From Taxi to Cat’s in the Cradle: Chapin’s Music Finds New Life at Magnus

This isn’t just a concert. And it’s more than a play. It’s a celebration of one man’s ability to turn everyday lives into unforgettable stories, and a chance for Thunder Bay audiences to gather under the tent at Magnus Theatre and be swept away by the songs of Harry Chapin.

With Lies and Legends: The Musical Stories of Harry Chapin, Magnus offers a summer production that trades spectacle for sincerity, and stagecraft for soul. Chapin’s music – raw, heartfelt, and unflinchingly human is set to shine in this open-air tribute that’s as much about feeling as it is about listening. In an age of instant content and digital noise, this is a show that invites you to slow down, breathe deeply, and truly hear the stories.

Artistic Director Thom Currie describes the experience as “not quite a play, not quite a concert,” and explains that this approach is true to the show’s unique history. “Since its’ inception in the 1980s, Lies and Legends has been an odd piece of theatre,” he says. “The original conceit was five actors/dancers and a five-piece band, presenting staged interpretations of the songs. The Magnus production is melding those two sets of artists into one unit, essentially forming the show into a musician-based experience.”

This choice is deeply rooted in how Chapin’s music was meant to be encountered. “Chapin’s songs were created to be listened to on recordings or heard live, performed by a band,” Currie says. “Keep in mind, he was also a playwright and actor; Cotton Patch Gospel continues to be performed around the world, and The Night That Made America Famous had two Tony nominations in 1975, so he was no stranger to the stage. The songs in Lies and Legends, however, were created to be listened to, not seen. Our production takes the audience back to that experience.”

The focus, he says, is on evoking imagination rather than visual storytelling. “Listening to Chapin’s recordings, the listener is immediately transported into the story of the song, from Cat’s In The Cradle to Taxi to W.O.L.D.. A listener, or an audience, doesn’t need a prompt or an interpretation, other than their own imagination, to get pulled into that story. This is what we are attempting with Lies and Legends; to strip the experience back to its’ original aural form, allowing the story to exist in the mind’s eye of the listener. The experience will feel like a concert, yet the listener will be transported into the tale that is told.”

That intimate approach is only heightened by Magnus’s iconic tent setting in Waverley Park. “I wanted to throw open the walls and allow the patrons to breathe the air and be aware of the surrounding of Waverley Park, with the sounds of Red River Road and Algoma Street,” Currie says. “The songs always evoke a location—a busy home, a rainy street, a Sunday morning sunshine. It’s one more touchstone for the senses, in that they hear and be aware of the world around while they are transported by the music.”

The result? “In short, for many people, they will be coming to an open-air concert with full lights and sound. Many will come and be treated to some very detailed and moving stories told in song, most of which they may have never heard. And many others will be revisiting songs that shaped the way they listen to music. It’ll be an original experience.”

Magnus has found success in recent summers by embracing stripped-back, emotionally rich outdoor performances. Currie says that simplicity is a strength. “We try to make our outdoor experiences as simple as possible, so that the audience can truly enjoy an experience set apart from a traditional theatre experience. They can close their eyes, breathe deeply and be transported by the beautiful intricacies of his lyrics and stories,” he says. “Our most popular outdoor productions have been just that simple; A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, Mama’s Country Record Collection and Romeo & Juliet resonated with audiences because of their simplicity and source material. Chapin’s songs speak to the essence of what it is to be human today (not just in the 1970s), with themes of love, loss, pain, regret, joy, growth and triumph. It doesn’t get simpler.”

To honour Chapin’s musical roots, Currie handpicked a group of local singer-songwriters to bring the songs to life: Jean-Paul De Roover, Sharon De Leon, Katherine Nemec, Adam Houle, and musical director Danny Johnson. “Pulling this group together was a lot,” Currie says. “The decision goes back to who Harry Chapin was at his core, a singer-songwriter. I wanted to put his music into the hands of local singer-songwriters, not just musicians. Every single person in the production is a recording artist in their own right. Who better to do a deep dive into the catalogue of a great singer-songwriter than another singer-songwriter?”

That artistic freedom paid off. “They mine the song and bring new meaning and emotion, wringing a lot of emotion and laughter along the way,” Currie says. “Danny, Sharon, Katherine, Jean-Paul and Adam were all encouraged to lean into their own performing styles as well, to make this a uniquely Thunder Bay experience. It’s wonderful to watch this blending of musical and performing styles come together.”

The production also connects to a lesser-known piece of local history: Chapin performed a solo concert at Lakehead University in 1981, just a year before his death. While no known photos of the performance exist, Currie says its legacy still lingers. “It adds a layer for Thunder Bay, and by extension for Magnus,” he says. “I’ve been a fan of Harry Chapin’s music and stories since I was a kid. When I was in second grade, my teacher Miss Kennedy would pick up a guitar and sing to the class, performing an array of singer songwriter songs. One of the songs was Chapin’s Flowers Are Red. Fast forward to myself and my daughters, singing the same song in the living room. Fast forward to this production. While I have no connection to Harry Chapin on a personal level, to know some members of the community shared an experience with him is wonderful.”

“I am also a performing arts history buff,” Currie adds. “I love that he performed solo at LU (Lakehead University), at a time when he was filling very large venues across the continent. It speaks to who he was.”

Chapin’s humanitarian legacy is also honored in the production. As a passionate advocate for food security, Chapin co-founded World Hunger Year, now WhyHunger, and donated half his concerts to the cause. In tribute, Magnus is partnering with the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA). “Hunger is best faced at a grassroots (local) level,” Currie says. “At each performance, we will be encouraging audience members to share what food security means to them and we will be accepting monetary donations to RFDA through Canada Helps.”

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Harry Chapin or discovering his music for the first time, Lies and Legends offers more than just a night under the stars—it offers connection. To stories. To songs. To each other. Through the voices of Thunder Bay’s own singer-songwriters, and in the open-air intimacy of Magnus’s tent, Chapin’s music finds new life—reminding us that great storytelling never goes out of style, and that even the simplest song can speak volumes. Lies and Legends runs from July 17 to August 2 on the Magnus Theatre Outdoor Stage.