Musical hopes to conquer all lovers

BY BARBARA LAVOIE



Feel you’re a romantic at heart, but rarely get a chance to let it show? Then this is a must-see experience.

This weekend only, La Vie En Rose Productions presents Piaf: Love Conquers All, written by Roger Peace, the esteemed Quebec-based musical director, at Hudson Village Theatre.

Time travel back to the streets and concert halls of Paris with Quebec-born actor, singer and dancer Naomi Emmerson as she lovingly resurrects the melancholic passion and ‘joie de vivre’ of one of France’s most adored female icons — Édith Giovanna Gassion.

“Piaf’s life is legendary,� Emmerson said. “From her birth into poverty, her singing discovery in the streets, to becoming the world’s highest paid singer in her time, she demonstrated tremendous courage to survive against all odds. Her songs are, even her name, is synonymous with romance and heartbreak. Her music defined an era.�

Heralded to be a “one-woman tour de force� in Piaf, the multi-faceted Emmerson, 39, she can tap dance, play piano and guitar, paint, rollerblade, windsurf, ski, and the list goes on, has appeared in countless Canadian and American television shows, films and theatre productions during her more than 15 year old career.

She was recognized two times as a New York Times Critic’s Pick in the films Saint Ralph (2004) and The Tuxedo (2002). In another of Peace’s one-woman shows, Emmerson played Joan of Arc in Jeanne at the Saidye Bronfman Centre and in Nunsense II: The Second Coming at Centaur Theatre.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I went to John Abbott College and I know the Hudson community,� said Emmerson, who admitted to playing in town — she couldn’t recall the name of the bar — with a punk band she was with while she was in her early 20s.

Before moving to Toronto, she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Concordia University. Currently she makes her home in New York City.

Her longtime involvement with the play reveals it too has become a story of love.

In 1993, she was the first to perform Piaf: Love Conquers All when Peace, who, while working with her on another Broadway musical, introduced her to the new script.

With James Higgins directing Emmerson debuted at Toronto’s Limelight Supper Club alongside another production of Piaf featuring Louise Pitre, one of the original Broadway cast in Mamma Mia! In Montreal singer Patsy Gallant was playing Piaf in dinner clubs at that time.

Twelve years later she chose to revive the production, adding her own set design and “luscious lighting,� for the 2005 Toronto Fringe Festival. Rave reviews, outstanding ticket sales and very favourable audience polls led it to be chosen among the festival’s “top ten shows to see.�

Also featured in the two-act musical play is pianist M.J. Johnson who, besides offering musical accompaniment for Emmerson, also portrays several roles as the immortal chanteuse’s life story is retold. In all 13 of Piaf’s most familiar and most compelling songs are performed including, of course, the infamous La Vie En Rose, which was her own composition.

“The production, while it does touch on Piaf’s drug and alcohol addictions, focuses more on her passion for singing and her love of falling in love,� she said. “In a Cabaret-style theatre it allows those who already know Piaf’s music to rekindle their love of it and for those who don’t, a wonderful introduction, regardless of whether you know or speak French.�

Reflecting on her personal translation of La Vie En Rose, Emmerson suggests it means, “optimism with a little naivete, the hope in love, the hope there will always be love at the end of the struggle.�

“There must be something in me and my life that makes me identify with her more than others. Perhaps it’s her guttural cry when she sang. It’s such a relief to finally be allowed to do it. That brashness, Piaf gives me permission. As Naomi, it was not that easy to get away with. I was usually told to be quiet,� said Emmerson with introspection.

Visit www.naomiemmerson.com/">www.naomiemmerson.com for a pre-show teaser, video clips of Emmerson’s performance as Piaf along with her in various other character roles. A CD featuring all the music performed during the show will also be available for purchase.

Piaf: Love Conquers All runs for six shows only beginning tomorrow. Tickets for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening performances are $28, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees are $25.

Purchase tickets by calling the Hudson Village Theatre box office at 450-458-5361 or book online at www.villagetheatre.ca.">www.villagetheatre.ca.">www.villagetheatre.ca.