Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Book by Jeffrey Lane Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek Based on the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler; Vocal music arrangements by Ted Sperling/David Yazbek; Dance music arrangements by Zane Mark
Directed and co-choreographed by Max Reimer Co-choreographer Nathalie Marrable Music Director Steve Thomas
Vancouver, BC. If you have not already got your tickets to see this show pick up the phone or hit the keyboard soon because this is going to be another sellout holiday hit for the Vancouver Playhouse.
Although I usually watch cynically as Vancouver audiences give standing ovations I have to confess that this time I was on my feet with the rest of them.
As these photos by David Cooper show, the production was visually appealing. The songs were entertaining, the lyrics witty, the choreography terrific- and can you call any one performance a standout when all the performances including the ensemble dancing were standouts? Well, yes I guess you can.
Andrew Wheeler plays Lawrence Jameson, a suave, sophisticated, elegant con-man who leads a good life as a "prince" on the French Riviera, by charming rich women out of their money and possessions. Smooth as Michael Caine was in the 1988 film version, I remember thinking at the time that he would never have been able to con me. But I have to admit that if I encountered Wheeler's smooth "prince" persona - and if he could dance - I mean real ballroom not the stage variety - he could probably con me into supporting a war effort in his non-existent kingdom as easily as he did the other women- as long as he would waltz with me!
Lawrence's ally in his nefarious activies is Andre, the chief of police, played with gusto and a wonderfully bad French accent by David Marr, who really excels in this type of comic role.
Wednesday, November 11 Okinawa, Japan. Scheduled arrival 7 am and departure 2 pm
The picture is from formal night. it has no connection to Okinawa but it's a nice picture and I have no pictures from Okinawa. Here's why...
Five days into the cruise and I find myself less than enthusiastic at the thought of getting into yet another shuttle bus or excursion van with a crowd of people. Realistically, at home I normally have a lot of quiet time to chill out by myself, andnon-stop "togetherness" is something I am no longer used to. In fact I must confess that I have come to value times ofsolitude in my apartment - me, myself and I looking out over the waters of False Creek, reading, writing or just thinking about life.
That's a long winded way of getting to the fact that I really had no interest or energy in going ashore in Okinawa and in fact made a positive decision to stay on board, have a dance lesson with Brian, get a massage in the Spa and just relax. I know that Okinawa was of historical importance during the war and have avgue idea that there was a major battle there between the Japanese and the Americans but it had not much relevance to me.
I had my usual breakfast, fresh fruit with low-fat yoghurt, coffee with a little cream, and then went out onto the balcony of the cabin and worked for a bit.
I had a lesson with Brian scheduled for around 11 am. Greg had found a small carpeted bar area down the stairs at the back of Club Fusion that no-one seemed to use and it was ok though not great for lessons so we went down there. We worked first on West Coast Swing swing, then briefly on the hustle and then Bolero.
With WCS the things I was really trying to get right were the right arm hold,so that the tension/connection feels right; and not letting my other arm droop or flail. I guess that's what you call styling - I don't get it!. We also worked on a couple of new steps. He showed me one which if I have it right is step, step, point right leg, step back, step, step, triple step, which I kind of liked, and then a few more patterns. Hopefully if I get a chance to dance a WCS - it is pretty random with such a variety of dances - I will be able to follow a lead through these steps. The problem of course is that if you dont get a chance to repeat these things they dont stick and each time it is like starting again.
The ship docks in the port of Shanghai but the distance from the pier to the city may vary from a half to a one hour drive depending on the size of the ship and where it has to dock. The Diamond Princess is a big cruise ship and has to dock quite far out. The city spans the Huangpu river, a tributary of the Yangtze River.
After dinner on our first night of sailing, tired though everyone was, we were determined not to miss even one evening of dancing so we headed off to the Wheelhouse Lounge to dance for an hour or so and then we had an early night. Dancing would start in earnest the next day with the first of our dance workshops in the morning, and then a full evening of dance in the evening.
Saturday, November 7 - Of Foxtrot, rhumba and dance parties
Dance-wise this first full day at sea kicked off, so to speak, with two dance workshops. We met at 9 am in the Wheelhouse lounge where all our workshops will take place. The floor is slightly larger than the one on the Pacific Princess and alright for a group lesson with a small group.
