King’s Point artists aim to preserve local heritage with homegrown musical | CBC News

A musical in King’s Point in central Newfoundland is putting a spotlight on songs from the local area, incorporating old and new tunes into The Far End of Summer.

Jim Card is a local history buff and songwriter who has contributed to the production. He will also be singing in it when the musical goes to stage on Oct. 21.

“I’ve always had a natural curiosity about just about everything and want to preserve the memory of people and places and the way of life and so on to pass on to future generations,” Card told CBC News in a recent interview. “So they have some idea to where they came from, their roots and so on.”

Far End of Summer is an all new production for the King’s Point Theatre Project, and its premiere marks the fifth anniversary for the company. The show features old and new songs, with an aim to uncover the musical history of the area.

Card wrote many songs over the years that will be featured in the musical, including Between the Mountain and the Bay in 1996.

“I just imagined myself growing up in Rattling Brook in the 1950s and described all the parts of the people and places I would have encountered, things I would have done, and so on,” Card recalled. “That was the idea behind that one. That nostalgia, the connection with with the home, you know, the rootedness and so on.”

Rory Lambert is the artistic director behind the show, which was written by his wife, Sandy Gow. He says it was Gow’s idea to explore traditional and original music in the Green Bay area.

“The ultimate goal is to create a show, a site-specific show that would happen at Rattling Brook Falls and sort of explore musically how sound can kind of work with the natural sound of that roaring waterfall, which is just so beautiful,” said Lambert.

Lambert says the research for the show is ongoing as they uncover more evidence of local artists who they weren’t familiar with. 

“We also have a really interesting song that we came across called The Logger’s Alphabet,” said Lambert. “It was written by a man named, I believe it’s Ronald Saunders, who, according to wider notes, was born in Rattling Brook.”

“We’re very interested in this because we don’t have a record of Ronald Saunders in Rattling Brook who was a songwriter. So even leading up to the show, we’re finding little bits of piece that we want to dig deeper on and see if we can strengthen those connections and keep those songs alive.”

Lambert says the mandate of the King’s Point Theatre Project is to record, preserve, reinterpret and present the songs, stories, history, culture and folklore of the area. 

“So this show, when Sandy came up with this idea, I was like, ‘That’s right up our alley,'” said Lambert. “Not only does it fit for us, it’s a real importance to us. The King’s Point Theatre Project is about bringing community together and celebrating the songs and stories in our history.”

Far End of Summer will be playing Saturday at 7 p.m. at the King’s Point Fire Hall.

Artists performing include Allison Crowe, Sandy Gow, Travis Richards, Jim Card, Rory Lambert and Adam Brake.

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