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Piaf/Dietrich
A Legendary Affair
by Daniel Große Boymann and Thomas Kahry
Adapted by Erin Shields from a translation by Sam Madwar
by Daniel Große Boymann and Thomas Kahry
Adapted by Erin Shields from a translation by Sam Madwar
February 17 to March 7, 2026
Opening Night: Friday, February 20
Spriet Stage
Upcoming Shows & Tickets
February 17, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 18, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 19, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 20, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
February 21, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
February 21, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
February 22, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
February 24, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 25, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 26, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
February 27, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
February 28, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
February 28, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
March 1, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
March 3, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 4, 2026 | 1:00pm Get Tickets
March 4, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 5, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 6, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
March 7, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
March 7, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
Two dazzling icons forge an unlikely friendship amidst the challenges of post-WWII and the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Subscribe Now to purchase this show (at 25% off)! Single tickets on-sale June 17, 2025.
They say—in both friendships, and relationships—that opposites attract.
It is the end of the Second World War. Edith Piaf, the French chanteuse known for her raw and emotional ballads, meets fiery Marlene Dietrich, the German actress and singer who took Hollywood by storm. Dietrich recognizes Piaf's talent and takes her under her wing, for the world has yet to see the greatness she has to offer. Can their friendship thrive amidst the chaos of fame, politics, romance, and clashing personalities?
Piaf/Dietrich is a musical drama about the real-life unlikely friendship of icons Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich, featuring timeless hits such as “La Vie En Rose”, “Milord”, and “Lili Marlene”. Translated from the German production Spatz und Engel (The Angel and The Sparrow), and adapted by decorated Canadian playwright Erin Shields, this glamorous and music-infused bio-play has trod the boards in Europe, at The Segal Centre (Montreal), Mirvish (Toronto), and will now take on the Spriet Stage, directed by Grand Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Peake.
"I have been a fan of the incredible Erin Shields for many years. In this show she shows yet again her ability to reach into the heart of a story and show us something we didn't understand until now. It shows how the real friendship of these two incredible women - Europeans navigating American fame and all its trappings - helps them survive under the heat of the spotlight."
- Rachel Peake, Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre
Audience Advisory
Mature language and themes; sexual references; theatrical haze; simulated smoking.
The Cast
Deborah Hay
Edith Piaf
Terra C. MacLeod
Marlene Dietrich
Creative Team
Rachel Peake
Director
Mary Ancheta
Music Director
Theatre Credits: Cambodian Rock Band, Million Dollar Quartet, Da Kink In My Hair (Arts Club); Hey Viola! (Charlottetown Festival, Stratford Festival, Thousand Island Playhouse, Gateway Theatre).
Film and TV Credits: Composer: Golden Delicious, Emergence (Knowledge Network); Nosocomephilia, HBO, Showtime, Netflix.
Other: Performed in Australia with Mary Ancheta Quartet and invited to represent Canada at the World Expo July 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Bachelor of Music at McMaster University. www.maryancheta.com.
Genny Sermonia
Choreographer
For the Grand Theatre: Choreographer: Waitress, Grand Ghosts. Performer: Elf: The Musical.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Choreographer: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Gypsy (Shaw Festival); Into The Woods, Follies (Koerner Hall); Disney's Frozen (Neptune Theatre); The Last Timbit (Elgin Winter Garden Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Capitol Theatre); Take The Moment, One Song Glory (Musical Stage Co.); Mary Poppins, The Barbecue King (Theatre Sheridan).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Odd Squad (PBS Kids); Degrassi (Epitome, Asst. Choreographer); McDonald’s, Best Buy Canada.
Other: Honours Graduate of Sheridan College - Music Theatre Performance.
Lorenzo Savoini
Set Designer
For the Grand Theatre: Set Design: Mary Poppins. Set and Lighting Design: The Sound of Music.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Set Design: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Stratford Festival); Wait Until Dark (Shaw Festival). Set and Costume Design: Forgiveness (Stratford Festival). Set and Lighting Design: Summer and Smoke (Crow’s Theatre).
Other: 5 Dora Awards, MFA from University of British Columbia and memeber of Associated Designers of Canada. lorenzosavoini.com.
Ming Wong
Costume Designer
For the Grand Theatre: Controlled Damage.
