The true story of one family's secrets of love and of loss, and how a photo from the past changed everything. 

"It's what you'd want in a cabaret: it's personal, it has both humour and heart, and both Brad and Patti are compelling performers."  Liz Nicholls, Edmonton Journal


The Picture of Happiness tells the true story of an old photograph that Brad Hampton discovers in his grandmother's basement when he is just twenty-three years old.

Hidden away for decades, the photo, taken just before WWII, is of two soldiers sitting together on a picnic blanket.  Smiling, with their arms around each other, the two young men are the picture of happiness.

Brad knows that one of the men in the photograph is his grandfather, Bill.  When he asks his mother who the other man is, she says, “We don’t talk about it.  We never talk about it.”

Silenced, Brad realizes that he’s uncovered not just an old photograph, but a family secret.  His mother’s refusal to tell him the story of his grandfather Bill and this mystery man leaves Brad burning to know who his grandfather really was.

For fifteen years, Brad holds his curiosity in check until one day, while chatting on the phone with his mother, Brad asks her about the photograph.  This initial conversation and the ones that follow reveal the story of the photograph and form the basis of this new show.

Over the course of a funny, moving and intimate hour, Brad makes the connection between his life today and the life his grandfather lived in 1943.

Directed by Rae Ellen Bodie, Brad and pianist Patti Loach lovingly and hilariously depict a colourful cast of characters through storytelling and songs from the worlds of contemporary cabaret and musical theatre.

Together they reveal how, by bringing a secret into the light, it’s possible to become free – free to laugh loudly, sing freely, and love deeply.

*songs by David Friedman, Maury Yeston, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Mercer & Mancini, John Bucchino, Jason Robert Brown, Michel Legrand, Amanda McBroom, Gerald Sternbach, Christine Lavin, and Alan & Marilyn Bergman.

Listen to an interview with Ted Woloshyn and Bill King at NewsTalk1010; Brad and Patti talked about the June 2014 show at the Jazz Bistro, and Rae and Ted talked about being Ukrainian!  

Listen to an interview with Patti, singer-songwriter Fred Penner, and Bill Richardson of Winnipeg's Classic 106. They talk about the Picture of Happiness shows in Winnipeg in June 2014 at Fred Penner's home, and the increasing popularity of 'house concerts'.  

NOW TORONTO:  to read Jon Kaplan's interview with Brad Hampton about the show, click here.

 

Soulpepper. And a podcast.

I’m the picture of excited. And also, something beautiful happened.

WINNIPEG TICKETS - June 20, 21 and 22!

We're performing three shows in Winnipeg this weekend.  The first is at Monica Huisman's home, Friday June 20.  Doors open at 7pm for a 7:30pm show. Tix are available here - click on link below:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/677608

Shows 2 & 3 are at Fred Penner's place, Saturday June 21 (7pm door, 7:30 show) and Sunday matinee, June 22 (2pm door, 2:30pm show). Tix are available here - click on link below:

POH returns to Winnipeg then plays Jazz Bistro in Toronto!

Been awhile - a long while - since we've been on the road with POH. Brad, Patti and I head to Winnipeg next week to play three shows.

The Picture of a Prairie Encore: Part Deux. And a goat.

The Picture of a Prairie Encore

We are the picture of a prairie encore tour.

The Picture of Ducks

The Picture of Calgary: "LOCAL"

The picture of beauty: Rae Ellen Bodie talks with Daniel Thompson.

 

Rae Ellen is interviewed by Dan Thompson of Daniel Thompson Beauty Inc., for Erica Ehm's Yummy Mummy Club blog.

The Picture of Marcia Whitehead

 

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