by David Sklar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
(AJNews) – For Canadians of a certain generation – and many generations after – Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell are more than beloved musicians. They are cultural touchstones, spiritual companions, and for some, almost family.
That deep emotional connection is part of what makes Leonard and Joni: The Untold Love Story such a compelling undertaking.
Coming to Calgary and Edmonton this month, the live production explores the brief but significant relationship between Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell before either artist reached the height of their fame. Alberta singer-songwriter Dana Wylie performs the role of Mitchell, bringing her own longstanding relationship with the music to the stage.
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Despite the reverence surrounding both artists, Wylie says she did not feel intimidated stepping into Mitchell’s musical world.
“I actually thought, you guys have asked the right person,” she said, explaining that she immersed herself deeply in Mitchell’s music earlier in her musical life. “It means a lot to me too.”
Wylie’s connection to Mitchell began at home. Like many Canadians, she first encountered Joni through a parent’s record collection.
“My mom loved all her albums in the seventies,” she recalled. “I grew up hearing her and didn’t really like her all that much which might have just been about not liking what your mom likes.” But in her twenties, when she began writing songs herself, Mitchell’s music landed differently. “It was just unequivocal to me that she was a master.”
Rather than attempting impersonation, Leonard and Joni takes a more interpretive approach. Wylie and her fellow performer tell the story as themselves, bringing their own understanding and affection to the songs.
“All we’re trying to do is bring our own love and respect for those artists,” Wylie said, “rather than imitating them.”
The relationship between Cohen and Mitchell provides fertile dramatic ground. When the pair met at the Newport Folk Festival, Mitchell, then in her early twenties, viewed Cohen nearly a decade older with admiration and awe. Over time, however, the dynamic shifted.
“She kind of placed him on a pedestal,” Wylie explained. “Then… he discovered just what a natural genius she was. He started to feel a bit intimidated by that.”
That tension between admiration, artistic ambition, and creative ego gives the show much of its emotional charge.
For Wylie, living inside this music night after night has only deepened her appreciation of both artists’ work.
“The more you live with it, the more it has for you,” she said. “There’s always more for you there. It can speak to just about whatever you’re going through at the time.”
That quality may help explain the enduring power of Cohen’s work in particular. Wylie believes his deep spiritual searching rooted in Jewish identity but extending beyond any single tradition remains central to his appeal.
“He was a spiritual seeker and a deeply spiritual person,” she said. “That’s at the foundation of all his songs…It’s rooted in all those deepest questions.”
As Canadians, Wylie suggests, audiences may feel a particular sense of ownership over icons like Cohen and Mitchell. “We hold them so tightly,” she said. “They’re just so beloved.”
But while nostalgia may initially draw some audience members through the theatre doors, Wylie believes the show offers something more immediate. Because the production avoids simple recreation, audiences are not asked to relive a recording or revisit a museum piece. Instead, they are invited into a living musical experience.
“People aren’t having a nostalgic experience,” Wylie reflected. “They’re just in the moment having a musical experience.”
Leonard and Joni: The Untold Love Story comes to Calgary’s Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on May 30 and Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on May 31.
Tickets can be purchased at
https://www.jubileeauditorium.com/edmonton/leonard-cohen-and-joni-mitchell-untold-love-story
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