The Firehall Arts Centre presents Paddle Song, the story of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson

Cherie Maracle stars in the energetic, humorous one-woman musical

SPONSORED POST BY firehall arts centre

Cherie Maracle as Pauline Johnson in Paddle Song.

The Firehall Arts Centre is thrilled to present Paddle Song live from November 9 to 21, with a recording of the production available at a later date.

The humorous, high-energy one-woman musical starring Cheri Maracle tells the story of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson. Created by Dinah Christie and Tom Hill, Paddle Song was nominated for Best Solo Performance at the High Performance Rodeo: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts (2016) and has been presented in New Delhi and at Norway’s Riddu Riđđu Festival.

Johnson was a trailblazing heroine, an enigmatic and proud Mohawk performer of the late 1800s who was ahead of her time. The daughter of a respected Six Nations Mohawk Chief and an English mother, she embraced her heritage and fiercely challenged the stereotypes of women and Native peoples within her work. For more than three decades, Johnson fearlessly toured across Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain and was published and hailed by the literati in England at a time when the literary world was ruled by white men.

Paddle Song brings her powerful story to life, capturing the heart and journey of the artist, from a young woman canoeing the Grand River at home in Chiefswood, to her promising career just beginning, to earning her place on stages near and far.

Johnson endlessly fought for equality, acceptance, and respect as an Indigenous female performer with a voice in a male-dominated literary world. Paddle Song reflects the legacy she carved out, an unparalleled mixed-blood persona who would influence Native performers, and audiences, for decades to come. Her life’s work was a masterpiece accessible to all.

“Cheri Maracle, who started her professional performance career here at the Firehall Arts Centre in our production of Marie Clement’s ‘Age of Iron’, is an amazing performer and her re-creation of the iconic life of Ms. Johnson is absolutely riveting,” says the Firehall’s artistic producer, Donna Spencer.  

For tickets and more information, see the Firehall Arts Centre.

Post sponsored by the Firehall Arts Centre.