Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Cynthia Dale: Toronto Mike'd #1061

Episode Date: June 6, 2022

In this 1061st episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Cynthia Dale about her acting career, with a particular focus on My Bloody Valentine, Heavenly Bodies and Street Legal, her performances at the Stratford Festival, her upcoming one woman show and what they have in common. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Canna Cabana, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Duer Pants and Shorts.

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The lowest prices on cannabis. Guaranteed. Over 100 stores across the country. Learn more at canna cabana.com. Joining me this week, making her Toronto Mike debut is Cynthia Dale. Cynthia, welcome to Toronto Mic'd. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. Can I tell you the origin story of how this episode came to be?

It's not very long, but let me hit you with it. So I think it was Thursday morning. So we're only on Sunday night right now. But on Thursday morning, there was a tweet that came across my timeline. and the tweet read, are you the most famous person from your high school? So right away, I get this and of course I'm not, but two names jumped into my head right away. One name was Brendan Shanahan because Brendan Shanahan didn't graduate but went to power for a few years. And then the second name that came into my head was Cynthia Dale. And I'm looking at you now.

So you're actually wearing a Michael Power jacket, Michael Power St. Joe's if we want to get technical here. It was a leather jacket that I probably haven't had on for I don't know, since I was 18, so that was about 400 years ago. But you kept it all these years. I did, I did. You know, I'm a hunter-gatherer from way back, I guess.

Were your power years good ones? Like, what are your memories of Michael Power St. Joe's? They were so fantastic. Of course, that was back in the years where grade 13 existed too, right? So it was five years of, you know, I was a cheerleader. I was a statistician for the hockey team. I, like, I wore my skirt too short. You know, I did all those things you're supposed to do in high school. And I went to some classes too.

Were they measuring the distance between your kneecap and your kilt, the bottom of your kilt? Were they enforcing the length of your kilt back then? They were measuring the distance you stood between you and the boys. Come on. Are you kidding me? Well, at least in my gang, they were. The girl I hung out with, for sure.

Yeah, no, they were measuring. Yes, it had to be a certain measurement above your knee. I mean, you know, I drive by some of the schools now and look at the skirts and think, oh, girl, your skirt is way too short. But I'm sure I did the same thing when I was 16 years old. And of course, you'd wear your skirt long when you left the house because that's what you're supposed to do. But then you got to school and you rolled it up at the waist, of course.

I got a great note. So, you know, I've been long talking about the famous graduates of Michael Power High School. And of course, you and your sister, high on that list. But I got a great comment from Rock Golf. Now, Rock Golf, not his real name, but he went to Michael Power as well. He shared this. I went to high school with her sister, Jennifer, back when they were both, and I hope I say this right, Cerullinis. Oh, Cerullini.

Cerullini. Yes,ini. Cerullini. We were, yes, one of the Italian gang. Yes, we were. We are. We were. Yes. He wraps up and he says, saw Cynthia first on a CBC biopic of Emily Carr?

Well, I mean, I did that when I was nine. So, I mean, or around there. So yeah, I can't believe he didn't, he knew me from that. I like, really, really.

What is now I should know this, but what is the age difference between you and Jennifer? Four years. Okay. Cause it says she played car as a child and Jennifer played her as an adult. And I'm trying to wrap my head around it. The, the show was called The Wonder of It All.

It was the life of Emily Carr and she was done as big, middle and small. And I played her small and Jenny didn't play her as a big. She played my sister. Yeah. No. Okay. So you mentioned, you know, and I went to this high school so i remember in fact i went like a little a little later than you not not too later than you but a little later than you

and i would tell people like 40 of this school seemed to be of italian descent and then 40 at the time i was going there was of polish descent and then there was sort of this like middle 20 where I kind of fit in. But a lot of proud people of Italian descent going to Michael Power High School. A lot of us back then. There were a lot of us. And yeah, we sort of took over the school. I mean, most of the gang that I hung out with was really amazing. A lot of the kids, our parents, our fathers, especially, hung out when they were teenagers. I didn't know that when I met this gang of kids in high school.

And, you know, my dad was like, what do you mean? You know, Ann Rumezugano or Christina Daly or all those, I mean, you know, all these people that our parents' generation all knew in Toronto. Sort of at Christy Pitt's area. That was a big area that my parents hung out in. Okay. Now, so did you live near Power? So I'm the last graduating class of that original location, but did you live in that neck of Etobicoke? I lived in Markland Woods, so we were a little further west.

I lived in Markland Woods when Bloor Street ended there. Okay. Bloor Street ended at Markland Woods. There was no Mississauga when i was growing up literally there was that didn't exist wow so um yeah um yeah i have when they were tearing down michael power st joe's yeah um i drove onto the lot when you weren't supposed to because i did those kind i do those kind of things and i jumped over the fence, and I took three bricks for me and my two best friends, because that's how much high school meant to us at the time.

Can you shout out those two best friends? Yes, Leslie Jessen and Janet Mulligan. Okay. Where's that brick right now that you kept? In my office upstairs. I almost brought it down to, I thought, oh God, the code is one thing, but you want the brick too? I'll show you the brick. Well, Cynthia, if you were a true lover of that high school, you wouldn't have just, you know, kept a brick. You would have bought a condo there.

Oh yeah. Right. No, I have, I do have, you know, sort of acid flashbacks of Sister Imelda. Just not, she didn't like me at all. Sister Imelda. Okay, so I don't at all remember her. I don't know if she made it to. So I graduated in 93. That's when I graduated from power.

