P.E.I. music director wrapping theatre festival in Manhattan

P.E.I. music directorMike Ross is wrapping upan off-Broadway engagement inNew York City where he showcasedhis award-winning musical,Spoon River.

• Spoon River heads to New York for off-Broadway festival

Spoon Riverwas selected for the lineup of the first-ever performance season in the U.S.for Ross's theatre company, SoulpepperTheatre.

The four-week "festival of plays and musical performances"runs from June 29 to July 29 and honouredboth Canada 150 and Soulpepper's20th anniversary.

Ross adapted Spoon River in 2014 and has since received some of Canadian theatre'shighest honours for his work, most notablythe Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards for Best Musical as well asBest Director of a Musical.

His show also won theDora Awards for Outstanding New Musical and Outstanding Musical Direction.

'Beyond our wildest dreams'

Taking the productionfrom Toronto to New York City was a "massive risk," Ross said, but it's a gamble that's paid off.

He said Spoon Riverhas beensoldoutfor quitesome time.

"It's been wildly successful, beyond our wildest dreams."

Soulpepperpresented a number of original dramas and musicals, along withworkshops, symposia, master classes and outreach events during its inaugural performance season in New York, a bid to bring Canadian theatre to the biggest stage in the world.

"This is the mountaintop, in a way," Ross said."It's an honour, it's humbling, it's exciting.

"I'm curious to see what happens after this it's been a wild ride."

New York loving Canada's 'moral fibre'

With Canadianproductions like Come From Away and Spoon River, Ross said Americans are becoming moreattracted to the stories coming from north of the border.

"The idea of Canada's values and moral fibre is really appealing to people who are not a fan of what is happening down here right now," he said about the current political climate in the U.S.

• 'Beyond incredible:' Canada's Come From Away lands 7 Tony nods

Both shows, he added, force audiences to "pause for a second, look around and say 'this is your life.'"

Soulpepper's run in New York ends this Saturday, after which Ross willfly to the Island to stay with his parents for two weeks.

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