'We need to stand up and be proud of who we are': new musical celebrates northern Ontario

Andy Lowe shudders and groans deeply as he thinks about how he's been dragged back in the theatre world after some 30 years of staying away. 

And that includes the return of "actor's nightmares."

"I could probably do without it right now, but it's my community service, if you like," said the veteran Sudbury singer-songwriter.

"And I get a real kick out of hearing the cast perform the songs that I wrote."

While Lowe is known for singing covers in downtown Sudbury bars and at Killarney Mountain Lodge, he's also written a collection of folk songs over the years about northern Ontario that are the basis for the new musical No Fences.

"We're doing it to show the regional pride through song," said Lowe, who also wrote the play and is directing. 

"We got a distinct identity here in the mid-north and we need to celebrate it more in every way we can. We need to stand up and be proud of who we are. And that's what this show is about."

He said he first had the idea of turning his songs about blueberry picking and miners and sunsets into a musical 20 years ago, but it was revived after he sang them for a web concert during the pandemic hosted by Sudbury Performance Group director Mark Mannisto.

"I wouldn't call this a jukebox musical, because I've not really had any hits," Lowe said with a laugh.

"It's a folk rock musical if you like. It's set in a northern campground and they're having their annual open mic night and there's various different characters that come and share their songs."

Those characters are played by a range of actors, including some community theatre veterans and some first-timers. 

"I think it definitely is a new perspective," said stage manager Jocelyne Lehto. 

"And everybody is able to do their own thing and make it come together."

Lowe, who in years past also wrote plays about a faded popstar and one designed to warn kids about the dangers of smoking, says with its rhyming dialogue and familiar subject matter, No Fences is just a northern Ontario good time.