From featuring falling chandeliers to high-kicking cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals are cultural icons. But strip away the spectacular production values associated with his shows, and you’ll find that the driving force behind everything is the score. Music of the Night: The Concert Tour proves that Lloyd Webber’s music, along with the lyrics of collaborators like Rice and Don Black, can stand alone, captivating and entertaining audiences without the theatrical bells and whistles.
Read moreTheatre review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shines with humour and energy →
CTORA Theatre has plucked Roald Dahl’s beloved story Charlie & the Chocolate Factory from the pages and transformed it into a larger-than-life production that proves how pure imagination can make anything possible. Over the past few seasons, CTORA has emerged on the Vancouver theatre scene with productions infused with clever staging concepts and production values, under the direction of Mark Carter. To that end, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is right up CTORA’s alley, with a show that combines strong on-stage talent with delightful visuals to entertain and inspire audiences of all ages.
Read moreStudio 58’s Baggage innovatively unpacks dating life
Emotional baggage from dating is no joke. But it can be entertaining to poke a little fun at. After all, recognizing the humour in past experiences is part of how we grow. Sarah Segal-Lazar’s play Baggage is a clever and playful look at how baggage from past relationships follows us. This freshing work is superbly brought to life by a cast of tremendously talented Studio 58 students, led by the charismatic Michelle Avila Navarro. Director and Studio 58 graduate Jessie Liang offers an inventive concept with some creative ideas that highlight the many strengths of the cast and Segal-Lazar’s script.
Read moreIn The Improv Centre's Betrayers, audience has fun separating the truthful from traitors →
The Improv Centre a thing or two about timing, which of course is essential when it comes to comedy. And now that we’re officially into fall, The Improv Centre is right on time with its latest show, Betrayers—and not just because it’s based on one of the year’s most memed TV shows.
Read moreJersey Boys has smooth moves, authentic grit, and style for miles
A couple of seasons ago, the Arts Club Theatre Company staged Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, telling the personal story of the iconic title character. Now, it’s time for the fellas to take the stage with Jersey Boys, a bio musical of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The show, which won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical, recounts the exciting, yet often complicated and sometimes heartbreaking, story of the group—all powered by its nonstop parade of hits.
Read moreCome From Away’s true story still soars with authentic East Coast style
Broadway Across Canada’s Come From Away has landed in Vancouver again, and it will undoubtedly inspire and uplift audiences throughout its stay. The Tony Award-winning musical, based on the events from the tragic September 11 attacks being memorialized this week, pays tribute to the efforts of the residents of the town of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, who housed and cared for the thousands of people stranded by diverted flights.
Read moreTheatre Under the Stars brings fresh feline eyes to CATS →
Cats are known to have nine lives. But Cats, the iconic Broadway musical, seems to have countless lives, as it’s still being performed worldwide after first premiering in the West End over 43 years ago. In fact, there’s even a drag-and-ballroom-themed version off-Broadway, where the Jellicle cats are voguing and waacking their way down a catwalk. Here at the Malkin Bowl, Theatre Under the Stars is offering a fresh reimagining of its own. While this retelling is nowhere near as drastic as the current off-Broadway version, director Ashley Wright’s production offers some creative ideas to keep things interesting, while still having one paw planted faithfully in the original.
Read moreIn School of Rock, youth performers jam out with skill and authenticity →
Theatre Under the Stars has a tradition of showcasing young talent every summer—and it’s spotlighting some wonderfully talented kids in School of Rock, a Broadway musical adaptation of the 2003 film that starred Jack Black. The demands on the young performers for this show are huge, with some roles requiring them to play instruments in addition to acting and singing. (Andrew Lloyd Webber rounds out the score, adding to songs from the film.) The group of youth performers assembled on the Malkin Bowl stage is incredibly impressive and fun to watch in a show that sometimes leans a bit too heavily on cartoonish antics.
Read moreSpectacular stage version of Frozen dazzles with magic and heart
The best way to cool off in Vancouver amid this summer heat is to treat yourself to Broadway Across Canada’s Frozen. Under the direction of Michael Grandage, this stage adaptation of the iconic 2013 Disney animated film is as spectacular an experience as one would expect, with jaw-dropping effects and scenic, lighting, and costume designs. But it’s the show’s inspirational messages about sisterhood and inner strength that make this experience truly impactful and unforgettable.
