A newly local actor is bringing her duo to Barrie on Friday to perform a one-off performance of Christmas Cliches — A Sisterly Cabaret at Burton Avenue United Church.
Both Rachel Delduca, who now calls Barrie home, and her acting partner Eva Petris, of Toronto, say they have a deep love of Christmas.
“We wanted to create something together and we decided we were going to create a Christmas show,” Delduca tells BarrieToday.
Both are professional performers with credits including Mirvish, Disney, Netflix, the Segal Centre and more.
In addition, the duo recently released a holiday album, Christmas Clichés: Songs From A Sisterly Cabaret, featuring songs from their show.
"We made a big list of all our favourite Christmas songs on Post-It notes and then tried to piece together a story through all of those songs. We were able to create a plot and all of our characters and my husband, who is part of our team and our musician, with the help of him we put together the story,” Delduca says.
In the 'show-within-a-show,' the pair ask the audience questions and then use the information to make a production out of it, which is a tale about sisters who have been estranged for years and who are suddenly reunited on Christmas Eve.
Delduca and Petris performed the show last year in Toronto, which they say was well received.
Delduca wanted to bring the performance to Barrie as she has been trying to immerse herself into the local arts community and connect with people.
“It’s been very lovely, so we thought Barrie was the perfect spot to do it,” she says.
Delduca’s husband, Roberto Ercoli, who is also a music teacher, opened a school, Riffmakers Music, and the couple also hosted a trio of “porch concerts” this past summer at their home across the street from the historic Burton Avenue church.
“It was our way of getting to know the neighbours and the neighbourhood and inviting people to our show,” she says.
What does the duo love most about their Christmas show?
“For me, it’s our arrangements of all the songs,” Petris said. “We found a way to make them new and interesting. I feel like we’ve tapped into the heart of each song.”
The story and how it ends is what Delduca loves about their performance.
“We noticed how much it changes people and reminds people what Christmas is really about,” she says, noting the surprising impact they say they made in the Toronto performance last year.
“We actually had one of our audience members tell us that they were going to reach out to their sister they haven’t spoken to in several years,” Petris says.
The cost to get into the show is a pay-what-you-can model.
“We wanted to make it accessible to everyone. I’m a mother myself, so I know how tight funds can be,” Petris says. “If you can afford to pay $2 or $20, that’s OK with us. We just want people to be there and to experience it.”
The Dec. 13 show begins at 7:30 p.m. and kids are free to attend.
To reserve a spot at the show, click here.
The church is located at 37 Burton Ave., near Essa Road.
