Vincent de Tourdonnet is a Canadian musical theatre writer. He is known for writing large-scale historical musicals, as well as intimate, cabaret-style musicals. He also serves as stage director.

Biography

De Tourdonnet’s epic musical ''Pélagie'', co-written with Allen Cole, premiered at

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in Toronto and The

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

in Ottawa, and wa
broadcast on CBC radio
De Tourdonnet directed an Eastern Canada touring production of ''Pélagie'', produced by Two Planks and a Passion with a bilingual cast alternating performances in French and English. Starring Québec chanteuse

Marie Denise Pelletier Marie Denise Pelletier (born 3 April 1960) is a francophone Canadian singer. She served as President of Artisti, a copyright collective for music artists operated by Quebec's l'Union des artistes (UDA). Biography While studying literature and ...

, and Canadian actor Rejean Cournoyer, it was translated by

Antonine Maillet Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by ...

, author of the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

-winning novel Pélagie-la-charrette, on which the musical is based. His first production of ''Snappy Tales, Short Satirical Musicals'', (book, lyrics & direction) at the

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would e ...

in Toronto, was nominated for 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards. De Tourdonnet’s largest musical to date was the Joan of Arc musical, ''Jeanne.'' Initially, he and composer Peter Sipos developed the work at the

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 mill ...

in New York. It premiered to strong critical acclaim in 1995 in Montreal at the Saidye Bronfman Theatre, (co-directed by de Tourdonnet) and then went on to large-scale, $4.5 million production at the

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

and La Capitole in Quebec City in 1997, and was seen by over 100,000 people. It was directed by

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

, and the French translation was created by

. Book & lyrics for other shows go back to 1985, including ''Strange Medicine'' and ''The Good Person'' for the Caravan Farm Theatre in B.C., and adaptations of ''The Threepenny Opera'' with APA in Montreal and for

Touchstone Theatre Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of Canadian works ...

in Vancouver. De Tourdonnet's current historical project is ''The Musical McCoy'', adapted from Andrew Moodie's award-winning hit play ''The Real McCoy'', based on the life of

Elijah McCoy Elijah J. McCoy (May 2, 1844 – October 10, 1929) was a Canadian-American engineer of African-American descent who invented lubrication systems for steam engines. Born free on the Ontario shore of Lake Erie to parents who fled enslavem ...

, the 19th-century Canadian-born black inventor who helped revolutionize the steam engine. While living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, de Tourdonnet taught musical theatre writing at Long Island University. He is now based in

Prince Edward County, Ontario Prince Edward County (PEC) is a municipality in southern Ontario, Canada. Its coastline on Lake Ontario’s northeastern shore is known for Sandbanks Provincial Park, sand beaches, and limestone cliffs. The Regent Theatre, a restored Edwardian ...

with his wife, Beth Easton. An environmentalist, de Tourdonnet has long advocated for cycling and other forms of active transportation. Vincent is Vice Chair of the Prince Edward Trails Committee, and was active in Cycle Toronto. He has contributed articles to Momentum Magazine and wrote a chapter on the recumbent bicycle for the book On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life.

References

External links

The Vincent de Tourdonnet Website

The Pélagie Study Guide- National Arts Centre of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourdonnet, Vincent de 1959 births Living people Canadian musical theatre lyricists Canadian musical theatre librettists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Toronto Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers