Tuesday, 11 March 2025

In 2026, North America’s greatest love story will set the hearts of the Francophonie ablaze!

Name: Elmire
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Coming in 2026: North America’s greatest love story will capture the hearts of the French-speaking world!

GESTEV RELASES DETAILS OF ITS BIGGEST-EVER ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

Starring Maude Cyr-Deschênes, Olivier Dion, Matthieu Lévesque,
Laurent Lucas and Nathalie Simard

IN MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC CITY AND MONCTON BEGINNING IN FEBRUARY 2026

Montréal, Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | GESTEV is proud to announce the details of the biggest musical production in the company’s history: Évangéline | The Musical. This large-scale musical theatre extravaganza stars Maude Cyr-Deschênes (Évangéline), Olivier Dion (Gabriel), Matthieu Lévesque (Baptiste), Raphaël Butler (Beausoleil), Nathalie Simard (Sister Marguerite), who is making a triumphant return to the stage after mora than 25 years, Océane Kitura Bohémier Tootoo (Hanoah) and Laurent Lucas (Father Félix), along with fifteen other performers. This moving classic story, inspired by true historical events and centred on the epic love story of Évangéline and Gabriel, has never before been presented in such a monumental production. Évangéline will open in February 2026 for theatrical runs at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montréal’s Place des Arts, Québec City’s Grand Théâtre, and the Avenir Centre in Moncton.

Tickets for all performances go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 14, at evangelinemusical.ca and gestev.com.

“We’re delighted to present Évangéline as a musical,” said Martin Tremblay, President of Gestev. “Today is a big day for Gestev as we unveil the cast and crew and 22 original songs of our first-ever original production. We are confident that the musical will strike a chord with audiences lucky enough to catch the show in 2026!”

With a strikingly cinematic, poetic and contemporary aesthetic, the musical comes alive with epic scenes, spectacular sets, and stage design reminiscent of the best adventure films. Yet Évangéline remains, at heart, a celebration of an undying love stronger than war and betrayal. The production also celebrates Acadian identity through the destiny of two young idealists whose abiding love transcends their forced separation, against the backdrop of the Great Upheaval, in which the Acadians were expelled from their homeland in 1755.

At the helm is director and creative director Jean-Jacques Pillet (Cirque du Soleil, Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala of Milan, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens). The libretto and dialogue are by Caroline Cloutier (Notre-Dame-de-Paris, Dracula). The lyrics for the 22 original songs were penned by Frédérick Baron (Roch Voisine, Ginette Reno, Céline Dion, Garou), while the music was composed by Steve Marin (Isabelle Boulay, Charlotte Cardin, Marc Dupré, 2Frères) and produced and arranged by renowned French pianist and musical director Yvan Cassar (Johnny Hallyday, Mylène Farmer).

“With intensity and grandeur, this epic production tells the love story of two revolutionaries, Évangéline and Gabriel, whose Acadian hearts beat strong,” says director Jean-Jacques Pillet. “To this day, heartrending memories of those times still linger, while the ties that bind the French and Mi'Kmaq nations live on. The story of Évangéline and Gabriel takes us on an epic quest of hope and courage. To respect the spirit of the story, we went with an authentic cast. I chose Acadian actors, Maude Cyr-Deschênes and Raphaël Butler, to play Évangéline and the revolutionary Beausoleil in order to underscore the desire of Acadians to preserve their rich culture. Hanoah is played by the Indigenous actor Océane Kitura Bohémier-Tootoo. We also worked with experts to ensure historical and cultural accuracy, including Acadian historian, author, and consultant André-Carl Vachon and Mi'kmaq culture consultant Quentin Condo. Their expertise helps anchor this work in a faithful and respectful representation of Acadian and Mi'kmaq life.”

The celebrated love story of Évangéline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse was invented by the American poet Henry W. Longfellow in his 1837 poem, Évangeline: A Tale of Acadie and has become a foundational myth. The star-crossed Acadian lovers have come to symbolize the resilience, courage, and magnanimity of an entire people. The musical is loosely based on Longfellow’s poem.

FULL CAST

Dancers: Cyndie Forget-Gravel, Lauri-Ann Lauzon Richer, Yelda Del Carmen Leyva Espinosa, Merryn Kritzinger, Roxane Duchesne-Roy, Danny Amaral De Matos, Evelynn Yan, Zachary Bastille and Jake Poloz

CREDITS

Martin Tremblay | President of Gestev
Éric Lafond | Executive producer

André-Carl Vachon | Historian / author and Acadian consultant
Quentin Condo | Mi'kmaq cultural consultant

ÉVANGÉLINE
North America's greatest love story

MONTRÉAL

Thursday, February 5, 2026 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – 8 p.m. – MEDIA PREMIERE
Friday, February 6, 2026 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 8, 2026 | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – 3 p.m.

QUÉBEC CITY

Friday, March 13, 2026 | Grand Théâtre de Québec – 8 p.m. – MEDIA PREMIERE
Saturday, March 14, 2026 | Grand Théâtre de Québec – 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 | Grand Théâtre de Québec – 3 p.m.

MONCTON

Friday, July 24, 2026 | Centre Avenir – 8 p.m. – MEDIA PREMIERE
Saturday, July 25, 2026 | Centre Avenir – 8 p.m.