The final tour of Possum Lodge meetings is set to begin on Sept. 19, the start to a 42-day-long trip across Canada for beloved comedian Steve Smith — more famously known as Red Green, the handiest not-so-handyman in Possum Lake.
“It's all fresh and new,” said Smith, of his upcoming tour. “If they came to the other ones, they won't hear anything they've heard before.”
Smith is calling this tour a farewell, after nearly 30 years portraying the famous character on the hit Canadian sitcom, The Red Green Show.
This is Smith’s fourth live tour as Red Green, and he is looking forward to taking the stage for audiences across the country, although the idea of saying goodbye brings out a mix of feelings.
“It's mainly happy, you know, the undercurrent of the tour is gratitude and goodbye, so it's time to move on, that's all,” said Smith. “Each [tour] has been better than the one before, and I'm sure this one will just cap it right off.”
The live one-man show promises some fresh material, some of which includes long-distance cameos from other familiar characters from the sitcom, all delivered with that same dry humour fans know and love.
Smith is excited to embark on another live tour, which he admits to enjoying more so than doing his bit on television because of the audiences.
“In this day and age, you can watch anything from anywhere in the world on your phone, but with a live performance, you're either in the room or you're not. It's a big difference,” said Smith. “When I walk out on stage, I know I'm in a friendly environment. I know I'm with people who share my sense of humor and it's just so comfortable.”
Moose Jaw is one of a handful of tour stops that had a second show added, following an impressive sold-out response to the first show. In fact, several shows have sold out, proving that Canadians — and Saskatchewanians — are looking forward to seeing Red Green bestow his knowledge once again.
“It was Canadians that encouraged me to maybe see how far this thing could go,” said Smith. “I can remember back in the day, when we were first starting Lodge memberships and everything, the province of Saskatchewan was right in there, as a solid centre of support. So it's kind of neat to be going back there.”
It’s been 14 years since the final episode of The Red Green Show aired, but clearly Canadians haven’t forgotten that memorable nugget of advice: “if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”
Red Green’s This Could Be It tour will be at the Cultural Centre on Oct. 5, and while the 7 p.m. show has already sold out, there are still tickets left for the matinee show at 3 p.m.
Tickets are available for purchase through the Box Office, either online, in person, or by calling 1 (306) 693-4700.
