by Yanik Comeau (Comunik Média/ZoneCulture)
Nova Scotian actor, playwright, podcast host and all around artist Dane Stewart’s new creation, a documentary/musical/cabaret theatre piece, presented at Centaur Theatre Company’s WinterWorks Festival until March 15th, premiered last night to a bewildered and enchanted audience despite the sad and frustrating historic context of the piece.
Resurrection tells the story of AIDS activist Michael Callen who was on the front line when AIDS was still GRID and until his death in 1993. Callen and his writing partner are credited with creating the How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach pamphlet which basically invented safe sex and gave homosexuals a perspective on what was going on. Yet what is so amazing about this show is that beyond the fascinating historical and documentary information and rich, smartly introduced interviews with people who were important in Michael’s life, his activism is not the only thing that is talked about: His romantic life and his musical endeavors also provide a very human portrait of this modern-day LGBTQ+ icon.
The great strength of Resurrection, which shares its title with Stewart’s critically acclaimed CBC podcast, is the playwright’s ability to go from really dramatic subject matter to lighter, campy fair because Michael Callen was all that. Dane Stewart uses everything he knows about Michael Callen’s personality through the interviews he did with people who were his friends and with Michael’s life partner, Richard Dworkin who is still, to this day, working to keep Michael’s memory, work – and music! – alive.
What also helps is that Dane Stewart, besides being very knowledgeable and passionate about his subject thus being an amazing narrator for the piece, has surrounded himself with two childhood buddies, two Andrews, triple-threat Andrew Morrisey whose powerful performance as Michael is as transcending as it is heart-wrenching and uplifting and Andrew Boudreau whose low-key presence yet omnipresent piano playing brings both gravitas and levity. Together, the trio is in total osmosis and create pure magic.
The podcast/studio apartment like set created by Stavri Papadopoulou is well supported by TV designer and video tech Ryan Mason whose old television sets and DVD players worked seemingly flawlessly despite the fact the show started a bit late for the premiere as some technical issues had come up. Apparently, the trouble-shooting worked wonders because the premiere audience was not privy to any glitches.
I honestly was blown away by this production. Coming into the theatre, I was thinking, “What? Really? Another piece about the start of the AIDS crisis? Haven’t we heard it all?” kind of like I feel when there is a new holocaust or World War II movie coming out, yet even after Funkytown, N’essuie pas de larmes sans gants, Philadelphia, The Normal Heart, How to Survive a Plague and so many other AIDS-themed books, films, plays… Resurrection gives the audience a moving view into the life of a talented, brilliant, courageous unsung hero who deserves his place in the sun.
Resurrection made me laugh, made me cry, made me gasp in horror and in disbelief… And the songs Michael Callen wrote, as sung by Andrew Morrisey, well… let’s just say, I dare you not to cry when he does the parents-on-the-phone song. Heart-breaking.
Resurrection by Dane Stewart Directed by Adam Capriolo Starring Dane Stewart, Andrew Morrisey and Andrew Boudreau Pianist: Andrew Boudreau Sound Designer: Matthew Rogers Lighting Designer and Video Tech: Aurora Torok Stage Manager: Morgandy McKinnell Set and Costume Designer: Stavri Papadopoulou TV Designer and Video Tech: Ryan Mason Choreographer: Margot Begin Produced by Dane Stewart Presented by Centaur Theatre Company for the WinterWorks Festival March 11th to March 15th, 2025 (Time: 95 minutes, no intermission) Centaur Theatre, 453, St. François-Xavier Street, Montreal Reservations: 514-288-3161 Information: https://centaurtheatre.com/shows/resurrection/
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