Toronto Star, August 27, 2007
Stratford casts its musicals
By: Richard Ouzounian
Even on vacation, the news keeps flooding in.
Two weeks ago, I reported about casting for next season's Stratford Festival musicals: "Don't be surprised if a festival star not known for singing appears in the lead of one of them and a performer currently with the Shaw Festival crosses the ranks to headline another."
You read it here first.
The Star can now reveal that Jonathan Goad (currently appearing as Iago in Othello) will make his Stratford musical debut next season as Harold Hill in The Music Man and Trish Lindstrom (now onstage in Niagara-on-the-Lake as the feisty Ethel in The Cassilis Engagement)will play Sally Bowles in Stratford's Cabaret.
Goad has been one of the most acclaimed of the younger generation at Stratford for his roles in shows from Pericles to Orpheus Descending. He hasn't appeared in any musicals at the festival, but in an interview earlier this year, he told the Star he had played Harold Hill while at Bowmanville High School.
Lindstrom is also better known as a dramatic actor, having made an impressive professional debut as Helen Keller in Stratford's 1998 production of The Miracle Worker. She's been at Shaw in recent years, but her musical credits include The Greatest Gift (Talk Is Free Theatre) and the title role in Emily (Charlottetown Festival).
Their co-stars are an interesting pair as well and their names are also being revealed here for the first time.
Leah Oster, a talented young woman who has appeared in theatres across Ontario, as well as at the Charlottetown and Shaw festivals, will play Marian the Librarian opposite Goad. Her most recent local appearance was as Sarah Brown in Stage West's Guys and Dolls.
Bruce Dow, one of the most versatile and beloved performers at Stratford, will play the much-coveted role of the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret. Dow, starring this year in The Comedy of Errors, is best known for his high-voltage appearances in cheery musicals like Guys and Dolls. It will be fascinating to see how he deals with the darkness of Cabaret.