Tag: McPherson Playhouse

Murder, Mystery & Ghosts Spotlight Victoria, BC’s Theatrical Halloween Guide

VictoriaThe city of Victoria, BC has many theatrical events to cover the gamut of what has gone missing. This year, no live production is taking place at The Castle. Whatever the reason is for the change up in them thar hill, perhaps some things are best not said. The board of directors have something else planned (please read part two of this guide in a two days time). However, the joy of visiting this haunted abode during this season will not be the same.

Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein is truly getting top billing this year with many similarly themed shows. To know that the Rocky Horror Show will keep on rocking Intrepid Theatre goes without saying. Atomic Vaudeville always puts on a stellar show and Griffin Lea exudes one key aspect of why audiences are in love with this tale, in either the theatrical or cinematic form. As for other events, this alphabetical list shows Halloween style performance theatre is very much alive:

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Making a B Line (can’t say P) to Potted Potter

potted-potter-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I’m no stranger to the ‘reduced’ format when stage performers decide to condense a very well-known work from its voluminous size down to a few minutes. The final result is often hilarious and you do not need to attempt to read the book afterwards! Take, for example, the many works of William Shakespeare (which the Reduced Shakespeare Company is famous for) or Star Wars (One Man Star Wars). There’re other works too, and when I heard about Potted Potter, I had to be there and drag James Shaw along.

Interestingly enough this show has a James Percy as the straight-laced half of the comedic duo (he plays Harry throughout the show) who knows the material and Joseph Maudsley making himself appear like he did not know the books. Maudsley was kinetic on stage and cross-dressed. Can you imagine him as Cho Chang? For the strong male personalities, he played Hagrid like a Scotsman. To hear him claim that he had not finished reading the saga made the sitcom all the more hilarious because what’s on stage mirrored the friendship I have with my buddy. Though I don’t slap James around, he does get well-deserved noogies. In order to know how to play out some scenes, Joseph was required to know the final book by the end of the show. I bet my buddy felt a little lost. Continue reading “Making a B Line (can’t say P) to Potted Potter”

Just How Many Times Can John Cleese & Eric Idle Be Together Again at Last, for the Very First time

CleeseAndIdleCartoonBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Eric Idle and John Cleese are “Together Again at Last, for the Very First Time” — that’s the name of their show, and these living legends certainly had me enjoying their quirky comedy live and singing along to the many memorable tunes Idle composed over the years. Cleese, as a producer, recounted how Monty Python formed (it was through fortunate circumstance) and while some of the content is familiar — from his previous tours — to see the two join forces showed just how loved they are by fans.

They talked about the origins of the group and two of their movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian near the end of the first act. With Spamalot by the Victoria Operatic Society still fresh in memory, to be reminded of this Arthurian tale not only had me wondering which parts of the films they enjoyed the most. When Cleese talked about what worked cinematically, I get the sense he wants to be more involved in the production of a film. It’s a medium he’s embraced and to hear him praise cinematographer Terry Bedford as to how to comedy should be captured on film, had the movie editor in me take mental notes. His little lecture reminded me in how live skits should really get recorded so nothing is missed. Instead of relying on consistent cuts for close-ups and focusing on one character, a better technique is to go wide, and let the actors do their routine. That is, the camera is better off left to catch the action as a single shot.

Continue reading “Just How Many Times Can John Cleese & Eric Idle Be Together Again at Last, for the Very First time”

[Victoria, BC] Building Heart in Kaleidoscope Theatre’s 2015 Fundraiser: A Little Shop of Horrors

little shop square

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Tickets can be bought at the McPherson Theatre Playhouse (3 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC) at the box office or online.

Showtimes:
OCT 30, 8PM
OCT 31, 8PM
NOV 1, 2PM

Kaleidoscope Theatre‘s Halloween spectacular is not just taking place in the support of bringing youth to the arts. It’s also a major fundraiser for the theatre company to keep their programs running year-round. Artistic Director Roderick Glanville leads this year’s production of Little Shop of Horrors and he recounts his youth as one of simply finding the right place to belong when the academic side of the education system didn’t quite hold his interest very well. Fortune would find him discovering theatre at the suggestion of his teacher and he loved it.

“From that point on, throughout my whole schooling. I was involved in every theatre program, did every single show (all the way through middle school and high school), excelled in all communications and theatre and formed my own,” said Roderick.

Frequent attendees of this autumn-centric show will find familiar names in this production. This director knows that he should not stress them out since they are volunteering their time to put on a Halloween treat for the theatre-loving community of Victoria, BC. He likes to see performers come back and not feel burnt out because of how stressful last year’s event went. The point is to have fun, and it’s shown in The Addams Family Musical and Rocky Horror, which played in the past two years.

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[Victoria, BC] Rocky Horror Show: Its Good To Relieve a Little … Tension

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)
Revisions by Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

rockyhorror2Rocky Horror Show
McPherson Playhouse
Oct. 31 – Nov. 1, 2013

Kaleidoscope Theatre lets it all hang out as sexual promiscuity mixes with fetishes, classic Hollywood horror and a little alien fun. With Rocky Horror Show — a benefit performance in support of continuing this groups effort to bring the Arts to the youths of Victoria — lines are blurred between hero and villain. And perhaps we are all just people wanting to be understood.

The Rocky Horror original stage show saw success at London’s Royal Court Theatre before going on to greater success in the United States, thanks in part to producer Lou Adler. With UK show director Jim Sharman and original star Tim Curry as Frank N’ Furter (later replaced by Paul Jabara) transferred to the US, the rest of the cast was filled with Hollywood and Broadway performers. Pre-Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf would play the roles of both Eddie and Dr. Scott.

Continue reading “[Victoria, BC] Rocky Horror Show: Its Good To Relieve a Little … Tension”

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