Who was Tom Thomson? That’s the question at the heart of a new musical by folk musicians, Shipyard Kitchen Party, coming to North Bay’s Capitol Centre on June 21.
Thomson is best known for his iconic paintings The West Wind, Northern River and The Jack Pine. But despite his fame and his mysterious death in Algonquin Park in 1917, little is known about the painter’s personality and the forces that drove his art.
Tom Thomson’s Wake follows three of Thomson’s friends – mentor A.Y. Jackson, love interest Winnie Trainor and Algonquin guide, Larry Dixon – as they piece together the last years of his life.
“Each character has a different view of who Tom was and what inspired him,” says show writer, Jason Murphy. “Part of the musical’s appeal is that the audience can choose one story over the other or take a little from each to create their own portrait of the artist.”
Featuring Canadian Opera Company veteran, Craig Ashton as A.Y. Jackson, Zoomer Radio’s Dean Hollin as Larry Dixon, and veteran actress Julie LeBlanc as Winnie Trainor, the show features a rousing original music score by the Shipyard Kitchen Party band. The cast is joined by highly regarded Peterborough fiddler, Victoria Yeh, and multi-instrumentalist, Jason Redman.
Complementing the music and acting is the high-definition imagery of Thomson and Group of 7 paintings from the Art Gallery of Ontario.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing a new version of Tom’s story to North Bay as part of our Spring tour,” says Murphy. “It’s been more than a century since Tom’s death. But his story and his work still inspire countless artists, globally and locally.”
Tickets can be purchased online at www.TomMusical.com; in person at the Capitol Centre at 150 Main Street, or by phone at 705-474-4747.