It was in principle when I was first there. Okay, because Father James, we had Father James. Father James. Father James. Did you know Joe Tacker? I don't remember Joe Tacker. Yeah. Yeah. One of the things, though, obviously this won't be just, you know, 90 minutes on power,

but although I could do that, but I remember the house. So it was like, I guess when you were there, did you have all the portables? Like, did you have center? Okay. Yes. Fell down the steps a few times. It's like a compound because you got St. Joe's. It's a building.

You got Michael Power because back in the day, for those who don't know, it was like an all-girls school and an all-boys school. Then they merged at some point, I think in the 60s or something. They merged when we were there. Then you had your center portable, your north portable. There was a gym. They had a portable. There was like a gym. They had a third gym that was like a portable. Do you remember this?

In the middle of this compound, they had like a little house. And this is where like the chaplains lived. Well, there were a lot of priests and nuns who lived on the grounds, right? There were a lot. Do you remember, was she there still uh was it sister she was sister heenan i think at first and then she she left being a nun and then she was missing and it was like that was like oh my gosh really like how did that happen and why and she was fantastic i think she taught us geography um but uh yeah i remember that was like a huge big deal at the time.

That means she met a boy or a girl, you know, but she met somebody. Met somebody. Yeah. All right. Why the name Dale? Like was Dale, like where does the name Dale come from? Because both you and Jennifer are known as Dales. We started in show business when we were really young. I was

five, like, you know, and it was an agent that, Cher Lewine didn't fit on a marquee. Now, mind you, Dale hasn't had to fit on a marquee either, really, but, but Cher Lewine really wasn't going to fit on a marquee. And back in the sixties, you changed names, right? Like you couldn't, you couldn't stick around with a cool name. And so, yeah, it was changed. And, and by, and then it just sort of stuck and we worked all the time and then it was too late to ever change it back or anything. I never legally changed my name because I couldn't do that to my father. Oh, okay. So if I see your driver's license right now, you're a Kiriluini? Sheer, but no, no, actually I'm a man's bridge on my driver's license. I need to see the birth certificate then. Okay. So a lot of places I want to go here,

but one is just a little aside, which is, you know, I also had grade 13, but we called it OAC. So I did five years too. And then that fifth year of OAC, I wanted like some easy courses because I was going to U of T and I just wanted some bird courses. And I took what I thought was a bird course. And it was kind of a bird course, to be honest, but dramatic arts OAC. And in that room, I remember there would be actually like a photo of you and Jennifer, like two photos. And it would be Cynthia Dale, Jennifer Dale. Like these are photos in the Michael Power drama room. PJ Hunt was,

didn't he run it then? Mr. Hunt? Uh, maybe I might, that wasn't my teacher, but, uh, Oh, well, yeah, I think he ran it. And I think probably that he would have asked us to, you know, get, give him eight by tens or something. I mean, I, I tried to do bird courses too, but I tried, I was doing courses that like, okay, do you, did you, and I won't, we won't talk about it all the time, but did you have to do, did you have to have a chick? Did you have to, in science class, did you have to, were you given a baby chick and you had to imprint, had to imprint to you? Uh, no. Okay. So I did, we had this whole program in science class. I don't remember what grade it was, a grade 11 or 12, and everybody was given a little baby yellow chick.

And I couldn't, we were supposed to take it home on the weekend and I couldn't bring my chick home because we had a ton of dogs and because of life. And so I put a little red felt marker on the top of the chick's head so that I know which chick was mine when I got back to school on Monday morning. And I came into the class,

the teacher was like, who put the mark on the chick's head? And I was like, I did. You know, and he's like, okay, other chicks peck at red. They pecked this poor little chick to death over the weekend. And I was responsible. Oh my God. That's, you're a murderer. I was, I was in so much trouble. I was, I failed. Like she was like, you're getting a fail. I'm not giving you another chick to try and redeem yourself. That sounds traumatic. Like it was

awful. It was awful. So, you know, I just went to a football game or a hockey or something. I just went and flirted with the boys. I mean, like, I didn't take it very seriously. Does Peter Mansbridge know you're a sociopath? That's what I want to know. Oh, my God. It was bad. You know, again, and now we're going to move off power,

but it's fine. Earlier today, so literally this morning, I've got four kids, but a couple are younger, and they wanted to see E.T. It's streaming on Disney Plus. So we're watching E.T. And then in E.T., Elliot, the boy, they got to dissect frogs. So first you got to put the frog in the jar, and you put some cyanide, and it dies a poison incident right and he can't do it because he's like in simpatico or whatever with et i'm giving spoiler alert is it is it too early to spoil et it's okay okay i'll continue okay

and then i tell a story to these kids six and eight years old i'm like when i was in high school because i remember it was in the portable and and I remember we had to dissect pigs. I don't know. What did you dissect in science? Frog. Frog. Okay. We had pigs, like baby pigs or something we had to dissect.

And this was the topic of conversation this morning. And now I'm hearing you talk about these chicks. We never had the chicks, but you don't end up killing the chicks, right? Like what happens at the end of this experiment? I think they're sent off to a farm, but mine never was because mine was. You killed yours. Okay. I didn't.

I was responsible for its early demise though. By the way, did you know that Brendan Shanahan went to our high school? I did. Yes, I did. Who do you think is the most famous person to go to Michael Power High School? You. No, that's a good answer. Okay. I wish, right? Okay, so I wanted to ask you about this beginning,

but it sounds like you were an actress from the time you were like five years old or something. But I was reading about how you and Jennifer went to an audition uh an audition together like your first audition and that you got the gig is that a wikipedia fact or does that need to be corrected here on the record that is wikipedia fact as opposed to the one i think i think i don't know if it's still on wikipedia that i was that i like going to monster truck rallies oh that's not true no no that's not true um No. No, that's not true. But yeah, we did. It was our first audition. It was 1965. It was at the Royal Alexander Theatre. It was for summer stock productions

of Finian's Rainbow and Gypsy and Annie Get Your Gun. Yeah, we got picked. Me, Jenny, and my sister, our middle sister, Loretta. Oh, I'm learning now. So there was three actresses in the... And there was a younger, there is a younger brother and he also was briefly in the business too.

