The Pearl Company

David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross: December: 5, 6, 7. Matinee @ 2:00 pm on 7.  All other shows: Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $25. One weekend only.  We’re losing one of the stars,  Mischa Aravena to Disney. How can we argue with that?
Glengarry Glen Ross, winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, showcases playwright David Mamet at his very best. This scalding dramatic comedy revolves around small-time, cutthroat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream. This iconic piece was also turned into a celebrated film, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin.
Presented by Nortesur Productions. Cast: Mischa Aravena, Mark Ellis, Rod McTaggart, Chris Reid, Kayla Gambrill, Walter Reid, Joel Pettigrew, John Patrick. Directed by David Nash.

Hamlet: August 1 – 3, 8 – 10. Doors: 7:00pm. Show: 7:30. Tickets: $20. Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, was written between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered his father in order to seize his throne and marry his mother. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play, his most popular work during his lifetime, and still his most performed.   
This version is based on the Laurence Olivier adaptation and runs 2 1/2 hours with intermission (not 4 1/2 hrs!)
Cast: Peter Anderson – Hamlet; Victoria Elysse – Ophelia and Player Queen; Valerie Harrison – Queen Gertrude; Andrew Rodwell – King Claudius; Ray Rivers – Horatio; Matt Dafoe – Laertes; Aha Blume – Osiric and Second Player; Bob De Haan – Marcellus, Priest and Captain; Nick Ruddick – Ghost, First Player, and Grave Digger; John Hewson – Polonius; Justine Dennis – Bernarda and Sailor; directed by Gary Santucci.
http://www.classicaltheatre.ca/

My Father’s House: May 29 – June 2/ June 4 – 9.  Doors: 7:30pm. Evening Shows: 8:00pm. Sun. Matinees: 2:00pm. Tickets: $20 / $15 students/ seniors/ un(der)waged. This new production of Brian Morton’s stage adaptation of My Father’s House, stars Lisa Langlois, and features Claire Shingleton-Smith, Keegan Chambers, and Joshua Perry Fleming.The play is produced and directed, by Gary Santucci.
Somewhere before the age of seven, Sylvia Fraser created a “twin” who shared her body while living a life apart from hers, with separate memories and experiences. For forty years, the existence of that twin and of the secret life she led while growing up in her father’s house was unknown to the author. How Fraser broke through the amnesia to discover and embrace the tortured self she left behind is the story of this astonishing stage play.
The memoir My Father’s House (1987) startled both critics and the public with its honesty, clarity of style and emotional force.  The book not only helped “heal” its author, but ignited public debate on a hidden social problem. More than thirty years, after publication, the book is more relevant than ever, in this the era of #metoo, as a moving example of how one survives trauma.
Lisa Langlois has chosen, to return to her stage career in playing the role of Sylvia. She is also developing My Father’s House for the screen, along with its prequel, Pandora.
Warning:  MY FATHER’S HOUSE contains mature content, adult themes, and simulated sexual assault. Viewer discretion is advised.
For show information please visit  www.theatre-erebus.ca
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Visiting Mr. Green: A play by Jeff Baron: May 2 to 5 and 9 to 11. Evenings: Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Matinees: May 5 and 11: Doors: 1:30pm. Show: 2:00 pm. Tickets: $20.
Mr. Green, an elderly, retired dry cleaner, wanders into New York traffic and is almost run down by a car driven by Ross Gardiner, a 29-year-old corporate executive. The young man is given community service helping the recent widower once a week for six months. What starts as a comedy about two men who do not want to be in the same room together becomes a gripping and moving drama as they get to know each other. Howard Jerome is Mr. Green and Daniel Schneiderman is Ross Gardiner. Presented by Snapping Turtle Productions & The Pearl Company. Directed by Sandi Katz, Produced by Enid Aaron & Dan Penrose Translated into 22 languages, with over 200 productions in large and small venues, Mr. Green has won numerous best play and best actor awards throughout the world.
“Baron tells his tale with discerning freshness and originality. One of the best shows around” – Chicago Daily Herald

