Village Theatre is a non-profit organization with charitable status. It operates year-round as a professional theatre company and hosts film, dance and community theatre, acting as a regional Arts Centre. The bulk of its revenue comes from ticket sales, fund-raising events, donations and sponsorships.

            Hudson Village Theatre, 28 Wharf Road Road, Hudson, QC, 450-458-5361; villagetheatre.ca

Summer of Love - runs to July 14th, 2013
On A First Name Basis - runs July 24th to July 28th
Peggy and Grace - runs from August 7th to August 25th
Ways My Mother Was Conceived - is on for two shows on Saturday, September 22, 2013.

            Current show “Summer of Love” is a real crowd pleaser. The four musicians play songs by the Doors, The Mamas and the Papas, The Monkees and Jefferson Airplane to bring back the memories. The four singers bring Nancy Sinatra, Petula Clarke, Janis Joplin to life as well as Simon and Garfunkle and Henry the 8th of Herman’s Hermits.

            Throughout, the singers don costumes of the period or, in the case of the Mamas and the Papas, costumes similar to the elaborate robes and hats those singers wore in some of their performances. Songs are introduced with commentary on the period, what led to the success of the particular performers and on the historical context. Behind the band is a large screen on which slides of the era, photographs of the performers and pictures of the bands are projected.

            The first act presents mainly songs and performances from the “British Invasion” while the second act concentrates on the performers that were at the Monterrey Music Festival, the first of the big music festivals and the one that kicked off the flower power movement with the anthem “San Francisco” and going there with a flower in your hair.

            The first act presents mainly songs and performances from the “British Invasion” while the second act concentrates on the performers that were at the Monterrey Music Festival, the first of the big music festivals and the one that kicked off the flower power movement with the anthem “San Francisco” and going there with a flower in your hair.

            Following “Summer of Love,” Village Theatre welcomes Norm Foster to star in his own show, “On a First Name Basis.” The new play was performed at Theatre Orangeville northwest of Toronto this past April and was a hit.

            The Orangeville Banner reviewed the play and wrote, “Together, Vanstone and Foster deliver a Seinfeld and Elaine-like timing that only enhances the show’s humour. While the writing earns recognition for the constant laughter from its audience, the chemistry between the two actors definitely played a part.”

            The play comes to Hudson after playing the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover, southwest of Hamilton.

            “Peggy and Grace” by Alexandria, Ontario writer Bonnie Laing follows the Hudson Music Festival and is Village Theatre’s August production. The ladies sell off their properties, buy a huge Winnebago and travel around North America. They hit the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and they meet the pleasant young man shown in the picture below.

            One of the ladies is flamboyant, the other more reserved. One is artistic, the other more concerned with real-world matters. One has some of the ailments typical of a senior, the other not. And the young man is just very handsome. The play goes on from there.

            A fun piece to finish off the season, Heather Markgraf Lowe directs, looks for suitable Winnebagos, sets up the photographs showing her actors in the various locations and collects the slides from their trip to be shown for short periods during the play. It’s as if your Aunt Maude and her retired friend had gone off on a wild trip and were sending back photographs.

            In line with its mandate to expand its reach into the broader community, especially to include younger audiences, Village Theatre is bringing in professional shows from Montreal and elsewhere for short runs. These performances differ from the theatre’s traditional comedies and light fare. Shows such as “8 Ways My Mother Was Conceived” by Michaela Di Cesare expose Village Theatre audiences to a wider range of theatre pieces.

            Michaela has an MA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Toronto. During her MA she appeared in Ovid: Love Letters from the Empty Bed, Much Ado about Don Juan, and New Custom. Most recently, she has been performing her one-woman show “8 Ways My Mother Was Conceived” in Toronto, Montreal and New York City. In 2013, she will be playing one of her dream roles: Rosa in Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo. Michaela is a recipient of a MECCA award for Best Text (along with a Best Actress and Revelation nomination) and the Launchpad Award for Emerging Artists. 8 Ways was voted one of the top ten plays (#4) of 2011 in the Montreal Mirror's BOM poll.

            “Di Cesare is a wonderful storyteller…her play is full of witty lines…Her characters are so well fleshed out that one feels almost like a part of the family after seeing the play. She seamlessly transitions from her adult self, to her mother, to a “bro” she dated, to her 8-year old self, each played with consistent and easilydistinguished voices and mannerisms…a remarkable snapshot of a distinctive slice of Montreal’s culture.” Chris Lane, Charlebois Post