New West Theatre celebrates their 25th anniversary by looking into their past. But they are worried about their future especially after having to do more with $40,000 less in government grants.
“ So we had to cut our Canadian plays back to one this season. And Jeremy (Mason, artistic director) has been cut back to part time,” said New West Theatre general manager Natascha Hainsworth. She noted they got word of the severity of the cuts at the beginning of last year, midway through their season, but it was too late to do anything about it as royalties had been paid and contracts had already been signed.
So the season ends with “the Great Munsch Mystery,” their annual Christmas season theatre for young people production.
The season begins with the Ritz : Hits of the Big Band” which runs July 3-26 which focuses on the Rat Pack crooners of the ’40s and ’50s.
The next summer production is Aug, 7-70 when New West Theatre shakes things up with the hits of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and today, Aug. 7-30 with “Shake It Up!”
The one Canadian play production of the season is Julia MacKey’s “Jake’s Gift,” which runs in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre Oct. 1-11.
The season winds down Dec.15-Jan. 3 with “Jubilee: The Best of the New West,” which will truly be the best of the New West which will look back at crowd favourites from the past 25 years.
It has been a challenge for them to survive, but thanks to strong support from the community and audiences, they are barely scraping by.
“$40,000 is eight per cent of our operating budget,” Hainsworth said.
“It’s very sad because the community has become increasingly supportive. Our ticket sales have increased and our sponsor support has also increased,” he said.
“We’ve been here for 25 years and want to be around for another 25, so that’s why we’re making these decisions now,” she continued.
They are also giving away a car— a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta which they obtained through a partnership with silver Anniversary Community Partner Lethbridge Volkswagen.
There will be 2,500 tickets sold for the car at $25 each. The draw will be made at the end of the season.
“If we sell all of the tickets that’s $40,000, but we can’t give away a car every year,” she said adding the grand prize winner can put the value of the car towards the vehicle of their choice if they choose to do so.
“ We have had a lot of changes over the past year. We’ve had funding cuts, but because we are celebrating our 25th birthday, we wanted to be to ones to give our audience member a present,” said artistic director Jeremy Mason.
Cuts aside, he is excited about the upcoming season.
“It’s a little bit different,” he said of the first production The Ritz: Hits of the Big band.”
“ We’ve done a little bit of big band at Christmastime, but that was all Christmas music. And we did a crooners show in 1997-98, so this show was definitely inspired by that. We wanted to do a show that focussed on crooners and the Rat Pack,” he said adding he is also excited because this show will be a collaboration with the Lethbridge Big Band, which turns 50 this year.
“We‘re both celebrating milestones, so it was natural,” he continued.
There will be a 12 or 16 piece band on stage for the show.
“ ‘Shake It Up’ will feature popular hits of the ’70s and ’80s,” Mason said adding it will have a similar theme to their previous show “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” in that the songs will have something related to the word “Shake.”
The Canadian play “Jake’s Gift” is about a Second World War veteran who returns to Juno Beach and befriends a precocious 10 year old.
“It is a great mix of sincerity and comedy,” Mason said.
“ It doesn’t glorify war but explore generational and intergenerational effects of war,” he continued.
“Jubilee” is the best of New West show to wind down the season.
“It is a true retrospective of New West. We’re going back further than we ever have before,” Mason continued.