REGRESSTiVAL! Entertainment for your INNER Child. Friday, April 19.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $15 / PWYC 19+..Puppetry! Claymation! Music! Whimsy! Prizes! Colouring! Child-LiKE whimsical, eccentric, eclectic, electric entertainment of all kinds…for the kid iN you… Live Music by Will Gillespie, Dave Gould & Chris Cracknell, Art and animations by Susan Robinson.
REGRESSTiVAL!!! In this day and age of Adult cartoons, graphic novels, special collectors edition action figures, adult onesie pyjamas, and chewable gummy arthritis medication we decided to “celebrate” this brave new world with a childhood-regression festival of our own.
Hosted by Johnathan P. Bowles from “Toilet Humour” with his potty-mouthed cousin Lou, this show features music by the world’s preeminent Loo-ist, Dave Gould, the always artful and engaging Chris Cracknell and Singer-Songwriter Will Gillespie as well as live puppetry, videos, claymation and introducing the Middle Finger Puppets. http://www.willgillespie.ca  http://www.davegould.ca

Celebrating the Arts! April 11-14. Doors 6:30 pm. Curtain 8:00 pm sharp. Matinee April 14: Doors 12:30 pm. Curtain 2:00pm sharp. Tickets: $25 online or at the door. You are cordially invited to The Pearl Company for An Evening of Theatre, Visual Arts and Live Music in support of SAVIS of Halton and #FeedtheHammer . Start Spring right! Support this fundraising initiative complete with a silent auction, 50/50 draw, food drive, live theatre, visual arts displays and a full musical set by RnR. Special Musical guests include Robert Laszcz, Rod McTaggart, and Chris Reid, laying down those solid grooves while you browse works of art by professional local artists, bid in the silent auction, and take part in the 50/50 draw. At 8pm, round off the evening with 2 one-act plays: The Dilemma, a black comedy written and directed by Joel Pettigrew, starring Lucas James and Thomas Sarigiannidis, and Carol Churchill’s A Number, directed by David Nash and starring Chris Reid and Rod McTaggart. Latecomers will be seated at an appropriate break in the program.

Death and the Maiden: December 6 – 8. Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Matinee: Dec 8 @ 2:00pm. Tickets: $20. The Pearl Company, in its final season, proudly presents: Ariel Dorfman’s, Death and the Maiden, a psychological thriller about a woman, in a country recovering from a violent dictatorship, who seeks revenge on the man whom she believes to be her torturer.
Starring: Mischa Aravena, Rod McTaggart, and Jennifer Farrugia.
Directed by David Nash; Stage Managed by John B. Wyman.
“We’ll die from so much past, so much pain and resentment. Let’s finish it – let’s finish that conversation from years ago. Let’s close this book once and for all and never speak about it again, never again, never…”
Tickets available at Ticketscene:  or info@thepearlcompany.ca / 905 524-0606

Brian Morton’s Fringe Hit Musical “Under The Apple Tree”: November 22 – 25 / 29 – December 2.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. (Matinees: Nov. 25@5:00pm / Dec. 2@2:00pm) Tickets: $20 / $15 students/seniors/un(der)waged. November 1921, in downtown Hamilton!  At the Lyric Theatre on Mary Street, a shooting occurred backstage during the run of a touring musical comedy vaudeville “girlie” act.  UNDER THE APPLE TREE is a brand new musical that explores a bit of bygone real life local history.  A ‘jazz era’ Hamilton, that is gone but not forgotten. It is is partly, a recreation of an actual musical comedy vaudeville act that toured the vaudeville circuits, in 1920 and 1921.  During its week long run in Hamilton, in late November of 1921, stage hand Jack Grubb, shot chorus girl Cecile Bartley, before turning the gun on himself.
The production features Susan Robinson, Chris Cracknell, Michelle LaHaise, Claire Shingleton-Smith, Erynn Garland, and Larry Smith, in its cast.   The music and songs in the play are all “tin pan alley” compositions circa 1918-1920. It is produced and directed by Brian Morton (winner of the 2013 City of Hamilton Arts Award for Theatre and Artistic Director of non-profit charitable foundation, Theatre Erebus Inc.).
Performance schedule:
Thursday November 22 @ 8:00 pm
Friday November 23 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday November 24 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday November 25 @ 5:00 pm  *Special 97th Anniversary Show
Thursday November 29 @ 8:00 pm
Friday November 30 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday December 1 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday December 2 @ 2:00 pm
*There will be a special talkback event after the 5pm performance on Sunday November 25th, which is the 97th anniversary of the actual shooting, of Cecile Bartley, at the Lyric in 1921.
Tickets at www.ticketscene.ca  For show information please visit  www.theatre-erebus.ca
UNDER THE APPLE TREE contains mature content, simulated violence and loud gun shots: Latecomers will not be admitted to any performance. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

