Sunparlour Player Writes Play's Score

Sunparlour Players' Andrew Penner has written the score for The Book Of Judith, a play that coincides with this year's Over The Top Festival.

The premise for the play came about when playwright and actor Michael Rubenfeld (Lucky Number Slevin, Fever Pitch) was asked to find a lover for a quadriplegic woman named Judith Snow. He wrote her a musical about disability, love and how she changed his life instead.

A choir composed of individuals with varying disabilities, directed by musical director Nick Carpenter and choirmaster Alex Bulmer, will perform the musical score penned by Penner. Rubenfeld and Penner will also supply the play's libretto.

You can see pictures and videos of the choir rehearsals on Rubenfeld's Book Of Judith blog.

The Book Of Judith, directed by Sarah Stanley, will be previewed on May 19, and will run from May 20 to 31. The play will start at 8 p.m. for performances on Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 11 a.m. on Sundays on the Centre For Addiction And Mental Health (CAMH) grounds at 1001 Queen St. W., in an outdoor tent just east of the main entrance. Tickets are $20, or $10 for groups of 10 or more.

Snow is an author, lecturer and advocate who's on her World Peace For Inclusion tour. She was born with complete quadriplegia from spinal muscular atrophy and is an authority on inclusive community living.

Rubenfeld worked with Snow on a theatre piece for about four years. Here's a video he made about Snow last year: