Does the name Jean-Francois evoke a charming, graceful speaker of French who moves elegantly and lithely across the stage as he acts, sings, and dances? A stereotype, yes, but it is true here. This one-man musical gains an immense degree of its charm from its lead actor, playwright, and composer Jean-Francois Plante-Tan.
I was assigned to review La cravate bleue, and I was immediately hesitant. My understanding of French is quite limited. I love hearing Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Fatoumata Diawara, and many other Francophone singers, but I don't understand their songs, at least the first time around....
I left this musical theatre offering from Theatre Howl, Saskatoon, SK, with mixed feelings. [WARNING SPOILER: I won’t give away any details specifically, except to say that there are spoilers to give away].
Matchstick is the coming-of-age love story between a girl from an undesirable country and boy from the land of freedom and opportunity. The story is told with music, drama and a simple set made of projected ink drawings, instruments, photos and tin cans. The music is all the best parts of Canadian singer-songwriter folk. The melodies were lovely and the lyrics poetic...
Et voila! The first-ever Plank Magazine tweet-along of a Vancouver Fringe play! Welcome to a tweet-along of ca.Sandbar which is an outdoor show at the Creekside Courtyard near the Sandbar restaurant on Granville Island. Brought to you by Forest Crone Productions, it's part of the Fringe Onsite program in collaboration with the Only Animal. Look at the map if you can't find it (my ticket said 1398 Cartwright Street which is incorrect). Here we go!
Start of ca.Sandbar - it's BYOV E at this year's Fringe!
Many vollies and usher types are wearing golden soldier-type helmets. I want one
On the long weekend I saw Hamlet and Man Of Steel. Bizarrely enough, the two were remarkably similar. Plots featuring a well-known hero, vile evildoers, innocent victims - all leading to lots of death and destruction. Each production had a strong creative team which offered stunning designs and visual images. Yet in each case, the resulting product was a mess. In trying to honour a wide variety of themes, the creators of both pieces let the work get away from them.
Directed by Kim Collier, Hamlet at Bard on the Beach features Jonathon Young in the ico...
Jonathon Young as Hamlet at Bard on the Beach 2013
This musical took Broadway by storm about 10 years ago - and it’s still a damn funny show. It has puppets! Naked puppets! Sex with naked puppets!
And even better, Avenue Q aims to make you think. Featuring puppets of all colours, races and orientation, the show mercilessly mocks our age of political correctness with dazzling musical numbers such as “If You Were Gay”, “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” and “The Internet Is For Porn.” Though Avenue Q is not authorized or approved by the Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, puppets such as porn-addicted Trekkie Monster and...
As Director Bill Millerd rightly states in the opening sentence to his written message contained in the program for DREAMGIRLS, “musicals are a special breed, and they have their ardent fans and equal ardent detractors.” Certainly detractors were thin on the ground at the opening on Wednesday evening of DREAMGIRLS, the final show of the season at the Stanley Industrial Alliance stage. Instead, “ardent fans” practically tore the place apart with some of the most robust cheering I have heard - anywhere - in many years of attending and appearing in productions.
In their production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Jane Heyman and Jesse Johnston, together with the company of The Only Child Collective, have offered up a rare gift to Vancouver theatre-goers.
Not to say the production is without flaws, but it is a tribute to one of the 20th century’s great literary giants and, at the same time, a breathtaking leap of faith for a small, unfunded collective to do what so many larger wealthier companies do not, i.e.: challenge their audiences with complex, nuanced material, and a large ensemble cast of 13 actors.
Anton Chekhov...
Bob Frazer and Emma Slipp in The Only Child Collective production of Three Sisters. Photo by Emily Cooper.
The difficulty in writing about a show such as 2 Pianos 4 Hands is that there is very little left to say that hasn’t been said or repeated in the 16 years and 5,000 performances that have elapsed since it appeared, to great acclaim, in its first incarnation at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.
Far more accomplished reviewers than I doubtless ran out of superlatives years ago in writing about this show as it progressed from venue to venue and country to country, garnering more than two million in attendance, so I will just get in line and say...
Written, Starring, and Directed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt
Drawing from a number popular dystopian themes, Broken Sex Doll is a slick, silly, scifi satire. Kinda like if Ray Bradbury had written Grease.
The story revolves around, as you can imagine, a “broken” sex doll but there are a number of twists and turns in the plot to keep you on your toes. The musical numbers are strong, the set is fabulous, and the acting is fun and fearless. Without giving too much away I’d like to say that my favourite parts were the very first action sequence, the umbrella montage and some very expressive leg acting.
