“In My Father’s Voice” is a musical theatre piece written by Shawn Henry and directed by Anna Kuman, two MacEwan professors.
The show is a heartwarming tale told through a cabaret set that follows Henry’s life with his father, Giles. Henry gradually becomes like his father as he grows older. With Broadway show tunes combined with the wonderful emotional energy and character necessary for a Fringe show, Henry steals hearts and tears with each performance.
Kuman and Henry have been close friends and coworkers since 2020. This is the first time they have collaborated as a director-actor duo at the Edmonton Fringe Festival.
Performing alongside Henry are two fourth-year MacEwan students: Elisabeth Wagner, playing piano; and Ethan Bintu-Watt, playing guitar. The two students were selected to perform alongside Henry after a formal audition process, bringing to life his and his father’s shared stories.
As Wagner and Bintu-Watt improvised alongside Henry’s performance as Giles, the dedication the creative team had put into the soul of this show was evident. With only 10 rehearsals, the team delivered. The actors and their creative liberties were treated with care. Shawn Henry described the workplace as “pretty fast and fun and lighthearted in the room, with some tears.”
With eight songs on the score of the cabaret, Bintu-Watt and Wagner came into the rehearsal process completely off-book.
Henry and Kuman say they are truly grateful to share a room with two MacEwan musical theatre students who currently work in the industry. “We teach from a work-integrated perspective, and I think that it’s always exciting when we can bridge the educational experience for students with their first steps into the professional world. That’s something we take a lot of pride in,” says Kuman.
In the upcoming year, Henry will teach the musical theatre cabaret class, which Bintu-Watt is enrolled in. Henry feels this step back into acting and personal storytelling will improve his teaching moving forward. “What better way for me to know what it’s really like than to actually just do it,” says Henry.
Kuman described her experience directing the show as “heartwarming and hilarious,” saying the team has “gone through the rehearsal period with a lot of belly laughs. It’s never felt like work. It’s just been a joy.”
The show found great success in its run, with reviews describing it as “a touching tribute from a son to a father” and “a deeply human and compassionate show.”
In My Father’s Voice enriched the audience’s hearts with a natural story about love’s ability to show up in many different ways.
“I hope that it inspires people to take a closer look at their relationships with their parents and to appreciate the subtle ways that they may be saying ‘I love you.’”
– Shawn Henry, playwright of In My Father’s Voice