Okay. That kind of, my mother was a bit of a show business mom. Like, did she just push you into it or did... No, she didn't push us into it, but she was a mama rose. There's no doubt about it. Wow. You know what that means. Yeah, no, I mean it you know what that means um uh yeah no i mean you know they can they all they can do is take you to every audition you want to go on or

that you're sent on but you're still the one who's got to get the job and do the job and and uh yeah we worked a lot i worked a lot as a kid very soon i'll ask you about another actor who changed his name at a very young age this is like a teaser that this is coming soon but this actor i'm going to ask you about he's got a lengthy list of credits for being a child star uh but one of the credits is whenever wayne and schuster needed like a little kid for a skit or whatever this person who we'll talk about soon would would play role. And then I was checking out your early roles and I saw, oh, look, Wayne and Schuster, super special. I know.

I must have done a dozen Wayne and Schusters. I did all kinds of them. Yeah. Tommy Hunter, Wayne and Schuster, all of them. Yeah, I was like the little kid on CBC all the time. Amazing. Okay. Now there's a few spots I want to, you know, dive deeper into.

But one is we're going to go to 1981 here. Okay. And, you know, I like hearing like an old news report or an old like trailer, like just to kind of get me into the timing and the mode and the mood and everything. So do you mind if we spend 90 seconds and listen to this trailer together? Is that cool? I can guess what this might be. All right. Well, let's listen to this here.

It's a bad time, this time of year. How many times is he going to tell this story? I'll let him tell it. I love fairy tales. This ain't no fairy tale, little girl. If you don't take it seriously, you're a fool first Valentine's dance in 20 years has to be something special so Blanders you've got to get a lot of exercise if you're gonna grapple with Gretchen

oh yeah well I got a Valentine for her that she's never gonna forget. Right to the heart, huh? In this town on Valentine's Day, everybody loses their heart. Roses are red, violets are blue. One is dead and so are you can't be happening what's going on over in Valentine Bluffs it looks like Harry Warden's back in town. It happened once, it happened twice. Cancel the dancer it'll happen the In the town of Valentine Plus, there are many ways to die. Take your pick. My Bloody Valentine.

That's chilling. I don't know. But My Bloody Valentine, that's chilling i don't know but uh my bloody valentine that's 1981 and that's one of those like canadian slasher films i guess uh you were in that i was in that i was in that i would play patty i got killed by a pickaxe in the stomach i was a lot fatter than i must say i mean all of us by the time we ended that shoot we shot it out in sydney mines nova scotia okay and we actually you can't do it anymore we shot half the movie down underneath like down oh in the mine in the mines yeah they would like send us down and you know nobody would talk for the five minutes that it took to get down in the elevator,

in the shaft, and then, you know, you'd be down there shooting all day. Like you couldn't do that nowadays. Yeah. And it was so cold and so damp and it was so dirty. And all we did was eat a lot and get fat. I'm thinking of you in the mind there. I'm thinking, oh, did Cynthia bring like, does she have a canary with her? Oh, there was no canaries.

They were just a bunch of, you know, young, keen actors. Well, it's better that you don't have that canary because you murder your little birds. I do murder my little birds. That's right. Maybe they heard. Okay, so wait. So I'm just trying to get a taste because there's another movie in a couple years after this one,

which is what we're going to have to really dive into. Maybe that's the one you're anticipating here. But I just wondered, how does this do? How does My Bloody Valentine do? Is it successful? here but i i just wanted i just wondered like how does this do like how does my bloody valentine do and like does it is it successful i think all those horror movies were successful at the time i mean i think uh i guess i don't know i guess they made their money you know it's not like they probably cost a lot of money to make um i'm sure they made their money back so uh right you know i i constantly get notes from people um

on twitter about you know horror festivals and will i come talk and all that stuff um it was a long time ago i i was 17 years old i think 17 okay so your only memory is this damp dark mind and oh and it was fun i mean it was know, it was like, it was a pile of young people all, and a great group of people. So we had a great time doing it, but my goodness, you know. So you're still at high school. Like, are you filming this in the summer? No, I think it was like right after I graduated high school,

like right after, 18. I guess 18 then. Yeah, because I know you went five years to high school. Look, I know all about you. All about me now, yes. To high school, yeah. Yeah, I think it was right after. Okay, but there you are.

Now you're in a motion picture. Like at this point, you're like, you're thinking, you know, next stop is Oscar or something. This is, you're on your way. You're on your way. Don't have to get in a pickaxe in the stomach. No, that wasn't like an Academy Award, really. Look, let's get to the, let's get to,

no more teasing about this mystery person I'm going to ask you about. And again, this is very relevant to the FOTMs listening. FOTM, Cynthia, means Friend of Toronto Mike. You happen to be married to an FOTM. So this is... There'll be two in the household now. Does Peter ever talk about that Toronto Mike episode and say, oh, that was the greatest

interview I've ever done? All the time. I don't believe you. Believe me? Why wouldn't you believe me? Although he was very kind. He recorded something for episode 1,000, and he was very kind. So I choose to believe you. I think he was more impressed that I was doing this

than the fact that I'm doing a one-woman show in Toronto. Oh, we'll have to get to that. But that means he's going to listen, so now I have to... Maybe, yes. Oh, we'll have to get to that. But that means he's going to listen. So now I have to. Maybe, yes. Now, okay, we recently lost Lawrence Dane. Yes, we did. Yes, we did.

