Lxdy Parts: Babes

 I honestly did not expect much when I realized I was walking into a comedy based around motherhood. What did I, as a gay child-free single male, have to relate with being a parent? Turns out, it didn't matter!

The Lxdy Parts: Babes show on now as part of the Warrior Festival at the Cultch is a downright hoot! Four women doing sketch comedy that was unique, funny, and poignant. Saturday Night Live wishes they had sketches like this!  

The only misstep I felt, was the guest stand-up comedian performer, whose material was funny and poignant in its own way, but the energy was completely different from the rest of the show and I could feel the air being sucked out of the room momentarily. Luckily, the troupe was back to get things back on track! 

It's a short run for this hilarious and talented show, so don't miss out! LXDY PARTS: BABES is on now at the Cultch until April 19! 

Arsenic and Old Lace

 Metro Theatre has brought back the classic play Arsenic and Old Lace with an "eccentric cast of murderous old ladies, an inebriated plastic surgeon, a Boris Karloff lookalike, bumbling cops, a delusional Teddy Roosevelt, and two hapless young lovers caught in the chaos. For fans of old Hollywood charm with a dash of devilish dark humor, it’s the perfect theatrical treat."

Props should be given to the actors portraying Mortimer and the two Aunts, as they really stood out on the stage! And the set design itself was another impressive feat from the Metro Theatre company. 

Arsenic and Old Lace is on now until April 26 ! 

Unsavoury Witness - Alejandro A. Barbosa

I remember when Aaron Webster was murdered. Back in the 90s, the story was all over the news. He was a gay man who was hunted down in the trails of Stanley Park where gay men were known to go cruising. He was beaten to death with baseball bats by 3 people, one charged as a minor, and the other two - Ryan Cran and Danny Rao, as adults. 

"Unsavoury Witness is a photo-based installation that includes laser-engraved photographs, photographic murals, intermedia, print media, and court transcripts from the Supreme Court of British Columbia on the 2001 murder of Aaron Webster in Stanley Park. This immersive exhibition foregrounds homophobia’s intimate connections with public spaces, institutionalised systems, societal responses, queer bodies, and desire."

Register for your free ticket to the opening night reception at the SUM Gallery on Wed. April 16 at 6pm.

The exhibit runs from April 16 until June 6 at the SUM Gallery . 

9 to 5 the Musical !

Tumble out of bed and stumble over to the Massey Theatre this April! Why? Because the 9 to 5 Musical is coming your way! Presented by Royal City Musical Theatre, the show runs from April 25 - May 11 ! 

With music by Dolly Parton, it's a "fast-paced feminist adventure in the Rolodex era" featuring "three female coworkers [who] dream up an elaborately zany plan to get even with their terrible boss!"

I could be mistaken but this may be the first time this show has made an appearance here in Vancouver! Don't miss out! Get your tickets here! 

KYLIE MINOGUE in VANCOUVER !

I never thought I'd see the day. 

I LOVE Kylie Minogue. I've seen her perform a handful of times. The first time was in Toronto and New York City during her "For You, For Me" tour, in which she did a select number of North American cities. You don't understand. She hardly EVER comes to North America. She's a global superstar everywhere else. Her UK and European and Australian and Asia concerts sell out in mere minutes. 

She returned again to our continent during her Aphrodite era and I managed to go to her San Francisco and Las Vegas shows. Speaking of Las Vegas, she most recently did a residency there last year, which I was also fortunate to attend. 

But now? Now we get her. HERE IN VANCOUVER!! Do you have your ticket yet or WHAT? It's available through TicketLeader and there are some sweet seats still available at affordable prices! 

Kylie Minogue brings her Tension Tour to town on April 26 at the Pacific Coliseum! 

We Are Boy Band

 I was kind of expecting a musical when I attended the premiere of We Are Boy Band at Langara's Studio 58 this past weekend. But a musical, it was not. Rather, it was a dissection of the boy band industry told through modern dance vignettes, voiceovers, and music mash-ups of some of your favourite boy band numbers. 

It's a commentary on the similarities that each boy band has in common and the way that the music industry churns them out, like manufactured objects on a conveyor belt. My favourite number was the slow-motion shirts blowing in the wind section. Humorous, observant, and poignant, We Are Boy Band is an exciting experimental theatre piece that's taken a foothold in Vancouver now until April 6. And you'll want it that way! 

Get your tickets here! 

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical !

Premiering on Broadway just before the Covid pandemic hit is this jukebox musical about the life of Tina Turner! And now, it's here in our fair city of Vancouver! I've been wanting to see this and will be heading to it this weekend. 

I have a friend who is a Tina Turner enthusiast and has seen the show several times in New York and London, and will be going twice during its Vancouver run. If that's not a stamp of approval, then I don't know what is! 

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is on now through Broadway Across Canada and runs until Sunday March 30!