The Groulx brothers and Starmania
Starmania III Quebec 1986
Starmania III Quebec 1986
The third production of Starmania, directed by Claude Girard, was presented as part of the Festival de Lanaudière in Joliette from August 8 to 17, 1986. This was followed by a tour that began in Ontario at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in September, and continued across Quebec with stops in Rouyn, Amos, La Sarre, Val d'Or, Rivière-du-Loup, Rimouski, Shawinigan, Jonquière, Alma, Chicoutimi, St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu among others and finally at the Grand Théâtre de Québec in December 1986. A few months later, the show returned to Montreal at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts (February 10-22, 1987).
The cast includes
Richard Groulx (Zéro Janvier)
Norman Groulx (Johnny Rockfort)
Marie Carmen (Marie-Jeanne)
Jean Leloup (Ziggy)
Marie-Denise Pelletier (Stella Spotlight)
Isabelle Bégin, then Anne Bisson (Cristal)
Maude (Sadia)
and Marc Gabriel (Roger-Roger)
Supported by Lina Boudreau, Pierre Landry, Carole Normand, Louise Paradis, Robin Vaillant & Bruno Verdoni (Les Étoiles Noires, or The Black Stars).
A studio album was recorded in 1987. It was released on vinyl and cassette format, and can be found online or on Youtube (playlist).
Starmania III (Quebec 1986 version) was nominated at the ADISQ Awards in the "Show of the Year - Music and Songs" category in 1987.
The famous Canadian journalist Jean Beaunoyer wrote the following about the show: “Since this is an opera, let's emphasize the strength of the roles and the animation work of the director Claude Girard. I believed in all the characters from one end of the show to the other. There is no more delinquent on stage than Norman Groulx intimately linked to Johnny Rockfort. the leader of the Black Stars. If there are many female performers in Quebec, we have been waiting for a long time for the male voice that takes us away. Norman Groulx dazzled and I met a lot of producers and people in the trade who were wondering where this guy had been "fishing" for the past few years...
Obviously! It was he who shook the whole room with his rendition of "SOS d'un terrien en détresse". It was he who pushed this show with his fists and the ardor of his game. But he didn't crush anyone during the evening.
The enterprise was clearly collective and his brother Richard Groulx, who became Zero Janvier, used all his experience and all his talent to bear the terrible comparison with Claude Dubois in his rendition of "Blues du businessman". It was understood at that time that comparisons were useless. This is a new Starmania defended by completely new performers who had nothing to settle but with themselves and their future.” (La presse, 14 Aug 1986, Collections de BAnQ)
Photo Credit: Denis Cyr, 12 August, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
BAnQ
Photo: Denis Cyr, 12 Aug, 1986
Photo: Denis Cyr, 12 Aug, 1986
Photo: Robert Mailloux, 6 Sept, 1986
Photo: Robert Mailloux, 6 Sept, 1986
Photo: Denis Cyr, 12 Aug, 1986
Photo: Robert Mailloux, 6 Sept, 1986
Photo: Denis Cyr, 12 Aug, 1986
Photo: Robert Mailloux, 6 Sept, 1986
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Photo credit: Bernard Brault, 21 July, 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Michel Berger in Montreal
Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon, the authors of Starmania, in Montreal
Photo Credit: PH Talbot, 18 August 1986, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec BAnQ
Poster created by Stephane Bourgeois
8 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette
9 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
10 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
11 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
12 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
13 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
14 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
15 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
16 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
17 August 1986, Festival d'été de Lanaudière, Salle Rolland-Brunelle, Cégep de Joliette, Joliette (supplémentaire)
?? September 1986: Centre national des Arts, Ottawa
18 November 1986: Rouyn
??/??/????: Amos, La Sarre, Val d'Or, Rivière-du-Loup
28-29 November 1986: Rimouski
1-2 December 1986: Shawinigan
4-5-6 December 1986: Jonquière
8-9 December 1986: Alma
11-12-13 December 1986: Chicoutimi
16-21 December 1986: Grand Théâtre, Québec
10-21 February 1987: Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts, Montréal.
Program of the show
From the Groulx personal archive
With the Groulx
With other Starmania III singers
Instagram
Follow #richardgroulx and #normandgroulx, or the fan account
FollowFacebook
Search #groulxbrothers #richardgroulx #normangroulx or
Richard GroulxYoutube
Channels: Norman Groulx: flex54 Richard Groulx: funkedup21
SubscribeRiverbNation
Richard Groulx: artist's music account
Become a fan