So maybe, oh, say a few words. Now, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. I think it'd be nice to hear some words from you about Lawrence Dane. And then we'll talk about a movie he directed you in. and then we'll talk about a movie he directed you in. We will return to Cynthia Dale's Toronto Mike debut in a moment. I want to thank some sponsors for helping to fuel the Real Talk here on Toronto Mike. Let's start with Great Lakes Brewery. Great Lakes Brewery, they make fresh craft beer right here in southern Etobicoke.

You can find them at LCBOs. I heard you can find them in some grocery stores now. But there's free delivery in the GTA. Go to greatlakesbeer.com. Palma Pasta, go to palmapasta.com. Delicious, authentic Italian food. And they're in Mississauga and Oakville, four locations to serve you. StickerU.com, go to StickerU.com wherever you got your Wi-Fi.

Their headquarters are in Liberty Village, but they're all over the world. Quality stickers and decals and such. Great partners of the program. Ridley Funeral Home. They've been pillars of this community since 1921. Brad Jones there has his own podcast, Life's Undertaking. I urge you to subscribe and listen.

Canna Cabana. If you heard the episode earlier, was it earlier this week? Or is it last week? Hmm. I think it was Tuesday night in the backyard. We enjoyed Canna Cabana product. They won't be undersold on cannabis or cannabis accessories.

Go to cannacabana.com. And Dewar, I spoke at a conference Friday. I was moderating a panel and it was fantastic. The O'Cannabis Conference. And I biked to the, it was around near the airport and I biked there and I was wearing my Dewar pants and my Dewar shirt. So comfortable, rugged, stretchy, and they looked good on stage. Dewar, I can use, I can wear my

Dewar in the bike lane and wear it into the boardroom and I love it so much. Save 15% right now if you use the promo code TMDS at Dewer.ca, D-U-E-R, or go to the new retail store here on Queen Street and support the sponsors that make this all possible. Now let's return to my conversation with fellow Michael Power graduate, Cynthia Dale Can I say what movie we're talking about? Yes you can

Heavenly Bodies 18 days I'm so earnest I'm so earnest in that movie yeah I was just we only got a second take out of the whole movie if the camera screwed up you never got a second take no matter what if you flubbed lines if any like the only reason why there was a second take is if if the camera screwed up um

if the camera screwed up. Yeah. You know, it was a, not a great piece of art, but it was a good stepping stone for me. And this is 1984, I believe. And this is sort of like in the,

sort of in the, the, the, the aftermath of like flash dance, right? This is like, Oh yeah. Yeah.

Like hot, hot on the heels of flash dance. Oh, yeah. Take advantage of that. At the time, are you thinking, and now we can look back and say, oh, it wasn't the greatest piece of art or whatever, but that was a moment, right?

This was potentially a big opportunity for you. It was a big opportunity for me because it was the lead of a film. I mean, I was a musical theater kid. Like I was the lead of a film. I mean, you know, I was a musical theater kid. Like I was a singer and a dancer. I did theater. And so, you know, this was a big deal to do, to get this for sure. And, you know, it got me an American agent

and I spent time in LA auditioning and doing all that stuff. It got me another film. and I spent time in LA auditioning and doing all that stuff. It got me another film. I mean, all that. You know, it was a fantastic stepping stone and I'm incredibly earnest. And no regrets? No, no regrets. You know, it ain't art, but it's, you know, art's the guy in the payroll office. Like you do it for a number of reasons.

And what was Lawrence like as a director, Lawrence Dane? Lawrence was very kind. He was very sweet and very, very kind and very gentlemanly. Now I have a clip. Okay, and this will set up the aforementioned FOTM here.

So before I play it, and this is a loaded question, I suppose, but I want to know legit the answer. Do you remember who played your son in the movie Heavenly Bodies? I can see his face and I should know his name, but I don't.

You just want to squeeze his cheeks, that cutie. Well, I'm going to play the clip now and I should know his name, but I don't. You just want to squeeze his cheeks, that cutie. Yeah. Well, I'm going to play the clip now and then I'll give you a little backstory and why we're all so excited and fascinated about this. Okay, so let's listen to just a little clip of you and that actor who played your son

in Heavenly Bodies. I'm tired, darling. Don't you think you've had enough? It's late. Just a bit more. Okay, Mom? Okay. Now let's fetch the guns and things, said Huck.

No, Huck, leave them there. They're just the tricks that we have to go to robbing. We'll keep them there all the time and we'll hold our order. Mom, how do you say O-R-G-I-E-S? What? What are you reading? Tom Sawyer. Oh.

Now, how do you say that word? Orgies. Orgies. Just orgies. Now hurry up and finish that page, okay? And we'll hold our orgies. Mom, what's an orgies? Do you remember what I told you about a man and woman being in love and making babies?

Yes. Well, an orgies people doing that without the love that makes it so nice. How come Tom Sawyer's going to have an orgies? I think he's talking about something the pirates are going to do. Do you have an orgGZ, Mom? No. In fact, your mom hasn't had a lot of anything lately. Okay, Cynthia, that's a clip of you and heavenly bodies.

