THUNDER BAY – ENTERTAINMENT – Thom Currie has just celebrated a significant milestone: He has now officially spent one year in Thunder Bay as Magnus Theatre’s Artistic Director.
“That’s right,” he grins on a break from rehearsal. “I drove into Thunder Bay last year on August 28th and started work on August 29th. It’s been a great year.”
The upcoming season at Magnus Theatre is the first that Currie has programmed for Thunder Bay audiences, and he has promised a revolution. He chuckles at the reference.
“A revolution, any revolution, is marked by change, a change in the way things are done. And yes, there are changes happening at Magnus.”
Having spent his first year in the north talking to his co-workers, to other local arts organizations and to Magnus patrons, Currie has announced several changes for Thunder Bay’s only professional theatre. For example, all evening performances will now begin at 7:30 pm.
“In researching this, I learned that a lot of Magnus patrons would prefer the show to start earlier, so that they could socialize after the show, get home a bit earlier or simply not have to drive too late at night. Looking at theatres across North America, you will find that most professional theatre is now starting at 7:30, not 8:00. We are just bringing Magnus in line with the rest of the continent.”
Other changes are not as drastic. The theatre will now be closed on Mondays, with the new performance schedule running Tuesday to Sunday (in previous years, Magnus was closed on Sunday). Sunday performances will be at 2:00pm, adding a matinee performance for patrons who might prefer to attend in the afternoon.
“The box office hours have also changed,” Currie continues. “You can buy tickets online 24 hours a day at www.magnustheatre.com. But if you want to come in person to purchase, the new box office hours are 12:30 to 7:30 pm, weekends included.”
The theatre has also added one Pay What You Can Performance to each show run.
“On the second Sunday of the run of each play, we are offering tickets at a Pay What You Can price. That is, there will be no subscriptions or reserved seating for those particular performances. Patrons will line up and pay what they want, on a first come first served basis,” Currie explains. “The thinking behind this is that we would like Magnus to be accessible to everyone who wants to come. In a city like Thunder Bay, with so many students and people on a fixed income, a Pay What You Can performance simply makes sense.” The first Magnus Pay What You Can performance is on September 17 at 2:00 pm.
Magnus Theatre officially kicks off its’ new season on September 8, with the musical WE WILL ROCK YOU, featuring music by Queen. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.magnustheatre.com or call the box office at 807-345-5552.
