Les Miserables Opens in Vancouver

[Photo credit: Kyle Froman]

Les Miserables is one of the most popular shows in the world, celebrating it's 25th anniversary, and it's not hard to see why. It was the opening night in Vancouver yesterday, and I very excited to finally see it on stage.

Based on Victor Hugo's story of love and revolution, this musical brings you back to 1815 where Jean Valjean has just been released on parole from 19 years of hard labour for stealing bread to feed his family. He is greeted with suspicion everywhere he goes, until a kindly priest shows him an act of kindness that causes him to break his parole and start his life anew. Years later, Valjean has become a factory owner and a mayor. He rescues Cosette, the daughter of Fantine, a worker in his factory, and raises her as if she were his own daughter. In Paris, 1932, Cosette has grown up and fallen in love with student Marius, who is a member of a revolution. Valjean gets caught up in the revolution and helps them make their last stand at a street barricade. Throughout the years, Jean Valjean has relentlessly been pursued by inspector Javert, who believes only in justice and following the law.

[Photo credit: Deen van Meer]

There were strong performances by Peter Lockyer as Jean Valjean, Andrew Varela as Javert and Briana Carlson-Goodman as Eponine. Genevieve Leclerc as Fantine had a weak start as she sang "I Dreamed a Dream", with the orchestra drowning her out, though her voice did get stronger near the end of the song.

[Photo credit: Deen van Meer]

The innkeepers Master and Madame Thénardier (Timothy Gulan and Shawna M. Hamic) never failed to steal the scene with their antics. Their theme, "Master's of the House" is catchy and provides some fun before the darker scenes in the latter half of the musical.

[Photo credit: Kyle Froman]

The scene with Eponine and Marius as they sing "A Little Fall of Rain" will bring tears to your eyes. Briana Carlson-Goodman definitely did a great job and sang with such emotion.

The ensemble puts on a solid performance, with many powerful and emotional numbers. The costumes, set and stage design were great as well, and transported you back to early 19th century France. Les Miserables is definitely a production you have to see on stage!

Les Miserables is playing daily at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver now through June 23rd. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster. More information about the musical can be obtained at Broadway Across Canada.

Billy Elliot The Musical Lights Up the Stage With Dance

Based on the 2000 movie of the same name, Billy Elliot the musical features music by Elton John and choreography by Peter Darling. Set during the 1984 coal miners' strike in Britain, a young Billy discovers his talent and love of ballet, which in turn inspires his community to help him achieve his dream of getting into the Royal Ballet School.

One of four rotating actors who plays Billy, Drew Minard was fabulous on opening night. Many of the child actors are 10-13 years in age, which makes it even more impressive! Jake Kitchin, playing Billy's best friend Michael, almost steals the show with "Expressing Yourself", a number where the two have fun cross-dressing. Janet Dickinson's Mrs. Wilkinson was enjoyable to watch as the ballet teacher, who really believes in Billy.

One of my favourite scenes was Billy's Angry Dance, where Billy let out his frustration and the young actor danced against police shields - such talent!

An amazing performance by the entire cast, Billy Elliot will leave you feeling good and itching to dance.

Billy Elliot will be playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until April 7, 2013. Visit Broadway Across Canada for more information or purchase your tickets at Ticketmaster. 

Broadway Across Canada 2013/14 Preview

Broadway Across Canada hosted a 2013/14 season preview party at the QE Theatre downtown a couple of weeks ago. There were drinks and appetizers to start the evening off, and then we were ushered into the theatre.

 Mike Shaeffer from 103.5 QM/FM hosted the event where clips from the upcoming musicals were shown - Les Miserables (June 12 - 23, 2013), War Horse (September 24 - 29, 2013), and West Side Story (February 4 - 9, 2014).

Scott Tucker, the production representative of War Horse, then came on stage to tell us more about War Horse, a Tony award winning show that is currently playing (and very popular) in London, UK. We were all surprised when Joey, the star of the show came on stage!

Joey is an amazing puppet created by the Handspring Puppet Company that takes three actors to operate. The puppeteers breathes, snorts and whinnies just like a real horse. It was amazing watching the actors perform - you forget that it's a puppet and really start to believe Joey is a real horse!