What's it like to hear that back right now? Weird. So weird. So weird. So weird. So let me let you let you off the hook here okay so the uh the young boy i don't even know what he is at that point five or six or something i don't know but uh your son it was played by uh stew stone right yes and uh stone not his real name but it just so happens that i've become very good friends with stew stone and he now makes very regular because once a month he comes on this show

with our other friend cam gordon uh for episodes of toronto mic we call toast we used to call them pandemic fridays and we rebranded it because we got sick of you know pandemic and it's called toast and so stew stone i think he's the I think he's in second place in terms of guests who have made the most appearances on Toronto Mic. But when Lawrence Dane died, we played that clip on Toronto Mic, and we talked about it. And I just can't believe, finally, I've completed the collection here, Cynthia Dale on Toronto Mic.

That's a small world. I know. I know. Holy. Any other Heavenly Bodies memories at all? Do you remember that little kid? Was he nice? Was he a brat? Anything? Of course, yes. But again, I'm sure that was one take.

He was great for one take. Yeah, no. I went to, I toured, like, I went all over doing publicity for that movie. And cause it was a time, you know, those dance movies were a thing. I went to Japan. I went to, um, like all over the States. Yeah. And you're at Italy.

Like it was amazing. But, but again, it was a fantastic opportunity. Just a great, great chance. And you alluded to it earlier, but I guess that opportunity in Heavenly Bodies, it led to you, you went to the States for a while, right? Like, tell me a little bit about that. Like, you, what is it?

I did what every Canadian actor does. You go and you try pilot season in the States. You just, you know, you go down to L.A. and you get an agent and you go and try and do pilot season nothing clicked i i just wasn't one of the girls that got the kind of stuff that you know i was auditioning for um i did get a movie with nick cage called the boy in blue um And, again, that was fantastic to do. And, you know, I mean, I was lucky. I worked a lot. I had great, great opportunities.

And that's not the last movie you do of Nick Cage, you know. No, I know, but I didn't see Nick at all when I did the next one. I didn't see him at all. Okay, so before we mention that next one, which is a big, I know, but I didn't see Nick at all when I did the next one. I didn't see him at all. Okay, so before we mention that next one, which is a big, big movie, but you were in New York for a while too, right? You were doing some off-Broadway work? Yeah, I did a play down there.

It was a Canadian play called Tamara, and it was fantastic to do. And I was doing that play when I auditioned for Street Legal and then came up, like, back home, and then that was it. And the rest is history. Yeah, yeah. And the, oh, can I say what that other movie was? Yeah, of course, of course. Oh, Moonstruck. It happened because Cher got pneumonia.

She was really, really sick. And so, within, like, a few hours notice, like, the night before, they called a bunch of girls in, five or six girls in. They had to change the schedule, the shooting schedule, and shoot a scene with John Mahoney on a day when Cher was supposed to work. But they hadn't had a chance to audition for this part or anything beforehand.

So I was called in and you were told to bring your own wardrobe because you were going to audition in the morning. And if you got the part, you had to, they didn't have a chance to find wardrobe for you. You just had to go. And I think I was like the first or second girl in and they told me to wait. And I went out and sat down in the waiting room and all the other girls were like, well, what are you still doing here? Why aren't you leaving? And, and,

and I, I, you know, it was an awkward situation because I knew I'd got the part and it was a fabulous day of filming. And it was the day that the Academy Award nominations were announced. And the cameraman, oh my God, the cinematographer, the DOP, I wish I could think of his name. Fabulous, famous, incredible DOP who shot that, who got a nomination for Out of Africa. So it was really, it was a petty buzzy fabulous day um and uh um norman jewison was was like a class act and incredibly gracious and and david watkin david watkin yes david watkin yes phew phew um and it was just uh it was a day of, you know, sitting in the makeup trailer talking to Olympia Dukakis, which was just like, just sweet. And I was very, very lucky to be involved in that.

Fun fact is that when I graduated from U of T, Norman Jewison was, I guess he was somehow affiliated with the commencement. Like he wasn't the keynote speaker, but he was there to shake your hand after you got your diploma or whatever. Oh, small world. There you go. There you go. Okay, we got to talk street legal, obviously. This is where many of us discover the wonder that is cynthia dale but uh i did just want to just touch on the fact that it seems like you were making the hitting all the usual canadian spots like seeing things adderley night heat like these are kind of

the usual spots but uh you were you were you know making the rounds with your guest appearances. As every actor was doing. But like I said, I was in New York and I was working on Broadway and I got a call. They were coming to New York to audition for actors too. They'd done a bunch of they were auditioning everywhere for that part.

And I went and did the audition and our day off was Thursday. So on Wednesday night after the show, we would always go to someone's house and play poker. And I went out and played poker till four in the morning. And after I'd done my audition that day and went to the show and then went to play poker.

And I came home and I put on my answering machine, back in the day when you used to have answering machines. And my agent said, I don't know what you did today but they're flying you to Toronto tomorrow morning on your day off um at you know 10 o'clock in the morning to audition and then they'll fly you back I didn't even own a little suit I didn't own a suit I didn't own anything to wear I had to go I raced out to the stores in the morning before I went to the airport and bought a little suit and came to Toronto and auditioned. And yeah. And you were Olivia Novak. I was Olivia Novak.

Yeah. You know, key role. Like you have to nail. I feel like you've got to get that role right. And they did, man. This is the role that, you know, catapults you into television stardom. You know, there was a thing in Canada at the time. Every Canadian, I mean, there were a lot of fantastic shows going on at that time. Canadian

shows. You know, the Road to Avonlea and ENG and us. And it was a heady time for fantastic Canadian television and sort of making its mark. And at that point, Canadians knew every B-level actor, American actor's name. They just knew them because they had publicity machines pumping out their names and letting everybody know who they were. That show, Street Legal at that time,

and the other shows that were becoming a success, changed it for Canadian television. All of a sudden, Canadians started to learn Canadian actors' names. Like, really know Canadian actors' names. And, I mean, we had a million people every Friday night watching our show. It was a big deal. So that changed over the course of the first few years of that run of Street Legal. Things really, really, the industry was changing.

