Great Big Sea founder to enter Toronto theatre scene with ‘Let’s Dance! The Musical’

TORONTO –

Terra Bruce Productions, the musical theatre company led by a founding member of the folk-rock band Great Big Sea, is set enter the Toronto theatre scene this year with two original shows.

“Let’s Dance! The Musical,” a jukebox production set to music from the early 1960s, will play at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre in August following performances in St. John’s, N.L. and Halifax.

“The Wild Rovers,” meanwhile, is to debut in Toronto in October.

It tells a whimsical tale inspired by the Irish Rovers, a group of musicians that got their start in Toronto in the ’60s.

Bob Hallett, the company’s chief operating officer and multi-instrumentalist co-founder of Great Big Sea, says Terra Bruce plans to grow more permanent roots in Toronto.

The company has purchased the Regent Theatre in Toronto and the Majestic Theatre in downtown St. John’s, N.L., and renovations are ongoing.

Great Big Sea had several radio hits in the ’90s including “When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down)” and “Ordinary Day.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2023.