Theatre
The Arts Club presents an intimate performance of Les Miserables
July 17, 2015Tragic narratives, heart-wrenching songs, and some humour sprinkled in between. These are the plot elements of Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Miserables. While the novel has been brought to life on the Broadway stage for many years, and was made into a movie in 2012, the Arts Club in Vancouver brought the production to life on the Stanley Industrial Alliance stage with mixed results. Set in 1800s France, the story centres on the journey of convict Jean Valjean (Kieran Martin Murphy) who is released after nineteen years of imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread. He breaks his parole and…
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Hairspray is the ultimate feel-good musical
July 13, 2015Andy Toth has played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray before, but this time he actually had a chance to rehearse. Last time, he was filling in at the Arts Club and prepared for the role in only 17 hours. “It’s luxurious,”…
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A rip-roaring Love’s Labour’s Lost at Bard on the Beach
July 10, 2015This was the most fun I’ve had at Bard on the Beach in a long time. Even before the show got started, the cabaret atmosphere was established with ’20s show tunes and the farcical sense of humour that era is…
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Divine inspiration overflows in Godspell
July 3, 2015I was very eager to see this show when I read that it was by the composer of Wicked, one of my favourite musicals, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. Perhaps it’s my lack of religious background,…
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Bard on the Beach presents the epic King Lear
July 3, 2015Until seeing this production at Bard on the Beach, I had forgotten how many poignant lines are contained in King Lear, such as Lear’s warning that “Nothing will come of nothing” and one of the fool’s (Scott Bellis) many thoughtful…
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Africa is brought to life in The Lion King musical
July 1, 2015The spectacle that is The Lion King musical is a non-stop adventure of song, dance, acrobatics, and larger-than-life props. The show remained within the bright technicolor tones of an African sunset, and a mood was instantly set that sent the…
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Steampunk silliness at Bard on the Beach
June 18, 2015Steampunk is one of those things that is quite difficult to describe, but very easy to recognize. Essentially, it’s a sub-genre of science fiction that features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology. But it’s more complicated than that: it also…
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Bard on the Beach brings Shakespeare to life
June 13, 2015One of the goals of festivals such as Bard on the Beach is the promotion of the works of William Shakespeare. This is promotion not from obscurity, but from the negative association so many link with his name — so…
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All-female adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross impresses
June 11, 2015Classic Chic Productions has a mandate of performing classic plays with all-female casts — they credit themselves as “chicks bringing class to the classics.” Last year’s production of The Winter’s Tale was very well-received, and this year they’ve taken on…
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The ladies have it in J Caesar
June 5, 2015Julius Caesar is an epic political drama full of betrayal, and I’ve always thought of it as one of Shakespeare’s most masculine plays. But the all-female cast of J Caesar showed that ladies can have just as much fun with…
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