Latest news with #TonyLePage
CTV News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Broadway star returns to New Brunswick for local production of ‘Come From Away'
Cast of Broadway Across Canada's production of Come From Away Call it the summer of 'Come From Away,' as the popular musical is taking over stages in Saint John and Saint Andrews, N.B., in August and September. The show, which follows residents of Gander, Newfoundland, as they help thousands of passengers on diverted planes on Sept. 11, 2001, will have its first-ever New Brunswick production at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John and the KIRA Amphitheatre in Saint Andrews. Tony LePage, a Fredericton-born actor who starred in the Apple TV+ version of the show, will reprise his role and co-director with his wife Courtney for this production. 'This is the place where I got my start,' LePage said. 'I was doing local productions back the '90s. For me to have gone away and gotten to Broadway and bring my experiences to my home province is incredibly important to me.' The upcoming show will be a collaborative project between Rogue Productions, the Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts and the Saint John Theatre Company, which announced the production on Monday as part of their 35th birthday celebrations. 'We wanted to do something special,' said Stephen Tobias, artistic director of the theatre company. 'The stars lined up. Tony has a real affinity for the material and we're really anxious to share this with our community. 'It gets to be a provincewide collaboration. It's in the spirit of the play. A project like this can bring us together and let us build partnerships.' LePage said the play's message of hope and kindness is something he hopes resonates with audiences. 'We could all use a reminder that helping people and being kind is something the world could use more of,' he said. The show will run from Aug. 22 to 24 and Aug. 29 to 31 at the KIRA Amphitheatre before moving to the Imperial Theatre for Sept. 10 to 13. Tickets will go on sale for the general public on Wednesday. Halifax, Charlottetown shows Neptune Theatre and the Confederation Centre for the Arts are teaming up to bring 'Come From Away' to Halifax and Charlottetown next year. The show will run in Halifax from March 31 to May 24, and in Charlottetown from July 2 to September 26, 2026. 'Since its premiere in 2015, Come From Away has been the most-requested show by Islanders and we are so excited to finally present it at the Festival. We are thrilled to be partnering with another Atlantic Canadian theatre to share a story that celebrates home and the best of humankind,' said Adam Brazier, artistic director of performing arts at Confederation Centre of the Arts, in a news release. 'At a time of increasing divisiveness, this show resonates more than ever. It is a story that reminds Canadians who we are in the world and what it means to be a good neighbour.' Tickets for the Charlottetown show will go on sale in June and the Neptune tickets will go on sale on Aug. 5.
Hamilton Spectator
08-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Looking for your next favourite vacation spot in Canada? Consider these ‘alts' to popular destinations
Only in Canada is a new travel series that acts as a love letter to the bucket-list destinations and experiences in our beautiful country. Look for the Only in Canada series every week. With domestic travel expected to see a boom this spring and summer, some of Canada's most popular destinations will no doubt be even busier. But in this huge country of ours, options abound. Here are five alternatives to consider for your next great Canadian vacation, and what makes them truly special, according to people in the know. If you love Lake Louise, visit: Golden, B.C. In the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by six stunning national parks — Yoho, Glacier, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Mount Revelstoke — the town of Golden has all the activities you'll find in Lake Louise, and then some. There's access to plenty of beautiful (and less crowded) lakes, including Emerald Lake with its dazzling turquoise waters. And because it isn't actually inside a national park, Golden also offers activities you couldn't do in one, such as ATVing, white-water rafting and skydiving. 'What makes this place truly special is that it offers a classic mountain town experience, where nobody feels like a tourist and everybody fits right in,' says local Kelly Cytko, executive director of the Golden Cycling Club. The small town is home to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort bike park (with trails for beginners to pros), as well as attractions like the Golden Skybridge. An outdoor playground that includes Canada's highest suspension bridge, the Skybridge also hosts a summer outdoor concert series. The historic Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, N.B. If you love Victoria, visit: St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, N.B. Visitors head to Victoria, B.C., for its postcard-pretty waterfront beauty, and this town on the opposite coast offers similar charms on a more intimate scale. Featuring fine Georgian homes, Cape Cod and saltbox houses, and the historic Algonquin Resort, St. Andrews (popularly known as St. Andrews-by-the-Sea) was once a summer retreat for American socialites in the late 1800s. It remains a perfect resort town, with golden sand beaches, a spectacular seaside golf course, and fabulous restaurants such as the Salt Bight , which serves lobster eight different ways. It's also an arts and culture hub: Every summer, the Broadway by the Sea concert series takes place in an amphitheatre in the beautiful 27-acre Kingsbrae Garden . 