You know that new president fellow, Barack Obama? Well, before he starts renegotiating NAFTA, he should see 49 plays by Canadians... Why? Because we live north of the 49th parallel, of course. And 50 would be a bit daunting. OK, yes, this is just my feeble attempt to make fun of/piggyback on CBC Radio's "Obama's playlist" contest. It just so happens that I've had a Super-Definitive List of the 50 Most Important Canadian Plays Ever kicking around on my hard drive since the spring and this gives me a (somewhat) good reason to post it on the blog alongside such highly-searched-for words as "Barack Obama", "inauguration" and "nude pix". The original reason I put this together was that the Manitoba Theatre Centre had released a list of "50 significant Canadian plays" last March to celebrate its 50th birthday... and the only French-Canadian playwright on it was Michel Tremblay. I started compiling my rebuttal and then completely forgot about it. So, here it is, Barack. Unlike MTC, I've only allowed myself one play per playwright. (And sorry, Antonine Maillet. You're the 50th that got cut. I decided La Sagouine was a novel...) What plays am I missing here? What would you take off? Which play would Obama like best? What's up with Radio 2? Your comments welcome below. 49 Canadian Plays for Obama (alphabetical by title, except Tinka's New Dress because I messed up) 1. 1837: The Farmers' Revolt by Rick Salutin and the actors of Theatre Passe Muraille 2. Anne of Green Gables: the musical, book by Donald Harron, music by Norman Campbell, lyrics by Donald Harron and Norman Campbell, additional lyrics by Mavor Moore and Elaine Campbell 3. Balconville by David Fennario 4. Billy Bishop Goes to War by John Gray with Eric Peterson 5. Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock 6. The Blues Quartet by Drew Hayden Taylor 7. Clout by David Young 8. Creeps by David Freeman 9. The Donnellys by James Reaney 10. The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi by Larry Tremblay 11. The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey 12. The Drowsy Chaperone music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar 13. Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing by Tomson Highway 14. East of Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch 15. The Ecstasy of Rita Joe by George Ryga 16. La face cachée de la lune by Robert Lepage 17. The Farm Show a collective creation by Theatre Passe Muraille 18. Fortune and Men's Eyes by John Herbert 19. The Glace Bay Miners' Museum by Wendy Lill 20. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald 21. HA! HA! by Rejean Ducharme 22. Half Life by John Mighton 23. Harlem Duet by Djanet Sears 24. House by Daniel MacIvor 25. The History of the Village of the Small Huts by Michael Hollingsworth 26. Hosanna by Michel Tremblay (well, Les Belles soeurs would have been too obvious)
27. I, Claudia by Kristen Thomson 28. Incendies (Scorched) by Wajdi Mouawad 29. Labrador by TJ Dawe 30. Le Langue-à-langue des chiens de roche by Daniel Danis 31. Leaving Home by David French 32. Letters from Wingfield Farm by Dan Needles 33. Maggie & Pierre by Linda Griffiths
34. The Melville Boys by Norm Foster 35. Les Muses orphelines by Michel Marc Bouchard
36. Palace of the End by Judith Thompson 37. Les Quatre morts de Marie by Carole Frechette 38. Quiet in the Land by Anne Chislett 39. Seven Stories by Morris Panych 40. Starmania by Luc Plamondon 41. Suburban Motel by George F Walker 42. Tamara by John Krizanc 43. Ti-Coq by Gratien Gelinas 44. Tempting Providence by Robert Chafe
45. Two Pianos, Four Hands by Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra 46. Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser 47. Unity (1918) by Kevin Kerr 48. Waiting for the Parade by John Murrell
49. Tinka's New Dress, Ronnie Burkett