Actor-singer Louise Pitre has understandably been called Canada’s first lady of musical theatre. She has garnered a variety of accolades, in her ongoing and distinguished career, which include a Theatre World award for Mama Mia! on Broadway, a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk nomination for the same production, four Dora Mavor Moore awards in her native Canada, and three honorary degrees. She will next appear in the Theatre 20 production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Theatre from June 21, 2014. This interview took place in early June of that same year.
James Strecker: What are the challenges and pleasures of doing Sondheim’s company, first as an actor and then as a singer?
Louise Pitre: The script is denser than you think. With Gary Griffin directing, it is an enormous challenge as an actor, difficult to incorporate all that he sees but a thrilling challenge. The score is also very demanding, not only melodically and harmonically but rhythmically.
JS: Let’s say that a newcomer to Sondheim was coming to see Company. What would you tell them in order to enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of this production?
LP: I would not say anything beforehand. I think this show is one of the most accessible of Sondheim’s. Musically, it runs the gamut so there is something for everyone. The topic of marriage-commitment-love is one that speaks to everybody.
JS: What’s are the pleasures for you in being part of such an impressive cast?
LP: Knowing we can just go! We take notes from Gary, adjust what we’re doing, and move on to the next set of notes! It is a joy to be with a whole group of terrific performers. There’s no waiting around for somebody to “get it”.
JS: Sondheim has fanatical devotees and detractors too, so, from your experience of his work, why does Sondheim matter to musical theatre?
LP: Because it changed what we thought of musicals. Because it is so damn smart, clever, tasteful, and heartbreaking.
JS: What do you think of Sondheim as a lyricist?
LP: The best. Simply the best. No one can do poignancy or humour like he does. And all with internal rhymes to boot! He’s an intelligently clever lyricist.
JS: What was the effect on you and your life of all those awards and nominations you received for Mama Mia! on Broadway?
LP: It made people in Canada take more notice of me and my work. Since we don’t have a star system here, it did definitely heighten my profile. It also made folks in New York take note of me. It has had a lasting effect.
JS: You sing a substantial repertoire of songs from French singers in French and I wonder how you feel about the translations these songs receive into English. Also, what difficulties do solely English speaking singers face in grasping the attitude toward life, the idioms of style, the personality, the content, the intangible life experience, and the flavours of the originals? Or are the songs translated out of existence?
LP: So often, English translations of French songs are not successful. I’m sure you can say that about any languages. I have sometimes done my own translations. The thing about translating a song is that it cannot be a word for word translation. It has to scan with the melody. You have to find different images and expressions to express the same feeling of the original song. It is a very difficult thing. Herbert Kretzmer is a terrific translator of songs. Les Miserables is a good example of that. He also translated Charles Aznavour songs and well!
JS: What difficulties arise when you write songs that you yourself will sing? Which is easier, singing your own creations or those of others?
LP: I don’t think there is any difference for me. Truly. When I sing a song, I feel like it is mine, whether I wrote it or not.
JS: How does one learn to accept vulnerability and personal exposure as a singer and as an actor? Do you ever find yourself more exposed than you can handle?
LP: Sometimes in rehearsal, when you really get to the meat or heart of the scene or song, you can cross the line of self-control. It is good to go there during rehearsal. If you need to feel it that deeply, you should feel it while you’re working on it. When you perform, however, you don’t want to be the one blubbering. You want the audience to cry or laugh or cringe or whatever. Besides, it is impossible to sing well if you’re really crying….
JS: Do you ever feel crowded by Piaf’s originals of, say, La Foule, Hymne a l’Amour, La Vie en Rose, Mon Manege a Moi, and Milord when you put your own stamp on these classics? Why is your CD, that includes these songs, titled La Vie en Rouge?
LP: No, I don’t. I do not sit and listen to other versions. I did years ago, when working on the stage musical “Piaf”, to get the style and idioms. But not to imitate. I am not the same singer as Piaf. We have different voices, but the heart is what matters to me. And the gut.
The CD is called “La Vie en Rouge” as a play on the song title “La Vie en Rose”. I feel the way I sing is more dramatic and emotional, therefore pink is not the colour I would use to describe me and my style of singing. Red is definitely more appropriate.
JS: More and more, a few of the songs by Jacques Brel have entered the repertoires of many English-speaking singers. Why do you think his songs resonate with these interpreters?
LP: Because they’re friggin’ fantastic! That’s why.
JS: When I first saw Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, I immediately headed for Sam the Record Man, bought his LP that contained Seul and La Mort, and never listened much to the musical again. Since French is your first language, what do you like about Brel’s songs?
LP: Each song is a one-act play. All I want in a song is to be able to stand on a stage and have something I really want to communicate, say, feel. He gives that in spades in every single song.
JS: You’ll be doing a show based on Aznavour songs next October, also at the Berkeley Street Theatre, so how do you prepare yourself to enter into his world? What qualities does Aznavour have as a songwriter that you admire most? What impact does the fact that he’s a man have?
LP: Again, he writes stories. They are narrative songs. That’s what I love to perform. He is such a poet! No, it does not matter at all that he is a man. Gender never matters to me. A great songwriter is a great songwriter. Period.
JS: Any chance I’ll be hearing some of my faves like Les Comediens, Et Pourtant, Il Faut Savoir, and Desormais. I’d love to hear Bon Anniveraire and Isabelle as well, but that might put a different spin on the show.
LP: At this point, I do not even know what I will be singing! I was in Chicago doing “Gypsy” when they did the workshop here in Toronto. I could not do it. I cannot wait to see what songs I will be singing.
JS: Thanks for this and, with deep regret that I missed La Vie en Rouge live, I am now happily off to get the CD.