STEPHEN HARPER! THE MUSICAL by Steven and Daniel Shehori, with music by Jay McCarrol, directed by the Shehoris, with Ashley Botting, Trevor Martin, Paul O’Sullivan and James Roussel. Presented by the Second City (51 Mercer). At Just For Laughs: July 8 and 10 at 6 pm, Jul 11 at 7 pm, then continues July 13-25, Tuesday-Sunday 7 pm. $24-$29. 416-343-0011. secondcity.com.
When Canada’s prime minister played a Beatles tune at the National Arts Centre last October, he couldn’t have predicted that his take on With A Little Help From My Friends would inspire a musical based on, well, Stephen Harper staging a musical.
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“That’s when Canadians viewed him as a charismatic character,” says Steven Shehori, who co-wrote the Second City production with his brother Daniel, in an interview. “I remember Canadians being so enamoured of Harper when footage of that performance started to circulate.”
A title like Stephen Harper! The Musical seems perfect for political humour, but the Shehori brothers weren’t interested in appeasing Parliament Hill junkies.
“We’re not political people, so there aren’t many insider jokes,” Shehori admits. He says a prime minister musical by non-political writers will give audiences a show that is more “character-driven than policy-driven.”
You’d think the Shehori brothers, who’ve worked with Second City for years and written for the Gemini Awards, would consider Harper an easy target. Look at how easily he’s skewered on The Rick Mercer Report or Air Farce. Shehori says they didn’t want to go after the same old Harperisms.
“It wouldn’t be much of challenge for us to break out sweater vest jokes or the Mussolini comparisons,” he says. This isn’t a musical where the music is an afterthought. Shehori says the show’s songs are infectious and the actors can carry complex tunes.
Stephen Harper! The Musical follows the PM discussing with his advisers how best to produce a musical based on his life. Half the show involves Harper in his war room trying to write the musical numbers, and the other half takes place during rehearsals and performance.
The show stars James Roussel of Air Farce fame as the PM, and the advisers are a who’s who of Toronto stage comedy: Ashley Botting from Second City, Trevor Martin of Evil Dead The Musical and Paul O’Sullivan from The Producers.
Returning to Just For Laughs with Stephen Harper! The Musical is a homecoming for the Shehoris. A year ago at its all-star gala, they put on a short musical sketch about Toronto’s garbage strike – appropriately called Avenue CUPE – and now the pressure’s on with a musical “around 10 times longer than last year’s,” Steven says, with just a hint of anxiety in his voice.
After the show’s official run in Toronto, the brothers hope to take the musical to Ottawa and invite Harper himself to check it out.
Would the PM be offended by the show?
“Maybe in some areas, but he’d get a kick out of it,” Steven says. “It’s the kind of comedy where he’ll likely say to himself, ‘Well, that could’ve been a lot worse.'”
stage@nowtoronto.com
