The North American Premiere of April Fools
The Segal Centre is reopening and putting theatre back in the spotlight with the upcoming English-language premiere of April Fools, a pop/rock cabaret musical from Israeli superstar and two-time “Israeli Singer of the Year” Keren Peles. Directed by Moshe Kepten, adapted for North American audiences by Akiva Romer-Segal from a translation by Shelly Ben Shachar, it is a sensual musical rendezvous not to be missed, in the Sylvan Adams Theatre from May 1 to May 22, 2022.
A Tantalizing Spring Fling at the Theatre
While living the seemingly perfect life – complete with career as a rock star, a family, and a home of her dreams – Eva, a woman played by Eva Foote (Girl in Segal Centre’s Once), begins a torrid love affair with an attractive and soon-to-be-married man played by Daniel Murphy (appeared in Segal Centre’s Forever Plaid, Duddy Kravitz, and Lies My Father Told Me). In this adults-only rock cabaret, forbidden love leads to a deep dive into a woman’s mind, where a battle erupts onstage as her conflicting drives, personified by multi-talented performers, all grapple with her desire to break free of societal expectations. Doubling as Eva the rock star’s band and embodying her Greek-chorus-like subconscious who sing, dance, act, and accompany the love story on their musical instruments, are Julia Juhas as Confidence (Segal Centre’s Indecent), Dominique LeBlanc as Doubt (Citadel Theatre’s Almost a Full Moon: In Concert), Heather McGuigan as Morality (Demeter in Segal Centre’s Mythic), Jamie McRoberts as Libido (TIFT’s Into the Woods), Ruthie Nkut as Poet (Neptune Theatre’s The Colour Purple), Zou Zou Robidoux as Music (Cellist in the Segal Centre’s Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical at Theatre Calgary), and Rosie Callaghan (last seen at Segal in the DWYT’s It Shoulda Been You) will be the Standby.
“April Fools is about embracing our true selves, including our imperfections, and how our sensuality and sexuality are a part of that, adding to one’s power rather than detracting from it. We’re exploring new boundaries and taking risks in many ways, but like every show this season, at its heart it is a celebration of joy: of life and of being back for the incredible experience that is live theatre,” said Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin.
The story is inspired by Keren Peles’ own life and went on to have hundreds of sold-out performances in Israel before the pandemic, with audiences hooked by the question of what was fiction and what was fact. This will be a rare opportunity to hear her award-winning songs in English. Reprising his role as director is Moshe Kepten, current Artistic Director of HaBima, the National Theatre of Israel where April Fools first premiered in Hebrew. His past credits include countless musicals and televised shows like Eurovision, The Masked Singer and The Voice. Akiva Romer-Segal (rising theatre writer best known for The Louder We Get, FKA Prom Queen, and Grow) has adapted the script for American audiences based on a translation by Shelly Ben-Shachar. As a cherry on top of this scintillating creative team is the internationally renowned So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Sean Cheesman. He choreographed the Segal’s production of Prom Queen, now known as The Louder We Get, and has choreographed for Janet Jackson, Prince, Tina Turner, Vanessa Williams, Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, and Britney Spears.
“We have big plans for this show. It was a huge hit in Israel and the English version may be even better; we can’t wait for Montreal audiences to see it before anyone else,” says Director Moshe Kepten.
Technology and Theatre, a budding love affair
On top of a titillating tale of seduction and female empowerment, April Fools also pushes the boundaries of today’s technology to create an innovative, interactive, and immersive experience for audiences. The Segal Centre is partnering with VideoCompany and FunToad to create exciting multimedia visuals to accompany the show on stage and via an app on the audience’s own phones. During the show, audience members will be asked to keep their phones on and download the April Fools app to gain full access to Eva’s cell phone. They will be able to see, in real time, the text messages and snapshots being shared between Eva and her lover, Daniel. Also using their mobile devices, the audience becomes an active part of the story via voting and influences the course of the cabaret.
Info: www.segalcentre.org
