A musical about northern Ontario is set to take centre stage in Sudbury this week.
The musical, No Fences, was created by British-born musician, Andy Lowe, who's lived in Sudbury for more than three decades.
No Fences is a tribute to summer in the north and is Lowe's way of thanking Sudbury for supporting him.
"I think it's going to make people feel proud of Sudbury and the region," he said.
Growing up, he said he always wanted to be a musician and went to theatre school.
Lowe moved to Sudbury in 1985, taking a job at the Sudbury Theatre Centre and working as a performer at the Fox and Hound, now known as Wacky Wings.
"I said 'This would be a great place to play' and I asked if they wanted an entertainer and they said 'Yes, sure, come and play,'" he said.
Back then, Lowe was finding his voice as an artist and said he never considered himself much of a songwriter.
He worked as the resident entertainer at Killarney Resort for 23 seasons and started writing his own songs.
In 2000, he recorded an album called 'A Sudbury Songbook,' a 10-song album consisting of songs about people he met and places he'd been while the city was quickly becoming his new home.
Lowe said he had thought of the possibility of the album becoming a play and had a title in mind.
"Here, you can go for miles without seeing a single fence post, and that’s really wonderful that freedom," he said.
The musical broke ground during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic through a partnership with the Sudbury Performance Group.
"I got invited to play at the Coulson for a podcast, Mark Mannisto, from Sudbury Performance Group, invited me and his eyes lit up when I told him about my idea," he said.
Two years later, Lowe was holding auditions for the musical and taking the lead as the director.
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The cast is made up of various age groups, from as young as 13 years old.
The show consists of characters presenting stories in rhymed dialogue, which Lowe describes as feel-good and positive.
"The characters they play is a boisterous hockey fan, to someone who loves the sunset, to someone who likes to go paddling on the water, to someone who likes fish fries, these kind of northern icons," he said.
Sudbury-born Maija McCahery is playing the role of Eve, the emcee, who shares facts about Sudbury and details about the characters during the show.
"She's got little stories and little things that are local to Sudbury and the area because she really embraces the north," she said.
McCahery said the musical stood out for its originality and the cast is excited to showcase the hard work they've put in over the last few months.
"We're so proud to be bringing (Lowe's) vision to the stage, bringing it to life, bringing these characters to life, letting them do their own thing on stage," she said.
"So we're anticipating Sudbury is going to embrace it and love it so much."
No Fences runs from February 8 to 10 at Thorneloe University.
