SONGS WE LOVE

Favourites from Past (and Future) VPP Shows

Created by David Rogers & David Hogan
Directed by David Rogers
Music Direction & Arrangements
by Mark Payne

Dates
September 7-October 3, 2021

Running Time
90 minutes, plus intermission.

This intimate, light-hearted show features uplifting songs from some of your favourite VPP performances from the past, as well as a sneak peek into some of the music planned for next season. From ‘Country Tunes’ to ‘Broadway Gems’ and from ‘Rock’n Roll to ‘Crooning Standards’, we’ve done ’em all here at the VPP, so you’re bound to hear the ones you love. Familiar VPP performers Alex Baerg, Michael Vanhevel, Jennifer Walls and, of course, the masterful Mark Payne at the Grand Piano will add their own flair to shine new light on popular VPP Classics.

For tickets, please call the Box Office at
1-800-717-7694

The Company

Alex Baerg

Alex Baerg

Alex Baerg is a singer, guitarist, pianist, and performer from London, ON. He is so happy to finally be back at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia. Past VPP credits include: Godspell, Country Sunshine, The Heart and Soul of Broadway, The Fiddler On The Loose, Everything Elvis, Canada Sings, The Fiddler On The Moose, Folks Like Us, Rockabilly Swingtime, Good Ol’ Country Gospel, Rocky Mountain High, East Coast Kitchen Party, You’ve Got A Friend, Murder For 2, Hogan’s Hoedown, the VPP Country Christmas Jamboree, Starbright Christmas. Alex would like to thank his beautiful wife, Alessia Lupiano, and his beautiful children, Poppy and Jack Baerg, for their unending support and love.

Michael Vanhevel

Michael Vanhevel

Michael Vanhevel is extremely excited to be returning to the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia in “Songs We Love” this season! Michael has performed as an actor and musician at such venues as The Stratford Festival Theatre, The Magnus Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, The Sudbury Theatre Centre, each of the 7 Drayton Entertainment Stages, as well as in concert venues in Detroit, Hamilton, Niagara, Toronto, Chatham, Kingston, Halifax, Thunder Bay, and London. You may recognize him from roles in previous VPP seasons in such shows as The Songs of Sinatra, Hollywood Sings, The Fiddler & The Crooner, several of the Starbright Christmas specials, and Norm Foster’s Outlaw. He is delighted to be once again sharing the stage with some of his favourite performers and friends and to be joining them in bringing you some wonderful memories of the past 10 years and dreams for the next decade! He wishes to thank his wife Keely and son Clark for their unwavering support and love!

Jennifer Walls

Jennifer Walls

Jennifer couldn’t be more excited to return to the VPP stage! She has appeared in Everything Elvis, Wonderful World, The Fiddler & The Crooner, Little Miss County Fair, Starbright Christmas and the Christmas Jamboree. Recently Jennifer was the assistant director for Into The Woods with Talk Is Free Theatre and the director of The Rocky Horror Show and Heathers the Musical at Hart House Theatre.  She is a voice actor and can be heard as the voice of The Family Channel.  She is also the host/producer of Singular Sensation, Toronto’s premier musical theatre open mic which she took online over the past year as a talk show keeping audiences inspired, celebrating the resilience and contributions of the theatre community.  Outside of performing Jennifer works as a vocal coach and mentor. So much love and thanks to the Davids and her VPP family, this amazing cast and SD. Welcome back!
Mark Payne

Mark Payne

Mark Payne is a diverse musician, equally at home on the stage, in the studio, and writing and arranging for a wide variety of different groups and genres.  He is currently the resident Musical Director at the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia, where he arranges the music for the entire season, rehearses the casts, and performs in most of the shows.  He has also arranged music and performed in the seasonal show “Starbright” for the past 13 years.  He co-conducts Primus Amabile Men’s Choir in London, as well as being the senior orchestra conductor for the Forest City String School.  Mark has recorded multiple CDs, written original musicals, and has a one-man show, called “I Love A Piano”, which will resume – post COVID – being produced for orchestra pops shows across Canada.  Saying he’s excited to be back on stage (and on his favourite stage at the VPP, no less!) after the COVID hiatus, is likely one of the bigger understatements of his life to date.

CLICK HERE to read David Hogan & David Rogers’ interview with Sarnia This Week for even more SONGS WE LOVE details.