'She's always raging and is super egotistical. It's really not me. But she's a character that's really fun to play.' It's set in a world where music has been banned but there's a rebel group, the Bohemians, fighting to keep the musical spark alive. 'It's about the quest to not be drowned out by what's artificial,' said Bolton. 'It's to appreciate and not forget our past. It's to not forget music, to not forget things that make us feel.' Roller skating All weekend at Esplanade Tranquille During the winter, ice skating's the thing at Esplanade Tranquille, the cool public space on Clark St. just above Ste-Catherine St. in the Quartier des spectacles. But with the warmer weather, it's time to ditch your ice skates and grab a pair of roller skates. Saturday night at 7, it's Skating Back in the Eras, a roller dance party for skaters of all levels. There will be a performance by the students from the Skate With Marly roller dance school and lots of old-school music. On Sunday at 4 p.m. there will be a roller derby demonstration with the folks from Montréal Roller Derby. On Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., there will be roller-skating lessons for beginners. Skates will be loaned out for free, but you are encouraged to bring your own protective gear. Centre Greene carnival Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. at Centre Greene The Westmount community centre will be throwing a big 35th birthday bash Saturday, with arts, crafts, face painting, a silent auction, bake sale, line dancing and a Zumba session. Free entry. Puces POP Friday 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Église St-Denis Head down to the church right by the Laurier métro station to check out POP Montreal's coolster artisanal fair and maybe snare your last-minute Mother's Day gifts. There will be booths selling jewelry, ceramics, body-care products, food, clothes and art. Free entrance. Information: The Planet Smashers Saturday at 7 p.m. at Théâtre Beanfield Astonishingly enough, the Planet Smashers have been rocking their high-energy ska thing for over 30 years now. The Montreal band will be headlining a major punky ska bash Saturday at the place I still call the Corona Theatre, with fellow ska disciples Mustard Plug from Grand Rapids, Mich.; Big D and the Kids Table from Boston; and Faintest Idea from the U.K. So yeah, ska is alive and well (and this is a good thing!).
Montreal Gazette
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Friday on My Mind: Blue Metropolis, a Strokes cover band, Mean Girls top cool agenda
Friday on My Mind is a highly subjective, curated rundown of five of the cooler things happening in Montreal on the weekend. Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival Friday to Sunday at Hotel 10. There are many intriguing authors to check out at this year's Blue Metropolis, but arguably the hottest ticket is Salman Rushdie. The Indian-born author — best-known for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses — will be given the Blue Met's 2025 Grand Prix on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Hotel 10 and at the event he will interviewed by longtime CBC Radio host Eleanor Wachtel. 'He's a great author and the goal of the festival has always to bring together writers with different points of view,' said Blue Met director of programming Marie-Andrée Lamontagne. 'Salman Rushdie has become an icon of freedom of expression because of some tragic circumstances. He's also just published a remarkable book, which is why we want to give him the Grand Prix. He receives it for his work but also as someone who represents freedom of expression and freedom of the imagination. These things are particularly important in the era we're living in right now.' Rushdie was the object of several assassination attempts and many death threats after the publication of The Satantic Verses and he survived a stabbing in New York in 2022 that resulted in the loss of his left eye. Last year he published an autobiographical book inspired by that vicious attack, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. Other authors set to take part in the literary festival include British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, German author Peter Wohlleben, and American novelist Stephen Graham Jones. Wachtel will also interview Montreal author Madeleine Thien, whose latest novel The Book of Records comes out May 6. Lamontagne underlines that the fest continues the mission of founder Linda Leith to try to bring the city's anglo and franco literary communities together. 'This is important for me personally and for Blue Metropolis,' said Lamontagne. 'There is programming in English and programming in French. I also like to program bilingual events whenever possible with bilingual hosts. Language should never be an obstacle. Blue Metropolis is all about the circulation of languages.' Tickets and info: Gala Dynastie This is the ninth edition of the annual gala that rewards artists, creators and personalities from Black communities in the province. This year's ceremony is hosted by comedian Garihanna Jean-Louis. The evening will also include a tribute to Quebec comic Anthony Kavannagh. Tickets: View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Brokes (@ The Brokes Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Fairmount Theatre. All you need to know to sell you on this one is the band's Instagram tag line: 'Too broke to Stroke? Try ... The Brokes.' The Brokes are a Strokes cover band from Toronto (of all places, just seems like the least Strokes-like city!) who pay tribute to the legendary too-cool Manhattan garage band from the early aughts. In a New York Times piece on them last year, one fan said: 'Being here feels like being at a Strokes nerd fest. The Brokes play deep cuts, songs the Strokes would never play live at some big stadium today.' 'Nuff said. Strokes nerds are thus alerted! Tickets: South Asian Film Festival Friday to Sunday at the DeSève Cinema in Concordia's Webster Library Building. Don't tell Donald Trump. This week's film fest — yes there is apparently one every single week of the year — proclaims in its press materials that 'Diversity, equity, inclusion and cinematographic merit' power its programming choices! Shocking, I know. Kidding aside, it's another popular film festival that provides a welcome alternative to the Hollywood shlock at the nearby multiplex. Shambhala, for example, the opening-night film, is set in a Himalayan village in Nepal and tells the story of a pregnant woman who heads out on a quest to find her husband who has gone missing. Mean Girls Friday to Sunday at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts. This is the first time in Montreal you get to see a touring version of the hit critically acclaimed Broadway musical based on the Hollywood flick of the same name penned by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey. There's undoubtedly an audience for this but me I'm not a musicals kind of guy and I didn't become any more enthused when I read the last line of The Guardian's review of the original Broadway production: 'Here's the best/worst thing you can say about Mean Girls: it's nice.'