In this group there are no beginners. In fact all the women are quite good dancers and the age range I suspect is much narrower than on previous cruises I have been on. So in our group we have 9 fit, active, dance-crazy women guests, Bernie, Carol (who is not yet on board),Helene, Kim, Joan, Jean, Linda, Marcie and me, one couple, Julia and Harry, and the hosts, Brian, Craig, Greg and Raoul.
I have noticed that sometimes when there are couples in the group the men dont dance with any of the other women while the wives dance with the hosts, which alters the one-to-three ratio but Julia and Harry are just great. They are a delightful couple, fit right in to the group and Harry cheerfully dances with all of us. Unusually, in this small group, four of the 16, me, Helene, Julia and Harry, are Canadians. We joked that we were almost ready for a Canadian takeover.
Anyway I digress from the workshops. Greg ran the first hour teaching an foxtrot sequence. Everyone picked it up really quickly. Then Brian took the second hour to introduce a rhumba sequence that gave us an opportunity to work on cuban hip motion, rhumba walks and spiral turns. Both workshops went really well. In this small group it was easy for people to rotate in and out and we all had a turn to practice.
We all love our dance hosts. They have really strong leads, are a pleasure to talk to and are like energizer bunnies - they just keep going, dance after dance. I guess it makes their job easier when they have dancers that they don't have to drag around the floor. In fact of the group, I think I have probably been dancing for the least amount of time, and because most of my training has been in the International Standard and Latin, I have only learned the basics of some of the dances in the past few months- since May in fact - so I think I am doing pretty well considering.
But because these guys are so easy to follow I can usually do most of the patterns they try and the rhythms are pretty simple so I feel quite comfortable now with dances like the hustle and night club 2 step and I am definitely finding it easier to follow more complicated moves. Just gotta remember to count "don't hop, two, three," for the syncopated hustle and it feels much smoother and easier. I am still not mad about salsa- need to go to some salsa dances back in Vancouver to get better at it and I still have to get my Argentine Tango lessons with Carlos back on track. But first I have to be back in Vancouver long enough to get back into my regular dance and fitness routine.
Although I find I am having a lot of fun doing these American style social dances, I guess realistically it is mainly because of the chance to dance with so many excellent partners. I still love the discipline and formality - if that's the right word to describe it - of the International style. I hope to be able to do my gold level routines in Standard and Latin sometime next year but although I really love my dance lessons, without a regular dance partner I just dont get the opportunity to practice - or just to dance for enjoyment.
THE VERTICAL HOUR by David Hare Directed by Tamara McCarthy The Jericho Arts Centre A United Players Production November 13th to December 6th
Vancouver, BC: VERTICAL HOUR LACKS LOINS I applaud United Players for bringing this intellectually engaging play to the Jericho Arts Centre. The work of David Hare is always good for lively discussion on the way home from the theatre. But this production is like having three really nice, interesting people over for dinner; and you discuss politics, doctors, psychiatry, war, relationships, sex, marriage; and they stay way too late. There is a lot of talk about what is really going on during the evening with very little evidence of anything but talk.
It is three in the morning in Beijing, the morning after I arrived. And I am wide awake, writing! So my smugness at how I planned to avoid jet lag was unwarranted - my body defied my planning. Air Canada 29 leaves Vancouver at 12:40 pm and arrives the next day in Beijing around 4 pm. You fly almost 11 hours and move ahead 16 time zones. That meant that a couple of hours into the flight after we had been served a nice lunch and most people in the executive class cabin had reclined their seats and gone to sleep, it was really only about three or four in the afternoon Vancouver time. Although I tried to shut my eyes and doze for a bit in the latter half of the flight, I really did not sleep. By the time we arived in Beijing at 4 in the afternoon GMt + 8 hours for my chrono-biological clock it was only midnight. So I decided I would stay awake till around 9 Beijing time, sleep till 6 the next morning, and wake refreshed and in sync with the new time zone. Didn't work.
Wednesday, November 4th, Beijing
It is a sign of the times that accompanying the immigration form that was handed out on the plane to be filled in before landing, was a health form questioning the presence of flu symptoms and exposure to the flu virus. As we made our way past successive booths of immigration, health and customs people, all the airport staff were wearing masks. I wonder how effective that is.
