Edward Willett, who serves on the board of The Golden Apple Theatre, conducted this interview with Kyle Golemba in advance of the opening of his revue of Canadian musical theatre, Making Love in a Canoe...

TGAT: Tell me about your background and how you got into musical theatre.

Kyle: Well, I started in Regina with Do it With Class when I was ten, and became a part of the community here with Regina Summer Stage and also Regina Lyric Light Opera and trained with Andorlie and Rob, then went away to school. It’s a really great opportunity to be able to come back and be a part of the community again.

TGAT: What are some of the things you’ve been doing in the past few years as a performer?

Kyle: I’ve spent the last four seasons at Stratford as part of West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate and Jesus Christ Superstar there. As well, I was just in Cinderella at the Grand in London as the Prince. The lucky thing about the career is that it’s taken me all the way from coast to coast.

TGAT: And now here you are back in Regina.

Kyle: Exactly! Right back in the middle of it all.

TGAT: You’re one of the original board members of The Golden Apple Theatre Company. What does it mean to you to be able to come back and perform with Golden Apple?

Kyle: Well, it’s a huge privilege to be able to come back and perform in my home town, for sure, and it’s also exciting to be a part of a new company devoted to interesting small works like this and to be given the opportunity to present my show as a part of this theatre that’s full of these people that I love. It’s a huge privilege.

TGAT: So tell me about the show, how it came about and how it got to this point. This is its first theatrical run, isn’it it?

Kyle: Yes, it is, which is also really exciting. It started as a cabaret, as part of a cabaret series, and then we discovered all these great Canadian songs that we’d been doing and put them all into one big show. It’s been kind of our goal forever to keep developing it and hopefully be something that we can take to different theatres. We did it this past summer in Stratford, and afterwards we had a postmortem, and talked about whether we wanted to keep continuing with the show, and we didn’t really know, and then a few days later Andorlie gave me the call that Golden Apple would be wanting to have us out and we just jumped at the chance.

TGAT: What will audiences experience in the show?

Kyle: Certainly laughter is the first thing. Lots of fun songs, lots of stories from the theatre and from our lives. Variety, lots of variety in styles and ideas represented by the various writers. There’s about 15 writers represented, so there’s a diverse collection of style and opinion, that’s for sure.

TGAT: These are all Canadian musical theatre numbers. Do you think that Canadians don’t appreciate the depth of the musical theatre talent that there is in the country when it comes to creating shows?

Kyle: Certainly. I think they don’t have the opportunity to, which is the unfortunate part, and what we’re trying to right in doing this. I think a lot of these productions don’t get done very often, or they get done a few times and then kind of fade away into the ether like Brigadoon. It is a shame that they aren’t more appreciated, but I think we’re doing our part to at least whet people’s appetite.

TGAT: And of course I have to ask you about the title…

Kyle: (Laughs.) Yes, of course. Well, the Pierre Berton quote goes, you know, “a Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe.” I read that and though, “That is a perfect title just waiting to happen, right there.” I sent a text message to Adam (White) asking if he approved, and he wholeheartedly agreed. And it’s obviously working, because it’s the number-one question we get asked about this show.

TGAT: Do you have any further plans for this show after this?

Kyle: Well, our next step is to create a recording of the show, which we’re hopefully doing in the next few months, and kind of preserve it that way, and then we’ll see what happens. But every time we do it, a new opportunity pops up, so…

This is allowing us the opportunity to really ground the show before we record it, and then who knows what the recording itself will bring us.

TGAT: Is this the only show that you have personally created?

Kyle: Certainly, a revue like this, yes. I mean, we’ve developed countless cabarets over the years, but those were all one-offs. This is certainly the first real show that I’ve developed.

TGAT:  Have you gotten a taste for that? Do you hope to do more in the future?

Kyle: Ah…perhaps. It’s certainly been interesting, and a fun ride, but also I know exactly how much dedication and work it takes, so I don’t know if I’m quite up to anything more yet!

TGAT: What do you have lined up as a performer after this?

Kyle: Luckily, actually just a few days after I get back from Regina, I start rehearsals for 42nd Street, where I’m playing the choreographer, Andy Lee. I’m also in Pirates of Penzance as well.

TGAT: Thanks, Kyle, and best of luck with the show! We can’t wait to see it.

Kyle: Thank you!

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