Frankenstein: Lost in Darkness

What a fitting play for the Halloween season! More than that though, this is a radio play done on stage. It's fascinating to watch as the actors voice the characters while also creating sound effects to help build the world where Frankenstein inhabits.

Corina Akeson is wonderfully tormented as the tortured Dr. Frankenstein who is ashamed and afraid after creating the creature. We watch as the doctor's world falls apart and delves deep into despair. 

Diana Squires juggles a few hats, with sound effect duty and also playing the roles of Elizabeth, the doctor's betrothed and the sea captain who comes to save the doctor lost at sea. The production has the microphones set up so that you know when an actor is playing a different role, but Squires' performances are nuanced enough to help the audience differentiate. 

Matthew Simmons also juggles a cornucopia of characters and provides much of the sound effects for the show, which was absolutely intriguing to watch. At times, I would close my eyes to just treat this like a radio play I would be listening to at home.

Then of course we have Tariq Leslie, who plays the monster. With his deep baritone voice, he manoeuvres back and forth between the monster's internal dialogue of loneliness and his outward appearance of a monstrous beast.

The show's elevated dialogue is done by Peter Church, while direction is by Chris Lam (who stage managed last year's immersive Sweeney Todd!)


This audio drama is a unique theatrical experience and Vancouver, you are lucky to be witnessing the world premiere right here in our city! Go check out Frankenstein: Lost in Darkness at Pacific Theatre now until Nov 2.

Company

This is the best musical in town right now. No question about it.

I've seen Stephen Sondheim's Company before, and quite frankly, hated it. But maybe I've learned to appreciate Sondheim with age. Or maybe again, with age, I've learned to appreciate the stories about marriage and relationships that Company delves into.

Last year at this time, I went and saw Raincity Theatre's production of Sweeney Todd set in a pie shop, and ate meat pies while watching the show about murdering people and cooking them into meat pies!

This year, continuing their mission of "immersive musical theatre" Raincity Theatre brings us Sondheim's Company set at Bobby's birthday party in his apartment! I found my way to an apartment building in East Vancouver and was welcomed to the party, complete with birthday cake and pre-party shenanigans including a game of charades and me getting blindfolded to play "Pin the Bourbon on the Bobby!" 

It was a joyous atmosphere, and a dream production. When the show actually started, the singers' voices were crystal clear in the intimate space, whose acoustics were downright magical.  It really is basically like having a musical being performed in your very own living room. Jonathan Winsby's Robert is a powerhouse performance, and the rest of the cast are equally as brilliant.

I have never enjoyed Company more than I have with this production. You must go, and you will absolutely love it.

Company is on now until October 26.

Herringbone

I am so glad I managed to catch a performance of this one-person musical happening in New Westminster.

An off-Broadway show, the musical takes us back to old Vaudeville and we are introduced to a myriad of characters, played by one actor. In this production, the nights rotate between a male and a female actor.  On the night I went, I saw the incomparable Luisa Jojic, whose enthralling performance was a downright revelation!

I am not too fussed about the story. Yes, it's disturbing to say the least, especially Act Two.  But as far as musicals go, I wasn't leaving the theatre humming any memorable tunes, although that song about mothers was devastating.

Luisa Jojic however, was worth the ticket admission alone. She knocks the performance right out of the ballpark. I don't know how the other actor compares, as I did not get a chance to see him. But I can only imagine that the talent needed for a show like this is hard to find.


Herringbone ends today at the Anvil Centre! Don't miss out!

Fringe: Rape is Real and Everywhere

I ended my day of Fringe festing with rape jokes, of course! Yes, I attended the Rape is Real & Everywhere comedy hour at the Cultch, and I highly recommend it!

Yes it's heavy material but it's also funny and hilarious and healing and inspiring.

It's stand-up comedy, it's told by survivors of sexual assault, and it's well worth your time.

Rape is Real and Everywhere is on four more times during the Fringe Fest! Don't miss out!

Fringe: Ludwig and the Hammerklavier

I didn't intend on seeing this show, but some friends wanted to go because they like Beethoven and classical music in general. Me not so much. So given that context, I can't say I enjoyed this production.

It felt like watching your drunk uncle discovering pecha kucha presentations and indulging himself on the life of Beethoven. Maybe this would have worked better as a full on lecture rather than under the guise of a "show."  Sure, the actor playing Ludwig could play the piano and that was nice, but unlike the one-woman show Josephine, I was not transported to the time of Beethoven nor did I believe that this actor was him. Yes, he had passion, and yes it's tough to do a one-man show and memorize all those lines and put yourself out there, so definitely kudos for that.

I wouldn't recommend this show to the general public, as I didn't really get much out of it myself. I wanted to learn more about Beethoven, but I found the facts coming at me too fast and furious and all over the place that I couldn't keep up. The folks who did show up for the show enjoyed it and gave him a standing ovation, including my friends. Perhaps those who are familiar with classical music will enjoy this and get the jokes and references and name dropping that uncultured plebs like myself don't.

Ludwig and the Hammerklavier is on four more times during Fringe.

Fringe: LIFT

Immediately following Amelie, I caught another musical which couldn't have been more different.  Lift is an obscure and unmoving British musical about loneliness.  We are introduced to a myriad of characters who wind up taking the same elevator one morning. Told through flashbacks and song, we learn the individual stories each person brings with them.

I have to admit however, I was completely lost and had a hard time following who was who and who was related to what story and basically found the entire thing confusing. There was a main character with a guitar whom I thought was named Gabe, but then he kinda takes the backseat and there's another guy named Gabe who is either gay or bi or closeted? Or is he the same Gabe but just a different side of the same character? Then there was a Sarah/Kate mess, thrown in with some online avatars come to life - I really had no idea who was playing what.

There were a few microphone mishaps which rattled the audience since the volume was so loud, so that also didn't help better things for me. I wanted to like this show because it's got LGBTQ content and I love a good musical, but I just can't get behind it completely.

For musical buffs however, they do get five more chances to see Lift during Fringe Fest! 

Fringe: Amelie

Today I took in four Fringe shows. I know there are others out there who do more of a marathon but I am exhausted, and I am not holding back on my reviews.

First up, Amelie.

Wow, this was a lovely way for me to begin my day! This musical holds a sweet charming innocence to it.

Set against a starry sky background, the cast turned the set into a cafe and then to a busy subway station and then to some popular neighbourhoods in Paris, all by moving a few set pieces around and letting the audience use their imagination - fitting since Amelie's imagination is one of her key characteristics.

I wish some of the actors had projected a bit more, but there was definitely some beautiful singing in this production. For those who are unfamiliar with the story, or haven't seen the movie, they may feel a bit lost at times. It's been more than a decade since I watched the movie so I had a hard time remembering some of the details, and I couldn't depend on this production to fill in those story holes for me. Perhaps some more elaborate set pieces would have worked well, i.e. a photo booth?

Overall, the musical fills your heart with love. It's the story of a charismatic but introverted woman and her good deeds she does for her friends and neighbours. In the end, there is a love story as well. Who even falls in love like this anymore these days? It was a wonderful little throwback to less digital times. And with the kindness and heart in this production, it's exactly the type of show that our world needs right now.

Amelie has five more shows left during the Fringe!