A Different Kind of Job: October 1 – 7. Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00 except Oct 7 @ 2:00. Tickets: $20. (Oct. 1: PWYC)  After two students end up in an interlude that goes horribly wrong, a young teacher at a Conservative Catholic school feels that it’s necessary to provide sex education to a teenage girl. The play is a darkly comic look at the fallout of this one moment and the ensuing results on the students, the teachers and the community. A Different Kind of Job explores how we evaluate pushing boundaries or just plain crossing the line. Cast: Ryan Sero, Victoria Adam, Jade Douris, Mary Long, Drew O’Hara FB page – www.facebook.com/BadTimingProd/  Tickets: ttp://www.ticketscene.ca/series/645/
October 1 @ 8:00pm – PWYC Preview Performance
October 2 @ 8:00 pm – OPENING NIGHT!
October 3 to 6; @ 8:00 pm – Evening Performances
October 7, 2018 @ 2:00 pm – Matinee Performance

“HOLD MOMMY’S CIGARETTE”: Thursday, September 13 – Friday, 14.  Adding Saturday 15!  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $30 – Advance Only. Hold Mommy’s Cigarette is an autobiographical one woman show that shares Shelley’s intimate journey through mental illness, the suicide of her father, her own suicide attempt and the e?ects that have lingered throughout her life.  Shelley takes her audience on a journey of joy and laughter with some moments of shock and awe. It’s in the truth of the characters that Shelley brings to life; where tragedy and comedy become one. It’s Shelley’s openness to explore taboo subjects that still raises eyebrows, the reason why she has been described as “sexy, satrical and sharply intelligent”. This is a story of the letting go of ages and ?nding truth beneath the layers of lives lost and loves found. Shelley invites you to enjoy her performance with an open mind and perhaps you’ll leave with a fuller heart. *Mature Content*  http://www.holdmommyscigarette.com     https://www.facebook.com/events/1438601786284130/   Email Shelley for Tickets: shelleymarshall@shelleymarshall.com

The Fringe @ The Pearl!
Final Broadcast: FP Theatre (Hamilton, ON): Tickets: $10 for adults (Fringe Backer Button Required)
Five survivors – a couple, two exes, and a stranger – caught high up in a slowly burning building following an earthquake decide to livestream the experience while awaiting rescue. …at least the Wi-Fi’s free.
Playwright/Director: Robert K. Brown; Stage Manager: Vanessa Rundle-Fotheringham; Sound Design/Original Score: Zach Parsons; Cast: Robert K. Brown – John; Theresa Noon-Hunter – Tracey; Hayden Ling –  Akio; Mykola Paskaruk – Ishmael; Claudia Spadafora – Alys.  Audience: Parental Guidance.  Running Time: 50 minutes. WARNING: Mature Content. 
Thursday, July 19 @ 7pm
Friday, July 20 @ 9pm
Saturday, July 21 @ 7pm
Sunday, July 22 @ 4:30pm
Tuesday, July 24 @ 9pm
Wednesday, July 25 @ 7pm
Thursday, July 26 @ 9pm
Friday, July 27 @ 7pm
Saturday, July 28 @ 9pm
Sunday, July 29 @ 2pm