Canadians were thinking of Canadian actors and Canadian talent differently at that point. And yeah, the art show and that character really helped to make a mark on that. See, my memories of Street Legal were that that was like felt like the first time where it wasn't like, oh, that's a Canadian show. It was just, oh, that's a show. You know what I mean? Like there wasn't that whole like, oh, it looks kind of like cheap kind of, you know, there was at the time, you know, you could tell a Canadian show by looking at it. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, it looks kind of like cheap, kind of, you know, there was at the time, you know,

you could tell a Canadian show by looking at it, right? Yeah, yeah. No, no, no. It was, it was, it was, and it was a fantastic ensemble to be involved with. You know, it was, it was really good actors and good writers. And yeah, it was a great time. And how long was that initial run of Street Legal? Seven years for me.

Wow. Okay. So I actually did pull this clip. So I want to hear a little of the theme song here just to bring us back. But this is from 1992, I believe. This is CBC Public Broadcasting. Watch here and now the CBC Evening News weeknights. What are you up to?

I can't discuss it. Now let me guess. You've decided to become a movie producer? Yes. You think you can hop in the sack with Olivia every couple of months, lie to me about it, then say sorry and start over? I didn't force you. You were just as eager as I was. You're right. But as I said before, I learned from my mistakes.

Jerry, I think that if I find the right woman, my whole life will turn around. Now, Rob, you realize that's a fairly tall order for a first date. Hi, my name is Rob Diamond. I'm not the only one doing that. Oh, come on, Rob. Like, now, it's funny. It's business. Oh, I thought we were partners. Give it.

Thank you. Okay, you said you wanted a box? Fine, start training because I'm going to kill you. I mean, they don't understand you. You work with children every day. I mean, isn't that why you transferred to family court? I didn't say I hated children. I just don't want to have one.

Why didn't you tell me this? Bring it down. So there's a taste of, this is actually from November 27th, 1992. Yeah, long, long, long time time ago many lifetimes ago okay but tell me now what I want to know is how did it change your life like like because I I don't I'm now meeting you for the first time you're now an FOTM but there's like Cynthia Dale pre-Street Legal and then post I would imagine like how did this change your career and your life? It changed everything. Seven years on a successful show and being a successful character, it changed everything.

I became a well-known commodity, which was perfect in the business. That's what you work for. It gave me the opportunity for other work that I wanted to do and, um, other people I wanted to work with. Um, yeah, no, it was, it was great. Yeah. Seven years. It changes completely. So why, why did it end? I mean, seven is a great run, but then you're wondering why not?

It was time to end. Um, yeah, I think it was time to end it. Yeah. I think it was time to end it. I think people were ready for it to end at the time. Time to end. And what was it? Was it, you know, was there a thought like, okay, next up is like that, I don't know, that big NBC sitcom or something? Was this the? No, I did another.

I did a not a very good series after that, um, called taking the falls, um, that lasted only one season. It was not very good. Um, and, uh, and then I came to the Stratford festival and did Camelot and decided not to leave for 12 years. Well, you're, are you there right now? Like, I mean, that's the fest, but you're, you're at Strat, you're in Stratford right now. Stratford. Yes. I live in Stratford. So is that's the fest but you're you're at Stratford you're in Stratford right now Stratford yes I live in Stratford so is that when is that basically when you for the Stratford festival that's when you fall in love with Stratford itself and have been there ever since no I had been in Stratford I was at the Stratford festival when I was 21 um first season and I I didn't like it at all at all at all I didn't like being in Stratford I didn't like

being at the festival and so I sort of never really thought I'd come back. But when Richard Manette asked me to come and do Camelot, I fell in love with the festival for sure, for sure. And then he asked me to do Man of La Mancha the year after. And he just, Richard Manette was the angel on my shoulder and he gave me the best parts that I've ever, ever done in my entire life that I ever could have done for years. And so I stayed because I loved working there. How do you meet Peter Mansbridge? I met him when I was doing street legal.

Had a CBC function. Right, of course, of course, yes. And you're still digging Peter. He's still the dude. We still hang out together, yeah. All right, I want to talk to you, if you don't mind, about your music for a minute here. Like, I'm not sure people, I mean, of course, many, many do, uh i think some people will be learning right now that you're a fantastic singer i probably work more as a singer than anything

yeah um yeah most of the shows i did at strafford were musicals right but you didn't even strafford though um that's still there's a like a barrier the average Joe at the Tim Hortons having his coffee isn't going to Stratford. Do you know what I mean? Yep. Yep, that's true. And so, I mean, it's not like they've seen me sing and dance that much on TV, so no. I hope they come to my show. Please come to my show.

Well, talk about the show right now. Then I want to play a little of you singing and then talk a little more about music. But please promote the show right now. Okay. The show is called Take the Moment. It's at the Winter Garden. Musical stage company is producing it. It is.

