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!
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