As a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up? RT: When I was really young I would dance around the living room while my older sisters played the piano. Like many little girls at the time, I fancied becoming a ballerina. What kind of musical background did you have and what instruments did you play? RT: My parents met singing in a choir. My whole family (six siblings) would sing in the car as we…
A couple of musical sisters got together on Saturday night at Kelowna Community Theatre in the name of cultural exchange and educational enhancement. No, I’m not talking about the Pointer Sisters, the Andrew Sisters, or disco divas Sister Sledge. I’m referring to a so-close-and-yet-so-far tale of two cities – Veendam, the Netherlands and Kelowna. Hold onto your tulips and windmills, these two have had an ongoing sister-city relationship for 37 years centered around school-age students and adults visiting each other’s city…
Mr. James, take a bow. You earned it. On the final Monday of April, a nearly packed house showed up at Kelowna Community Theatre and hooted and hollered their way through a comedy goldmine of one-liners and raucous storytelling courtesy of a feisty fireball named Ron James. Not to be confused with hoopster LeBron James, this hilarious (and much shorter and pudgier) Ron James has been heralded by some as “the funniest man in Canada” and a “comedic genius” by…
Nothing like watching The Masters and seeing a wealth of performers at the top of their game. No, I’m not talking about that prestigious green jacket golf tournament that takes place every April in Augusta, Georgia. I’m referring to another crowd-pleasing event that took place much closer to home, as in Kelowna Community Theatre on the third Friday in April. On this chilly spring night, the 40th Annual BC Interior Jazz Festival hosted its Jazz Masters’ Concert as the centerpiece…
I’m guessing in the long and distinguished history of Kelowna Community Theatre there has never been a more cheekier show to grace the stage than what happened on a nondescript Tuesday in the middle of April. I mean, no bare butts about it. The performers on this night basically had nothing to hide. They built their reputation on full-frontal illusions and sleight-of-hand tricks. Abracadabra – now you see it, now you see more of it, now you wonder if and…
Big Girls Don’t Cry – unless they had something better to do on Good Friday Eve and missed the Oh What a Night! Musical Tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Kelowna Community Theatre. Let’s be fair. Any female named Sherry should have gotten in for free. Ditto for any attendee who brought a Rag Doll or was inclined to Walk Like a Man. You get the picture, Valli and his Jersey boys cranked out a ton of…
Cello. What was your entertainment choice on the first Friday night of April? For wife Elaine and me, we chose to hang out with a bunch of familiar faces who we’ve never met, don’t know any of their names, and possibly have absolutely nothing in common with. Sounds crazy, but this group has a way of stirring our emotions and putting a dash of allegro in our stride. This group would be none other than the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO)…
Nothing better than being treated to an electrifying performance by a Hall of Fame performer on a rainy Wednesday night. That absolutely, positively describes the privilege wife Elaine and I had sitting center stage at Kelowna Community Theatre for Colin James and his Blue Highways tour stop. The Regina native, along with his smooth-as-silk six-piece Little Big Band, knocked it out of the park with a bluesy jazzy musical catalogue that left many in the sold-out crowd clamoring for more…
Them three boys sure make a lot of dark, progressive-rock noise. That was my sophomoric takeaway after spending the last Monday in March watching The Tea Party perform at Kelowna Community Theatre. The Tea Party (TTP), comprised of Jeff Martin, (lead vocals and guitar), Stuart Chatwood (bass guitar and keyboard), and Jeff Burrows (percussion), are a long-standing Canadian rock band with blues, Celtic, and Middle Eastern influences sprinkled in. Some in the media have dubbed their sound as “Moroccan roll.”…
Nerd alert. Wife Elaine and I went to a geek festival and witnessed our first “Cosplay Contest.” I know what you’re thinking. Why are geeks gathering in Kelowna and what the heck does the word cosplay mean? Allow me to enter the Stan Lee science fiction/fantasy world of artistic expression and spell out all the dorky details. On Saturday, March 25th, Kelowna Community Theatre was one of the host sites for a “Comic-Con” style event called Kelowna Fan Xpo (KFX)….