Theatre Credits (selected): A Strange Loop, Kim's Convenience, Three Sisters, De Profundiis, Sizwe Banzi is Dead (Soulpepper); Flex, Wights, Rosmersholm, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, The Master Plan, Uncle Vanya (Crow's); Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (YPT); Salesman in China, Rent (Stratford Festival); Once (TIP); Peter's Final Flight (Ross Petty Productions); The Wizard of Oz, The Inheritance (Canadian Stage); Is God Is (Canadian Stage/Obsidian/Necessary Angel); Wait Until Dark, Candida, Just to get Married, Trouble in Mind (Shaw); The Color Purple (Citadel/RMTC).
Other: 2021 Virginia & Myrtle Cooper Award Laureate, 2 time Dora winner.
Michelle Ramsay
Lighting Designer
For the Grand Theatre: Waitress, Million Dollar Quartet, Titanic: The Musical, The Mountaintop, The Ladies Foursome, Mary’s Wedding.
Theatre Credits (Selected): A Strange Loop (Soulpepper/Musical Stage/Crow’s Theatre/TOLive); Waitress (Arts Club Theatre); Trident Moon (Crow’s Theatre/NAC); Women of the Fur Trade (Globe Theatre and Stratford Festival); Snow in Midsummer (Shaw Festival/NAC); Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall (Tarragon Theatre); Prison Dancer the Musical (Citadel Theatre); The Tempest (Theatre Rusticle).
Other: Michelle has received eight Dora Awards, was a finalist for the 2021 Siminovitch Prize, and is the Chair of the Board for Associated Designers of Canada.
Emily Porter
Sound Designer
For The Grand: Newsies, The Sound of Music, Home for the Holidays, Into the Woods, Prom Queen, Titanic.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Rez Gas, Waitress, The Full Monty, A Year With Frog & Toad, The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom (The Capitol Theatre); Midsummer Night’s Dream: 1970’s Musical, The Sound Of Music (The Citadel); Jersey Boys (Charlottetown Festival); Ms Holmes & Ms Watson Apt 2B, This is Tom Jones! (The Human Race Theatre); The Little Woman, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT (Stratford Festival); Beauty & The Beast (The Globe Theatre); Mamma Mia (Rainbow Stage, Neptune Theatre).
Other: Member of ADC659 and teaches Theatrical Sound Design and Technology at the university level.
Suzanne McArthur
Stage Manager
For the Grand Theatre: 17th season.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Seven seasons with the Stratford Festival; 6 season with Drayton Entertainment; 6 seasons with Port Stanley Festival Theatre. Worked with the National Arts Centre, the Blythe Festival, Mirvish Productions, Studio 180 Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, and Tarragon Theatre.
Other: Suzanne lives in London with her children, Michael and Charlie.
Melissa Cameron
Assistant Stage Manager
For the Grand Theatre: Newsies, Waitress, The Sound of Music, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Controlled Damage, Grow, Re:Opening Festival (Seeds of Self & One Year), Chariots of Fire, Once, Anything Goes, Mixed Tape, The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Jersey Boys, Maggie, Anne of Green Gables, Munschables (Charlottetown Festival); Waitress, Maggie (Theatre Aquarius); Sweeney Todd, The Gamblers, I Claudia, Offline (Talk is Free Theatre); Hurry Hard, Miracle on 34th Street (Chemainus Theatre Festival); The Last Five Years, She Loves Me, The 29 Steps (Rose Theatre); Legally Blonde (Theatre Sheridan); Gin Game, Cottagers & Indians, Crimes of the Heart, Boeing Boeing, Dial M for Murder, Barefoot in the Park (Watermark Theatre).
Gina Woodward
Apprentice Stage Manager
For the Grand Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong.
Theatre Credits: Coal Bowl Queen (Ships Co. Theatre, EFT, HEIST); Mamma Mia!, Little Shop Of Horrors, Disney’s Frozen, Rumour Has It: Adele Tribute (Neptune Theatre); Heathers: Teen Version, The Prom (Neptune YPCo.); Still Dancing, Downed Hearts (Ships Co. Theatre).
Other: BA Dalhousie University, Honours in Stage Design and Technical Theatre from Fountain School of Performing Arts.
