Roberto Campanella, a former soloist with the National Ballet of Canada, will replace Harrington in the musical, which features an all-song first act starring Mamma Mia!'s Louise Pitre.
In a May 10 statement, Song & Dance director and co-producer Trudy Moffatt said, "We are still awaiting a diagnosis from the doctor on Rex, hopefully later today. We send Rex all our love and wish him a speedy recovery. In the meantime, the wonderful Roberto Campanella will step in for him. We have cancelled today's matinee for a rehearsal with Roberto, ballerina Evelyn Hart, and the ensemble under the direction of choreographer Wayne Sleep. But there will be a show tonight."
Campanella has been seen in Moze Mossanen's films "Time to Time" and "The Year of the Lion," earning a Gemini Award nomination for his work in the latter. He is also the founding artistic director of ProArteDanza and a long-time collaborator of world champion figure skater Kurt Browning.
Pitre stars in the Song portion of the Lloyd Webber musical, which concerns the adventures of an English woman in America. The Dance act also features Evelyn Hart. Moffat directs with musical direction by Peter Aylin and choreography by Wayne Sleep, who starred in the original London staging of Song & Dance.
The limited engagement will play through May 28 at the newly renovated theatre. Song & Dance features a first act told entirely in song ("Tell Me On a Sunday," with music by Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black) and a second act told entirely with dance ("Variations," with music by Lloyd Webber). The song cycle was originally penned for British musical theatre actress Marti Webb in 1979. Written for recording and a BBC-TV television special, Tell Me On a Sunday became the first-half of Song & Dance, which was mounted at London's Palace Theatre in 1982. Webb starred in the original London cast (Wayne Sleep danced the second half of the evening), and Bernadette Peters — who scored a Tony Award for her performance — starred in the Broadway version, which featured revised lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr.
The Danforth Music Hall is located in Toronto at 147 Danforth Avenue. For tickets call (416) 872-1111. Visit www.songanddancetoronto.ca for more information.
