Canadian Theatre Tour
A Theatre Lover's Dream
July 18 - 23, 2006
Sponsored by TDF




This 6 day, 5 night theatre lover's tour includes: round-trip airfare, 5 theatre performances, daily breakfast, 1 lunch and 2 dinners, numerous tours and much much more!  
 
Trip Price: $2,049.00 (Double Occupancy), details below.



Once again, our summer Canadian Theatre Tour is a theatre lover's dream.  The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario are easily two of the finest repertory theatres on the North American continent, and this summer the superb quality of Canadian theatre is on display in two productions at the Shaw Festival and three productions at the Stratford Festival.  We spend two nights in the storybook village of Niagara-On-The-Lake and three nights in lively Stratford.  Our hotels are conveniently located near the theatres and sights.   Plus, we get a good look backstage at both Festivals.  The tour is limited to 24 persons.  DEPOSIT IS DUE MAY 1, 2006.






1.  Tuesday, July 18      LaGuardia/Niagara-On-The-Lake
We depart from LaGuardia at 12:40pm on a US Airways non-stop flight to Buffalo, New York.  Upon arrival at 2:00pm, we travel directly via private motor coach to the storybook village of Niagara-On-The-Lake, a beautiful town full of lush parks and gardens and some of Canada's finest Victorian architecture.  Niagara-On-The-Lake recently won an award as the "Prettiest Town in Canada."  On arrival we check into the Colonel Butler Inn, located within walking distance of local attractions, outstanding restaurants, wonderful shopping and renowned theatre.  We have an early welcome dinner at a local restaurant before this evening’s performance of Cole Porter’s High Society at the Festival Theatre.  The Independent of London called the recent London production of High Society “a swellegant, elegant party!” and the Sunday Times said “This enchanting show takes the stage with all of Porter’s wit and charm and sophistication.”  In High Society we meet the Lords – the truly patrician examples of our musical’s title, and surely one of the most wayward, eccentric and outrageously charming families to inhabit the stage.  They were first brought to dazzling life in Philip Barry’s celebrated comedy The Philadelphia Story.  Theatrical alchemy was then achieved by marrying the unexpectedly eventful preparations for Tracy Lord’s second wedding to the brilliant words and music of Cole Porter.  The result is a stylish delight, with Barry’s wit and elegance blissfully and blithely enhanced by the beguiling insouciance of a classic Cole Porter score.  (Dinner)



2.  Wednesday, July 19     Niagara-On-The-Lake
After breakfast, we meet for a theatre talk with members of the Shaw Festival followed by a fascinating backstage tour of the Festival Theatre.  The afternoon is free for exploring the delights of Niagara-on-the-Lake on your own.  If you have never viewed Niagara Falls from the deck of the famed Maid of the Mist as the tumultuous cascades literally surround you, you are in for a truly spectacular experience on our optional tour to Niagara Falls.  Or if you’ve been there/done that, you may choose to attend a matinee performance (ticket may be purchased in advance on line at www.Shawfest.com).  This evening we see our second included performance, George Bernard Shaw’s rarely performed 1932 comedy, Too True to be Good at the Court House Theatre.  Any play that sets the scene in a classically beautiful upper-middle-class bedroom inhabited by a classically beautiful upper-middle-class girl, then starts the action with a distressed microbe in human form bemoaning his fate, is surely asking you to check your assumptions at the door!  Move on to the next scene where the “sickly” young girl joins forces with her nurse and a burglar, running away with them to hold herself for ransom, and you start to realize that you are in for a truly fantastical treat! And never fear – no matter how far out Shaw goes, there is always room to hit his favorite targets along the way!  (Breakfast)



3.  Thursday, July 20     Niagara-On-The-Lake/Stratford
After breakfast, we depart by private motor coach for the charming town of Stratford, Ontario.  Here a classic English setting lends the perfect environment to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.  Founded in 1953, the Festival is arguably the best summer repertory theatre for classics in North America with a company of 54 actors and shops to create costumes, sets and props for any period with meticulous attention to detail and authenticity.  We travel directly to a local restaurant for lunch (included) followed by a matinee performance of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! at the Festival Theatre.  Orphaned at an early age and forced to live in a brutal workhouse, young Oliver famously wants “more” than the pitiable hand dealt him by fate.  Escaping into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, he falls in with a gang of child pickpockets run by the sinister Fagin and his brutal accomplice, Bill Sikes.  The philanthropic Mr. Brownlow tries to rescue him – but it is on the courage of Sikes’s girlfriend, Nancy, that Oliver’s fate must ultimately depend.  Following the performance, we check in at the Arden Park Hotel, conveniently located within a short walk of the Festival Theatre.  This evening is at leisure.  Stratford offers a number of fine restaurants, and there are Festival performances you may choose to attend.  . (Advance tickets may be purchased directly at the Stratford Festival’s website, www.stratford-festival.on.ca).  (Breakfast) (Lunch)



4.  Friday, July 21     Stratford
This morning we “Meet the Festival” at the Tom Patterson Theatre.  A Festival representative moderates an informal discussion about the theatre – on stage and off.  Following this discussion, a knowledgeable local guide takes us on a sightseeing tour of Stratford.  Then the afternoon is free to explore this charming city at leisure.  This evening we attend a performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific at the Avon Theatre.  On a Pacific island during the Second World War, nurse Nellie Forbush and Lieutenant Cable, a young Marine on a dangerous mission, each fall in love with local residents.  But prejudice casts its shadow over both romances, and even these two loving hearts have lessons of tolerance and understanding to learn.   (Breakfast)



5.  Saturday, July 22     Stratford
This morning we tour of the Festival’s Costume Warehouse.  Following the tour the afternoon is at leisure and lunch is on our own.  Stratford is a delight to explore, and for those who still want more theatre, there is a matinee performance of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie at the Avon Theatre. MOVE UP TO DAY THREE  (Advance tickets may be purchased directly at the Stratford Festival’s website, www.stratford-festival.on.ca).  Tonight we enjoy an early farewell dinner followed by our final performance, William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at the Festival Theatre. As Beatrice and Benedick – old adversaries in the battle of the sexes – wage their “merry war” of witty insults, Benedick’s friend Claudio is deceived into thinking his beloved, Hero, has betrayed him.  Potential tragedy yields to high comedy, however, as the lexically challenged Constable Dogberry stumbles upon the truth.  (Breakfast) (Dinner)



6.  Sunday, July 23     Stratford/Buffalo
After breakfast travel via private motor coach to Buffalo where we tour the acclaimed Albright-Knox Art Gallery, one of the nation’s oldest and best museums.  After lunch on our own, we transfer to the Buffalo airport.  Our US Airways flight leaves at 5:10pm, arriving at LaGuardia at 6:29pm.  (Breakfast)





This engaging experience includes:

  • Round trip non-stop airfare LaGuardia/Buffalo/LaGuardia
  • 5 nights accommodations:
  • 2 nights at the Colonel Butler Inn in Niagara-On-The-Lake
  • 3 nights at the Arden Park Hotel in Stratford
  • Five theatre performances:
  • 2 at the Shaw Festival
  • 3 at the Stratford Festival
  • Breakfast daily, 2 dinners, 1 lunch
  • Shaw Backstage Tour and Theatre Talk
  • Stratford costume warehouse tour
  • Stratford City tour
  • Private motor coach as required throughout tour
  • Porterage of one piece of luggage
PROGRAM PRICES  
Per person (double occupancy) from New York: $2,049.00  
Single Supplement: $485.00  
Air Taxes: $45.00