Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Drama Canadian

Cerulean Blue

by (author) Drew Hayden Taylor

Publisher
Talonbooks
Initial publish date
Oct 2015
Category
Canadian
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780889229525
    Publish Date
    Oct 2015
    List Price
    $18.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780889229532
    Publish Date
    Dec 2015
    List Price
    $18.99

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Cerulean Blue is a comedic play about a struggling blues band invited to participate in a benefit concert for a First Nation community in conflict with governmental authorities. Upon arriving, the band discovers the entire lineup of musical acts has cancelled and they’re left trapped behind barricades. Complicating the matter, there is conflict within the band and the sudden appearance of an old girlfriend makes the event even more perilous.

This play is an homage to fast-moving farces while also addressing Aboriginal issues. Cerulean Blue deals with relationships, perceptions, politics, and what to do when you discover you’ve been dating your first cousin. Add a few spoonfuls of original blues music, and you’ve got a fun-filled evening.

The play was written for a large ensemble cast, which makes it ideal for musical theatre departments in high schools and colleges – every student can play a part. An original musical score by Andrew Clemens will be available for download from Talonbooks.com.

Cast of ten women and ten men.

About the author

Ojibway writer Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario. Hailed by the Montreal Gazette as one of Canada’s leading Native dramatists, he writes for the screen as well as the stage and contributes regularly to North American Native periodicals and national NEWSpapers. His plays have garnered many prestigious awards, and his beguiling and perceptive storytelling style has enthralled audiences in Canada, the United States and Germany. His 1998 play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth has been anthologized in Seventh Generation: An Anthology of Native American Plays, published by the Theatre Communications Group. Although based in Toronto, Taylor has travelled extensively throughout North America, honouring requests to read from his work and to attend arts festivals, workshops and productions of his plays. He was also invited to Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in California, where he taught a series of seminars on the depiction of Native characters in fiction, drama and film. One of his most established bodies of work includes what he calls the Blues Quartet, an ongoing, outrageous and often farcical examination of Native and non-Native stereotypes.

Drew Hayden Taylor's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“An off-the-chart comedy … a great combination of theatre and music." – Ryerson Folio

“An off-the-chart comedy … Not only was the acting on point, but the musical talent was as well. … I walked away smiling from ear to ear. … an amazing show that gave me goose bumps, warmed my heart, and left me laughing right until the very end. … There were moments when I felt as though I was disturbing the cast by laughing so hard in the front row. I had to cover my face with my program to calm myself down. … The musical performances were on the same level as the fantastic acting: impeccable. Each member of the band played their own instruments and sang their own vocals live. It was a great combination of theatre and music. I got to enjoy a great production as well as a killer concert.”
Ryerson Folio

Other titles by