Strike!
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| Strike! | |
| Music | Danny Schur |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Danny Schur |
| Based upon | History of the Winnipeg General Strike |
| Productions | 2005 Rainbow Stage, Winnipeg Persephone Theatre, Saskatoon |
Strike! is a musical depicting the Winnipeg General Strike. It has been adapted into a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio production and a 17 minute short film meant to solicit interest in producing a feature film.
Contents |
[edit] Content
Strike focuses on Mike Sokolowski, a Ukrainian immigrant from Galicia who was killed by Royal North-West Mounted Police on "Bloody Saturday", 21 June 1919. The account of his life is heavily fictionalized, and is character is composited with another Ukranian-Canadian labourer. Sokolowski begins the play as an anti-Semite who loathes so-called Jewish Bolshevism, but learns better due in part to a romantic sub-plot involving his godson Stefan (originally Myron) and his Jewish neighbour Rebecca.
[edit] Performances and adaptations
After two private workshops in 2003, a public outdoor "preview" of Strike was performed at Old Market Square on May 15th, 2004. In spring 2005, the full play was premiered at Winnipeg's Kildonan Park Stage (aka Rainbow Stage) as an independent production. The next fall, a re-vamped version premiered at Saskatoon's Persephone Theatre. On 15 May 2007, a special performance at the Burton Cummings Theatre was recorded for CBC Radio. The theatre was chosen in part because it had been used as a meeting-place for labour activists prior to the 1919 strike. The radio adaptation was broadcast on Labour Day, 3 September 2007.
[edit] Book
A book based on Strike! was released by Playwrights Canada Press on 10 December, 2007.
[edit] Film
A 17 minute film adaptation of Strike! has been produced and screened publicly. It is meant to solicit interest in producing a feature film, planned for filming in Winnipeg over spring and summer 2008.
[edit] Financing
 |
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Strike was primarily financed by a limited partnership of investors from across Canada, with a mix of arts grants and donations from Canadian labour unions.
[edit] Cast and Crew
Strike was created by Danny Schur, who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the text with Rick Chafe.
[edit] Original (2005) cast
- Catherine Wreford as Rebecca Almazoff
- Jay Brazeau as Mike Sokolowski
- Marc Devigne as Myron Dudar
- David Friedman as Moishe Almazoff
- Christopher Ryan as Senator Gideon Robertson
[edit] Radio (2007) cast
- Jeff Skinner as Mike Sokolowski
- Marc Devigne as Stefan Dudar
- Adrienne Merrell as Rebecca Almazoff
- Kevin Aichele as Senator Robertson
[edit] References
- Vancouver Sun: 'Strike!' works for radio special, 27 August 2007
- The Ukranian Weekly (Ottawa): Ukrainian Canadian's musical dramatizes Winnipeg General Strike, 5 June 2005
- Winnipeg Labour Council website: "STRIKE" New Musical Celebrates the Winnipeg Strike of 1919, 12 May 2005
- National Union of Public and General Sector Employees website: New musical celebrates the Winnipeg Strike of 1919, 10 April 2005
