Theatre companies in Surrey and neighbouring cities are busy preparing shows for local stages following the pandemic pause.
Surrey’s fledgling Pivot Theatre will bring Jane Chambers’ “My Blue Heaven” to the stage at Newton Cultural Centre this month, from March 17-26.
Elsewhere, the Whalley-based Royal Canadian Theatre Company will present the comedy “The 39 Steps” at Surrey Arts Centre on March 18-19, with additional show dates March 31 to April 2 at Anvil Centre in New Westminster.
In White Rock this week, Peninsula Productions will bring Eve Ensler’s iconic “The Vagina Monologues” to its studio theatre at Centennial Park, from March 4-6.
Meantime, Fraser Valley Musical Theatre will host auditions for Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” on March 9 (by appointment only, at North Delta Centre for the Arts), for an early-summer run of shows at Surrey Arts Centre’s Main Stage.
In Vancouver, Boone Dog Productions will bring “Nunsense” to the Metro Theatre stage from March 11-27, with Surrey/Delta-based actor Meghan Anderssen playing Sister Mary Amnesia.
Delta’s Sidekick Players will present Norm Foster’s “Drinking Alone” Tsawwassen Arts Centre starting on March 10.
With “Anything Goes” this summer, Fraser Valley Musical Theatre is keen to return to the stage after a two-year break from producing in-person shows.
Porter’s award-winning musical takes place on an ocean-liner traveling to London from New York. A stowaway named Billy Crocker is in love with an heiress aboard the ship and enlists the help of some very unlikely characters to try to win her over. To book an audition appointment, email fvgssproducer@gmail.com, and visit fvgss.org for more details.
During the COVID era, the company launched “Fairy-Tale Mysteries Radio Show,” a free podcast now in its second season.
Royal Canadian’s “The 39 Steps” production promises to “hurtle a notorious fugitive and a spellbound blonde from a London music hall north by northwest to Scotland’s most remote highlands. Will they save Britain from a den of devious spies?” Tickets for the Surrey run of shows start at $24.99 on tickets.surrey.ca, or call 604-501-5566.
In Delta, the Sidekick Players production of the comedy/drama “Drinking Alone” is directed by Todd-Elliot Gates. Debuted in 1998, the play follows the events of a disastrous family reunion between Ivan (Jeff Pannell), an overbearing father, and his two adult children, Joe (Terry Thomas) and Carrie (Cathy Collis).
“They have been semi-estranged since the father left their now-dead alcoholic mother 15 years ago,” says an event advisory. “The play’s central conceit is Joe’s decision to hire a glamorous escort, Renée (Dani-Rose Coates), to pose as his fiancée for the evening so he won’t seem such a loser to his dad. To make things worse, Ivan brings along his new wife, Phyllis (Sharlene Terrett) who tries to soften the atmosphere, but instead creates a lot of animosity from Ivan’s children. Though its dark subject matter might seem an invitation to grim and ironic humour, Foster’s script is remarkably gentle in its frequent jokes.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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