Last Sunday night was the always-delightful Ovation Awards, where the best in local musical theatre talent is honoured by their peers. It’s a ton of fun and a chance to see virtually everyone I was in a show with in the past year!
Adding to the fun this time, I participated in not one but two group numbers during the show - “There You Are” from “The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and “Anything Can Happen” from “Anne Murray of Green Gables” (the latter a fine excuse to wear my glittery “cheesy TV Host” jacket again!)
Here’s some pics I took at the reception, intermission, and even one from the show itself. Enjoy!
Vancouver’s peppy and boisterous Broadway Chorus is proud to present the MOST CANADIAN SHOW EVER!
Sure, Anne of Green Gables is a Canadian classic, but it’s just that little bit more Canadian when gutsy imp Anne Shirley is replaced with multi-Grammy and Juno winner Anne Murray, Canada’s sweetheart. Yes, in Anne Murray of Green Gables our favourite pop star is adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Avonlea. She can’t work on the farm, she can’t help around the house, but she has a beautiful singing voice, and just might be their ticket to winning that talent contest they’ve always lost to the Lyndes.
Will Anne fit in to her new family? Will the Lynde Family (and the Partridge Family) adopt a pop star of their own? Find out in this hilarious spoof featuring songs from Broadway, the movies, pop hits, and beloved seasonal favourites. Christmas will never be the same!
Watch for me in the role of Reuben Partridge, and also also in a cameo appearance as a highly recognizable musical legend!
To reserve tickets, e-mail ashley.lm@ubc.ca or call 778-322-7182. Tickets are $14, or $11 for students, seniors and kids. All shows begin at 8:00pm.
The Roundhouse Community Centre is located at Davie & Pacific in Vancouver’s Yaletown district; there is paid underground parking available. Click here for a map.
For my final blog entry about “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman”, something special.
Join me as I capture what happens backstage, in the wings, and in the green room while the show is in progress, minute by minute. From the vocal warm-up to costume changes in the wings, to the high-spirited wrap party afterwards, it’s all here. Below are just a few samples - for the whole gallery, click here.
Also, here’s a video of some random moments I captured during rehearsal and performance.
Eight days after we started this whole thing, and here it is - opening night! Being an APPLAUSE! show, people are still rehearsing right up to curtain time. From 7 to 7:30, when the house would open, people were still on stage running songs with Steven or working through their staging. Read the rest of this entry »
Somewhat delayed but better late than never, it’s the continuing story of Superman! the musical. View Part 5.
Day 6: Dress rehearsal
The sixth rehearsal was Tuesday night at the Shadbolt Centre, the first rehearsal following Monday’s “day off”, and a full “dress rehearsal” where we mostly wore what we’ll be wearing in the show. (Mikal has been wearing his Superman garb since we arrived at the Shadbolt on Sunday, since hiding and revealing it is an integral part of his staging.) Read the rest of this entry »
We rounded out the weekend with the second of our two full-day rehearsals. Answering our director’s call for rolling office chairs, I felt obligated to offer my slightly worn but serviceable model up for service, so I carefully loaded it into the back seat of my Rambler, tanked up with gas, and brought it along to the Shadbolt Center. Thus, I’m now about a foot lower than usual as I write this recap, sitting on a repurposed kitchen chair instead. Please excuse any resulting typos.
The Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby is the site of the rest of our rehearsals as well as the show itself. This being my fourth APPLAUSE! show at the Shadbolt, it was like settling back into familiar turf. In previous years, APPLAUSE! bounced around to a variety of venues, including the Roundhouse and the ScotiaBank Dance Centre, but at this point seems to have made a permanent arrangement with the Shadbolt. Less convenient for me as a West End guy, but better for the shows as it provides a stable home as well as ready access to a huge audience of theatre-hungry suburbanites. Read the rest of this entry »
