Inside Vancouver

Dreamgirls Musical Coming to Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on May 6, 2013

Image courtesy of Arts Club

The hit Motown musical Dreamgirls is making a stop in Vancouver.

The rags to riches drama about three wannabe divas from Chicago comes to the Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre May 9-July 7. Eight shows are already sold out for what is expected to be one of the hottest theatrical productions of the year.

The original musical, which opened on Broadway in 1981, ran for an impressive 1522 performances and earned both a Tony Award and a Grammy Award. It was later adapted into the hit 2006 film, Dreamgirls, which featured Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy and garnered two Oscars.

The musical traces the evolution of a 1960s girl group dubbed the Dreamettes, loosely based on the Supremes. Action opens in 1962 at the famous Amateur Night talent competition inside New York’s Apollo Theatre. The ragtag trio of soul singers loses the competition but gains a manager. Their career takes off when they abandon traditional R&B for more mainstream pop sounds, catered to a white audience.

Continue reading:
Dreamgirls Musical Coming to Vancouver

Hit Zombie Musical: Ride the Cyclone Comes to Vancouver, Jan 17-Feb 16 (Ticket Giveaway)

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on January 14, 2013

Photo courtesy of Arts Club

Ready for Glee with zombies?

Ride the Cyclone – a campy musical about a high school chamber choir killed in a roller coaster accident – premieres this Thursday, Jan. 17, as part of Vancouver’s PuSh international performing arts festival. And you’ve got a chance to win a pair of tickets (for more on that, read on).

Developed by Victoria’s Atomic Vaudeville company, Ride the Cyclone has been hailed as “the most awe-inspiring, truly entertaining, heart tugging, toe-tapping musical” in years by the Toronto Star. The set-up spells darkly comic masterpiece. Six high school choir students from the small town of Uranium, Saskatchewan, perish in a freak roller coaster accident. The Amazing Karnack, a mechanized fortune teller at the amusement park, feels responsible. Continue reading:
Hit Zombie Musical: Ride the Cyclone Comes to Vancouver, Jan 17-Feb 16 (Ticket Giveaway)

Award-winning musical Spitfire Grill at Pacific Theatre, through Oct 27

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on October 13, 2012

Photo credit: Francesca Albertazzi

When it comes to live theatre in Vancouver, much of the spotlight goes to heavy hitters like the Arts Club and Bard on the Beach (and, until recently, Vancouver Playhouse). But drama buffs know that there’s an entire network of smaller, intimate theatres operating largerly under the radar – from the Cultch to the Firehall Arts Centre and tiny Pacific Theatre in the Granville Rise neighbourhood. While productions may be more modest at these theatres, production value is anything but.

I stopped by Pacific Theatre for the first time this week to take in their latest musical, the small-town drama Spitfire Grill (running through Oct. 27). The theatre can be a little hard to find, tucked away next to a seniors centre on 12th Avenue. Pacific Theatre bills itself as “community-minded professional theatre,” and the venue has a grassroots, community feel. Everyone inside seemed to know each other – staff, performers and patrons. Inside, a small lobby leads to a very unique 126-seat, alley-style theatre. The north and south wings are completely separated by a ground-level stage in the middle.

The Spitfire Grill, adapted from the hit 1996 film, traces the life of an ex-prisoner who relocates to a small midwestern town in the hope of starting a new life. She gets a job at the grill – the town’s only restaurant – and quickly discovers that everything is not as perfect as it seems. Continue reading:
Award-winning musical Spitfire Grill at Pacific Theatre, through Oct 27

Buddy Holly Musical Returns to Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on July 19, 2012

Photo credit: Tim Matheson courtesy of Arts Club Theatre

The world’s most successful rock ‘n’ roll musical is back in Vancouver. But is it still worth seeing?

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story starring Vancouver Island native Zachary Stevenson (a dead ringer for Holly – physically and vocally) is at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage through Aug. 26. This is a homecoming of sorts for the production, which had a very successful run in 2010.

The musical traces the meteoric ascent of Buddy Holly from goofy 19-year-old in glasses in Lubbock, Texas to global rockstar and heartthrob (albeit still in glasses). It’s creatively narrated by a series of old-time radio DJs, who keep us up to speed on the ups and downs of Holly’s brief but tumultuous career.

While the story of Holly’s life and untimely death is well worn, Alan Janes ’1989 musical – which has played on Broadway and throughout the world – still entertains. For starters, the tunes are catchy. Continue reading:
Buddy Holly Musical Returns to Vancouver

Glam Rock Revisited: Broadway hit Rock of Ages coming to Vancouver, May 8-13

by Remy Scalza in Uncategorized on April 20, 2012

Remember rockin’ out to Don’t Stop Believin’? How about The Final Countdown? Or the classic Every Rose has its Thorn? If you’re old enough to remember the ‘80s, chances are you know the words to some of those songs by heart.

Those classics and 24 other ‘80s glam-rock hits are featured in the hit jukebox musical Rock of Ages, coming to the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts May 8-13.

First premiering on Broadway in 2009, Rock of Ages tells the story of a small town girl who meets a big city rocker in Los Angeles’ hottest rock club. Sparks fly and they fall in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80s.

So which hair metal classics can you expect to hear?

Continue reading:
Glam Rock Revisited: Broadway hit Rock of Ages coming to Vancouver, May 8-13