When Port Coquitlam actor Ashley Wright hits the Toronto stage for opening night on Wednesday he'll have a few familiar faces in the audience.
Family and friends of Wright, the son of PoCo Coun. Michael Wright and arts leader Thelka Wright, will be in the crowd to see the thespian in one of the biggest musical theatre shows in Canada: Les Miserables.
Wright, a PoCo high grad, is playing the roles of The Factory Foreman as well as Claquesous and various ensemble parts.
The Factory Foreman role "is a real slimy character that everyone hates" and he fires Fantine when she resists his advances and learns she has a child. Claquesous, on the other hand, is quiet and he may be working for the police.
Speaking from the 2,000-seat Princess of Wales Theatre during previews last week, Wright said he's thrilled to be in the sold-out production by Cameron Mackintosh. "The show is going well and I'm enjoying myself very much."
Wright has played some juicy characters recently. In May, he was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for his Falstaff in the Merry Wives of Windsor, which ran at last summer's Bard on the Beach. He has also appeared in Copper and The Murdoch Mysteries.
