Tag Archives: Musical

Ed’s Picks of the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival

6 Sep

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

When frequent Fringe theatre attendees can not get enough from one festival, thankfully those living in the Pacific Northwest can hop a ferry over to continue the fun. A few days is definitely needed to rest (thank god for Labour Day) to rest up before going from Victoria to Vancouver, British Columbia, performers included. This mainland side show starts September 7th and lasts for the same amount of days as the capital city.

Now if I can convince a relative to let me crash there for a week, the following are my picks of this show I feel are must see. I’m not repeating those I have seen already. You can click on this link to see my picks from the Victoria show — most of which are appearing in Vancouver.

Please click on the show titles for the show dates and to purchase tickets.

SWORDPLAY: A PLAY OF SWORDS

Chandelier-swinging, dastardly schemes and swordfights, swordfights, swordfights await as Sex T-Rex bring their signature cinematic style to the stage, dancing from The Princess Bride, to Final Fantasy, to Game of Thrones and dipping their rapier wit into all things sordid and sworded.

Advertisements

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tags: , , , , , ,

Remembering Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds & How You Can Help Bring Awareness to Mental Health

31 Dec

rs_634x1024-161229113738-634-2debbie-reynolds-carrie-fisher-bond

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The final week of 2016 has been difficult for Star Wars fans. Not only did Carrie Fisher pass away, but also her mother Debbie Reynolds — best known for her role as Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain (1952) — the following day. Both left lasting legacies. Fisher will always be known as Princess Leia from Star Wars, and Reynolds is a legend in musical theatre. She was a tour de force.

The news of their passing had Hollywood and myself reeling.

The Star Wars world has seen at least two memorable performers pass — Michael Sheard (Admiral Ozzel) and Kenny Baker (R2D2). With Fisher, she will always be this Galaxy’s Princess. As an advocate of mental health and addiction issues, Carrie has always been very vocal to bring awareness to it. She has bipolar disorder, and that has never stopped her for being who she is. When I first heard of this, I thought I can relate. I admit to having my sour days too, and it never stopped me to be who I am. She was my role model; to see her indomitable attitude and scrappiness that helped lift my spirits. Without Gary, her registered therapy French bulldog to give her that loving support, she might have been in a different place.

I became a fan when I saw her in The Blues Brothers. Here, she was a force of nature. There was a quiet ferocity as she was out to get Jake Blues. She hated the fact he ditched her at the wedding altar, as friends and families gathered. Though they sort of made peace, she was quick to cut loose again when he (physically) dropped her yet again.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sing Street is Not About Getting the Girl

21 May

sing-street-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Sing Street is a wholesome and fun coming of age film where new student Conor Lalor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) needs to form a band so he can win the heart of Raphina (Lucy Boynton). This girl hangs out in front of a boarding home, waiting for a knight in shining armour to take her away, and who she’s dating now is hardly Lancelot.

Unlike musicals which I’ve come to adore in the past, namely Little Shop of Horrors about a nerd aspiring for success (and to win at love), and Grease about 50’s style romance, this tale explores the new wave post-punk sound which emerged mid-80’s. To explore the economic difficulties of the era, the story takes place in Dublin, Ireland.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

What’s the Word on Grease! Live?

1 Feb

Grease_Live_poster

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I have to wonder how those lucky fans present at the taping of Grease Live! got to see the entire show when the production spanned across two sound stages and an outdoor set? Was there a huge screen that it was played on at the Warner Bros Studios lot? The broadcast certainly showed the energy and enthusiasm for the lucky 500 or so folks who got to participate on set (especially in the school gym), but the show is not true live theatre; by the time it was shown on the west coast the social media aspect of live tweeting was already on repeat.

It’s easy to notice that some musical numbers were prerecorded so the performers can concentrate on their moves while others were indeed live, where musicians are visibly performing. Unless the microphones are seen (these days, they are so tiny because an eagle eye is needed to spot how they are taped close to the body), I just have to wonder how the sound was mixed in order for it to be ready for television broadcast. Other media outlets reported on the sound issue the East Coast broadcast had and it was fixed for the evening West Coast edition. Warts and all, I would have appreciated observing that earlier show.

If a truly live broadcast is supposed to have that real-time feeling, it would be playing across the continent at each time zone’s respective hour. The show probably started around 4pm PST for airing at 7pm EST. To get the feeling of a real time production means tuning into a national public broadcasting station for one of their telethons.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries