; Fun! Fun! Vancouver!

Tuesday 13 February 2024

Choir Boy

It was on a rainy Sunday afternoon this past weekend when I decided last minute to purchase a ticket to the Arts Club Theatre's production of the hit Broadway play Choir Boy. 


It's about a young gay Black student played by the forceful and enigmatic Andrew Broderick, who is dealing with friendships and being picked on at his all-boys school where he is the lead of the school choir. Anton May provides a nuanced performance as his character of David, while Kwaku Okyere is explosive as the bully Bobby. Savion Roach plays the roommate of our lead character and brought tears to my eyes with his portrayal of kindness. 


The show was emotional and moving, with a superb set (designed by Rachel Forbes) that transformed amidst acapella hymns sung by the cast. The singing was transcendent. It's not a musical, mind you. It's a play, with songs in it. At 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission, Choir Boy had me completely captivated and is quite likely the best thing I've ever seen put on by the Arts Club at the Stanley Theatre. 


The songs and the story were both simply beautiful. Go see it! Choir Boy is on now until February 25. 

Tuesday 6 February 2024

Into the Woods

Studio 58 at Langara continues to produce high-calibre productions for the city of Vancouver! If you're not attending their shows, then you are missing out. 


Currently on display is the Sondheim classic Into the Woods. With brilliant production design by Candelario Andrade, we are transported into a fairy tale land that holds some shocks and surprises for you. 

Some may not know this, but Into the Woods can be looked at as an AIDS parable. Written at the height of the epidemic, Sondheim pulled on the environment around him to create a show that deals with grief, loss, and consequence. Of course, it can also be enjoyed on a more superficial level too, with the story of the Baker and his Wife trying to have a child by undoing a curse put on them by their neighbouring witch. Throw in some fairy tale favourites like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel, and this could very well be fun for the whole family! 

A definite crowd favourite on opening night was Brynna Drummond, who does double duty as both the lecherous Big Bad Wolf and one of  the smarmy Prince Charmings. 

Into The Woods is on now at Studio 58 until February 18! 


Sunday 28 January 2024

Broadway Across Canada: Mean Girls

 


Well my first show of the new year was Broadway Across Canada's Mean Girls at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. I am not a fan of the original movie, so maybe this musical was not meant for me. There were many in the audience dressed in pink and seemed to be super fans of the film. Basically, I found the show to be fairly meh. 

The songs were not memorable, and the storyline was even less entertaining for me than the movie was. At least the movie had the charisma of Rachel McAdams in it. The cast here were fine, but the material is just too fluff for my liking. 

I do applaud Broadway Across Canada for stepping up and trying to bring new stuff on tour such as shows like this and not the usual regular Les Miserables / Phantom of the Opera combos. 

Having caught the Saturday matinee yesterday, there was one memorable moment in the show that was unplanned when one of the set pieces flew off and hit the actress playing Gretchen in the face. The curtains came down and we had an unexpected intermission, with the understudy taking the stage after the show resumed. Assuming it was Kristen Amanda Smith who was injured, hopefully she is doing okay. 





Tuesday 28 November 2023

East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast

This was only my second year of taking in the East Van Panto, and this tale as old as time did not disappoint with its take on the classic Beauty and the Beast, with its annual East Van spin. 


Everything is familiar but just slightly off. We have our brainy Belle, who wants to become a finance person, a Beast who is turned into a mattress, a family of skunks and their Skunk Overlord, and a well-placed joke about Ken Sims. If you're familiar with the intersection of Venables and Clark, you'll appreciate all the Mr. Mattress and Fujiya humour throughout the show. 

The songs skewer popular hits such as Kylie Minogue's summertime anthem Padam Padam, (as well as her early 2000s monster hit Can't Get You Out of my Head), the Beach Boys' Kokomo, and Ryan Gosling's I'm Just Ken from the Barbie movie, to name a few. 

Some standouts included Steffanie Davis who shows off her pipes as the belting Belle, Jason Sakaki as the Beast and whom reminded me of a younger version of Broadway's Cheyenne Jackson, and Mark Chavez who takes on the multiple roles of a marijuana joint, an art dude, King Skunk, and Senor Tamaki, giving each one their own distinct flavour and nailing it each time. 

With its finger on the pulse of pop culture and city politics, Beauty and the Beast is fun for the whole family. Get your tickets here



Wednesday 22 November 2023

Snow White

 Looking for theatre that's fun for the whole family?

Check out the Carousel Theatre for Young People's presentation of Snow White (retold by playwright Greg Banks), on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island from November 29 to December 31! 


Tickets and more information available here

Monday 6 November 2023

How Black Mothers Say I Love You

From the very onset of Trey Anthony's How Black Mothers Say I Love You, presented by the frank theatre company, we hear joyful rhythmic music playing, but underscored with notes of dread. What exactly was I in for? It sounded welcoming but at the same time, an unsettling feeling of darkness. 


What follows is a play that unravels like an onion, layer after layer. We first encounter the friction between Daphne and her lesbian daughter Claude. Then a mysterious character appears, singing a lullaby type hymn. Who is she? We soon find out exactly who she is, and it's a shame that her only appearances have her singing. 

Enter Valerie, Claude's sister, and for me, the most layered character in the show. She brings up issues of race, marriage, motherhood, and sisterhood. She seemed complex and complicated, while the other characters seemed more set in their ways. 



Overall, an intriguing glimpse into family dynamics that meet at the intersection of sexuality, race, and religion. 

How Black Mothers Say I Love You is on now at the Cultch until November 12. 


Thursday 2 November 2023

The Catering Queen

Well if you've already packed up your Halloween candies and decked the halls with festive cheer, then why not get more into the holiday spirit by checking out the latest show on at the Metro Theatre? 


The Catering Queen is a seasonal comedy revolving around a group of caterers at a hopping holiday function. They deal with unruly guests and ghosts of Christmas past, while wrestling with their own ghosts of Christmas present. 

It's a glimpse behind the scenes at what goes on when you're drunk off your ass during the festive season with the sober catering crew to bear witness. 


So spike the egg nog and go check out The Catering Queen, playing now until November 18 at the Metro Theatre!