Beijing Airport is quite stunning. I think parts of it, especially the new International terminal were built in time for the Olympics four years ago. It is absolutely huge, all shining chrome and glass and very clean. The inner airport train that leaves every 3 minutes to take you to the baggage claim area seems to go for a very long time. I wonder what the actual distance is?
I had arranged to meet Raoul, one of the dance hosts whom I originally met on the West Coast Ballroom Dance Cruise, at the Hotel Reception desk after customs and immigtration so we could share a cab to the hotel where both of us were staying. As it turned out when I talked to him to check flight times before leaving for the airport, another DAS guest Bernie was on his flight from Chicago to Beijing, and her room mate Joan would be coming in from San Francisco, so I will get to meet two of the other guests before we board the ship.
I had also connected by phone the evening before with my cabin-mate, Carol, who I previously met briefly on the Labcur Weekend Get-away Cruise, but she will only be arriving in Beijing on the day of the cruise. The baggage area is also huge and everythiing is very clearly signposted. I saw my suitcase coming and managed to wrestle it off the carousel. While I was gathering my breath to heave it on to my baggage cart, an arm reached out and before I knew it, my bag was on the cart with my duffel bag on top of it. Another gallant stranger in a random act of kindness.- see London and Languedoc Travelblogue. I smiled and thanked him.
The first thing on my mind on my return to Vancouver from the South Pacific Dance Cruise: Hawaii to Polynesia was getting my visa to visit China. Beijing is where I will embark on the Diamond Princess for 16 dance- filled nights and days while cruising from China to Thailand. And I only had two weeks to get ready.
"Another dance cruise?" you may ask - "you are almost turning this into a profession". And rather than blush and confess that I am now a confirmed dance cruise addict, I will loftily refer you to the explanation for this new tendency towards globetrotting on moving dance floors. It can all simply be blamed on last year's New Year resolution to develop spontaneity. Well that is my story and I am sticking to it for the rest of the year.
But back to the visa. I had my passport photo ready and my plan was to go Monday morning to the Chinese consulate visa application office and apply. I figured that would give me a few days lee-way if it took longer than I expected.
My friend Susan told me "you have to go early" but I figured if it opened at 9 I would let the lineups dissipate and get there a lttle later. So Monday morning I took my time and strolled into the Visa office just after 10. The place was absolutely jam packed with people, occupying every seat on the rows of benches and also lining up outside. I asked the man at the desk where one gets a number and he just laughed at me.
"We've given out all the numbers for the day" he says.
So I asked him what time do you have to be there to get a number. "Well" he says,"when I get there at 7 in the morning there is already a line-up. Ok so Susan was right- why did I doubt her?
This is a 16 night cruise within a 21 night trip. We start in Beijing and the north and sail south to end in Bangkok. The area and the itinerary are shown in the map above, from the Princess Cruise Lline web site.
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen Adapted and translated by Errol Durbach Directed by Gerald Vanderwoude Theatre at UBC/Yorick Theatre co-production Telus Studio Theatre, UBC Oct 29 to Nov 7, 2009
Vancouver, BC: Don't miss this production of Ibsen's The Master Builder. Re-shaped with a surgical precision by Errol Durbach's concise adaptation and Gerald Vanderwoude's taut direction, it is a sharply focused portrait of a man at the pinnacle of his profession, brought down by his desire for a nubile young thing. The play may have been written in 1892, but the story is played out frequently in the media today as politicians, business executives, perfomers and preachers publically beat their chests crying "mea culpa" as their wives file for divorce and half their assets. I tried to count on one hand such situations in the recent past but soon ran out of fingers!
Halvard Solness (Chris Humphreys) is the Master Builder. A self-taught man with no formal training in architecture, he epitomises success in his town, allowing little opportunity for the young would-be artisans like his draughtsman, Ragnar Brovik (Nicholas Fontaine), to earn commissions to build projects of their own. Ragnar's father, Knut Brovik (Matt Young), the aged architect who once employed Solness, and Kaja Fosli, Brovik's niece (Odessa Cadieux-Rey), both work in his office; they wait for him to put his stamp of approval on Ragnar's designs so that he can branch out on his own.He is utterly self-centered, manipulating everyone from his wife Aline (Trish Pattenden) to Kaja and the Broviks, to achieve his own ends. But his success is built on the destruction of other people's happiness. His wife has never recovered from the loss of the family home in a fire , even with the support of Dr. Herdal (Maurice Verkaar).
