A bit more about Winesday
It all started on an oversized couch...
There we were: five friends, a few bottles in. We were watching some ridiculous political event and occasionally yelling at the TV while talking about our next musical theatre project. Feeling exhausted from the day's events, we jokingly wondered why there wasn't a show where five women got to just sit around and drink wine. Suddenly we were imagining that show with fits of laughter. That very night the idea of Winesday was uncorked as I began to ferment our offhand comments into fine musical form.
I knew audiences might be feeling just as exhausted as we were so I wanted them to be able to share in the bottles-up experience. I wanted to bring them a social night of theatre with their own wine and laughing fits. That's when the show became paired with a wine tasting. Winesday, The Wine Tasting Musical was ready to pour.
The show was produced by Five Cork Productions at various venues in South Western Ontario pre-pandemic and then had an extended run in Niagara Wine Country in 2022. Can't wait to uncork in New York with you!
- Jenne Wason, Co-Creator of Winesday
meet the winesday makers
Bookwriter/Lyricist
Jenne Wason
Jenne has a refined wine palate ranging all the way from a cheap dry white to an off-cheap very dry white.
She graduated from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama/Dramatic Writing and is an alum of the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. She has recently been a finalist for the Kleban Award and THEatre ACCELERATOR and a semi-finalist for SheNYC and the O'Neill National Music Theatre Conference.
Jenne has written the book and lyrics for several musicals in collaboration with composer Alan Cancelino, including The White Rose (concert - New York Musical Theatre Festival; readings - York Theatre Company, Public Theater; workshop - Wright State University) and Bingo City (concert - NYMF). The pair is currently working on Write Now, a dark comedy musical (workshop reading -Provincetown‘s O’Neill Festival of New Works. Their songs have been performed at various cabaret venues in the US and Canada.
With composer Joseph Benoit, Jenne has written the family holiday musical Flakie as well as Winesday: The Wine Tasting Musical. Winesday had an extended run in Niagara Wine Country with Five Cork Productions and has recently been translated into a French-language version called VINdredi.
Jenne is currently serving as Creative Lead on Let's Get to Know Her, a musical theatre compilation project designed to bring more representation to female-identifying game-changers throughout history.
Jenne is proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Maestra.
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Composer
Joseph Benoit
Joseph is a French-Canadian pop singer-songwriter who doesn't drink at all. He is not sure how he got roped into writing an English musical theatre piece about wine.
He received his music degree from the University of Windsor. During his summers as a student, he wrote children's safety songs and other music for the Chatham Police Department, including the famous Elmer the Safety Elephant song. While still studying at university, he was recruited by Radio-Canada (CBC French) to compose, perform and help produce music for various local, regional and national broadcasts as a solo artist, for other francophone performers.
Joseph is a founding member and musical director of the French-language pop band awi, which has worked throughout Ontario and into Québec, including the prestigious La nuit sur l'étang in Sudbury and Le Festival Francophone in Ottawa. He also composed and performed for the Olympic Torch Run in 2009.
Joseph is also the composer of the holiday musical Flakie as well as Winesday: The Wine Tasting Musical — both written with bookwriter/lyricist Jenne Wason. Winesday has been performed throughout Southwestern Ontario, including an extended run in Niagara Wine Country. Benoit and Wason have also recently been awarded the Forte Song Commission.
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PREVIOUS AUDIENCE TASTE-IMONIALS
"Such a fun time! Laughed until our cheeks hurt!"
"Keep it rocking it ladies. The show was great. The lyrics were fabulous, music was catchy, the wine delicious, and so many laughs. Thanks for a wonderful night."
Recently servings...
The most recent production of the Winesday was at Hernder Estate Wines in the Niagara Wine Region in summer/fall 2022, presented by Five Cork Productions. (DIgital Winebill available.) The show has also appeared around Ontario at the Olde Walkerville Theatre and the Chatham Capitol Theatre and in Cleveland, Ohio at Theatre in the Square. PLUS there's a French language version called VINdredi that recently premiered at the Chatham Cultural Centre.
Want to talk about bringing Winesday the Musical + Wine Tasting to your region?
