If you were sad that Corner Gas wrapped up this year after 6 seasons, you still have the chance to visit small town Saskatchewan life one more time at Jubilations Dinner Theatre. Corner Gassed, based on the hit TV series, runs in Calgary until June 21st.
It’s the Bi-centennial celebration for Cat Creek, Saskatchewan. Big plans to celebrate include a pageant, talent contest, pickle competition and much more. Brett Sass (Jeremy Coulter) runs the local gas station he bought from his dad Owen (Gabriel Stinson). Owen is brewing up something special to add to the punch bowl under the nose of local police officer Sharon (Jaclyn Nestman). The show is rounded out with Jolee Alberts as Sandra, Vicktoria Adam as Tracey and a human rubber band named Kevin Pownall as Frank.
Sticking with the uniquely Canadian theme, the soundtrack consists solely of Canadian artists, such as The Band, Tom Cochrane, kd Lang, Sarah Mclachlan and many others. The music is what brought Jubilations veteran Jeremy Coulter back to the company after a three year hiatus.
“I got bored. I was a cabinetmaker for three years in Prince George, BC and it just wasn’t me, that constant repetition of building the same box for the 2000th time. I did a community theatre show up there and after that knew what I had to do. So I contacted (artistic director) Randy Apostle and let him know I was interested. He called me back and said ‘We are doing Corner Gas, do you want to be Brett?’ Yes I do,” he recalled. “Corner Gas is a Canadian icon, like The Red Green Show was years ago. Everybody knows it. Even people who haven’t seen the TV show recognize it. But for me it is the music, it is all Canadian. I get to sing The Weight by The Band, which is one of my all time favorite songs.”
Now in his 10th show, Coulter isn’t concerned with having to portray such a well known character.
”I have done a couple of shows where the character I am playing is a takeoff of a character that is known. There is a little bit of pressure, but with the Brett character it is really easy. He is the straight man, he is the one relatively normal person amongst this whole band of loonies. We have a lot in common, we are the same height, roughly the same build, into comic books and science fiction and love to eat. He is 10 years older than I am but we are relatively similar people. So getting into the character to Brett was easy. As long as I can bring the essence of that character to the stage show, I have done my job and am happy.”
The show is fairly standard Jubilations fare. A fun night out with friends to interact with the additional cast, have a four course meal, listen to some music and have a few laughs. The show has such a broad spectrum of music that it will appeal to people regardless of age Coulter says.
“Musically this is one of the best shows in a while because it has appeal to everyone. Songs appeal to our generation like Trooper, Barenaked Ladies, and Bryan Adams. We also have things that appeal to older people like The Unicorn and The Logdrivers Waltz, which people our age remember from CBC between The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup. The rest of the cast do such a great job of tapping into those things that make the characters on the show so quirky. It really is a lot of fun.”
