Canada: Montreal Centaur’s Theatre: Hosanna – Inside Out
Sunday, May 20th, 2018Whoa, the stars were aligned at the Press opening of Hosanna. Not only was the the former artistic and executive director here, Roy Surette, who planned this production for Centaur, but the new artistic director, Eda Holmes, who was thrilled to be presenting it – but also – Maurice Podbrey (and wife Elsa), the founding artistic and executive director – AND – the author, Michel Tremblay. All were delighted with the show, as well they should be.
Writing this in 1971, Michel Tremblay was far ahead of the general population’s knowledge of the LGBTQ+ community. In the play he speaks to the gender roles imposed by society at that time, and hope for eventual self-acceptance. Holmes refers to this in her Director’s notes: “the narrow structures of gender and identity that were available at the time”. We have to applaud his bravery.
Eloi Archambeaudoin revisits his Table D’Hote Theatre role as Hosanna, hairdresser during the day to drag queen at night. The grander Centaur stage was a tabla rosa for lighting designer Audrey-Anne Bouchard to transform Claude Lemieux-rural boy into Hosanna-drag queen, using the uncomfortable giant flashing neon sign “BEAUBIEN” (tip of the hat to Montreal), to the David statue spotlight and the overall red light district red room.
The play reveals the painful sparring between the diva and her boyfriend, Cuirette playing hardass-leather- dude style by Davide Chiazzese. He fights back at her by putting the uncomfortable problems in her face, “You go to bed with makeup on because you don’t want to see who’s underneath”. He knows Hosanna is stuck “between a woman’s face and a man’s body”. She knows how to spit back, referring to his job as washer woman by day and cowboy by night.
Who in this world doesn’t sometimes wish they could dress up and be someone else? Hosanna hits on this when she proclaims, “I know everyone who is gay in Montreal – even when they don’t know it themselves”.
Tremblay shows us how we all work on our outsides but really need to be working on our insides. Director Mike Payette notes what a timeless story this really is, because all couples have to face “their notions of love, and how they can exist together”.
Location 453 St-Francois-Xavier
corner: Notre-Dame
Tel: 514-288-3161
Dates: til June 10
Prices: $38.50 – $51.75 (includes deals for students and seniors)
www.centaurtheatre.com
Metro: Place d’Armes
photos by Andrée Lanthier
The Annapolis Irish Festival where you can enjoy traditional Celtic music and Irish rock bands on three different stages, along with workshops and exhibits. Try some delicious Irish beef stew and other Irish favorites. Little Leprechaun Land (open on Saturday only 11am– 4pm) provides pony rides, face painting and other free activities for the kids. 
Exhibition Events:
The celebration of Mother’s Day began during the Gilded Age when in May of 1914 Congress established Mother’s Day as a national holiday. In the spirit of this tradition, the Flagler Museum invites all mothers and their families to enjoy a Mother’s Day weekend celebration in the Café des Beaux-Arts. In honor of Mother’s Day, each mother will receive a special flower corsage.
RIFF is known for placing a heavy focus on music each year. The 2018 Festival will again include more than 50 music performances, industry networking events, panels, music business roundtable discussions, industry mixers, and more. On top of providing great entertainment from some of the music industry’s hottest talent, RIFF utilizes this area as a platform for filmmakers and musicians to forge new working relationships. Top awards will be given out across a variety of music categories during the annual red carpet awards.
Classes are held at Secolari in The Mall in Columbia 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia MD, 21044 Call to Reserve Your Spot: 443-367-0010 Bring Your Own Wine! 
Each lecture will provide a unique range of historical perspectives, including those of political and military leadership, the Doughboys on the front lines, minority infantrymen conscripted to battle, and women on the homefront and abroad.
The main attraction is the Silent Disco. Dance into the night during the silent disco with the City of Alexandria’s Mobile Art Lab. All of the music is played through headphones, rather than a sound system. Dancers can swap back and forth between three DJs to choose which music they want to dance to. Their headphones change color based on which music they’re listening to. Join in the friendly competition and see how many people’s headsets are set to the same color.
