"Do I still owe you $60? Because I have it here." That was Joni Mitchell affectionately greeting her one-time landlady, Toronto multi-media artist Vera Frenkel, at a Wednesday night dinner in the home of dance critic Michael Crabb.
It was a surprise encounter for both artists. In the mid-60s, Frenkel rented a room to Mitchell in a house on Huron St., when the singer/songwriter was just trying to break into the music business, performing at any club where she could sing without a union card. She confessed she was quite poor and at one time sold coats at Simpson’s to pay her rent – or most of it. Frenkel assured her she remembered no unpaid debt.
Crabb hosted the meal for Mitchell and Alberta Ballet artistic director Jean Grand-Maître (Barberian’s chefs barbecued steak). Mitchell and Grand-Maitre collaborated on The Fiddle and the Drum, a contemporary ballet set to her music, with Mitchell creating the sets. The show opens Friday in the Four Seasons Centre.
-Susan Walker
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