The Pearl Company

JACKIE GLEASON AND FRIENDS: General Admission $25. “Jackie” has extended its run! Friday, Dec. 1 at 8:00 pm. Saturday, Dec 2 at 2:00 pm. Doors @ 7:30pm for shows starting @ 8:00.
Jackie Gleason and Friends is a two-act stage bio about the life of “The Great One,” Jackie Gleason. Born into poverty in Brooklyn and with little formal education, Gleason clawed his way to the top of the show-business world to become one of the most successful and wealthiest comedians of his time. Willard Boudreau plays Gleason with a magical touch that transports the complex entertainer’s life to the stage. Toots Shor, Gleason’s life-long best friend is played with comparable dexterity by Dan Penrose. Their outrageous relationship in the play lights up the theatre with laughter. Gleason’s close association with Audrey Meadows (Gail Edwards), Joyce Randolph (Elaine Hale), Art Carney (Dan Anderson), and June Taylor (Babe Schurter-Santi) is also presented with great sensitivity. Mike Durkacz (Gleason’s  manager) and Tom Mays (a CBS executive) help us to explore other important facets of Gleason’s life. Willard Boudreau directs Bob Knuckle’s script with remarkable imagination and sensitivity. This is a beautiful, serious drama about a complicated man that is presented with a lot of joy and laughter.
Tickets @ www.bruha.com

Shari Vandermolen & David Brideau: Saturday May 5.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $20. Shari Vandermolen is a renowned vocalist and award-winning performer in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area who has been entertaining audiences for 15 years with her Quartet, Trio or 5-piece band Quarter to Nine.  She is also the lead vocalist for the 10-piece jazz combo SwingLine.  On May 5th Shari brings her powerful and impressive vocal stylings back to the Pearl Company for a more intimate evening of song with jazz guitarist David Brideau, James Gannett on bass and Vince Waters on drums.  “…hear Vandermolen make jelly of your emotions with her voice and her art… one example is Stormy Weather… I barely weathered that storm intact.”  – View Magazine
David Brideau is a Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, and teacher who has been an active musician for over 15 years. A Hamilton native, and honours graduate from the Mohawk Jazz program, David has played all around the GTA with his own group, the David Brideau Trio and Quartet, as well as being prominently featured in groups with Michael Morobito, Amber-Leigh Palka, and Lauren Perreira among others. He studied under jazz greats Bob Shields, Pat Collins, Kim Ratcliffe, and Mark Ucci and is currently continuing his studies at McMaster University. David often composes his own standards, and released the sold-out EP “Addicted To You” in 2016. He is a recipient of the Dave McMurdo Music Bursary, the Antony Roberts Music Bursary, and the Richard Newell Memorial Scholarship.
Ticets: https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/21098/