Read moreGuys & Dolls glitters amid bedazzled cabarets and Broadway marquees →
The Arts Club Theatre Company’s highly anticipated production of Guys & Dolls brings the classic Broadway musical to life with gorgeous style and some fresh, inventive ideas that breathe new life into the iconic show. Under the direction of Ashlie Corcoran, there’s a dusting of magic throughout the show, which really comes alive near the end.
Read moreMary Poppins: The Broadway Musical brings the magic to Massey Theatre →
Each year, Royal City Musical Theatre stages a splashy song-and-dance spectacle, complete with a full orchestra, eye-pleasing sets and costumes, and a cast led by top-industry professionals, rounded out by promising local talent. Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical checks all these boxes and pulls off the magical elements with good stage effects; it’s a smoothly run show full of charm and musical-theatre mastery.
Read moreBlasts of colour and danceable music as high-energy Hairspray returns →
Hairspray, the hit Broadway musical, has danced its way into Vancouver, looking and feeling as fresh and energized as ever. The show, which premiered on Broadway in 2002 and is based on the 1988 film, oozes with fun and heartfelt messaging. You may just find yourself leaving the theatre humming its tunes and feeling inspired to help make positive change.
Read moreRaincity Theatre's Parade still resonates with chilling effect →
The true story of Jewish American Leo Frank’s wrongful murder conviction and lynching in 1915 in Marietta, Georgia is bone-chilling, heartbreaking, and fascinating. These events are dramatized in the Tony Award-winning musical Parade, which originally premiered in 1998.
Read moreChelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen's dreamlike tribute still holds poetic magic, at the Firehall Arts Centre
“HOW CAN I BEGIN anything new with all of yesterday in me?” asks Adrian Glynn McMorran, in Firehall Arts Centre’s Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Read moreStrong performances and a fairy-tale forest at Studio 58's Sondheim musical Into the Woods
WHAT DO YOU WISH for? In Studio 58’s production of the beloved Broadway musical Into the Woods, we see iconic fairy-tale characters co-existing in the same kingdom, each fighting to make their wishes come true, and experiencing the happy and not-so-happy results from each action.
Read morePowerful performances and music as Choir Boy examines how society shapes young lives
“WOULD YOU RATHER be respected or feared?” This is a question that’s repeatedly asked by Pharus, a gay teen at a Black all-boys boarding school in Choir Boy, a compelling play by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The question is one of many asked throughout the show that not only drive the plot but stay with audiences long after the final blackout, in this thought-provoking story that critically examines societal authority and the power it has in shaping the course of young lives.
Read moreMean Girls' witty teen comedy makes a "fetch" mix with song-and-dance spectacle
The iconic film has long been stamped into pop-culture legacy, and the recently released film, an adaptation of the 2017 hit Broadway musical, has been crushing it at the box office. Meanwhile, Broadway Across Canada’s touring production opened in Vancouver last night. Like the original film version, the show is hilarious and smart, but here, the storytelling is heightened through the magic of musical theatre, complete with splashy song-and-dance numbers and vibrant young cast members who offer their own takes on the story’s well-known characters.
Read moreGateway Theatre’s modern take on Cinderella retains the charm of a classic fairy tale
A STORY’S INTERPRETATION can evolve with time and culture—a fact made wonderfully evident in Gateway Theatre’s smart and inventive new production of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
Read moreReflections on Crooked Walking skips down its own whimsical path
WHILE CHRISTMAS SONGS and candy canes are currently sweetening theatres across Vancouver, there’s one stage in town that dares to go down a different path.
Read moreWith pirates and puns, Sinbad! sails with shameless old-school panto fun
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE a good traditional English pantomime during the holiday season, and Metro Theatre’s Sinbad! is exactly that. Pantos usually take a familiar story such as a fairy tale, add in a localized perspective, and revel in slapstick comedy, unapologetic word puns, drag, and a ton of audience participation—including booing all the bad guys. And Sinbad! is so bad it’s good!
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