'You wouldn't expect it, but so many world-class talents come to St. Andrews,' says Tony LePage, a Broadway actor and co-founder of the festival. Whenever he brings other Broadway performers to town, he adds, they all fall in love with the place. Château Ste-Agnès is one of the wineries on La Route des Vins, in Quebec's Eastern Townships. If you love Niagara wine country, visit: La Route des Vins, Que. The Brome-Missisquoi wine route in Quebec's glorious Eastern Townships encompasses 22 wineries, and there's plenty to do even if you're not sipping. Several wineries offer yoga in the vineyards, including Le Vignoble de la Bauge and the historic Château Ste-Agnès , for example, and many have cabin accommodations and nature and hiking trails. All of this fits with the region's emphasis on slow travel and relaxation. When Denis Laframboise opened Balnea Spa 20 years ago, he was drawn to the feeling of calm among the mountains and valleys, and the sense of pride locals have in upholding traditional agricultural practices. 'Because of this, we have all these specialized producers of honey and cheese, and beer made with the barley they grew in their own fields. There's so much more to this region than wine — though the wines are excellent,' says Laframboise. All along the route are exquisite restaurants highlighting local cuisine. Laframboise loves Les Cocagnes ' table champêtre (country table), where the five-course, family-style dining experience showcases visiting young chefs. Kayakers at Mallorytown, an access point for Thousand Islands National Park, Ont. If you love Bruce Peninsula National Park, visit: Thousand Islands National Park, Ont. Last year, Bruce Peninsula National Park was so popular, it drew 493,866 visitors. Meanwhile, Thousand Islands National Park , which encompasses around 20 main islands and many more smaller islets on the St. Lawrence River between Kingston and Brockville, welcomed less than a quarter of that number — although it also offers a wealth of activities on the water and is uniquely stunning. The park is located on the Frontenac Arch, a ridge of ancient rock that helped form the islands (there are actually more than 1,000 altogether, in the wider region). 'The exposed granite that made all those islands creates such a strange mix of landscapes that the park is a true visual feast,' says Kim Robinson, Thousand Island National Park's visitor experience manager. 'The islands themselves offer such variety and biodiversity. You could be on one side of Georgina Island and feel like you're in Northern Ontario, then walk to the other side and you're in a Southern (Ontario) forest.' Besides the natural attractions of this way-less-crowded park, there are shipwrecks you can view beneath the clear water, organized nature and science experiences with Parks Canada interpreters, and waterfront glamping and camping sites. The best way to see the islands is from a kayak or boat tour, but a large part of the park is on the mainland. 'You'll see such diversity on the hiking trails at Landons Bay and be rewarded with spectacular views out over the islands,' Robinson says. A view of Charlottetown, P.E.I., the birthplace of Confederation. If you love Quebec City, visit: Charlottetown, P.E.I. Quebec City famously boasts a UNESCO-listed old town, but travellers can also find a rich sense of history in P.E.I.'s comparatively less-crowded capital — it's the birthplace of Canada — alongside that classic East Coast friendliness. When strolling among the historic brick architecture along Victoria Row and Great George Street in the summer, you can imagine the city at its very start, especially when costumed tour guides waltz by in crinolines and frock coats. But Charlottetown isn't stuck in the past; it's a fun and vibrant city with a lot going on from spring right through to the fall. 'It's electric here in the summer, with tons of festivals and art events,' says Kim McKeown, Top Chef Canada alumnus and chef at Leonhard's Café & Restaurant . The culinary scene in Charlottetown is also impressive — P.E.I. claims the title of 'Canada's food island,' after all — and McKeown credits this, in part, to the many mom-and-pop spots serving the best food. Her favourites include Aldo Reny's , the Italian sandwich shop where focaccia is baked fresh daily. 'I can't get enough of the prosciutto, brie and balsamic with extra pickles,' says McKeown. Come in the late fall and you can also visit Province House National Historic Site , where the discussions that led to Confederation began — it's been under renovations and closed to visitors for the past decade.
