French-Canadian secret societies inspire a feminist comedy musical making its northern Ontario premiere in Sudbury on November 13 and 14 at the Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury, ici.radio-canada.ca reported.
Créations In Vivo brings the production to the stage in partnership with La Slague following an initial run in Orléans.
Playwright Chloé Thériault developed the concept in the summer of 2023 while performing in a Yes Theatre production in Sudbury. She learned about the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a secret organization founded in 1926 in Vanier, Ontario, that operated in secret for nearly forty years to protect French-Canadian heritage.
“[Man, I would love to write a story about a francophone mafia],” Thériault told ici.radio-canada.ca.
The musical follows four women in the fictional village of Saint-Cibole who discover that their husbands belong to a secretive male society known as La Patente. To uncover where their spouses vanish during evening gatherings, the protagonists infiltrate the organization disguised as priests.
Darquise Lauzon stars as Marielle, the gathering-focused wife of Jean, while Emma-Rose Smith plays Rita, the wife of Marcel. Ariane Lemay portrays Dorothée, the gossip-seeking wife of François, and Thériault rounds out the main cast as Lucile, the secret-hiding wife of Jacques.
“[The joy these actresses have to be together, to perform this show, reaches all the way to the back row],” said Dillon Orr, the production’s director, as reported by ici.radio-canada.ca.
The production added an extra performance during its Orléans run due to high demand. After the Sudbury dates on November 13 and 14, the company continues its provincial tour before returning to northern communities including Hearst, Timmins, Chapleau, and North Bay in late winter.
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