Workshop West opens its 48th season Nov. 4 with Frank Moher's Boy Player

Frank Moher was 12 and orphaned when he was moved from Edmonton to New York City, to live with his older sister. Boy Player, his autobiographical one-man musical about those years, opens Nov. 4 at the Gateway Theatre and runs to Nov. 15.

Moher now lives on Gabriola Island. Workshop West staged his Sterling Award-winning play Prairie Report in 1988. Managing director Martin Galba calls Boy Player a fitting way to start the season.

The season is called The Ties That Bind. Each production is being cut to nine performances, so there are fewer chances to see each show.

The company is looking for a new artistic director after Heather Inglis left at the end of last season, following six years in the job. Galba says the Naughty and Nice Krampus Cabaret, on Dec. 21, is already selling fast. The world premiere of Conni Massing's comedy The Last Supper, directed by Brian Deedrick, runs Jan. 27 to Feb. 6. Galba calls it a "wacky comedy" about a restaurant critic and a wedding caterer.

The Krampus cabaret pairs non-traditional holiday songs with Krampus: A New Musical, which Galba says was a major hit for the company a couple of seasons ago. It draws on partnerships with Straight Edge Theater and The Edmonton Pops Orchestra.