East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast

This was only my second year of taking in the East Van Panto, and this tale as old as time did not disappoint with its take on the classic Beauty and the Beast, with its annual East Van spin. 

Everything is familiar but just slightly off. We have our brainy Belle, who wants to become a finance person, a Beast who is turned into a mattress, a family of skunks and their Skunk Overlord, and a well-placed joke about Ken Sims. If you're familiar with the intersection of Venables and Clark, you'll appreciate all the Mr. Mattress and Fujiya humour throughout the show. 

The songs skewer popular hits such as Kylie Minogue's summertime anthem Padam Padam, (as well as her early 2000s monster hit Can't Get You Out of my Head), the Beach Boys' Kokomo, and Ryan Gosling's I'm Just Ken from the Barbie movie, to name a few. 

Some standouts included Steffanie Davis who shows off her pipes as the belting Belle, Jason Sakaki as the Beast and whom reminded me of a younger version of Broadway's Cheyenne Jackson, and Mark Chavez who takes on the multiple roles of a marijuana joint, an art dude, King Skunk, and Senor Tamaki, giving each one their own distinct flavour and nailing it each time. 

With its finger on the pulse of pop culture and city politics, Beauty and the Beast is fun for the whole family. Get your tickets here! 

Snow White

 Looking for theatre that's fun for the whole family?

Check out the Carousel Theatre for Young People's presentation of Snow White (retold by playwright Greg Banks), on stage at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island from November 29 to December 31! 

Tickets and more information available here! 

How Black Mothers Say I Love You

From the very onset of Trey Anthony's How Black Mothers Say I Love You, presented by the frank theatre company, we hear joyful rhythmic music playing, but underscored with notes of dread. What exactly was I in for? It sounded welcoming but at the same time, an unsettling feeling of darkness. 

What follows is a play that unravels like an onion, layer after layer. We first encounter the friction between Daphne and her lesbian daughter Claude. Then a mysterious character appears, singing a lullaby type hymn. Who is she? We soon find out exactly who she is, and it's a shame that her only appearances have her singing. 

Enter Valerie, Claude's sister, and for me, the most layered character in the show. She brings up issues of race, marriage, motherhood, and sisterhood. She seemed complex and complicated, while the other characters seemed more set in their ways. 

Overall, an intriguing glimpse into family dynamics that meet at the intersection of sexuality, race, and religion. 

How Black Mothers Say I Love You is on now at the Cultch until November 12. 

The Catering Queen

Well if you've already packed up your Halloween candies and decked the halls with festive cheer, then why not get more into the holiday spirit by checking out the latest show on at the Metro Theatre? 

The Catering Queen is a seasonal comedy revolving around a group of caterers at a hopping holiday function. They deal with unruly guests and ghosts of Christmas past, while wrestling with their own ghosts of Christmas present. 

It's a glimpse behind the scenes at what goes on when you're drunk off your ass during the festive season with the sober catering crew to bear witness. 

So spike the egg nog and go check out The Catering Queen, playing now until November 18 at the Metro Theatre!