DISNEY Showtunes Night!

It's the Wonderful World of Showtunes!! That's right, Friday May 1st at 1181 Davie Street, from 6-9pm, we'll be celebrating SHOWTUNES Night with all things DISNEY! Come on by!!

For more info, check the website! Come for a chance to win tickets to Fighting Chance Productions' Into The Woods, local wrestling ECCW, and Theatre Under The Stars!

Into The Woods

If you've seen the movie but haven't seen the live production, then you're in for a surprise! Of course the film version takes a few liberties. So why not go see Stephen Sondheim's classic musical INTO THE WOODS the way it was meant to be seen?

Fighting Chance Productions brings the magic and music of INTO THE WOODS to the stage, on now until May 16 at the Jericho Arts Centre! Get your tickets fast as shows are selling out quick!

The Backward Class

Yesterday I went to the premiere of local Vancouver filmmaker Madeleine Grant's documentary, The Backward Class. This homecoming has been years in the making, and it couldn't have been sweeter. With two sold out showings, this heartwrenching film dives deep into the profound poverty of India's marginalized "Untouchable" community and the one school that aims to help break the outdated caste system and the cycle of oppression that comes with it. 

Following the very first class of students to be entered into the school, we witness the juxtaposition of their school lives and home lives, see their transformation in confidence, and ride the highs and lows of an uncertain future. The students are endearing, the staff heroic, and the film brave. 

The Backward Class plays this week at the Vancity Theatre on April 15 (8:20pm) and April 18 (3:20pm).

Book Of Mormon

Hell-o!  The Book of Mormon musical has rolled into Vancouver this week. It's only here for two more days (Today and tomorrow). So if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you can still try for the lottery system that takes place 2.5 hours before the show!

This was my 3rd time seeing the show. I first saw it on Broadway before it went on to win the Tony for Best Musical, and then caught it again when it visited Seattle. Now that it's here in Vancouver, I couldn't resist going and I was not disappointed! This touring cast is impeccable! This is definitely a show worth going to, if you're a musical fan or if you're a Southpark fan! (This was a much better show brought to us by Broadway Across Canada than last Fall's terrible Flashdance.)

It's so much fun and totally offensive and smart and hilarious and catchy! Now that it's made its presence known in Vancouver, there's no doubt that it will be coming back again and again.

Happy Vaisakhi!

"Thousands of spectators are expected at the Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade this Saturday.

The annual event begins at 11 a.m. at the Ross Street Temple, located in the 800-block Ross Street in southeast Vancouver.

The parade will begin at the temple and travel south on Ross Street to Southeast Marine Drive before heading west to Main Street, and then north to 49th Avenue.

From there, it will turn east to Fraser Street, south to 57th Avenue, and then east to Ross Street and end back at the temple.

Spectators are advised to take public transit to the event. The parade is free."

More information and map info here.  Head on down to Little India today for food and festivities!

My visit to Storybrooke

I was inspired to do this post after attending the wrap party for the ABC show, Once Upon a Time, this past weekend.The wrap party was awesome! Several of the cast members were on hand, including Jennifer Morrison who plays Emma Swan, Jared Gilmore who plays Henry, Colin O'Donoghue who plays the sexy Captain Hook, Sean Maguire who is equally as sexy as Robin Hood, and several of the dwarves were around too including Lee Arenberg (Grumpy) who was pointed out to me as also being Mike the Bookie on Seinfeld! How cool is that?

In line at the bar was Rebecca Mader, who was the gloriously awesome Zelena, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, and whom I totally fanboyed over. I told her I loved how she portrayed Zelena and that I also liked her work on LOST (she played Charlotte!!). She was VERY nice and talked to me for a few minutes, and even gave me a Wicked Witch cackle to remember! :)

Anyhow, some of you might know that they film this TV show here in Vancouver, or more specifically out in the town of Steveston, which is a 30 minute drive away. I had visited the location a summer or two ago and took some pictures, but never did post them up. So here they are! Scenes from the actual Storybrooke!

I think I took some more photos but they weren't very good, and these are the only ones halfway decent. Things look a lot cooler on TV, that's for sure! But Steveston is a very quaint little town with fun businesses to check out, including fish and chips stores, ice cream shops, and my friend's wine and cheese restaurant, Gudrun. Check it out!

Ladies #LightTheirWay at The Junction

On Sunday, April 19 at The Junction in Vancouver, check out the Ladies #LightTheirWay fundraiser event, starring BC Entertainer Hall of Fame Inductee, Sibel Thrasher, and Vancouver icons Carlotta Gurl, Willie Taylor and Justine Tyme.

100% of ticket sales and silent auction proceeds benefit IOM's Global Solar Lanterns initiative, providing solar lanterns to women and girls currently living "off the grid" in areas without electricity.

Also, awareness will be raised on the United Nations' Secretary General's #UNiTE campaign to end violence against women worldwide, highlighting the efforts of Vancouver organizations to stop violence in our city. 

Tickets are $20 and available at Little Sisters Bookstore (1238 Davie St) and online. 

Famous Puppet Death Scenes

If hipsters were to throw a puppet show, it could look an awful lot like this. Famous Puppet Death Scenes is exactly that. Each scene lasts anywhere from one minute to five minutes long, each detailing the untimely demise of an unfortunate puppet.

Artful and beautiful, there is no storyline to be told, but rather each vignette is like a painting come to life, a morsel of art to be enjoyed. Some are comedic, others bewildering, many sad and thought provoking, all of them gorgeously and creatively done by Calgary's Old Trout Puppet Workshop.

 

It was also my very first time at the York Theatre, which I have been longing to go to. It's been beautifully renovated and modernized from its most recent previous life as the Raja cinema back into being a venue for live theatre shows. It was built in 1913 and named the York in 1940. For more history check out this Georgia Straight article.

Famous Puppet Death Scenes is on now at the York Theatre until April 19.