“Mix Tapes From My Mom” Brings Audience on a Trip Through Time

On Friday February 16 at 7:00p.m, Thompson welcomed the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre to the stage of the Letkemann Theatre at R.D. Parker, performing a concert-play hybrid called ‘Mix Tapes From My Mom”. This play was part of a regional tour done by the MTC, performed by Cory Wojcik and a supporting band of Josh Bellan (guitar) and Christy Taronno (keyboard). “Mix Tapes From My Mom” depicts one of the hardest days of Cory’s life, interspersed with songs from mixtapes his mother had made for him as a child. A heart wrenching journey of life and death, personal grief and joy, and navigating the loss of losing someone you love, Cory wrote this play as an ode to the over 200 mixtapes his mother had made for him in her life; he dedicates this play to her, as a “final mixtape” between the two.

MTC’s regional tour has been touring since the 1960’s, showing a new live theatre event consistently to 23-26 communities every year. Their goal is to create meaningful dialogue about the world, using theatre to remind us of our similarities rather than our differences. Considering the raving reviews of “Mix Tapes From My Mom” after the first performance at the 2019 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, it is not surprising that it was brought onto the tour. The play kept the audience captivated–between Cory’s comedic retelling of his story and the band’s immaculate covers of the classics, the play enveloped you completely.

In the playwright’s notes of the programme, Cory writes, “I want you to know in grief you are not alone. I hope my story might bring you peace or hope… Maybe you’ll call your Mom and tell her you love her or if she’s not in your life, maybe she will come back to you in a fond memory.” “Mix Tapes From My Mom” will continue to tour until March 12, with their final performance of the show in Carman, Manitoba.