New West Theatre is getting ready to get Glitzed, Dec. 16. As is most of the December productions, Glitz is somewhat of a greatest hits show, but the comedy makes it stand out.
Popular performer Mark Nivet returned from Toronto to be part of Glitz and is looking forward to it.
“It really is a good, solid cast. Everyone works really well together,” he continued adding it has also been a lot of work.
“We’re keeping it to under two hours, but we had a sound check today and I was singing for about eight hours straight, ” he continued during a quick break from rehearsals.
While he is best known for his impressive singing voice, he also gets to try his hand at Glitz’s comedy.
“The show showcases everybody. We all contribute, so if I feel I can contribute somehting, I’ll say it,” said Nivet, who is enjoying his fifth year and about fifteenth show with New West.
“They’re doing a movie montage, so the band is playing movie themes while Scott Carpenter is re-enacting some of the scenes. So I said I could take off my shirt and just be ET, and everybody just lost it. So it’s nice some of my things get in the show,” he said adding he is looking forward to opening night.
“I’m just looking forward to performing with my friends. Every time I come here, I grow as a performer and an actor. It’s a lot of hard work, but there’s nothing I’d want to do,” he said.
“We combine some audience favourites from the past years with some exciting new surprises,” said director Nicholas Hanson.
“ So we have a pretty focused rehearsal process,” he continued adding the show includes audience favourites from the likes of the Guess Who, Simon and Garfunkle and Fleetwood Mac as well as more contemporary material and a cast of eight familiar faces including Scott Carpenter, Jocelyn Haub, Erica Hunt, Jessica Ens and Kathy Zaborsky as well as returning faces like Mark Nivet and faces from the past like Jay Whitehead and Peter Monaghan.
“It ’s hard to explain, but we realize how many families and groups of friends have made New West part of their December traditions, so we want to make the December production as vibrant as possible and appeal to a broad range of audiences,” he continued adding one big tradition is the New Year’s Eve champagne show, in which the community rings in the new year by taking in the how and celebrating with champagne during the intermission.