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Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Savage love story will have you wrestling with all the feels
Geoffrey Owen Hughes has more than 30 years of experience dressing up as wrestling superstar Macho Man Randy Savage, attending his first event as the 'Macho Manitoban' at a screening of Wrestlemania 8 at a restaurant in 1992. A wrestling ring had been set up in the parking lot; while in the ring with a group of other kids, Hughes attempted Macho's trademark vault exit over the top rope to the ground. 'But I had never done it before,' the Macho Manitoban says prior to the start of his fringe show Randy and Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story. Geoff Hughes plays Macho Man Randy Savage in Randy and Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story. Hughes' foot caught on the top rope, but 'the wrestling gods were merciful on that day and I stuck the landing — oh yeah, dig it!,' he says in his pitch-perfect Savage impression. The 52-year-old Winnipeg-born 'theatre kid' has been a wrestling fan since the 1970s, when his mom left him in front of a cluster of televisions showing a wrestling match while she was shopping at a department store. 'I had glue in my shoes. I was transfixed by my first-ever look at wrestling on TV,' he says. Hughes' imagination was captured by the archetypes present at the core of professional wrestling — specifically, the way good will always overcome evil. 'We don't get to see good guys prevail in real life. We seek that in culture, and wrestling offered that,' he says. One would not expect a lot of emotional vulnerability from professional wrestlers, specifically the Macho Man Randy Savage. So can macho men cry? Hughes thinks so, attributing the emotional vulnerability of his generation of men to the 1974 Marlo Thomas record Free to Be You and Me, which featured the song It's All Right to Cry. 'Macho Man was once asked by Arsenio Hall if macho men can cry and his answer will bring you to tears,' Hughes says, referring to a 1992 appearance on Hall's late-night talk show. 'On the show, Savage, in his trademark gravelly voice, said, 'It's all right for macho men to show every emotion. I've cried a thousand times, I'm going to cry some more. There's one guarantee in life and that is there are no guarantees. So if you get knocked down, get back up and fight again.'' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Geoff Hughes plays Macho Man Randy Savage in Randy and Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story. Tears abounded during the five-year-long World Wrestling Federation storyline involving Randy Savage and his onscreen manager and real-life wife Miss Elizabeth, the focus of Hughes' show. The WWF saga concluded with a wedding at Summerslam 1991 that saw Miss Elizabeth in a Princess Diana-esque dress and a wedding gift of a cobra from the evil Jake (the Snake) Roberts that ended the night. But the true heart of Hughes' show is Randy Savage's loss at Wrestlemania 7 in 1991, where, in true Rocky fashion, our hero loses the match but gains the love of his life. 'I love that moment more than any comic book, any song. It was just so romantic and life-affirming. I hope I can make (my audience) feel even a fraction of what I felt when I watched it,' Hughes says. Randy and Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story runs to July 27 at One88 (Venue 23). Sonya Ballantyne is a Cree writer-director whose credits include the Chris Jericho-produced wrestling documentary The Death Tour and writing the Acting Good episode Battle in the Bush.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gallery: Hot start for first night of Winnipeg's new concert series on big stage
Winnipeg's first stadium shows in nearly a decade started off hot and heavy. The inaugural Thunder Concert series kicked off Wednesday with a sweltering evening of rock 'n' roll. The two-night outdoor music festival at Princess Auto Stadium is a joint venture between the Winnipeg Football Club and True North Sports + Entertainment. Opening night, dubbed Rockin' Thunder, featured a lineup of Toque, Foreigner, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Def Leppard. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Def Leppard performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. The sun was blazing and the temperature was hovering around 29 C when Canadian band Toque took the stage. The first act, which includes Winnipeg-born bassist Brent Fitz , performed to a sparse crowd as fans trickled into the venue. Fair warning: Navigating rush hour traffic through Pembina Highway construction to get to the south Winnipeg stadium for 5 p.m. is a bit of a bear. Attendees for Thursday's Country Thunder show (with Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard, Nate Smith and Madeline Merlo) would do well to arrive early, pick an alternate route, carpool or take advantage of the park and ride service. On-campus lot parking is $25. Passes can be purchased on site or in advance. Wednesday's concert brought out 22,500 people, with 20,000 more expected Thursday. Pretty good for a new event taking place mid-week at the busy beginning of summer festival season. Still, the 30,000-seat stadium — which hosted its last major music act, Guns N' Roses, in 2017 — wasn't exactly full. The stands were more populated by the time Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hanson bounded on stage in tight, canary yellow pants. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Def Leppard put on a fun, glittery performance worthy of a big stadium show. Fresh off an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the long-running English-American band raised the temperature with Cold as Ice and an encore of I Want to Know What Love Is, featuring local choristers from Daniel McIntyre and Gordon Bell high schools. The bands played from a large enclosed stage at the northern end of the stadium. The music was loud, but sound quality and sightlines varied throughout the space — the latter could've been improved with more live video screens beyond the two flanking the stage. It's unclear why the massive in-house displays weren't utilized during performances. Those seated in the eastern 200-level bore the brunt of the setting sun, while the assigned seating and standing sections of the turf-level floor remained hot but shaded. Between sets, the concourse was packed with an eclectic group of fans wearing concert tees from every imaginable rock band and at least a few blonde, hair metal-inspired wigs. Joan Jett walked onstage at 8 p.m. wearing tinted glasses, leather and her signature choker, but without her guitar. The error was quickly righted and a punchy set filled with iconic hits ensued, from Cherry Bomb to I Love Rock 'n' Roll to Bad Reputation. