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His name was Stan Rogers, and when he died in 1983, aged 33, the vast majority of Canadians were just beginning to feel that effect.
Almost two decades later, it's a different story, for Rogers' fame continued to grow after his death and, in some circles, he is considered one of the greatest folksingers in Canadian history.
If you aren't prepared to take other people's word for it, however, you might want to check out Stan Rogers: A Matter Of Heart, which made its Toronto debut Wednesday night at the St. Lawrence Centre's Jane Mallett Theatre.
Conceived and created by Diane Stapley and Vince Metcalf and directed here by Jim Betts for Lock-Keeper Productions, this show has taken its time making it to the Toronto stage. Born on the stage of Theatre Orangeville in 1998 and honed on the stage of Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius, A Matter Of Heart is a polished revue of Rogers' music, slickly but simply staged, featuring four singers and six musicians, under the musical direction of Bab Ashley, doing double duty at the keyboard.
Filled to overflowing with Rogers' often lilting and raucous tunes, it is not a book musical -- but considering Rogers' talent in creating vibrant characters and simple storylines in songs, most people aren't likely to notice. From the bitter young casualty of Barrett's Privateers to the displaced Maritimer of The Idiot through the oh-so-modern heroine of Workin' Jo and the competing life visions of two young men in Lock-Keeper, Rogers himself provided more than enough characters and vignettes to provide the dramatic tension for several shows.
As performed by Charlotte Moore, Frank MacKay, Dan Mackay and Terry Hatty, those songs are tribute to Rogers' enduring genius -- a gift for reflecting, in song, the very real lives he saw being lived out around him. There are stories of love, both lost and found, heroism, both the extraordinary and the kind found in simply living day by day, the thrill of even the smallest victory and the dignity of major defeat. There are also, incidentally, a lot of highly romanticized shipwrecks, understandable considering Roger's Maritime roots, but a bit of rough sailing for those who don't share a passion for the sea.
Still, there's no denying that the show is a crowd-pleaser as cast and musicians take possession of Allan Willbee's simple and simply elegant set and turn it into a village, where everyone is on his or her best behaviour. And in the end, that is perhaps the show's only failing -- and a small one at that. By evening's end, it would be nice to see even one of Rogers' songs sung as simply as it was written, instead of performed to the nines.
Considering the simplicity that was Rogers' ultimate genius, A Matter Of Heart just might be a trifle overproduced.