Denise Filiatrault advised him not to put all his eggs in one basket. “Write, teach, act, direct, radio…” Others found him scattered, urged him to grasp an art and stick to it. But Joël Legendre never deviated from the teachings of his mentor.
The 57-year-old artist owes the longevity of his career – 40 years next year –, he is convinced, to this versatility which has led him from dubbing to animation, and recently to playwriting. There was never any question for him of considering plans other than show business.
“I always wanted to do this so much that insecurity never came first,” confides Joël in a dressing room at Espace St-Denis, his second home these days, as the performances of his new pride, the musical Waitress.
“The love of the profession has always been stronger than the fear of not doing it. I was ready for anything. Yes, I did columns in Sherbrooke for Les Christine [Lamer et Chartrand, at Radio-Canada, in 1994], I did productions for groups of 50 people in Saint-Hyacinthe. Looking back, sometimes I say to myself that Enfanforme, I could have let it happen [laughs]; I knew very well that it wouldn’t lead me to big roles in the cinema! But it was part of my journey. I have never done anything other than my job to pay my rent. »
This year, it is the staging which monopolizes Joël Legendre.
Its first half of 2024 was devoted to laying the foundations of Matou (in Sherbrooke from August 2, then on tour), to sponsoring the rehearsals of ExSéparables, the second duo comedy show of the ex Patricia Paquin and Mathieu Gratton, then to imagine the very first version in the world of Waitress in French.
This summer, he is working on putting together a new version of La Cage aux Folles in four months (while it normally takes 12), in residence in October at St-Denis, as well as Broadway en Lumière, a collective celebrating the repertoire legendary musical comedies (at the Montreal Casino in mid-October).
Later will come the work on Multicolore, the first solo of the drag queen Barbada, for which he has nevertheless already had two meetings and which he promises will be very family-friendly.
Don’t throw any more away, is the yard full? Please note that Joël Legendre also managed to write, in “spare time”, a new book of vegetarian recipes. Lunches for all – 100 veggie recipes to reinvent your dinners will be published in August by Éditions de l’Homme.
“I have colored binders covered with the poster of each project. Most of my work is done between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. I am super methodical. I maximize every second. I never go to bed without having finished answering my emails. It gets on everyone’s nerves, but it allows me to do eight productions at the same time and not get out of breath.”
Last week, Joël intensively trained Marie-Eve Janvier, Julie Ringuette, Sharon James and the rest of the Waitress cast in days lasting from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
We can sense his pride in having succeeded in joining the exclusive preserve of directors of the summer musicals of (the late) Juste pour rire – we do not yet know whether the new owner ComediHa! will continue the tradition –, dominated in particular in the last decade by Serge Postigo and Serge Denoncourt.
“Now that both Serges are working in Europe, it has opened doors for me,” Joël jokes.
For Waitress, the latter is in fact a director. He works in close collaboration with the New Yorker Abbey O’Brien, dispatched by the American team of Waitress (including the director Diane Paulus and the author-composer Sara Bareilles) to ensure compliance with the framework of the work , inspired by the 2007 film of the same title. Jenna, a reserved young woman from a remote town in the United States, bakes pies that will perhaps take her out of the sadness of a violent home.
Joël Legendre had to audition with the American female creative core of Waitress. A formative experience for this Broadway fan, who visits the avenue of New York theaters three or four times a year to binge on the latest musical plays.
When Joël Legendre gets involved in a production, it’s not just half. He never waits for a props designer to find his equipment, ready to drive for hours in a truck to get the bistro stools that will form the body of the Broadway lighting scene, or to scour all the wigmakers in town to style his hair. actors from Le Matou.
Humanly speaking, what type of director does he consider himself to be?
“I need nice people who are on time! I am very relaxed, but the work must be done on the agreed dates. I compliment a lot, which the old generation of directors did less, for fear that the actor would get a big head. I know that an actor wants to be loved by his director…”