The NORTHLAND BARBERSHOP CHORUS, the Sault ON Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, will present its 57th Annual Show Sat. April 6th, 2024 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Sault Community Theatre Centre.
The 40-man chorus will present songs in 4-part a cappella harmony within the context of an original play.
“Till There Was You” – a show 20 years in the making. A version of this show was first presented by the Northland Chorus in 2004, written by chorus members Bob Shami and Steve Patterson, with contributions from Wendy Hamilton and the late Susan Barber. At the core of their story was a premise worth revisiting in 2024: “It’s never too late to be happy”. With that in mind, Chorus Director Bob Shami rewrote the 2004 script to accommodate the new music being performed this time. The show has a Twilight Zone vibe and is set in “Heaven’s waiting room”, a place somewhere between heaven and earth where anything is possible.
The play will run as the show’s first act and will include 12 songs performed by the NORTHLAND CHORUS.
Imagine a lonely man whom fate allows a second chance at finding true love. In this show, just such a man will have to choose whether or not to go back in time and return to a pivotal crossroads moment of his life. It was WW II when, as a young man about to be shipped overseas, he faced his moment of truth, his golden opportunity for love. Will he now choose to go back to that moment and perhaps make different choices this time? Or, will he choose to stay and face an uncertain future? Our loneliest of souls (HARRY HOUSTON) will be guided by his counselor and advocate (PENNY GRIBBON) and opposed by her opposite number (CHAS CALAM).
Stage direction is by CHRIS HORSEPOOL.
Each year since 1995, a donation drawn from show proceeds has gone to the Speech-Language Pathology Unit at Sault Area Hospital in support of local speech therapy programs. In 2023, the Northland Chorus passed $110,000 in lifetime donations to this cause in keeping with their motto: “We Sing … That They Shall Speak.”
Revenue derived from the annual show is only source for Northland Chorus donations to the Hospital.
