theatre review

Singing in the  Rain
Book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
Director Shel Piercy; Music Director Wendy Bross-Stewart; Choreographer Shelley Stewart-Hunt
Theatre Under the Stars,
Malkin Bowl, Stanley Park
Alternating nights to August 20th, 2010

Vancouver, BC. As much as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  will enchant children this summer, adult audiences will enjoy this production of Singing in the Rain. Although the words "singing in the rain" can't help but  evoke the iconic image  of  Gene Kelly  in the 1952 movie, the fun this TUTS cast has with the story managed to get the movie images out of my mind.

Singing in the Rain was first produced as a stage musical in London's West End more than three decades after the film version and we saw an entertaining version of the Arts Club stage a couple of years ago. This is the first time for this musical  on the TUTS stage, and the talented Cailin Stadnyk gets to reprise her part from the Arts Club production, as the untalented but gorgeous Lina Lamont..

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Directed by Shel Piercy;
Music Director Kevin Michael Cripps;
Choreographer Keri Minty
Theatre Under the Stars,
Malkin Bowl, Stanley Park
Alternating nights to August 20th, 2010

Vancouver, BC.  TUTS could not have asked for a more perfect evening to open their 2010 season. The evening air was warm, and the strong winds that blew through Vancouver yesterday had moved on to bluster across  another part of the province.  This year TUTS have instituted reserved seating throughout, a move that seemed to be appreciated by all.

We arrived early, after enjoying a delicious meal at the Tapastree restaurant just off  Denman Street, and sat down to enjoy the lively pre-show music.

The season opener was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by the team of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice, based on the story of Joseph from the old testament Book of Genesis.  In keeping with the 1968 origin of this work as a fifteen minute performance piece for the music department of an high school project Director Piercy has changed the narrator function into an interactive communication between a group of children and a tribe of "flower children".

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and Lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Directed by Michael Shamata. Musical Director Bruce Kellett
Arts Club Theatre/ Belfry Theatre production
Arts Club Granville Island Stage
June 15 to July 31, 2010

Vancouver, BC: I walked out of the Arts Club Theatre after seeing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee thinking, much to my surprise, that it was actually a little gem of a musical and perfectly suited to the Granville Island Stage.  I really had not anticipated enjoying it as much as I did, so kudos to Michael Shamata and his cast.

This is because four years ago when I was  writing "Rants, Raves and Reviews" for Immediate Theatre, I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at The Circle in the Square Theatre in New York. That's a 650 seat theatre, larger than the 450 seat Granville Island Stage - and in retrospect it seemed much more cavernous than the Stanley which also has about 650 seats. I wonder whether the barn-like nature of the New York venue, and the fact that I was seated way back in the "bleachers" contributed to my grumpiness about the show at the time (Songs, Dances, Paintings -The Curtain Falls). My comments then were that "the story line was weak, the music unmemorable and the choreography unremarkable. The show runs for about an hour and 45 minutes with no intermission and my attention began to flag after the first hour."

This was not so for this energetic and funny Arts Club/Belfry production, which I enjoyed a lot. Fitting in nicely with the concept of the show, Shamata inserted a "snack break" midway through the Bee which means that those of us with short attention spans and stiffening joints got to come back relaxed and eagerly anticipating the second half of the show. 

And this time I was also thoroughly engaged by the individual characters of the young spellers and their back- stories, which actually touch on quite weighty issues like parental neglect, sibling rivalry, and perfectionism. Not to mention that I found myself laughing out loud at some of their antics.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
Directed by Scott Bellis
Bard on the Beach
Main Stage, Vanier Park
to September 24, 2010

Vancouver, BC: Chronologically Antony and Cleopatra follows just after three of Shakespeare's most powerful tragedies, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Yet although this tragedy chronicles the downfall and the deaths of the heroic Roman, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, it does not make the same emotional impact on me that the fates of Othello and Lear do. 

Perhaps it is because when we first meet Antony in this play, he is already in thrall to Cleopatra and while in her presence, seems to lack the aura of greatness of a heroic figure. There are many ways to play these two characters but mostly we don't get any sense of the power Cleopatra must wield over the Kingdom of Egypt: instead we only see her as  a manipulative coquette, jealous of the other women in Antony's life. So despite their exalted status as Roman triumvir and Ruler, they seem all too human and commonplace in the way their sexual passion ultimately destroys them.

Or perhaps it is because much of the story is about power, politics and alliances made for expediency, and broken, and it's sad to think that little has changed in 2000 years - other than that modern day political back stabbing is metaphorical rather than literal.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dean Paul Gibson
Bard on the Beach
Main Stage , Vanier Park
to September 25, 2010

Vancouver, BC: I confess I really love the play Much Ado about Nothing and it's mainly because of the  verbal sparring between the spirited Beatrice and the self-confident cocky Benedick. I just wish I had their gifts for the snappy comeback - but I guess I need to channel the Bard to really match their wit.

The overall production is excellent and visually appealing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Set designer Drew Facey has created an elegant set with curved staircases. Gibson has set this in the Italian countryside around 1910. The courtyard has black ironwork gates and railings contrasting with the beautiful white and cream arches and columns, and lighting designer Gerald King adds a rich warmth to the set.  Mara Gottler's palette of cream and earth colors for the dresses evokes a sense of summer. Sound designer and composer Murray Price adds a Spanish touch to the music and I enjoyed the flamenco style dancing at the beginning.

Herr Beckmann's People by Sally Stubbs
Directed by Katrina Dunn
A Flying Start production from Playwrights Theatre Centre and Touchstone Theatre
Playwrights Theatre Centre Studio
June 10-19, 2010

Vancouver, BC: The world premiere production of Herr Beckmann's People by Vancouver playwright, Sally Stubbs, is on this week at Festival House on Granville Island. A thought-provoking play sensitively performed by a strong cast, this is well worth seeing.

