I’ve submitted the above photo to JPG Magazine under their category of “On Stage”. It’s a stage-eye view of one of the big group numbers from The Broadway Chorus show, “What Not To Wish”. No, we didn’t play to an empty house - this was taken during rehearsals!

To give this picture your thumbs-up and help it get selected for the next issue of JPG, just visit its page on the JPG Magazine website. Just takes a mere moment - I really appreciate your support.

Click here to vote!

Dancing Matt, who gained fame via the Net by dancing his way around the world, came to Vancouver last fall for some brand-new boogieing. I was there along with a crowd of fun-loving folks. Now, the video has finally been released. The Vancouver Sun even covered it, featuring a similar image to the one below on Page 1 - so I can legitimately say that my photo was front-page news! You just need to look reeeeally closely. (Sadly, the photo is not included in the online edition.)

I’ve done a low-tech version of Facebook tagging here and also pointed out my friend Jhayne Holmes - it was thanks to Jhayne’s blog that I learned about this event in the first place!

The entire video is at http://www.wherethehellismatt.com. Also check out my behind-the-scenes video report submitted at the time.

We’re mere days away from the 2008 Broadway Chorus show, “What Not To Wish - A Slightly Wicked Musical”!

This year’s production is a twisted fairy tale full of quirky characters, funny dialogue, extremely silly plot twists, and course great singing and choreography from a talented group of performers.

Will Edward, incompetent heir to the throne of Xanadu, escape the witches’ curse and figure out how to run a kingdom? Will Mildred, junior witch of the coven, succeed in her quest for spiritual enlightenment and true love? 

At “What Not To Wish” you’ll learn the answers to these questions, and also discover why everything’s better with monkeys!

Dates: June 18-21
Location: Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island
Time: 8:00 pm 

To reserve tickets e-mail ashley.lm@ubc.ca or call 778-322-7182. Tickets are $18/14. All shows begin at 8:00pm.

The Waterfront Theatre is located at 1412 Cartwright St. on Granville Island, beside the Kid’s Market; there is plenty of free parking after 7:00pm.

Coming up in just a few more weeks, it’s the annual musical-comedy extravaganza from The Broadway Chorus! Once again, a wacky plot and some very funny dialogue blend with some of Broadway’s best tunes to create a memorable and laugh-filled evening of theatre. Welcome to “What Not to Wish: A Slightly Wicked Musical”! Read the rest of this entry »

Another year, another Walkathon in support of Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter! This year, I was on truck-driving duty, so me and fellow Housefunding Committee volunteer Noah Lepawsky trundled around Vancouver and Burnaby picking up supplies and (on the day after the walk) dropping them off. 

The day itself started off bright and sunny, and stayed that way - perfect weather! And the day was a fun one, even with the (relatively) early start and all the tasks that needed doing. I helped unload equipment and then headed around the park to assist in setting up the checkpoints. Then back at the picnic grounds / Walk HQ, I met up with Christine, Gary and Christine’s friend Hilary (accompanied by her dog Mikki). We strolled our way around the seawall, took a few breaks here and there, and finally arrived back, where we enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch of grilled salmon, roasted peppers, and other delights, accompanied by some great music.

As the event wound down and I headed home, I was tired but feeling good. The day seemed to have gone by quickly. I was happy not only to have assisted in my volunteer capacity, but also to have built up a nice solid pledge sheet. (Thanks to everyone who donated!) The Walkathon is the single biggest fundraising event of the year for Rape Relief and it’s satisfying to have a hand in making it a success.

Here’s a photo gallery of the day.

Well, it was quite an Indiana Jones weekend for me! The new film, years in the anticipating, finally opened on Thursday, May 22. Alas, I managed to get the date wrong and book two tickets for Saturday, May 24. My friends Gil and Sarah followed my misguided lead before I realized my error. So what else could I do… but go see it twice! Once on opening night and once on the Saturday. It was just fine in the end - the movie was worth a second viewing, and some friends who couldn’t join me on one night were able to go on the other.

Thursday was the real “event”. I was delighted to see more than a few folks dressed as Indy, just as I was. But the best was a gentleman who was a ringer for Sean Connery as Indy’s Dad in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”!

View more photos here.

I went into the film knowing nothing of the plot - which is just the way I wanted it. But I did expect to see certain hallmarks of the series.

• Opening dissolve from the Paramount mountain into something with the same shape: check!
• Old-fashioned map with the animated red line plotting Indy’s path through exotic foreign locales: check!
• Outrageous quantities of some disagreeable creature (snakes, rats, bugs): check!
• Sly reference to events from the earlier films: check!

Now, though, we need to venture into spoiler territory (be warned!) for a bit more analysis. For there were things I felt came up short. We’ll go from least to greatest quibbles. Read the rest of this entry »