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage performs. The American frontwoman also took a moment to speak disapprovingly of the political climate in her home country, which garnered a big cheer. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. British rockers Def Leppard had the most elaborate set, touching down on a tiered stage surrounded by spacey visuals and flashing lights. The intergalactic motif continued with songs Armageddon It and Rocket, followed by other career-spanning touchstones, including Let's Get Rocked and Love Bites. At press time, the headlining act — made up of lead vocalist Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen — was in the midst of a fun, glittery performance worthy of a big stadium show. The wind picked up and clouds started rolling in part-way through the set, creating a fitting backdrop for the wailing guitar solos and thundering drum beats coming from the stage. Tickets for Country Thunder are still available via Ticketmaster. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Wednesday's concert brought out 22,500 people to Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Rock fans enjoy the sights and sounds as Def Leppard performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell performs. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Rock fans enjoy the sights and sounds as Def Leppard performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Rock fans enjoy the sights and sounds as Def Leppard performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliot performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS Rock fans enjoy the sights and sounds as Def Leppard performs at the inaugural Thunder Concert series Wednesday at Princess Auto Stadium. DWAYNE LARSEN / FREE PRESS The two-night outdoor music festival at Princess Auto Stadium is a joint venture between the Winnipeg Football Club and True North Sports + Entertainment. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg drummer paralyzed from chest down overcomes challenges, teams up with Def Leppard's Rick Allen
Jeff Elwood picked up his first drumsticks as a teenager and immediately joined a band. He liked emulating his favourite rock stars as much as he enjoyed the camaraderie of playing music with friends. Rockin' Thunder ● Wednesday, 5 p.m. ● Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Foreigner, Toque ● Tickets from $79.50 at Ticketmaster Country Thunder ● Thursday, 5 p.m. ● Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard, Nate Smith and Madeline Merlo ● Tickets from $125.50 at Ticketmaster Princess Auto Stadium, 315 Chancellor Matheson Rd. 'Making music, as opposed to listening to it, is the biggest thrill,' says the Winnipeg-born drummer over the phone from his home in Kelowna. When a motocross accident left Elwood paralyzed from the chest down at 21 years old, learning how to drum again became a singular goal — one that, once met, would lead to arena rock shows, a forthcoming documentary and a close personal friendship with Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen. It took nearly a decade, several minor electrocutions and a chipped tooth before Elwood, 56, perfected his wheelchair drumming technique. Figuring out the kick drum was a major hurdle. He and two high school bandmates rigged up a mouthguard with a switch connected to an electric pedal. Later versions featured a custom mouthpiece moulded by an orthodontist, but the aforementioned injuries and an insurmountable lag made the mouth switch a non-starter. Elwood had a light-bulb moment. He rearranged his kit and started using his floor tom as a bass drum, playing every pattern with his hands. Paired with a chest strap to stabilize his torso — which Elwood calls a 'rock 'n' roll girdle' — he was finally back in the groove. 'I never imagined that you could play drums with just two limbs. Even though I do it in a different way, it still has the exact same feeling. It doesn't feel like a wheelchair thing,' he says. Supplied Rick Allen (left) and Jeff Elwood both play on modified drum kits. Supplied Rick Allen (left) and Jeff Elwood both play on modified drum kits. Elwood has been drumming professionally since the early 2000s, playing in two cover bands and an original outfit, called Life, which has opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner. Shortly thereafter, he was introduced to Allen via a longtime friend who worked in the concert industry. The pair met backstage at a Def Leppard show in British Columbia and bonded over their parallel experiences — Allen, 61, also relearned how to drum after losing his left arm in a car crash in 1984. 'It's something that I really wanted to continue doing,' Allen says, speaking over the phone prior to a show in Connecticut. 'And it really elevated me to a different level, not only my drumming, but in my life. Jeff is the same, he saw an opportunity to reframe things and that's exactly when he did.' They exchanged numbers and have remained in contact for more than 20 years. 'People look up to me, but I really look up to him. He's part of my inspiration, part of my support team,' Allen says of Elwood. The friendship has spawned several personal and professional opportunities — including a fateful introduction to Steve Jordan of the Rolling Stones, which has led to Elwood mentoring another wheelchair drummer and helping design an adaptive drum kit program. SUPPLIED Allen and Elwood in an undated photo. Allen and Elwood in an undated photo. He's also been tasked with helping co-ordinate a fundraising campaign for the expansion of Allen's Raven Drum Foundation into Canada. The foundation offers music therapy workshops and counselling for first responders and veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress. 