When Sheila Sharma first got the script for the play Songs for Nobodies, she wasn’t so sure it was a good fit for her.
She’d worked with First Impressions Theatre before so she trusted the artistic director’ instincts when they picked her to portray 10 characters in the one-woman show: five “nobodies” — women who had brushes with divas — and the five performers who changed their lives.
While she wasn’t sure she could pull off the two-hour long show, she dug in and studied the roles and music, including learning how to speak in a variety of accents and sing in French and Italian.
And, quickly, Sharma fell in love with the award-winning narrative and songs, transforming herself into a musical storyteller.
In January, after mounting Songs for Nobodies at the First Impressions Theatre facility in Deep Cove to a dazzled audience in 2023, the Maple Ridge resident clinched the 2024 Ovation! award for Outstanding Lead Performance (Community Production); the play by Joanna Murray-Smith also won the Outstanding Production title (ensemble/small/chamber musical) and was nominated in the best direction, musical direction and projections categories.
Last month, Songs for Nobodies returned to the North Vancouver venue for another successful run.
“This has been an amazing experience for me,” Sharma told the Tri-City News on Monday, Sept. 16. “It’s really quite awesome. I didn’t know how much fun it was going to be.”
Best known in the Tri-Cities as the owner and artistic director of the now-defunct Giggle Dam Theatre in Port Coquitlam, and as a lead singer of the band Cakewalk, which played at Sunday’s Terry Fox Hometown Run, Sharma said the dramatic piece is like a “moving painting” that tells the stories of five ordinary women whose lives have been transformed by Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday and Maria Callas.
Sharma sings their famous tunes like “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Crazy,” “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” — music that inspired the post–World War Two women when times were good or bad.
For the Coquitlam stage next week, Sharma will be accompanied by a live band: Her partner, Adam Carabine, is on the keyboards while Scott Wallis is the bassist and Gordon Roberts is on drums.
Next month, the show will travel to Chilliwack and, in the new year, Courtenay and Nanaimo, with more dates planned.
For tickets to see Sheila Sharma in Songs for Nobodies from Sept. 24 to 28, 2024, visit the Evergreen Cultural Centre website or call the box office at 604-927-6555. There are five shows starting at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday, Sept. 28 matinee at 3 p.m.
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