| W JOSEPH MATHESON A Chronology |
 Photo: Tim Leyes |
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, Joe grew up oblivious to theatre. He graduated Journalism School and was editing a business journal at the age of 24 when an impetuous audition landed him in a musical revue headed to ‘EXPO ‘86’ in Vancouver. Two years later he was in London, England.
He toured Europe as Frank in Rocky Horror and Berger in HAIR, toured England as Chip in On The Town, did a soap opera of commercials with Julie Walters, did sketch comedy on The Bobby Davro Show, and played Joseph (and danced with members of the London City Ballet) in Princess Anne's annual UNICEF Christmas benefit for HRH Queen Elizabeth.
He spent a year as vocalist on a cruise ship then visited Toronto for the summer. One show led to another, and ten years later he was still there: On The Town (Ozzie) and Counselor at Law (Henry), The Shaw Festival; the Canadian Premiere of Assassins (Czolgosz), Eclectic Theatre; Ragtime (Conklin), LiveEnt; Miss Saigon and TOMMY, Mirvish Productions; For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Narrator), Theatre Orangeville; Grease (Danny Zuko), Theatre Neptune; John Gray's Rock and Roll (Brent), in Toronto, Fredericton, and Hamilton.
In the late 90s Joe created roles in several World Premieres: Charlie Chamberlain in Frank Leahy's Don Messer's Violin; Henry in Norm Foster's Jasper Station; Adam in Vinetta Stromberg's Adam and Eve; He also made a name for himself playing Hank Williams in The Show He Never Gave, one reviewer dubbing him the quintessential voice of Hank Williams.
From 2001 to 2005, Joe lived in New York with his wife and their very large dog, Tasha, appearing Off-Broadway (Richard Rawe in The Good Faith) and in regional theatres in NY (The King in Pippin), Vermont (Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady) and Ohio (Rooster in Annie) while assistant co-ordinating BOOKPals, a literacy group working with inner city kids.
During this period he also headlined the 2002 Grandstand Show at the Calgary Stampede, playing to between seventeen and twenty thousand people a night, and wrote his own Hank Williams show, Hank Williams Live - 1952, which has played across Canada. His CD of Hank tunes, Long Gone Lonesome, is available at www.indiepool.ca.
His songwriting has been featured on recordings by MCC Toronto Church Choir, in revue at the Florida Studio Theatre, and for corporate clients, most recently Canada Post. He has written a wartime romance - Could You Wait...? - which premiered in September, 2006 at Theatre Orangeville (ON), going on to play in Collingwood, ON and at The Grand Theatre in London, ON. The CD for this show is also available at www.indiepool.ca.
Other recent credits: “Music Man” (Charlie Cowell) and the world premiere of “Moby Dick” (Starbuck) at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival; “For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again” (Narrator), Grand Theatre; “Spitfire Grill” (Caleb), Grand Theatre; “The Foursome” (Cameron), Drayton Theatre.”
He most recently appeared in Toronto as Billy Dixon in “Jersey Boys” (Toronto Co.) and currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Louise Pitre, and Johnson The Dog
