A sure sign of spring: Becket Players are back

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER

editor@transcontinental.ca

The Becket Players are set for their 34th anniversary show and hope to sing and dance their way to raising some $60,000 for children's causes.

This year, the venerable troupe's Way-off Broadway production is 'The case of the Immortal Corpse,' a classic whodunit musical, which will be backed by Cabaret 2008, dubbed Carnival of life.

The Becket Players are marking their 34th year of raising funds for the community.

"Our bottom line is we help raise funds, mainly for the Montreal Children's Hospital and Ste. Justine's, but there's a long list of organizations we help," said Becket chairman Steve George, who first volunteered with the troupe 23 years ago as a stage hand. "Usually, we target $50,000 to $60,000 each year."

To date, Becket Players have raised about $3.2 million for charities.

Becket board member Marian Kuiper, who started performing with Becket in 1984, said this year's cabaret follows a carnival theme.

"We try to cover different tastes and music," she said. "It's about 90 minutes long and we go through some 30 songs that are energetic dance numbers."

The case of the Immortal Corpse, a murder-mystery spoof, follows a detective trying to find clues on Mount Olympus that will lead him to the killer of Zeus.

Each year, Becket Players rely on a few hundred volunteers to put on the show, from ticket sellers to waitresses. "Getting people to volunteer is getting tougher each year," George said. "We are still looking for people interested in helping out this season."

Tickets for the show are on sale at the Dollard Civic Centre (12001 de Salaberry Blvd.) box office for $25 each. The box office is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at show time. Shows run every Friday and Saturday from April 19 to May 10. A special gala performance ($150 per person) will be held April 18. For more information, check www.becketplayers.ca or call 514-979-3029.