Theatre

Vancouver’s Metro Theatre ends its 2009/2010 season with the Ken Ludwig adaptation of the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur comedy Twentieth Century.  And while the train does indeed make it from Chicago to New York, it only gets there with a lot of help from Caitlin Clugston and Janet Glassford who work hard to stoke this steam engine’s fire.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is all about the music and for those looking for more traditional musical theatre should probably look elsewhere.  But if you’re up for something a bit different you certainly can’t get much better, when done right, than this revue featuring the songs from the Belgium born balladeer.  And while not always successful, the Point B Theatre production currently on stage at the PAL Theatre, still manages to capture some of the eclectic mix of romantic cynicism and bitter disillusionment that permeates Brel’s music.

Summer in Vancouver is usually defined by two things: less clothing and Shakespeare.  As we continue to shed our winter layers, Bard on the Beach begins serving up Shakespeare under the tents in Vanier Park.  And what better summer time treat than Shakespeare’s version of a romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

With shows like Twilight and True Blood all the rage, it isn't hard to see why Vancouver's Once Upon a Theatre chose vampires as one of the themes for the company's 20th production.  But a mash-up of vampires and drag queens?  Oddly, after a couple emails with Artistic Director Ashley Lambert-Maberly, Priscilla, Queen of the Damned: Drag Queens vs. Vampires starts to make sense.

With the Bard on the Beach season set to open on Saturday, Vancouver actor Shawn Macdonald talks to us about Shakespeare’s importance as a playwright and how it's probably best not to "freak out" if you're about to enjoy the Bard’s work for the first time.

There certainly was a whole lot of raw energy and obvious talent in An Electrifying Evening of Sam Shepard, the inaugural production from one of Vancouver’s newest theatre companies, Hardline Productions.  Problem is, with the choice of two obscure Sam Shepard one acts and an equally obscure monologue, it felt more like walking into an advance drama class where the students were flexing their acting muscles, than a real production meant for an audience.

You really have to admire Pipedream Theatre Project for taking chances.  From last year’s A New Brain to this year’s Nine, this group doesn’t make it easy for themselves, or their audiences.  And despite some issues, when this estrogen filled cast fires on all cylinders there is some real magic taking place on the Performance Works stage.

Vancouver’s annual summer tradition, Bard on the Beach, opens its 2010 season on June 10th (delayed from its original opening of June 3rd) with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Along with local gay director Dean Paul Gibson, Much Ado also features two gay Vancouver actors, Allan Morgan and Shawn Macdonald. In our first of two parts, we catch-up with Morgan who talks to us about Bard on the Beach and the importance of baked goods.

Blessed is the inventive Sarah Rodgers for she has taken Godspell, an already irreverent musical based on the gospel according to Saint Matthew, and really socks it to us by placing it within an episode of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in.

There is no question that writer Meg Holle has a way with words.  Based on her electronic book, You Are Not Dead: A Guide to Modern Living, Black Pants Productions moves her words to the stage and while for me it actually works better as a piece of ‘theatre’ than in its original written form, both suffer from being a little one-note.