The ABCs of Love with Adult Baby Cupid: NOT Still Your Friend (Toronto, ON). Tickets: Tickets: $10 (Fringe Backer Button Required).
Adult Baby Cupid comes to earth to answer your questions about love and relationships in 2018, with advice that has lasted through the ages. What could possibly go wrong? Award winning cabaret performer and theatre creator, Adam Bailey, takes on love, relationships and life as Adult Baby Cupid. A character created for Toronto’s Lunacy Cabaret, Adult Baby Cupid has been an audience favorite. Now sharing the stage with the operatic voice and co-hosting skills of Kristin Mueller-Heaslip, Cupid will be enjoying his first full length theatrical outing. There will be singing, jokes, and audience participation as the God of Love and his singing side kick try to rediscover what makes them relevant in a rapidly changing world. Created and Performed by the Cast: Adam Bailey as Adult Baby Cupid and Kristen Mueller-Heaslip as Herself .
Show Type: Comedy. Audience: Mature. Running Time: 80 minutes. WARNINGS: Mature Content, Strong Language, Nudity
Thursday, July 19 @ 9pm
Friday, July 20 @ 6:30pm
Saturday, July 21 @ 9pm
Sunday, July 22 @ 2pm
Tuesday, July 24 @ 6:30pm
Wednesday, July 25 @ 9pm
Thursday, July 26 @ 6:30pm
Friday, July 27 @ 9pm
Saturday, July 28 @ 6:30pm
Sunday, July 29 @ 4:30pm

Mercury Man: The Last Performance of Orson Welles: Dramatic Hat Productions. Saturday, July 7. Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $20 / $15 students /seniors/ un(der)waged. A new play by Joel Pettigrew (Waking). Mercury Man takes place days before Welles’ death. The play is set to debut at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival on July 18-29. The cast and crew are doing a one-night showcase at The Pearl – just to give us a taste (and make sure they’ve ironed out the wrinkles….)
Hollywood, 1985. While recording his last ever film role – the voice of a cartoon robot planet – Orson Welles meets his “Biggest Fan,” and recounts tales of his early success in film, theatre and radio, the aftermath of making the greatest movie of all time, and all that must be sacrificed in order to do what you were made for.
“Interesting concept, good pacing, great dialogue” – Toronto Fringe New Play Jury

“El virus de los infelices” / “The Unhappiness Virus”. Saturday, June 30. Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $10. The play is in Spanish. The theatre group of The Hispanic Fraternity Association presents the play “El virus de los infelices”, a comedy in which a group of women are gathered to celebrate a birthday of one of them.  A mysterious virus has invaded the celebration when everything seems to go very badly. No one knows how to stop the threat that seems about to escalate to something more serious.
Set in the present time, “El virus de los infelices” is a dramatic comedy adapted and directed by Ricardo Gonzalez. The ending will not leave anyone indifferent.

The Bear: May 31, June 1 – 2 @ 8pm June 3 @ 2pm, June 7 – 9 @ 8pm. Tickets: $20  Chekhov’s story invites us into the world of a widow, whose grief for her dead husband keeps her entombed in her own house. Her servant begs her to rejoin the world of the living, but the mourning widow hasn’t the will. A dashing man raps on the door. It seems the widow’s deceased husband borrowed a tidy sum from this gentleman and he is now desperate to have the loan repaid. The widow has neither the cash nor the inclination. A war of wills ensues as Chekhov massages their battle into a comedic frenzy. Maybe, just maybe, while living amongst the debris of profound loss, might a second chance at love come knocking combatively at the door?

Taylor Sutherland directs. With Concetta Roche, Ira Henderson, Patti Zonta, Gary Santucci

Scenes & Songs from Gord Carruth’s Canadian Musicals: THE SATURDAY EVENING SHOW BEEN CANCELLED. PLEASE BOOK FOR OTHER SHOWS. Thurs, May 24 & Fri. 25 @ 7:30. Sat. May 26: Matinee @ 1:30 & Evening @ 7:30. Tickets: $25. Doors: 7:00 & 1:00pm.
Ex-Hamiltonian, Gord Carruth, a national ACTRA award-winning playwright/composer, Canada’s most prolific writer of historical musicals, returns home to present scenes and songs from his works.
Gord has written eight mainstage musicals, four musicals for children and close to two hundred songs.
Canadian artists, Andrew Galligan and Reba Sigler from Ottawa, will present excerpts from the following musicals:
JOEY, based on the life and times of Joey Smallwood; THE PRINCESS &THE PIRATE, A Newfoundland legend; “AND SO TO BED”, based on the diary of Samuel Pepys; GABRIEL; JUST WATCH  ME, based on the life and times of Pierre Trudeau; and his most recent  SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD, the musical, an official event as part of Ottawa’s 150^th anniversary celebrations of Confederation.
All music is played by the musicians of Grant Avenue Studio in Hamilton.