Love songs focus of musical event in West Pubnico

There will be performances in French, English and Italian and the audience can expect what is billed as “a special surprise by the end of the evening.”

People who turn out for the event will hear some of the world’s best-known love songs. “There’s a bit of stuff from anywhere from the sixties to recently,” said Yvette d’Entremont, the producer/director of Roméo et Juliette and one of those who will take part in the Aug. 18 evening of music. “We’ll be delving into stuff from other musicals too that have to do with love…We have a wide variety, lots of beautiful harmonies, and I’m hoping people will enjoy the evening.”

The show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and admission at the door is $8 for adults, $6 for students and children.

Asked about the show, d’Entremont said the idea – aside from showcasing some of the cast members from Roméo et Juliette and treating the audience to some nice music – is to keep alive the spirit of Roméo et Juliette in the hearts of those who were involved in it. “It still is in mine and it’s been very difficult to let it go and I guess it hasn’t got out of our system yet,” d’Entremont said. “We’ve moved on, but we know what an impact it has had on our lives and those people who watched the show, so we just wanted to do something a little different but still keep within the spirit of Roméo et Juliette and I guess the best way to do that was to keep the spirit of music and love alive. The option was to do love songs.”

Roméo et Juliette, the French musical by Gérard Presgurvic based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, was presented by École secondaire de Par-en-Bas at Th’YARC May 20-24.

The production was a big hit, drawing good crowds and generating much positive feedback. “It was unbelievable,” d’Entremont said. “I think the thing that stuck in our minds the most was receiving people in the lobby after the show was over and just watching people with their mouths open, just coming to us and saying ‘I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless.’ I think that was the nicest compliment that really anyone could have paid us.”

D’Entremont had taken on plenty of theatrical projects prior to Roméo et Juliette, but none the magnitude of this one. “It was definitely a big undertaking, the biggest I’ve ever attempted, but, wow, did it ever pay off,” she said. “The hard work surely paid off.”