I got called by the artistic director, Ray Hogg, back in November. I was sitting in Scotland. And he called me and said, I have a proposition for you. And he said, I want you to do a one-woman show. I want you to do a show of stories and songs. And we'll produce it at the Winter Garden. And I sort of freaked out a bit for a while and I debated and I gave him every opportunity

to back out for weeks. But I also realized you can't say no to something like that. You're not allowed to have the universe put a gift that beautiful in front of you and then turn it away. You can't. Not at 61 years old when you've spent your entire life in business. And so as scary as it is and as hard as it is. I wanted to, I said yes. And I've written the whole show. And the music is, I wanted to sing only Stephen Sondheim music. And it's two grand pianos and me. And it's the most beautiful music in the world and so it's stories about life and my mother and my father and my growing up in the business and and what it's like to get old in

this business and what it's like to lose a job and um uh what it's like to be there when your mom dies, all that kind of stuff. And the songs reflect the moments that I have written about. And so we're only doing four shows, June 23, 24, and two shows on the 25th. God knows how I'm going to do two shows in one day, but I'm going to do it. And it's only an 80-minute show.

There's no intermission. I just get up there and sing and dance my heart out and talk for 80 minutes it's a lot of words okay well Cynthia firstly that's amazing and uh this timing is impeccable because obviously this is not you know this this happened organically this conversation but this I'm curious if you have any any be very honest with me please about any anxiety you have about putting yourself out there like that. Any anxiety? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?

I mean, yes, of course you do. Of course you do. You just have to have, I mean, as I was sitting having a coffee with a girlfriend yesterday, you know, I used to have bigger balls. I used to have more moxie than I do now. I don't know, you lose them when you get older. I used to do, you know, eight shows a week for years at the Stratford Festival, and I would just do, you know, all the shows, the My Fair Ladies and all of them,

and I never questioned it. I mean, yeah, I get nervous before every show, but never in the same way as this. It's different though, Cynthia. This is different. I feel like that's your comfort zone. That's like riding a bike. I don't have any dancing boys.

I keep turning around going, where the hell are my dancing boys? It's just going to be me. You and a piano or two? Two grand pianos. Two fantastic pianos. David Theriault and Ben Krenze, they're fantastic. Please come and hear them play.

And to sing with two grand pianos is amazing. And that's a great venue too. It's a fantastic venue. It's directed by Richard Azunian and it's a musical stage company, which, you know, are an incredible group of people that know how to produce a show. And so I did Fun Home with them a few years ago, not at the Winter Garden, at the Panasonic on Yonge Street. And I love the

theater. I love that company. And so I was happy to work with them again. I just wasn't quite sure. I never thought in a million years that this would happen. But literally, when Ray asked me to do that, it came out of the blue. I was not looking for this. I didn't go to anyone and go, hey, I want to do a one-woman show. Like, I would never do that. I've done concerts before. I've done tons of concerts before.

But this is different. But that's because this is about you, right? Like, you're playing a role. Anyone, I mean, I can put on a mask or something and be different because I'm playing a role, but this is Cynthia for 80 minutes. This is like you burying your soul. That's exactly what it is. Like I have secondhand anxiety for you right now.

Better come and see it, Mike. You better come and see it. I think it sounds amazing. So I just have a question because you got the pianos there. So like, do you play the piano? No, no. Okay. Okay. Oh no, I don't play the. So I just have a question because you got the pianos there. So like, do you play the piano? No, no.

Okay. Oh, no, I don't play the piano. I have to. No, no, no. I've got enough of you. I've got too many words to say. Right. So you're going to be singing, though.

I'm going to be singing and telling stories. It's an intimate evening. It's not a big showy kind of big brass band. It's just me telling stories, singing songs. Who's playing the piano? I said David Theriault. Fantastic piano players, musical arrangers

and it's Stephen Sondheim music. Are you going to be funny? Is there any funny in this? Yes, I am, but I'm not going to tell you when. You have to come see it. Well, I will laugh, I'll cry. It's all drum and string, believe me. It's not all drum and string.

It's not. Okay, so just so I understand the singing part, you wrote the words you're singing. No, no, no, it's Stephen Sondheim music. Oh, you know what? No, I wrote all the stories. It's Sunday night. It's like I'm not used to recording on Sunday. No, I've it's Stephen Sondheim music. Oh, you know what? I wrote all the stories. It's Sunday night. It's like I'm not used to recording on Sunday.

I've written all the stories. Okay. So I'm actually going to play something from just some, so people who haven't been to Stratford and whatnot will just hear how you sing, okay? So I'm just going to play something from you and then I'll fade it down and we'll get back to everything here.

But, uh, so this is Cynthia. This is, uh, some enchanted evening. Some enchanted evening You may see a stranger You may see a stranger

Across a crowded room And somehow you know, you know even then See him again and again. Some enchanted evening You may hear him laughing You may hear him laughing across a crowded room And night after night, as strange as it seems The sound of his laughter will sing in your dreams. Confirmed, you can sing.

Thank you. Thank you. All right, I'll put it nice and low in the mix so it doesn't interfere here. But okay, so beautiful. And again, if somebody wants tickets to your one woman show, where do you want them to go? Go to musicalstage.com and it's in the Marquee series

because they opened another show called Dicks and Roses or they're opening it this week. It's playing at High Park. So there's different shows you'll see on their website and mine is in the Marquee section. The show is called Take the Moment

and yeah. There seems to be a lot of stuff happening at Hyde Park. I just saw that FOTM Hawksley Workman was playing Hyde Park and and I only know like I I'm in Hyde Park all the time and I know they did they always do like Midsummer

Night's Dream would be always happening in the park. And I'm just wondering, do you know where specifically that these concerts and productions are happening in Hyde Park? Nowhere in Hyde Park. No, we'll have to figure that out. That's cool though.

