Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding Extended Again in Toronto

By Kenneth Jones
23 Nov 2009

Wedding stars Rosemary Doyle and Lisa Horner
Wedding stars Rosemary Doyle and Lisa Horner
Photo by Lindsay Anne Black

My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, a new musical comedy that delivers what the title suggests, has been extended for a second time at Toronto's Panasonic Theatre, now to Jan. 3, 2010, when it must close to make way for another production.

Audiences were enthusiastic about a recently extension, so producer David Mirvish added three more weeks. Tickets are now on sale.

By the time the show ends at the Panasonic, it will have run for eight-and-a-half weeks, and been seen by an estimated 40,000 people.

Mirvish said in a statement, "It's quite an accomplishment for a show that began at the Fringe only a few months ago."

The Panasonic's next tenant is the Mirvish production of Caryl Churchill's comedy Cloud 9, directed by Alisa Palmer.

My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, written by David Hein and Irene Carl Sankoff, with songs by David Hein, tells the story of a mother and son. According to production notes, "The mother feels lost in life, wrestling with her identity. A new job brings new opportunities and with it a chance to truly find herself … discovering her sexuality, rediscovering her faith, and eventually coming out to her teenage son, ex-husband and homophobic Jewish mother."

The show is based on a true story. David Hein wrote the title song as a gift to his mother about her real life wedding. Convinced the story of his mother's journey would make a good theatrical work, David and his wife, Irene Carl Sankoff, "stitched together the stories that everyone asks them to tell: what life is like with two moms, including the seven parents at their wedding; the 'facts of life' talk that Irene received from her in-laws; and how David's mom first came out to him."

The production features (in alphabetical order) Rosemary Doyle, Jackie English, David Hein, Lisa Horner, Lori Nancy Kalamanski, Robert Kennedy, David Leyshon, Kyle Orzech, Irene Carl Sankoff and Astrid Van Weiren.

Andrew Lamb directs.

The original Canadian musical comedy became the toast of the 2009 Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival when it played in July at Bread & Circus in a tiny Kensington Market storefront.

Panasonic Theatre is at 651 Yonge Street, Toronto.

Tickets are $25-$60. Call TicketKing at (416) 872-1212 or (800) 461-3333.

For more information, visit www.mmljww.com or www.mirvish.com.