Schwartz’s: The Musical
Makings of a true Montreal day
There’s never been a show more “Montreal” than Schwartz’s: The Musical.
Most tourists who come to Montreal make pilgrimages to a couple of legendary landmarks, and don’t leave until they’ve had a Montreal bagel, a “special” at Wilensky’s, and a smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz’s. There are other smoked meat places in town. But none are as storied as Schwartz’s, which explains why one of Montreal’s best-known newspaper columnists, Bill Brownstein, penned a book called Schwartz’s Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story. There was also a movie made on the subject. And now a musical.
Any day of the week, as you stroll along “The Main,” Montreal’s St. Lawrence Boulevard, you may come across a rather long line-up. Get past the crowd and you’ll see they’re all waiting to get into Schwartz’s for a medium-fat on rye, cole slaw, a half-sour, fries, and a cherry coke.
This meat mecca is the subject of a new, home-grown musical, based on Brownstein’s book, with musical score provided by the comedy-musical duo of Bowser and Blue.
Photo by songkick.com
George Bowser and Ricky Blue used to play the college circuit, tickling lunchtime crowds with parody versions of popular songs, like “I Want a New Dick,” sung to the tune of “I Want a New Drug,” or “Beers Are Not Enough,” a send-up of Canada’s answer to We Are The World (which, for the record, was called Tears Are Not Enough). They’ve since matured. That is to say, they got older. Their humour took on a more political tinge, and they even penned an ode to colorectal surgeons, "Working Where the Sun Don’t Shine". They’d retained their playfulness over the years, and have several records and stage shows under their belts.
Now there’s Schwartz’s: The Musical, which opens at Montreal’s Centaur Theatre on March 29.
The delicatessen, Canada’s oldest, has been around for more than 80 years. Reuben Schwartz brought the original secret recipe with him from Romania, serving up the same smoked meat at the same location since 1928. Hockey heroes Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur have eaten there, as have Oscar winners Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry, and even Celine Dion and The Rolling Stones.
You can eat there, too, and then see the play. It would make for a truly Montreal day. Start off with lunch at Schwartz’s, and then make your way to the Centaur Theatre, housed in the old Montreal Stock Exchange building in Old Montreal. With a local cast under the direction of Centaur Artistic Director Roy Surette, this is one musical that’s sure to get your mouth watering.
Schwartz’s: The Musical, Centaur Theatre, March 29-April 24. Tickets 514-288-3161.
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