Northern Dancer, the most famous racehorse in Canadian history, is immortalized in this new musical

Some of the most well-known musicals to come out of Canada, in fact, are small chamber pieces. “2 Pianos 4 Hands,” as its title suggests, features a cast of two actors. So too does “Billy Bishop Goes to War.” The Broadway hit “Come From Away,” meanwhile, was staged with just 12 performers, a couple of tables and a dozen or so chairs. 

So, when the new Canadian musical “Dancer” premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2023, it was somewhat of an anomaly: a full-fledged dance musical featuring a cast of 25 performers, split into two ensembles of actor-singers and dancers. That world premiere production ultimately was a critical and box office hit, selling out its run and winning the prestigious Adams Prize for Musical Theatre. 

But even still, the show’s future was uncertain, with the prospect of any future runs made difficult by the musical’s high production costs and need for a large cast. 

Now, however, three years after that Fringe run and against stiff odds, “Dancer” is set to return to Toronto this fall for a month-long run at the Terminal Theatre in a major new production featuring a cast of Broadway veterans and helmed by the Emmy-nominated director and choreographer Stacey Tookey. It’s a run the show’s creators hope will serve as a launch pad for future productions of “Dancer” across Canada and, hopefully, internationally. 

“It’s so difficult to get Canadian musicals done because these shows are more expensive. It’s like swimming upstream,” said book writer and lyricist Jim Betts, who cocreated “Dancer” with composer Marek Norman. “But the enthusiasm of the people who care about this show has been extraordinary.” 

A unique dance vocabulary

The musical is inspired by the true story of Northern Dancer, the young colt once described in this paper as a “homely little horse” on account of his small stature, who went on to become the first Canadian-bred racehorse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1964. Later, Northern Dancer also established a legendary pedigree, siring prizewinning horses including Nijinsky and Danzig. 

What makes “Dancer” unique is Tookey’s athletic choreography, with the horses in the show, including its namesake, all portrayed by professional dancers.

But Tookey’s choreography isn’t overly literal. There are no horsetails nor any equine costumes. Instead, the Canadian choreographer captures the essence of these animals through a contemporary dance palette.

“What we didn’t want to do was imitate horses,” said Tookey, who has been involved with the project for more than a decade. “My goal was always to explore some of the symmetry between dancers and horses in terms of their esthetics and qualities: the strength, virtuosity, power, athleticism.” 

A decades-long journey to the stage

The musical’s developmental journey mirrors, in many ways, the improbable story of Northern Dancer, who was often dismissed because of his small size, though more than made up for it with his feisty character. 

Betts and Norman began working on “Dancer” in 2011. At the time, the pair were the musical director and director, respectively, for a show at Randolph College for the Performing Arts. For a couple of days during the rehearsal period, things weren’t going smoothly, Norman recalled. So, to take their minds off the show, Betts suggested they talk about writing a show together. 

Betts had already been working on a play about Northern Dancer, and Norman was immediately intrigued. Soon, the duo discussed turning it into a dance musical. “We both write quickly, so it didn’t take us more than a couple of months to develop probably six songs,” said Norman. “We were enthused.”

Later that year, the pair held a developmental workshop for the show. They also shared their project with Karen Kain, the then artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, who recommended Tookey to Betts and Norman. There were even early discussions to program the show in the National Ballet’s 2014 season, though those plans eventually fell through.

Over the next several years, additional development workshops were held. Then, in 2022, Betts submitted the show for Fringe’s Adams Prize for Musical Theatre. When “Dancer” won, it was guaranteed a spot in the following year’s edition of the Fringe Festival. 

There were doubts about whether a musical as large as “Dancer” could be staged at the Fringe. But Betts eventually moved forward with the Fringe run after he and his wife, writer and producer Kate Barris, raised $100,000 to mount the production.

Yet even after the success of the Fringe run, Betts and Norman struggled to bring “Dancer” to a wider audience. A potential off-Broadway run never materialized due to the costs.

They also pitched the show to multiple companies across Canada. Few responded. And of those that did, many weren’t interested because of the associated production costs. Others argued that audiences today wouldn’t care about the story of Northern Dancer. “That was heartbreaking because Northern Dancer is a Canadian hero,” said Betts. 

Terminal Theatre run offers opportunity to expand the show

The writers eventually found a willing partner in Crow’s Theatre, which will associate-produce the upcoming run. Much like at the Fringe, however, this new production will mostly be self-funded, with Betts and Barris’ own company acting as executive producer.

The show will feature much of the lead cast from the 2023 Fringe run, including Sterling Jarvis (Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon”) as stable hand Bill Brevard, Tyler Murree (Broadway’s “Les Misérables”) as businessman and horse breeder E.P. Taylor, and Barbara Barsky (“Sunset Boulevard”) as Taylor’s wife, Winnie. 

Keanu Uchida, meanwhile, will reprise his role as Northern Dancer, a part he’s helped develop for more than a decade, starting when he was 19 and still a student at the University of Toronto. “I always had an attachment to that character,” he said. “I really appreciate what he represents, and it’s a role I can live in, naturally, as a dancer.” 

The upcoming production of “Dancer” at the Terminal Theatre will be larger than the 90-minute Fringe version. While the show will still be performed without an intermission and much of Tookey’s dance vocabulary will remain the same, the new run will feature bigger production values and some new music, with the piece now clocking in closer to 100 minutes.

But for Betts, the essence of the show and its message have remained the same, going back to when he and Norman started writing “Dancer” more than a decade ago: “It’s a story about Canadians getting together and celebrating something that can only be achieved every generation or so.”

“Dancer” runs from Oct. 6 to Nov. 1 at the Terminal Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W. See dancerthemusical.ca for tickets and more information.