And then out of the past appears Hilde Wangel (Fiona Mongillo), who has come to claim her "castle in the air."
Solness, who outwardly appears so prosperous and confident, has doubts. He believes that he is one of a few chosen people, who can want something so insistently that they will it into happening - through the agency of devilish trolls. He harbours a secret fear - that retribution for his good fortune must come, and it does - but he just does not recognize its agent when he sees her.
This is perhaps the most mystical and symbolic of Ibsen's later plays and I find it fascinating that Ibsen, the father of realism in the theatre, needs to invoke a belief in supernatural forces, to account for Solness's self-doubts. But for a man in his mid-sixties, nearing the end of a prolific but often critically challenged career, it would not be odd for Ibsen to transpose his own inner concerns with memory and the reality of past and present, into his protagonist.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Wednesday, November 11 Okinawa, Japan. Scheduled arrival 7 am and departure 2 pm
The ship docks in the port of Shanghai but the distance from the pier to the city may vary from a half to a one hour drive depending on the size of the ship and where it has to dock. The Diamond Princess is a big cruise ship and has to dock quite far out. The city spans the Huangpu river, a tributary of the Yangtze River.
After dinner on our first night of sailing, tired though everyone was, we were determined not to miss even one evening of dancing so we headed off to the Wheelhouse Lounge to dance for an hour or so and then we had an early night. Dancing would start in earnest the next day with the first of our dance workshops in the morning, and then a full evening of dance in the evening.
Dance-wise this first full day at sea kicked off, so to speak, with two dance workshops. We met at 9 am in the Wheelhouse lounge where all our workshops will take place. The floor is slightly larger than the one on the Pacific Princess and alright for a group lesson with a small group. 
I have noticed that sometimes when there are couples in the group the men dont dance with any of the other women while the wives dance with the hosts, which alters the one-to-three ratio but Julia and Harry are just great. They are a delightful couple, fit right in to the group and Harry cheerfully dances with all of us. Unusually, in this small group, four of the 16, me, Helene, Julia and Harry, are Canadians. We joked that we were almost ready for a Canadian takeover. 
Anyway I digress from the workshops. Greg ran the first hour teaching an foxtrot sequence. Everyone picked it up really quickly. Then Brian took the second hour to introduce a rhumba sequence that gave us an opportunity to work on cuban hip motion, rhumba walks and spiral turns. Both workshops went really well. In this small group it was easy for people to rotate in and out and we all had a turn to practice. 
But because these guys are so easy to follow I can usually do most of the patterns they try and the rhythms are pretty simple so I feel quite comfortable now with dances like the hustle and night 
club 2 step and I am definitely finding it easier to follow more complicated moves. Just gotta remember to count "don't hop, two, three," for the syncopated hustle and it feels much smoother and easier. I am still not mad about salsa- need to go to some salsa dances back in Vancouver to get better at it and I still have to get my Argentine Tango lessons with Carlos back on track. But first I have to be back in Vancouver long enough to get back into my regular dance and fitness routine. 
THE VERTICAL HOUR by David Hare
It is three in the morning in Beijing, the morning after I arrived. And I am wide awake, writing! So my smugness at how I planned to avoid jet lag was unwarranted - my body defied my planning. Air Canada 29 leaves Vancouver at 12:40 pm and arrives the next day in Beijing around 4 pm. You fly almost 11 hours and move ahead 16 time zones. That meant that a couple of hours into the flight after we had been served a nice lunch and most people in the executive class cabin had reclined their seats and gone to sleep, it was really only about three or four in the afternoon Vancouver time. Although I tried to shut my eyes and doze for a bit in the latter half of the flight, I really did not sleep. By the time we arived in Beijing at 4 in the afternoon GMt + 8 hours for my chrono-biological clock it was only midnight. So I decided I would stay awake till around 9 Beijing time, sleep till 6 the next morning, and wake refreshed and in sync with the new time zone. Didn't work. 
The first thing on my mind on my return to Vancouver from the 
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen
And then out of the past appears Hilde Wangel (Fiona Mongillo), who has come to claim her "castle in the air." 
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