Regular Guy Reviewer – Page 10 – All The Reviews That Are Fit to Post

Latin Fiesta Friday with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) and Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra (OSYO)

February 18, 2017 Regular Guy Reviewer

The third Friday of February at Kelowna Community Theatre was the whole enchilada as the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO) got spicy and performed Masterworks III – Latin Fiesta. This night of colorful instrumentation and syncopated rhythms paid homage to Romance-speaking countries like Spain and regions such as Latin and South America. For a nearly packed house hungry for multi-cultural cuisine, there was a full menu on stage that featured three appetizing entrees: flutist (or flautist) Christie Reside on loan from…

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Big Wreck Proved to be Big Time

January 31, 2017 Regular Guy Reviewer

Can someone recommend a good audiologist in the Central Okanagan? On Monday, January 30th, Kelowna Community Theatre put its revamped sound system to a three-hour test with a rock-and-roll double bill that put the amp in amplifier and tinn in tinnitus. The headliners on this loud-and-proud evening were platinum-selling rock blasters Big Wreck. This four-person crew was touring to support the release of “Grace Street” – the group’s fifth full-length studio album. Ascot Royals were the special guests and mild-by-comparison…

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Basking in the Brilliance of Beethoven and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra

January 22, 2017 Regular Guy Reviewer

“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

December 13, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

December 12, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

December 3, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

November 30, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

November 24, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

November 19, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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

November 14, 2016 Regular Guy Reviewer

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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