The play explores the choices made by a once close-knit family in Germany, before and during World War II, and how these choices continue to reverberate in the family psyche almost three decades later. A question that has been pondered ever since the realities of the Holocaust became known, is "how could ordinary people in an educated, cultured nation, participate in or facilitate the brutalities that were committed against their fellow human beings?"

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson
Directed by Bill Millerd
Choreographer Valerie Easton
Musical Director  Sasha Niechoda

Vancouver, BC: When your entire audience is on their feet ready to break loose for a rock and roll party you know you have yet another hit on your hands. Bill Millerd and the Arts Club gang must be rockin' and rollin' themselves because that's what happened last night at the opening night of Buddy at the Stanley Theatre.

This Vancouver production of Buddy - a musical that enjoyed a 13 year run after its original 1989 opening in London's West end and has delighted audiences  round the world, rocked the joint to the rafters and  is a must see for anyone  who loves to rock and roll.

Buddy is set in the US, between January 1956, when Buddy Holly was a young singer trying to find his own musical voice in the dominant country music scene, and February 1959 when he died at 22 in a plane crash. The show charts his meteoric rise to the top of the billboards with the release of 3 original albums in that short span of time.

Zachary Stevenson who plays Buddy is simply outstanding, and he is supported by excellent performances by The Crickets, Tommy (Jeff Bryant on lead guitar), Jerry (Scott Carmichael, drummer) and Joe (Jeremy Holmes, Bass). Completing the band are musical director Sasha Niechoda (Keyboards) and Henry Christian (Trumpet), Neil Nicholson (Trombone) and Tom Colclough (Saxophone).

The Breath of Life by David Hare
Directed by Adam Henderson
United Players of Vancouver
Jericho Arts Centre
Apr 2 -25, 2010

Vancouver, BC: I finally managed to see the last of the four plays with "great roles for older women"  featured in Vancouver  within the past 4 months, as alluded to in my Preview of Collected Stories. Starting with the Arts Club's, Mrs. Dexter & her Daily in January, this coincidental "series" of plays includes  Queen Lear at  Presentation House in March, and  Collected Stories at PAL Theatre and Breath of Life, both this month.

Each play had a cast of two women. And in two of the four (Mrs Dexter and Breath of Life), both roles were for "veteran" actresses. In Queen Lear and Collected Stories, the interaction was between a younger student and an older woman. All four plays were heavily focused on the relationship between the two characters rather than being event driven. And what I find most fascinating is that all except Mrs. Dexter, were written by male playwrights. Sounds like there is an interesting idea for a Masters thesis in Drama somewhere in this topic.

The Russian Play & Mexico City
Two plays  by Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Christian Barry
2b theatre company & Ruby Slippers
Performance Works
Mar 24 - 28, 2010

Vancouver, BC: It's a tad ironic that the theme of the first play in this production, Mexico City, could be stated as "reality  does  not  always match up to expectations," because this precisely sums up my reaction to this show.

This is why.

I first heard of  young Canadian playwright, Hannah Moscovitch, when I saw her first full length play, East of Berlin a year ago at The Firehall. I was impressed by the "tightly written script" and commented "This is a powerful play. I don't think anyone in the audience moved a muscle throughout the performance. I didn't even hear a cough." East of Berlin  had an engrossing story to tell with strongly drawn characters whose narrative arcs felt real and were emotionally gripping. And I guess, unfairly,  I was expecting more of the same.

The program for this current production of Moscovitch's plays consists of two one-acts: first up is Mexico City, a 25 minute play featuring Henry (Conor Green) and Alice (Tessa Cameron), a young couple vacationing in Mexico City.

After intermission comes The Russian Play, about 47 minutes in length, featuring a ill-fated "love" triangle between Sonya (Colombe Demers), Kostya (Conor Green) and Piotr (Scott Stephenson) unfolding against the gloomy background of Stalinist Russia.

Mexico City is a satirical look at relationships and travel. In both situations there is a gap between what we imagine and what is.  Three years after their honeymoon in Europe Henry and Alice are looking to a holiday in Mexico to rekindle romance in their marriage.  Henry wants to experience the "real Mexico" although he is not quite sure what that is. Alice is determined not to miss any museums featuring the works of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  Both expect to find their own picture-postcard idea of Mexico. Reality is different. 

Talking Stick Festival:  Opening Gala and Festival Week
Presented by Full Circle, Talking Stick Festival and
The Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
At the Roundhouse and other venues
February 21 to 28, 2010

Vancouver , BC: To the accompaniment of  occasional roars from the hordes watching the Canada-USA hockey game on the giant screen at Yaletown Live, we strolled down a relatively quiet Pacific Boulevard to The Roundhouse to attend the opening gala of the Talking Stick festival.

We had arrived at 6  for the reception and chattered to several people visiting for the Olympics, as we waited in line.The house opened shortly before 7 and we found  seats at a table for four and were joined by a couple up for a visit from the Napa Valley. Things started off with a great beat with the Talking Stick house band 'Friends of the Indians' rocking the Roundhouse. They were joined for another rocking number by singer Gillian Thomson of "Sister Says". 

We were welcomed to the opening by co-hosts  Greg Coyes of APTN's The Mix and Theresa Point, Festival Artistic Director Margo Kane and several other gracious hosts before a plethora of traditional songs and dances were performed by Spakwus Slulem, the Eagle Song dancers of the Squamish nation; Tsatsu Stalqayu, of the Coastal Wolf pack of the Musqueam nation and the traditional Gitksan Dancers of Damelahamid.

Chris Bose, poet and storyteller among his other talents, read poems from his newly published book "Stone the Crow."