SASKATOONEXPRESS - June 20-26, 2016 - Page 1
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Volume 14, Issue 24, Week of June 20, 2016
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper Joanne Paulson Saskatoon Express ames Hataley and Connor Brousseau go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong. In the parlance of musicals, that’s a lot like supercalifragilistic. Best friends since attending Evan Hardy Collegiate, the two young actors will finally share a stage as leads in Saskatoon Summer Players’ (SSP) production of Grease. They are thrilled about that, and are so close they bounce off one another in an energetic interview. “It’s really exciting. This is my first lead out of high school, and I forgot how fun it is to be a lead. I feel like a rock star,” said Hataley, who plays Danny Zuko. “You look like a rock star,” interjected Brousseau, who came out to audition for Grease because Hataley wanted to. He landed the role of Kenickie. “I’ve done one Summer Players show before with James, which was Joseph (and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). I took time off to pursue professional stuff.” “I’ve been begging him to come back ever since,” put in Hataley. “He told me it was Grease (this year), and he said if you come out we’ll both try out for Danny and Kenickie,” continued Brousseau. “And we did. We got it . . . it was just like, perfect.” “And I was really bugging our Sandy that we have more of a romance than Sandy and I,” said Hataley, laughing. “She (Amanda Kush) is new to Saskatoon. She’s a singer . . . she’s just wonderful. She really stands out. She is killing it.” You get the picture. That energy is also happening in rehearsals, with a young and very large cast. “It’s always buzzing,” says one. “They’re always telling us to shut up,” says the other. After Hataley started his Summer Players career with Joseph, he added HMS Pinafore and Shrek to his resume. He did have a role in Grease once before, at Evan Hardy, and also played Daddy Warbucks in Annie, actually shaving his head instead of wearing a bald cap. “Lucky for me, we were doing a fundraiser for cancer that same month,” he said. “That worked out great. That was my first taste of a lead role, and I liked it.” Hataley then started dating Heather Currie — the choreographer for Grease — about four years ago; she did Producers for Summer Players. She had so much fun, she persuaded Hataley to come out too. “I absolutely love it,” said Hataley. He is, however, in law school at the University of Saskatchewan, and sees community theatre as an avocation. Brousseau, not so much. He is in his fourth year in drama at the U of S, and recently landed a music apprenticeship through a new program at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, funded by the David (Dube) and Heather (Ryan) Foundation. His desire to act came early in life. “I knew I wanted to act in Grade 6, when I saw my sister dance in a production of Guys and Dolls, also at Evan Hardy. My parents dragged me kicking and screaming to that show. I didn’t want to sit in a theatre for two hours. “I completely fell in love with it and made my parents take me to the rest of the performances. I went every night.” When Brousseau reached Grade 9, he auditioned for the musical Leader of the Pack, and that’s when he met Hataley. They’ve been close friends ever since; and Brousseau has been acting ever since, too, “because honestly, I’d be miserable if I did anything else.” He is torn about choosing acting or music, however; so he’s doing both. He is writing the music for S on S’s production of J. Caesar, and also a couple of songs for Midsummer Night’s Dream. “That’s great. I’m loving it. I get to write an orchestral movie score all day. I really like acting, and I like writing my own music.” (Continued on page 11)
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Grease
Best friends share stage in Summer Players’ production James Hataley, left, plays Danny and Connor Brousseau is Kenickie in Summer Players’ production of Grease. (Photo by Joanne Paulson)
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