It's getting near closing time for The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience, a hit cabaret directed by Mike Ross, Soulpepper Theatre's resident musical maestro. The next concert experience by the company is Concert – Riverboat Coffee House: The Yorkville Scene, which runs Oct. 6 to 14. We asked Ross, who also performs as singer-keyboardist for the Cohen salute, what's been earning his hallelujahs lately.
What he's watching: "David Lynch's new Twin Peaks: The Return is the most unbelievable television I've ever seen in my life. It's not perfect, but it's a great artist's pure imagination unhinged. I'll never forget it."
What he's listening to: "Damn, by Kendrick Lamar. His poetry is something that feels like wizardry to me. I will never be able to do what he does. That's why I find it so thrilling. And bottomless too – I hear new things every time I go through."
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What he's looking forward to: "I'm taking my wife on a date to see Jason Isbell at Massey Hall, on Aug. 29. We have a five-year-old and a two-year-old, so dates are very important to us. Jason's a newly discovered (to me) singer-songwriter who's moved me more than anyone since Glen Hansard. And I just love, love, love Massey Hall. It's a holy place."
The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience continues to Aug. 25 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, 416-866-8666 or soulpepper.ca.