In a dreamlike Paris, small connections spark hope and imagination
By Irwin Rapoport
August 26, 2026
For those who missed Penumbra Théâtre Pénombre’s February 2025 production of AMÉLIE: The Musical at the MainLine Theatre, there is another opportunity to see it. The three-time Montreal English Theatre Awards (METAs)-nominated production returns to Montreal for a limited engagement at Centaur Theatre from August 28 to 30, 2026. The musical is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Directed by Penumbra Théâtre Pénombre Artistic Director Adrian Saldanha, the production features an 11-member cast and a seven-piece live band. The two-act musical runs approximately 135 minutes and transports audiences to Paris through the eyes of its titular character, Amélie Poulain.
Amélie Poulain is an extraordinary young woman who lives quietly in the world but loudly in her mind. She covertly improvises small but surprising acts of kindness that bring joy and mayhem. But when a chance at love comes her way, Amélie realizes that to find happiness she’ll have to risk everything and say what’s in her heart. Be inspired by this imaginative dreamer who finds her voice, discovers the power of connection, and sees possibility around every corner!”
The 2025 production received three META nominations: Outstanding Independent Production, Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Contribution to Theatre—Puppet Design.
Amélie is a show about what brings us together, inviting us to unlearn the individualism and isolation instilled in us from an early age. This message carries particular resonance in a city where the anglophone and francophone arts communities have often operated separately—a divide Adrian Saldanha hopes this production can help bridge.
The musical is based on Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant’s 2001 French film, Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. For the musical, Craig Lucas wrote the book, Daniel Messé composed the music, and Messé and Nathan Tysen wrote the lyrics. Amélie premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2015 and opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on April 3, 2017. A revised actor-musician production opened at London’s The Other Palace in 2019 before moving to the West End in 2021.
The cast features Cat Preston as Amélie Poulain; Billy Iliopoulos as Nino Quincampoix; Daniel Kasenberg as Raphaël and Bretodeau; Cassie Muise as Amandine and Philomène; Marc Ducusin as Joseph; Joël Marchand as Hipolito and Lucien; Craig Dalley as Collignon and Dufayel; Mike Mastromonaco as the Blind Beggar; Natalie Demmon as Suzanne; Julia Pye as Gina; and Lily Lachapelle as Georgette.
•
Interview with Adrian Saldanha and Aly Slominski
Director Adrian Saldanha and producer Aly Slominski graciously answered questions about making and remounting the production.
WM: Why did you choose to direct Amélie: The Musical?
Saldanha: When Aly and I were hunting for the next musical to do as Penumbra Theatre, I was looking for a show that had a lot of heart, a great ensemble cast, and music that I could not get out of my head. We had a running shortlist of musicals to research, and many of the shows we looked at didn’t feel right for us for one reason or another. Finally, after what felt like a very long search, we decided to give Amélie a listen.
We were both familiar with the original movie, but not the musical at all. By the end of the very first song, “Flight of the Blue Fly,” I knew what show I had to direct next.
I asked Aly for a perusal copy of the script, and before I knew it, we were bringing Amélie to life in Montreal.
WM: When did you know you had it right?
Saldanha: From the moment we decided to put on Amélie, I knew we were going to be in for an incredible ride. The original 2001 French film, Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, already proved that we were dealing with a story that resonates deeply with audiences across borders and linguistic boundaries.
The music from its musical adaptation does a fantastic job of capturing the film’s beauty, quirkiness and charm. But I don’t think I “knew” our show was going to come together and reach our audience the way I had hoped until we did our first full run of the show in the rehearsal room. Seeing the full two acts in sequence—with all the songs, choreography, laughs and tears—proved to me that we had something more than the sum of its parts.
The cast’s incredible reimagining of grief, connection, and self-actualization flowed together seamlessly, and I knew I couldn’t be more proud of them.
WM: How did you assemble this particular cast?
Saldanha: Auditions are always the most fun and the most difficult part of the production process, at least for me as the director. Montreal is filled with incredible talent, and the unfortunate truth is that there are not nearly enough opportunities for performers to be onstage.
Being able to invite performers into a room so that they can offer us their own, personal interpretations of the characters is immensely rewarding. Actually making selections among them to assemble a cast, on the other hand, can be heartbreaking.
Choosing one performer over another is seldom a question of “Who is better?” Invariably, it becomes a jigsaw puzzle, where we select the right collection of people whose interpretations and talents best fit with one another.
WM: How do you juggle a cast of 11 with choreography and music?
Saldanha: It’s definitely a huge challenge. I often joke in rehearsal that I have to split my two meagre eyes across 11 bodies onstage, all moving in a whirlwind of song, dance and emotion.
I’m quite certain that putting on a show like ours is impossible to do alone, so that’s why I’m so grateful that I can lean on the support of a team. Eric Elliot Lee, our musical director, is almost always in the room with me, and he has the most incredible ear for what the story needs. He also leads the seven-person band that accompanies the show.
Then there’s Caeleigh McDonald, our choreographer, who translates the show’s themes into powerful physical motifs through movement. Both have been instrumental in giving me additional support, so each cast member’s every minute onstage is intentional and serves the needs of the story.
WM: What has it been like to produce Amélie: The Musical again?
Slominski: The interesting part about producing a show I’ve already produced is that I get to correct all the mistakes that I made last time!
In truth, I woefully underestimated how different producing a remount would be from producing the show for the first time. When we put it up last year, it was new. AMÉLIE isn’t a very well-known musical, and if you do know it, you probably know it as a total flop on Broadway.
When I was figuring out how to sell the show last year, I wanted to lean into the unknown and its history as a flop in a tongue-in-cheek way. But this time around, I didn’t have that. It wasn’t new anymore. Montreal audiences had already seen it, and I felt like I blew my cover.
However, alongside my associate producer, Dawson Barman-Tao, we devised a plan to weave the old and the new together. New elements include cast members in different roles, a brand-new set, new puppets, and new faces joining our band and stage management team.
WM: How does your experience as an actor help inform your role as a producer?
Slominski: Truthfully, I don’t think it has. But I do think my experience as a producer has made me a more patient actor.
You can’t be impatient when you’re the producer. Despite what old Hollywood movies want you to think, there’s no room for producers to be cigar-smoking hotheads. Nothing would get done—I learned that the hard way on the first show I produced.
Being on the other side of things and seeing just how much can go wrong in an instant taught me that there is so much more going on than the small piece of the puzzle I typically get to see as an actor. As an actor, you’re normally shielded from behind-the-scenes disasters. It’s easy to see only how an issue affects the actors, rather than how hard the production team is working to keep things from imploding.
Performances take place Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, August 30, at 3 p.m. For tickets and information, visit Centaur Theatre’s AMÉLIE: The Musical page.
Images: Casey Marie Photo
Other articles by Irwin Rapoport
RECENT ARTICLES
Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist and community advocate from Westmount with bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science from Concordia University. He writes extensively on local politics, education, and environmental issues, and promotes informed public discourse and democracy.
