The first duty of a new Canadian musical is to prove it belongs on stage. In the Key of Blue, receiving its world premiere at Picton’s Regent Theatre, makes its strongest argument when the band is playing, the singers are in full command, and the production briefly locks into the confident pulse of a concert with dramatic stakes.
The challenge is everything around those moments. With music by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo and book and direction by Mike Trites, the show has evident affection for Canadian rock, but it has not yet found the dramatic economy to match the emotional directness of its songs. That is hardly unusual for a premiere. New musicals often reveal their strengths and weaknesses only once they are placed before an audience. In the Key of Blue arrives with a clear sense of ambition and a score that can stir a room, but it also points plainly to the revisions still required.
The story follows Jarrod Scott (John Kenny), a musician chasing a breakthrough in the Canadian rock scene, and his partner, Candice Darwell (Emily Fennell), who supports his dream while worrying about the cost of living that comes with it. Their relationship is affectionate but strained, caught between artistic hope and financial reality. The chance for a larger stage comes when MP Thomas Campbell (Tomas Crossley) invites Jarrod’s band to perform at a televised election rally on Canada’s West Coast. What begins as a golden opportunity soon exposes fault lines in Jarrod’s relationships with Candice and his band members. At what cost will Jarrod pay for the price of fame?
The production is best when its visual, musical and performance elements line up. Near the end of Act 1, Kenny delivers “Every Time You Walk into the Room” with control and clarity, aided by effective lighting and one of the evening’s better-balanced sound mixes. Fennell opens Act 2 with a forceful solo that drew a strong audience response at the Regent. In those passages, the show’s promise is unmistakable.
In the Key of Blue needs more of that precision. Trites’ book would benefit from sharper editing, clearer transitions and a leaner running time. At approximately two hours and 40 minutes, including intermission, the production’s running time feels overextended. Trimming 15 to 20 minutes would help create a more urgent pace. Some songs may not need to be performed in full if shorter excerpts would better serve the dramatic momentum.
The Regent Theatre gives the premiere a handsome sense of occasion, but technical inconsistencies undercut the opening minutes. Some early dialogue was difficult to hear, and a scripted line — “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to hold for a moment for sound technicalities” — appeared to confuse audience members, some of whom seemed to take it as an actual interruption rather than part of the scene. Might that line be changed to avoid confusion?
The eight-piece band gives the score a welcome drive, though the music sometimes overpowers the lyrics. That matters in a musical where story and song must carry equal weight. Lighting also remains uneven. In one Act 1 scene, Jarrod is left partly in shadow while singing from far stage left, even though Candice is properly lit in the same area later in Act 2.
Crossley gives Campbell a polished public surface that gradually reveals something more calculating, particularly in his scenes with Candice. Tara Forbes’ choreography lends visual impact to the final two songs of Act 2, while Jarrod’s bandmates establish distinct comic personalities that add texture to the backstage world of the Canadian music scene.
Kenny and Fennell give Jarrod and Candice a plausible emotional range, presenting a couple trying to hold together under the pressure of uncertainty. Vocally, both performers are strong. Fennell’s second-act solo is one of the production’s highlights, and the role could easily support another solo number in the show. Performance-wise, the two actors will continue to grow sincerely in learning how to deliver onstage dialogue.
In his director’s programme note, Trites describes the past eighteen months as a labour of love for those involved. That commitment is evident in the scale of the project and in the audience’s response at the end of the performance. The show clearly wants to celebrate Blue Rodeo’s place in Canadian rock music while turning that respect into a theatrical narrative.
For now, In the Key of Blue is a promising but uneven premiere: musically engaging, sincerely performed and still in need of structural discipline. With further revision from the creative team and actors, it could become a sharper, more cohesive new Canadian musical.
Running time: approximately two hours and 40 minutes with one intermission.
In the Key of Blue plays July 10, 11 and 12 at the Isabel Bader Centre, 390 King Street West, Kingston. It then plays on July 17 for one night only at Showplace, 290 George Street North, Peterborough. For tickets and other information: https://inthekeyofblue.ca/
IN THE KEY OF BLUE A New Canadian Musical
Book by Mike Trites
Music by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo
Executive Producer: Pat Larkin
Producers: Tom Harrison, Andrea Harrison
Associate Producers: Cheryl Singer, Liz Pierson, Kevin Pierson
Stage Managers: Kim Kennedy, Susie Mitchell
Set and Costume Design: Debra Smith
Costumes: Brenda Clarkson
Technical Director: Logan Somers
Sound Engineering: Gavin North
Director: Mike Trites
Choreographer: Tara Forbes
Band: Daisy Box, Steve Mee, John Kenny, Joel Parlow, Steve Sawyers, Paul Kenny, Ryan Henderson, Caro Reiss
Performers: John Kenny, Emily Fennell, Steve Sawyers, Tomas Crossley, Paul Kenny, Ryan Henderson, Daisy Box, Liz Simpson, Pat Larkin, Deb Smith, Cheryl Singer, Torsten Manahan
Ensemble: Melody Burrill, Evangelia (Lia) McDonald, Emie Nichols, Stephanie Rose, Cheryl Singer, Kaidance Smith
