After the cinema, a tribute by Cirque du Soleil and a symphonic adaptation by the Orchester symphonique de Montréal, the work of the Cowboys Fringants will experience a new version, this time in the form of a musical comedy inspired by their repertoire. , but in which they will not play.
The play will be presented at the Grand Théâtre de Québec in November, then at the Théâtre Maisonneuve in Montreal in December, in the slot that was occupied for years by the December show by Québec Issime. For the moment, the management of Place des Arts does not confirm whether this will be recurrent.
Les Cowboys Fringants teamed up with the circus troupe Les 7 Doigts to create Pub Royal, which is also the title of one of the Cowboys’ songs. A dozen creators are working on this musical comedy which will bring together twenty artists, namely seven actor-singers, seven dancers and six acrobats.
“We started from the songs to tell a story in which we will bring the characters of the Cowboys Fringants universe to life”, explained the director of Les 7 Doigts Sébastien Soldevila on Wednesday during a well-attended press conference, a sign of the still very strong power of attraction of the Repentigny quartet.
Pub Royal will be behind closed doors which will therefore take place… at the Pub Royal, a bar located in an isolated place – the song takes place in Chibougamau. “After a car accident, a man will enter this bar and his life will take on a different meaning”, sums up Sébastien Soldevila, who used a good dozen existing Cowboys songs to weave the plot of the piece, but who also asked the group’s official author for 25 years, Jean-François Pauzé, to write new ones.
The latter admits to having “stepped out of his Cowboy slippers” to enter the world of musicals, which he knows less about. And he didn’t regret it. “Before the first meeting, I was pretty dubious. And on the way out…even more! It built up over time. I’m finalizing the writing of the additional songs, and I’m incredibly excited, like my colleagues. »
Launched during the pandemic, this project came at the right time for Jean-François Pauzé. Especially since the Cowboys are currently in slow motion “for the reasons we know,” he said.
Singer Karl Tremblay announced last July that he had prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with in January 2020. He has also just started a new treatment, which does not prevent the Cowboys from giving shows, but much less than before the pandemic, specifies Jean-François Pauzé.
“Usually we do two concerts a week, now it’s more than two a month. But the Cowboys machine will resume this summer more intensely with the festivals. We should make a dozen. »
Karl Tremblay and multi-instrumentalist Marie-Annick Lépine were not present at the press conference on Wednesday, but bassist Jérôme Dupras was there to represent the group, which will also receive a Medal of Honor from the National Assembly of Quebec May 8.
Les Cowboys Fringants are about to enter the studio to record the soundtrack that will accompany the performers during the show, both new and old songs. “We have to change the structures, the tones a bit,” explains Jérôme Dupras.
The group will therefore be the “band” of the show… without going on stage. Still, the Cowboys are also one of the most embodied and recognizable voices in Quebec music, that of Karl Tremblay, and having these songs sung by other performers is a challenge.
“That will be precisely the pleasure, giving a second life to these songs, answers Jean-François Pauzé. I was at a first rehearsal last week. I wasn’t expecting much, and I found it shocking. It’s so new, hearing those songs that aren’t sung by performer Karl. »
“It’s another perspective on the same universe,” adds Jérôme Dupras.
Sébastien Soldevila knows very well that Karl is an “extraordinary singer”, and that coming after him puts pressure on the performers. Just as he was aware that tackling such a well-known repertoire had its share of pitfalls.
“I didn’t get there with my big hooves. You had to search, listen, ask questions, be open. Why did it work? Because Jean-François, Olivier Kemeid [the author of the dialogues] and I, we left our ego aside and we worked together to make it work. »
Cirque du Soleil had already concocted a tribute to the Cowboys Fringants a few years ago, in a show that was presented at the Cogeco amphitheater in Trois-Rivières. The 7 Doigts proposal is different, assures Sébastien Soldevila, “with singing and history as the main axes”. “There’s no song in this show that doesn’t have a purpose, we’re not here just to do a number on a song. And how does the circus universe fit into all of this?
“We already have three big mounted acts and you will see that the acrobats have their place. As the dancers were not used as a ballet choir. They are integrated into the story, and the real work is to create a symbiosis. »
After stops in Quebec and Montreal, Pub Royal will fly to French-speaking Europe, where the Cowboys Fringants are enjoying great success. The goal is not to go on tour for ten years, says the director, but to go to a few big cities like Paris or Lyon.
“There are not many creations of Quebec musicals. The last one, you’ll be looking for, it’s been a long time… I saw Starmania when I was very young, and it changed my life. So we are proud to be the spokespersons for this talent. I’m proud to be the captain of this. »
