Archive for February, 2007

We’re performing in this:

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

Fly By Night(s)

circus – vaudeville

TWO NIGHT(S) ONLY!
February 23rd & 24th, 2007

Show @ 8:00 p.m.
La Cité Francophone
8627 – 91 St.

“There’s magic here.”
The Edmonton Journal

“It’s wild, strange, and most importantly, just plain fun to watch”
Vue Weekly

EDMONTON – Circus-vaudeville returns to Edmonton! Firefly Theatre is proud to present an assortment of death-defying & laughter-inducing entertainment for one two night(s) only!This unique event features the riveting performances of Edmonton’s professional circus artists along with music, magic, flying girls, and we are just getting started…

Fly By Night(s) features Edmonton’s finest variety artists, including the Always Hilarious Darrin Hagen, Jaw-Dropping Feats by Acro-Aerialists Lyne Gosselin and Angie Parkins, Magic by the Amazing Ron Pearson, Illusions by the Young and Dextrous Sheldon Casavant, Vaudevillian-Style Comedy by Red Deer’s Flying Bob, musical performances by the Unforgettable Be Arthurs (Ryan Parker & Sheldon Elter), and the Groovy Tunes of Paul Bellows and Mari Sasano, along with Firefly’s Annie Dugan and John Ullyatt.

Tickets: $22 @ tix-on-the-square
Reservations/Information: 242-4104

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Henry

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

black guy missing.jpg

Two weeks left!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Protector

Monday, February 19th, 2007

If you love elephants (and you should), this is gonna make you bawl.

Tony Jaa plays a guy who looks after elephants with his father. Fine enough elephants for the King of Thailand, and fine enough elephants to grant its owner grace and power. The Bad Guys know this, and so they kill Tony Jaa’s father and steal two of their elephants to bring to an evil drug dealer woman in Australia.

“You killed my father! You stole our elephants!” becomes his battle cry. He will do anything, especially his bone-crushing Muy Thai skills, to get them back. They are family, after all.

Elephants are people, like dogs, apes, horses and dolphins are people. It’s true that elephants never forget, and though they are not as intelligent as humans, they still know who is a friend and who has hurt them. Read here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08elephant.html?ex=1172034000&en=6851c0680ab625c9&ei=5070

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Dancing Joni

Monday, February 19th, 2007

It was probably the most heavily hyped Alberta Ballet show ever. People were writing about it in New York and London, even Toronto!

And deservedly so. What a great collaboration. Joni Mitchell’s songs and her artwork (projected on either side of the stage as well as on a circular screen suspended above the dancers) worked well with the choreography, which was spirited and athletic. The highlight for me was the last piece, where the dancers got to loosen up a little, a joyous freedom after the other works which were anti-war, anti-capitalism and environmental themed. And the encore of Big Yellow Taxi was fun too.

But the big WOW for me was the George Balanchine piece, Serenade. Gorgeous! Masses of dancers in long, sheer tutus– they reminded me of the jellyfish room at the Vancouver Aquarium. Jellyfish: Nature’s Lingerie Party!

Boy does Balanchine know how to use space. The configurations were complex, groups of dancers would dash on, form intricate patterns and whirl off stage. Brilliant!

Posted in I went to it! | No Comments »

I did that confusing thing

Friday, February 9th, 2007

I am in Vancouver, and have been for a week. The hotel has been very nice to work in, and I have had some delicious meals.

Today I went to the Aquarium (and I saw two raccoons in Stanley Park!) and walked down Robson on the way home. I stopped at the Konbinniya store to get a couple onigiri and ice tea for a snack later.

The store clerk served me in Japanese. I kept answering in English. It’s the only place, other than Sasano HQ, that this ever happens.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Barber of Seville

Sunday, February 4th, 2007

It’s the best opera ever!

If you’ve never been to the opera, then this is the one to see. Go! Two more shows: Feb 6 and 8.

It’s the What’s Opera, Doc? opera. Bugs Bunny being chased by Elmer Fudd, with the scalp massage and shave. You know! I’d like to see you try to avoid giggling during the overture. Just try. But the Edmonton Opera has managed to make the Rossini version just as much fun as the Bunny version. Gregory Dahl (who was soooo over-the-top great as Don Giovanni earlier this season) is a hammy, slapstick Figaro who isn’t afraid of playing the audience. John Tessier is a swoony Count Almaviva, and Krisztina Szabo is a lovely Rosina. Theodore Baerg is a foppish Bartolo, and Thomas Goertz is Basilio, by way of Marilyn Manson. Or, perhaps, Brandon Lee in The Crow. Nothing is funnier than a goth! (and later, a hippie)

The story is about the Count trying to woo his love, Rosina, under the watchful eye of Bartolo(who wants her for himself). Figaro drops in to help. But what makes this version so entertaining is the way they have been allowed to BE funny– operas are funny, folks. They’re singing their lines, often taking several minutes and long explanations just to, say, run away and hide. And they don’t try to make that seem natural. It’s very self-aware, and sprinkled generously with silly anachronisms– the Macarena, anyone?

It’s a cliche, but it really is enjoyable to see everyone up there having a good time. SOOOO AWESOME.

Posted in I went to it! | No Comments »