'He's just been a really great guy to me, and it meant a lot that he trusted me enough to spearhead this,' Elwood says of Allen. The duo are also in the midst of filming a documentary with Winnipeg filmmaker Leona Krahn, who heard about Elwood's story from a mutual friend. Rhythm of Resilience, the film's working title, is Krahn's 10th documentary and a departure from previous work about prostate cancer, organ donation, refugees and public housing. SUPPLIED Documentarian Leona Krahn and Rick Allen Documentarian Leona Krahn and Rick Allen 'It's quite exciting to be able to interact with artists on this level. This story is really about the power of dreaming, no matter what card you are dealt in life,' she says. Filming has been underway since last year and she expects the doc to be released by next summer, pending talks with broadcasters. Allen was quick to agree to participate in the film, despite a busy touring schedule. 'There's always time to inspire people. Whatever someone's been through, in terms of physical or mental injuries, sometimes all they need is a spark of inspiration,' he says. Elwood, Krahn and Allen will reunite in Winnipeg this week while Def Leppard is in town to headline the first night of the Thunder concert series at Princess Auto Stadium. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Curling legend Jones' memoir coming this fall
One of Canada's most decorated and beloved curlers will tell her life's story in a memoir slated to be released this fall. Winnipeg-born, Ontario-based Jennifer Jones, who has won two world championships, an Olympic gold medal and many more accolades (and whose face adorns the wall of the St. Vital Curling Club), will release Rock Star: My Life On and Off the Ice, on Aug. 26 via HarperCollins. The book, co-written with curling writer Bob Weeks, chronicles juggling a law career with throwing rocks, the strains that emerged between teammates and the challenges of balancing her curling schedule and motherhood. Behind You Buy on ● ● ● B.C.-born, Winnipeg-based Art Miki has won the $10,000 Canada-Japan Literary Award for his book Gaman — Perseverance: Japanese Canadians' Journey to Justice, published by Talonbooks. Buy on Released in December 2023, in Gaman the former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians details the path to reconciliation and resolution taken by Japanese-Canadians around and after the Second World War, when many were interned. The prize was awarded to Miki by the Canada Council for the Arts. ● ● ● Award-winning Ontario author Catherine Hernandez has been named the fall 2025 Jake MacDonald writer-in-residence by the University of Winnipeg. Hernandez is of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Indian descent and the author of four novels for adults, including 2017's Scarboorugh, a Canada Reads finalist, as well as Crosshairs and The Story of Us. Her latest, Behind You, was published in 2024 by HarperCollins. Buy on Hernandez will be available for manuscript consultations and to answer questions from Sept. 8-Dec. 8. She'll also be participating in a number of other activities while serving in the position, including readings, lectures, Q&As, masterclasses and more. For more information, see ● ● ● I Hope This Finds You Well Last week it was noted in this space that Winnipeg Cree author Rosanna Deerchild had received two honorary doctorates in a month. This week it was announced she has won the Indigenous Voices Award for poetry published in English — and the accompanying $5,000 prize. Deerchild won the prize for her collection She Falls Again, published by Coach House Press. Buy on In the published prose category, Kanien'kehá:ka author Wayne K. Spear and Dene politician and advocate Georges Erasmus won for Hòt'a! Enough!: Georges Erasmus's Fifty-Year Battle for Indigenous Rights, published by Dundurn Press. Buy on Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. ● ● ● Natalie Sue has won the 2025 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for her novel I Hope This Finds You Well, published by HarperCollins. Buy on The Calgary-based author edged out former Winnipegger Greg Kearney's An Evening With Birdy O'Day (published by Arsenal Pulp Press) and Patricia Parsons' We Came From Away (published by Moonlight Press) for the top award, which comes with a $25,000 prize. Each of the runners up receive $5,000. books@ Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Winnipeg's Jennifer Botterill Named to Hockey Hall of Fame
On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2025. Six hockey players and two 'builders' were selected to be enshrined with hockey's greatest honour, a place in the hall of fame. Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Winnipeg's Jennifer Botterill and Winnipeg-born Duncan Keith were among those selected, with Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton and Zdeno Chara filling out the men's player category and Brianna Decker chosen as the other female player. Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau were chosen as the two builders. Advertisement Botterill, who spent her winters in Fort Gary, playing hockey with her brother, Jason - now GM of the Seattle Kraken - at the Wildwood Community Club, earned three Olympic gold medals, a silver medal and five gold medals a the Women's World Championship over her illustrious playing career. She suited up for Harvard University, where she set the modern day record for most points by a player over an NCAA career (319 points). She won two Patty Kazmaier Awards and later moved on served Canada on its National Women's Team from 1998 to 2011. Last year, Botterill was named to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Following her retirement, the now 46-year-old Botterill transitioned to sports media, where she serves as a key panelist on Sportsnet, Canada's home for hockey. Her role has grown over the years, where she regularly contributes to daytime and evening broadcasts for Sportsnet, CBC and City TV across the country from the preseason through the Stanley Cup Final. Alongside her fellow inductees, Botterill will officially be presented with her place in the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 10.
