Musical Archives | Otaku No Culture

Fado, the Saddest Music in the World Hits High Notes at the 2018 Victoria Fringe Festival

Fado LOCATION:
White Eagle Polish Hall
90 Dock Street
Victoria, BC

DATES:
Aug 26, 28-31 8:00pm
Sept 01 8:00pm

One style of folk music from Portugal has a rich and very colourful history. Fado rose out of the political climate of the mid-19th century, and it was not until the 1970s when it came into wider acceptance. The New Statesman has a terrific overview of this history, and despite its auspicious beginnings, today’s generation embraced it and it became the song of a nation. Puente Theatre took on the challenge of dispelling the myths and explaining the generational divide in Fado, the Saddest Music in the World. This task did not go unnoticed when I went their opening night show at the Victoria Fringe Festival.

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Will There Be More Sailor Moon Musicals after Le Mouvement Final in North America?

Fado

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

North American or Japanese, musicals must be seen live. When it is not possible to attend either due to location or cost, sometimes the next best thing is to see it at the movies. Whether that’s with a remote broadcast or adaptation, these shows rarely disappoint. When paired with a pop culture phenomenon, especially Sailor Moon, visions of New York Radio City’s The Rockettes style performances come to mind. Just do not tell the Sailor Senshi. They may go on a tirade. This particular series is retelling the manga by Naoko Takeuchi and they been playing in Japan for over two decades. The story arcs are expanded upon and even goes into bold new directions. Not every Japanese pop culture enthusiast may know this subgenre. To keep track of everything from Japan means having both ears to the ground. Officially, only the soundtracks exist and bootleg videos are a grey area. The first overseas performance was in 2015 in Shanghai, and the North American premiere of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Musical—Le Mouvement Final, presented as a pre-recorded performance, started late last month. Screening made its way to Cineplex Theatres Canada last week.

I am very thankful CineLife Entertainment for overseeing an international distribution; more screenings are being added, and I suspect this video tour is still rolling out.

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My Little Pony: The Movie Delights and is All-Star

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The toy company Hasbro will most likely have a hit with their theatrical relaunch of the My Little Pony franchise. The simply named film My Little Pony the Movie debuts October 6th and it will have enough humour to appeal to young fans and old. Newcomers might be at a loss to understand what the hubbub is about; all anyone needs to know is that these talking animals are an embodiment of the best virtues of knighthood. But this club is not exclusive. The ponies do their best to teach to the world (and each other) how to be a better person. In this film, we meet Capper, a cat who can easily challenge Puss in Boots (DreamWorks) for the title of which animated feline to love and a team of parrot pirates who embody the true romance of sailing the seven seas. Well, in their case, it’s the skies over Equestria.

The story sees Princess Twilight Sparkle (Tara Strong) and her friends prepare for a festival. Moments before any fun can take place, a very familiar if not generically evil Storm King (Liev Schreiber) — I was reminded of how alike he is to The Emporer in LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — and his assistant Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt) raid the kingdom. Sparkle’s sisters are captured and she barely escapes. and attempt to capture her too. This unicorn gone bad and the wolf-like conquerer teamed up because Shadow believed the king can restore her broken horn. Between all the various types of horses believed to roam this world, I think more unicorns types exist because they are inherently more magical than ponies and pegasi. This stems from their mythical origins. While the toy company may have never considered making this connection since the introduction of this product line in 1981, some newer and older fans may well wonder.

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Ed’s Picks of the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival

Fado

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.

Fado 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.

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Ed’s Picks of the 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival has one show where any paranormal enthusiast must not miss. Fake Ghost Tours will no doubt tickle the funny bone in its satire of an industry that I feel has gone too far. I will say more on this later. After picking up a program guide and thumbing through, I have found my picks for this year.

With no surprise, Mystical Wishes Puppet Company, has been invited back with two productions later this year, in November, with special performances of Shadow Performances and Space Hippo. Although listed as part of the Fringe show, they bear honourable mention to mark the calendar for.

But for the week of August 23 to Sept 3rd, there’s plenty of variety to enjoy. But I have to begin with a fuller reveal of my top choice:

Fado

Fake Ghost Tours
Whells Phargo Productions

This walking tour of old Victoria is set to expand your mind and open your wallet (like, who has not experienced this problem before with pay-for ghost hunts?) as amateur ghost hunters Abdul Aziz and Shawn O’Hara take you on a “100% accurate” and legitimate look at the old quarters of this city? Plenty of criticism has been made about what you see on television as potentially faked, but what you have to experience it for real?

Will this show go extreme, like with a particular fun-filled version of the Ghost Walks which take place come Halloween? Or, will we get to laugh at the absurdity of seeing how some scares are manufactured. I will be showing up with a few of the tools most modern day ghost hunters use, so audiences should be aware – a wrench may be thrown in to tell all.

Note: the meeting point for this show is in Bastion Square near the Old Maritime Museum.

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

For support outside of the island and beyond, all you have to do is offer your time by volunteering at a mental health clinic.

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The final week of 2016 has been difficult for Star Wars fans and people with mental health issues. 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.

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