When summer comes

Alan Doyle is an actor, producer, best-selling author, Order of Canada recipient, and musician best known as lead singer for Newfoundland’s beloved Great Big Sea for 20+ years. Doyle took a break from touring the world with his ace six-piece band to co-create Tell Tale Harbour, which premiered at The 2022 Charlottetown Festival. Alan is back on PEI this summer to reprise his starring role in a newly-workshopped production of the musical comedy. He took some time from his busy rehearsal schedule to reflect on the evolution of Tell Tale Harbour, returning to PEI, and to share some of his favourite Island spots. 

I am thrilled I get to spend another summer in PEI. Me and my family had the time of our lives in 2022, and I can’t believe our good fortune that we get to do it again. I am stoked to revisit spots like Blooming Point Beach, Receiver Coffee, Point Prim Lighthouse, and Slaymaker & Nichols. Also really looking forward to checking out some new spots, like North Shore Canteen, and exploring further reaches of the Confederation Trail—which might be the best kept secret in the Maritimes. And then there’s Beach Goats! Quite possibly the best day of your life! I am also eager to see my friends in Million Dollar Quartet (also playing at The Charlottetown Festival) as I’ve never seen the show and the song list alone is mindblowing. 

I am back on the Island to take another crack at Tell Tale Harbour. While we were very proud of our 2022 production, we never got to do all the ideas and elements we had in mind because the pandemic kept interrupting workshops and rehearsals. Over the last couple of years, we have had a whole new team help us fully realize a grander vison for the show. We have created a whole new world with new set pieces, costumes, and lighting, we have added more movement and dancing, and there are special effects that are not only eye candy, but a big part of the storytelling process.

Our first preview this summer will be exactly my 71st time in a piece of live theatre. So, I am still very much a novice, especially compared to my castmates who, collectively, have done this thousands of times. When asked how I feel about doing musical theatre, I often say, “It is terrifying, just as it should be”. The character of Frank still fascinates me. He is so charming and full of life but deeply flawed. We are alike in so many ways; we both love home and really love being the centre of attention. We also share the love of a song and feel like a good laugh cures almost everything. But Frank and I are very different in other ways, the biggest being that he is terrified of what lies beyond the walls of home and I am fascinated by it. He is threatened by the very mention of leaving home, whereas I couldn’t wait to get out and discover what else there was to see.

If you saw the show in 2022, it is not only ok to come see it again, it is a must that you do. You’ll not only have a great night out, but you have a unique opportunity to see how something can go from a suggestion to something fully realized. Where we once suggested a wharf, we now have one. Where we once implied the meadows around the town, we now walk through them. We love all newcomers, but I promise it to be a fascinating evening for those who saw the 2022 production.

Tell Tale Harbour runs until August 29 at The 2025 Charlottetown Festival at Confederation Centre of the Arts. Visit confederationcentre.com for information.