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Basking in the Brilliance of Beethoven and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra

Basking in the Brilliance of Beethoven and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra

“Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the News.” Remember that lyric from a 1956 Chuck Berry song that was also covered by the Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra?! Berry penned that line in reference to how classical composers would “roll over in their graves” upon hearing that classical music had given way to rock-and-roll. There wasn’t a hint of Led Zeppelin or anybody rolling over on Friday, January 20th at the first concert of 2017 at Kelowna Community Theatre. Instead,…

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We Went to a Roadshow and a Snowball Fight Broke Out

We Went to a Roadshow and a Snowball Fight Broke Out

Ken Lavigne – that’s the way to close out a Christmas roadshow. Details to come. On a chillier-than-normal Monday, December 12th, Elaine and I hustled over to Kelowna Community Theatre to have a listen to the Ken Lavigne Christmas Musical Roadshow 2016. This holiday mixer was put together with a nostalgic twist and described as an enchanting musical tour through the golden age of radio. Helping evoke the Vaudevillian variety shows of days gone by was a vintage-style microphone that…

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Taking My First Crack At The Nutcracker

Taking My First Crack At The Nutcracker

Hold onto your Drosselmeyer – that was one impressive ballet bonanza. Exactly two weeks before Christmas, Elaine and I had the privilege to take in a Sunday matinee showing of The Nutcracker at Kelowna Community Theatre. To be more specific, and to please many of the parents, grandparents, cousins, and siblings attending the sold-out production, the official all-inclusive title was The Canadian School of Ballet (CSB) presents The Nutcracker featuring dancers from Ballet Kelowna. No Bolshoi. This dance card was…

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A Fantastic Friday Night Fiddle Fest

A Fantastic Friday Night Fiddle Fest

Hey diddle diddle – mad respect for those who play the fiddle. Blimey, what a wholesome family wing-ding Elaine and I were treated to at Kelowna Community Theatre on the first Friday night of December. The marquee out front touted a “Celtic Family Christmas” with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. Sounded seasonal. Sounded Irish. Sounded like we’d be decking some halls and dashing through a little snow. Oh what fun it is to find out there’s much much more. Turns…

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Bustin’ Out with Backwoods Barbie and The Gambler

Bustin’ Out with Backwoods Barbie and The Gambler

This may sound kinda far-fetched – but the titular trio of kinda Dolly, kinda Kenny, and kinda Reba put on a hollerin’-good show on the last Tuesday night of November at Kelowna Community Theatre. Let’s sort out all the “know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em” details. The gig was billed as the Ultimate Tribute to Country Music’s Favorite Couple, Dolly (Parton) and Kenny (Rogers). They were “Together Again” on tour to sing their country hits and Christmas classics….

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Jack & The Beanstalk Reaches All Ages

Jack & The Beanstalk Reaches All Ages

Fee Fi Fo Fum – Jack & The Beanstalk is kid-friendly fun. As children’s stories go, this one was NOT a paint-by-the numbers production that played out to an interactive audience at Kelowna Community Theatre. Not even close. This slapstick version, directed by Christine Daley and stage-managed by Cheryl Speight, was more of a traditional British pantomime that gave Jack & The Beanstalk a romanticized twist on fabled storytelling. What is a traditional British pantomime? These shows historically take place…

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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Headlines Melting Pot of Music

Okanagan Symphony Orchestra Headlines Melting Pot of Music

Well that was different, in a musical confluence kind of way. I had little idea what to expect on Friday night November 18th when Elaine and I strolled into Kelowna Community Theatre for a production called Madmen Across the Water. The playbill’s mixed bag of performers was advertised this way – the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) was the marquee act and would play the classic songs of Elton John, featuring guest artists Jeans ‘n Classics (musicians who fuse rock and…

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A Turntable of Good Vibrations and Temptations

A Turntable of Good Vibrations and Temptations

Sugar pie, honey bunch –  I Heard it Through the Grapevine it was time to Twist and Shout! On the 13th night of November at the Kelowna Community Theatre, my wife and I took a listen down memory lane thanks to a fully staged and choreographed toe-tapper touted as Four by Four. The musical montage earned its moniker this way – four supremely talented dudes singing, dancing, and bantering their way through a lively tribute to the music of The…

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The Debaters – Don’t Touch that Dial for Rowdy Radio Comedy

The Debaters – Don’t Touch that Dial for Rowdy Radio Comedy

Who knew that the microwave oven has been around for 50 years? Thanks to CBC Radio One and The Debaters, this little-known fact was one of many my wife and I were thoroughly entertained by on the first night of November at Kelowna Community Theatre. During the live taping of the three-hour radio comedy extravaganza, in front of a packed house that came primed for an evening of laughter and logic, we got a behind-the-microphone tutorial on how they produce…

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The Commonwealth Comedian and the Clean-Cut Millennial

The Commonwealth Comedian and the Clean-Cut Millennial

If laughter is indeed the best medicine, then a whole lot of folks were feeling a whole lot better after Saturday night’s “Just for Laughs” comedy twin bill at the Kelowna Community Theatre. Headlining the evening was Scotsman Danny Bhoy, billed as the “Commonwealth Comedian” known for his observational storytelling and razor-sharp wit. This was his sixth tour of Canada (he loves Canada and apparently Canadian audiences love him!), and on this late October evening, this show was the final…

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