Afterwards, the three puppeteers came out to answer questions the audiences had. Each trio of actors will do things differently, so you will get a different show every night. Unbelievably, it was the first show that these three had together that night!

I'm very excited for the upcoming season, as I haven't watched any of the three shows before. I can't wait!

Rock of Ages - Movie Review & Giveaway

After watching the musical Rock of Ages last month and having such a fun time, I was really looking forward to the movie based on the same musical, slated to come out this month. I was able to score some passes to last night's advanced screening of the movie, courtesy of Warner Brothers (no, I didn't dress up this time). Rock of Ages boasts a star-studded cast, including newcomers Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough (of Dancing With the Stars fame) as well as A-list stars like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise as rocker Stacee Jaxx.

Set in the late 80's, a small town girl, Sherrie, moves to LA with the dreams of becoming a singer. She meets Drew, a city boy on the Sunset Strip. And it goes on and on and on and on...Their romance is told through songs of the 80's - hits by Journey, Whitesnake, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, and more. Rock of Ages was really fun to watch - there are a few changes to the storyline compared to the musical and some songs are sung by different characters, which was a little confusing. I had doubts about some of the casting, especially Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx - but as the movie went on, he kind of grew on me. Cruise played a really loopy Stacee Jaxx and he did a really good job of it! Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough did a great job in their roles as well. The singing and choreography were amazing, and had me bopping along in the theatre. Rock of Ages is definitely a very fun movie to watch!

As an extra bonus, there was an after party at Roxyburger put on by Warner Brothers, with free appetizers and drinks, as well as Rock of Ages swag! 80's music was playing and a fun time was had by all!

Rock of Ages hits theatres next week on June 15th. Want a chance to see the movie before everyone else? See the giveaway below!

GIVEAWAY: One of my lucky readers will receive a Rock of Ages prize pack, which includes a pair of advanced screening tickets to the movie (June 13th at Scotiabank Theatre in Vancouver), a movie poster and an I <3 Stacee Jaxx tank top! Please note that because the movie tickets are for Vancouver and happening next Wednesday, you must live in the Lower Mainland and be able to pick up the prize.

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Rock of Ages - Welcome Back to the 80's!

Plenty of classic 80's hits are featured in Rock of Ages, presented by Broadway Across Canada at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. Rock of Ages centres around a small town girl, Sherrie (Shannon Mullen), who meets a city boy, Drew (Dominique Scott) in a rock club on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. They fall in love, set to hits by Whitesnake, Journey, and Bon Jovi. With the great songs, long hair and makeup and acid-washed denim, there is never a dull moment!

Photo credit: Broadway Across Canada

The second act was especially good, with many full ensemble songs that showcased everyone's talent. Some of my favorites included We Built This City (Starship), Here I Go Again (Whitesnake) and the closing number, Don't Stop Believin' (Journey), which ended with a standing ovation.

What makes a night of 80's rock music more fun? Dressing in 80's wear!
Photo credit: Natalievana

Rock of Ages is a very fun musical to watch, and will have you singing along in your seat as you relive the 80's. So pull out your jean jacket and leg warmers and grab a friend - Rock of Ages will only be in Vancouver until May 13th. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased from Ticketmaster.

Bollywood Wedding

I went to watch a free outdoor production of Bollywood Wedding, produced by New Works and South Asian Arts. The play was about an arranged marriage, where the groom is a nervous mess and the bride isn't happy with the groom. Hilarity ensues and there is a twist in the end. It's an interactive play, so the audience gets to participate a bit as well. Definitely a lot of fun to watch, a great story and best of all, it was FREE! We were lucky it was sunny that day, as the previous day there was rain (and I believe the production was cancelled). Highly recommend!

Alter Boyz

My sister won a pair of tickets to watch the musical, Altar Boyz from a celebration at the mall. I didn't know what to expect because I have never heard of this play before, but I was checking out the website and it looks pretty funny. And it was! The songs were catchy and fun and the story was light and entertaining. It's based on a group of five boys, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham, trying to save everyone's soul, one song at a time! I definitely recommed it, it was really fun time!