Living Myth Magazine

Songs For A New World Our world is an ever-changing complexity. The modern era is seeing a massive shift in paradigm as we gain access to information at a rate never seen before, and this shared information is allowing our species to evolve on a sociological level at a rate that would have been impossible even two decades prior. Capturing the consequences and feel of that shift in a two-hour musical is a damn ambitious goal and a nearly impossible task, but Songs for a New World tries and comes closer than you might think.

reviewVancouver

This brand new musical from local composers Gil and Sarah Jaysmith explores the heartbreak and havoc wreaked on relationships by infertility. Directed by April Green, musical direction by Clare Wyatt, and choreography by Aaron Lau, the show was long (3 hours) but the music and humour made up for it.

Jo Ledingham

If you were watching TV in the 60s, The Girl in the Frame (book, music and lyrics by Jeremy Desmon) will remind you of I Dream of Jeannie. That half-hour show was light and romantic and silly and this is light, romantic and silly, too. Under the direction of Julie Tomaino, and the musical direction of (and the always spirited piano accompaniment by) Wendy Bross Stuart, the talent and commitment of the quartet of singer/performers is evident.

BC Local News

Eleven-year-old JJ has dreams of becoming a rich and famous treasure hunter. One day, she strikes it big when she buys a mysterious box at a garage sale. Inside, she finds a raven mask and an old Chinese opera poster. Doing so, she releases the spirits of the Raven and the Monkey King, who were trapped in the box for 90 years. Together, they share their life stories and teach JJ to understand a life lesson that the value of money pales in comparison to the values of family and history.

Musicals in Vancouver

Forbidden Broadway, the popular musical-theatre parody, returns to Metro Vancouver this week. For one week only, Fighting Chance Productions presents a best of version of Forbidden Broadway to Langley audiences, poking good-natured fun at shows like Wicked, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, and The Phantom of the Opera.

The Georgia Straight

Psychedelic. This production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fizzes with youthful energy by reaching back into the groovy past, man. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1982 musical has been done a lot, but director Shel Piercy delivers on his promise to make it fresh. He sets the play in 1967 in an abandoned theatre, where a group of kids have been rehearsing a play about Joseph and his coat.