And I just want to ask you about the reboot of Street Legal real briefly here, because I take it that people weren't ready for more Street Legal in 2019. No, they weren't, which was really too bad. It was a really fantastic show. They gave it a lot of publicity. They gave it a push. And we were, I think it a push and we were I think a

byproduct of political decisions I don't think we were cancelled because of bad ratings because lots of shows that stuck around had worse ratings than us I think there was a bit of politics going on there Could you elaborate? Because that sounds very interesting No, that's sort of what it is.

And I just think that, you know, shows come and go. And that's, you know, you have to be a big girl and that's just what happens. But I'm not, I've also been around too long to just think that shows, you know, come and go only because of ratings. They don't. They come and go for lots of other reasons too now i'm sorry that didn't work out uh i can tell you this though because i and i and i also hope that this this you're only doing the four shows so it's going to be i hope it's such a success that like you know yeah i mean it's it's not enough shows to build word of mouth or anything like that so you you really just got to hope that people sort of see the posters on the subway

or cause I know they're on the subway and stuff or see them outside the theater and think, Oh, well, let's go spend 80 minutes listening to some stories there. But you have a, you have a brand name, as they say, the Cynthia Dale is a name that everybody knows. Well, I hope so. It's a, it's a funny thing, you know, when you get older in the business, you wonder how much that commodity, if that commodity holds. So hopefully.

Hopefully. Hopefully at some point down the road, like I don't know when this will be, but at some point there's like a TMLX event. That means the Toronto Mic Listener Experience. And I could see you and Peter as FOTMs make an appearance. And then I get to reunite you with your son from Heavenly Bodies. And then we can... Oh, no.

I'm going to arm wrestle him for the guest spot of regulars that can come on the show more. Oh, don't tease me like that because I would love that. Oh, oh, I'm here. I'm here. I'm around. That would be amazing. Come on, you or me.

Come on. Come on. Well, that's no contest. I'll take Cynthia Dale every day of the week and twice on Sundays. That's for sure. He will not be happy. He will not be happy. Before we say goodbye, though, do you mind if I tell you a little bit about what Stu's been up to since he

was your son on Heavenly Bodies? Because it's kind of a mind I find it to be a wild career he's had. He was like and I'm only going to hit some highlights but he was Ralphie in the Magic School Bus which was a big deal. He was the best

friend of Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko. He's in donnie darko okay and he does a bunch of this and that and he's doing all this stuff and at some point he this is like when he's growing up now so that's all like he's young and he's young as young and of course as child actors do they become adults at some point and he then sort of discovers this new phase of his life where he's a rapper who's rapping with Jamie Kennedy on MTV what you know in this part of his career he's got a show called blowing up I think it's called but it's on MTV which I never got of course because I live in the wrong country for MTV but he's doing all that he's living in LA he's doing all that he's becoming

friends with all these like, you know, rappers and actors and stuff. I mean, he did a song called Rolling with Saget, which featured the late great Bob Saget. Like this is all this wild. And then there's this next part of his career. It seems as like he's in professional wrestling as a manager.

So there's that. And then he comes back home, okay? Then he comes home. And and at this point he's going to re-enter my life and re-enter his friend cam gordon's life that they went to high school together in thorn thorn hill and he starts to write and direct his own movies with his brother-in-law adam rodness and he's been making movies now for the last several years he's got a a movie coming out well it's out but it But it's going to have it's premiere. It was delayed due to COVID.

But it's called Faking a Murderer. And I think it's like June 22nd. At the Review Cinema. And we're going to have a bunch of FOTMs there. To kind of celebrate with Kana Cabana. And it's going to be a good time. But Stu Stone's just doing all this stuff. Wrapping and acting.

And directing movies. And I'm telling you. There's got to be a Stu Stone production starring Cynthia Dale. Yeah, I'm still going to arm wrestle him for the gig for this gig though. I still am. You let him know. It's on. Cynthia, I love this. Honestly, thanks so much for doing this for a fellow power grad thanks so much

for reaching out like seriously i don't know what took me so long i think i was intimidated by you like asking me i know because asking peter to come on is like oh well you weren't intimidated by people you were intimidated by me correct what i know? I know. Oh, get Mansbridge on or whatever. By the way, Mansbridge was also pushing a book, which means I think he was going to do anything and everything, right? Well, I'm pushing a show, but that's not why I came on. I came on because we both went to power. We both went to power.

And do say hi to Peter for me, and I hope he listens, and I hope this was up to his high standards. And I can't wait to get you back on the program. Good luck with that. I can't wait for you to ask me again. I can't wait. And that brings us to the end of our 1061st show. You can follow me on Twitter.

I'm at Toronto Mike. Cynthia is at Cynthia Dale. Go to her one woman show. It sounds amazing. Buy a ticket or two. Do it now. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. Dewar are at Dewar Performance, D-U-E-R. Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley FH. And Canna Cabana, they're at Canna Cabana underscore. See you all next week. And your smile is fine and it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is rosy and green Well you've been under my skin for more than eight years

It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears And I don't know what the future can hold or will do for me and you. But I'm a much better man for having known you. Oh, you know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and green. Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow

won't stay today and your smile is fine and it's just like mine

and it won't go away cause everything is rosy and gray

well I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize there's a thousand shades of gray Cause I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah, I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah

I know it's true How about you? I've been picking up trash and then putting down roads And they're broken stocks, the class struggle explodes And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn Because everything is coming up rosy and gray

Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today And your smile is fine, it's just like mine, it won't go away Cause everything is rosy and gray Well, I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Shakhtar Khor But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true

Because everything is coming up Rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms us today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away

Cause everything is rosy now Everything is rosy now Everything is rosy and Everything is rosy and gray