David Sherman’Äôs ’ÄúThe Daily Miracle’Äù is a bittersweet ode to a rapidly fading industry

MONTREAL, January 2010 - Ever wonder what it’Äôs like to work for a major daily newspaper?  Former Gazette copy editor, David Sherman, offers a keyhole view of the newspaper industry with his play The Daily Miracle, directed by Guy Sprung and playing at the Bain St-Michel from January 26 to February 14, 2010.  

’ÄúWhat has more dramatic possibilities than a room full of people under constant stress?’Äù asks Sherman and the elements he combines in his petri dish create a virtual powder keg.  While a winter storm threatens to shut down the city and the corporate big wigs meet behind closed doors across the hall to decide the fate of the newspaper, four copy editors hammer out tomorrow’Äôs edition.  It's just another night on the news desk, where the battle-scarred and overworked wrestle with fractured syntax and crushed ideals to get the next edition out.  Tempers frayed from layoffs, cutbacks and corroded ambitions; it's a miracle they can get the paper out at all ’Ķ a miracle that happens every day.

The genesis of The Daily Miracle was in 2004 while Sherman was still copy editor at the Gazette as well as playwright-in-residence at Centaur Theatre.  The play sat on a shelf until one day when Sherman was screening films for the Gemini awards and met fellow juror, Guy Sprung.  When Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre initiated the Write-On-Q playwrighting competition last year, Sherman submitted his play and Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre’Äôs independent jury chose it as one of the top three.  Its topical resonance was irresistible to Sprung, who couldn’Äôt wait to announce its inclusion in the following season’Äôs line-up.

The Daily Miracle is Sherman’Äôs love song to the newspaper industry.  "The men and women I worked with on the desk at The Gazette were almost all unsung heroes," Sherman says. "They worked their hearts out under what has become impossible conditions for what I believed was a noble cause. Getting the paper out, every night, no matter what. The reporters got the credit. The deskers went bald and crazy."

Sherman’Äôs fascination with the industry was triggered at the tender age of 6 when his schoolteacher recommended the class read the newspaper to augment their reading skills.  Magically, The Montreal Star arrived at his doorstep every afternoon.  He would dash home from school to be the first to open those ungainly pages in search of new words and mythic tales of greed, corruption, courage and victory.  By the time he was 17 he was a copy boy at that very same paper.  A few years after graduating from Dawson College, Sherman worked at The Star as circulation manager but eventually quit to write freelance for both The Star and The Gazette and then took a job at the Sherbrooke Record.  Over the years Sherman has been a music critic, feature writer, reporter and finally a copy editor working the desk at The Gazette.

As an added bonus for hard-core news junkies, Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre is hosting a special event on Wednesday February 3.  The Bain will open its doors at 6:30 PM for an early showing of The Daily Miracle at 7 PM.  Directly following the performance, there will be a panel discussion with four of Montreal’Äôs senior journalists: Alan Allnutt, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Gazette; Henry Aubin, author, historian, and columnist at The Gazette; Josˆ©e Boileau, editor-in-chief at Le Devoir and Franˆßoise Guˆ©nette, free-lance journalist and reporter for Radio-Canada.  It’Äôs anticipated that the panel and audience will be working up quite a thirst so cocktails will be served at a post-discussion reception.  To buy a ticket or for more information, call (514) 987 ’Äì 1774 or e-mail development@infinitheatre.com.

Arthur Holden, celebrated Montrˆ©al actor (most recently seen on History Television in September as General James Wolfe in Galafilm’Äôs Battlefield Quebec), and writer (his play, Father Land, won the Write-On-Q competition last year and will round up Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre’Äôs season with a March production) is Marty, newly back on the job after a nervous breakdown and clearly headed down that road again.  Ellen David, well known to Canadian audiences (Mambo Italiano, The Carpenter and In Piazza San Domenico) and who currently stars in the new CBC comedy series 18 to Life, plays Elizabeth, a dedicated professional trying to balance motherhood and an all-consuming career in a predominately male environment.  Howard Rosenstein makes an about-turn from paedophilic clown in Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre’Äôs Rabbit Rabbit last fall to Benjamin, the womanizing night editor determined to get the paper out with a minimum of histrionics so he can hightail it to the nearest bar to drown his troubles.  New kid on the block with dreams of television news anchor fame is Carrie, played by Sheena Gazˆ©-Deslandes in her theatrical debut and veteran Quˆ©bec actor Jean-Guy Bouchard is Roland, resident philosopher and fallen demi-God reduced to janitor.

Hot commodity, James Lavoie, designs the set and costumes and Eric Mongerson returns to Infinite as lighting designer with assistance from Mylˆ®ne Choquette.  Making his Infinithˆ©ˆ¢tre debut as sound designer is Julien St. Pierre and Kathryn Cleveland is two for two this season as stage manager with Michael Panich as her apprentice.

Performance Information

Dates & Times    Jan. 26 ’Äì Feb. 14

Previews     Jan. 26 & 27

Opening     Jan. 28

Tues. through Sat.    20:00

Sunday Matinˆ©e    14:00

Monday     DARK

Tickets

General Admission         $20

Seniors & Students    $15

Groups (6 or more)    $10

Venue

Bain St-Michel

5300, St-Dominique

Box Office

(514) 987 ’Äì 1774

box-office@infinitheatre.com

Web Site

www.infinitheatre.com