March 9, 2009 - 22:03 AMT
The Georgetown Boys musical by Herand Markarian to be preformed in Toronto
24 children and adults of the Hamazkayin will be performing in The Georgetown Boys musical by renowned Armenian playwright Dr. Herand Markarian in Toronto on Mar 15.

The musical tells the true story of about 109 young boys who, after being orphaned during the Armenian Genocide, were brought to Canada to be trained as farmers in Georgetown, a suburb of Toronto.

Herand Markarian was born in Basra, Iraq, in 1938. He appeared on stage at the age of 18 and directed his first play at the age of 20, before emigrating to the U.S. in 1962. Markarian earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, taught college briefly and worked as a senior research scientist with Bristol Myers. Simultaneously, he pursued his interest in theater, attending the Circle-in-the-Square School in New York, and writing and directing plays. He founded New York's Hamazkayin Theater Group in 1967, staging 36 productions and four multimedia programs. As an actor he has appeared in 40 roles. He has directed plays from the classic Armenian repertoire as well as modern classics. His own plays have been performed in Armenia, Canada, England, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, and the U.S.