What’s just as entertaining as a play that’s impeccably polished? One that’s impeccably polished to fall apart. The-play-that-goes-wrongBlack Box Theatre Co.’s production of the international hit The Play That Goes Wrong, now at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, is a wildly fun ride. Similar in concept to Noises Off, it gleefully lampoons a hapless theatre company staging a play, stumbling through forgotten lines, misplaced props, full-on set collapses, and more.

Trends may come and go, but as Elle Woods wisely reminds us, “being true to yourself never goes out of style.” This enduring mantra is a key reason why Legally Blonde—the story of Elle’s unexpected journey to Harvard Law School—continues to strike a chord with audiences. 

Theatre Under The Stars has long delighted Vancouver audiences with summer productions that transform beloved children’s stories into live musicals under the open sky. This year, the company brings Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to life in a production bursting with heart and standout talent.

With Waitress, the Arts Club Theatre Company has whipped up something truly special as its season-closing musical. This production isn’t simply a replica of the acclaimed Broadway version; instead, under the direction of Ashlie Corcoran, it soars with its own voice, thanks to imaginative work from the creative team and a poignant performance by its star Rachel Drance. 

The merging of the iconic phrases “Once upon a time” and “Lights, camera, action!” embodies the concept of A Whole New World: A Concert of Movie Musicals’ Greatest Songs. Under the creative direction of Alan Corbishley, A Whole New World is a uniquely conceived concert of songs from beloved Disney films in the first act and Hollywood musicals in the second. The production kicked off its 17-city B.C. tour on May 17 and will continue to June 20. 

Royalty has arrived in Vancouver and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is an appropriately named venue to host some divine monarchs this week. The smash Broadway musical SIX is in town, care of Broadway Across Canada, and on opening night, the queens ate and left no crumbs. Directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, SIX is a pop concert–style retelling of the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII. Each queen performs a song detailing her doomed relationship with Henry to get the audience on their side and be crowned the leader of the group. There’s plenty of tea to spill, from messy divorces to messy deaths that include beheading. 

From the whistles in the “Prologue” to the haunting final visual, CTORA’s West Side Story is a stunning production of the iconic Broadway musical. Telling a story about young love set amid an ethnically divisive street-gang war between the “American” Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks in 1950s New York, West Side Story continues to be relevant. Despite that, pulling it off is a huge challenge given the triple-threat skills, culturally appropriate casting, and expertise needed to fit all the pieces together.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s best-known rock musicals, is back in Vancouver—and Metro Theatre’s version has some fresh hues. Director Christopher King has enacted a creative 1970s TV variety-show framing device, and through this, the unapologetically quirky, over-the-top production looks and sounds fantastic, with all the silliness that the musical is beloved for. 

In Every Day She Rose, a play by Andrea Scott and Nick Green, has some very important things to say, and chances are, these messages may seem foreign to some theatregoers. That’s likely the point. The dynamic between a gay male and straight female who are best friends isn’t new territory in storytelling. But what’s far less common is a version that isn’t idealized—one shaped by the imbalance of privilege between the two, and the quiet tensions that can arise from it.

What’s the key to good storytelling? For CTORA, authenticity seems to be the driving force in its version of West Side Story. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the musical tells the tale of star-crossed young lovers Tony and Maria, against the backdrop of an ethnically divisive street-gang war between the “American” Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks in 1950s New York. The roles of Tony and Maria are as iconic as the show itself, immortalized in many Broadway stage and film versions. But CTORA’s stars Sayer Roberts and Cassandra Consiglio aren’t fazed. They’re leaning into authenticity.

Royal City Musical Theatre has a great new look: instead of presenting its usual annual offering of a beloved classic Broadway musical, the company has tackled a contemporary show—9 to 5: The Musical. Under the choreography of the revered Valerie Easton and her codirection with Chris Adams, RCMT demonstrates its versatility and ample ability to stay relevant. 9 to 5 is a fun musical-theatre extravaganza with bold messages of female empowerment, workplace equality, and following one’s heart at any stage in life, set to a score by Dolly Parton herself. 

In Royal City Musical Theatre’s upcoming production of 9 to 5: The Musical, based on the 1980 film, Maia Beresford plays Doralee Rhodes—a character immortalized onscreen by Dolly Parton. Beresford has had ample inspiration to prepare for a role so synonymous with female empowerment. For starters, she watched her mom defy the odds while she was growing up.

Is murder something that runs in families? This certainly seems to be the case in Arsenic and Old Lace. Written by Joseph Kesselring, this play about a family with a bad habit of killing people was a huge hit when it opened on Broadway in 1941, before making it to the big screen in 1944. Now, over 80 years later, Metro Theatre’s production is a true delight, showing that this black comedy is still a hit with modern audiences. 

There’s a story behind every song—and song by song, Motown built an empire of hits that changed the world.

Broadway Across Canada’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical has stormed into Vancouver with every ounce of electrifying energy, confidence, and sexiness you would expect from a jukebox bio musical about the music icon.

Twelve years ago, singer-songwriter Krystle Dos Santos embarked on a journey to discover the true inspiration of her love for soul music. Dos Santos had been passionate about soul from a young age, influenced by such icons as Aretha Franklin and Etta James. But having grown up in Edmonton, decades after the height of those soul icons, Dos Santos experienced imposter syndrome—questioning whether her voice was authentic enough to do justice to the genre. 

Children of God, a musical written and directed by Mattagami First Nation artist Corey Payette, is a haunting account of life in the Indigenous residential school system. While the show premiered in 2017, its subject matter hits harder today, in the wake of the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools across Canada. The importance of the story cannot be overstated, and Payette has channeled it through a remarkably poetic theatrical work—a stunning artistic accomplishment. 

Sometimes it feels so good to be bad. That’s why Metro Theatre’s production of Sinners hits in all the right ways.

Forget about saying “Beetlejuice” three times: Broadway Across Canada’s Beetlejuice the Musical is so much fun, you may actually want to see it three times.

Gateway Theatre’s production of the beloved musical Oliver! has arrived just in time for the holidays. Based on Charles Dickens’s timeless Oliver Twist, the musical telling evokes many of the same poignant messages as the same author’s A Christmas Carol, set against a similar backdrop of poverty and class struggle in Victorian England.

One endearing holiday tradition in the Vancouver stage scene is Metro Theatre’s British pantomime. This year, the company takes on Cinderella, and it sparkles with all the humour, energy, and fun that audiences have come to love from the annual show.

The word “bound” can be used in a couple of different ways. It could refer to being restricted to something, or else en route to a destination. Bound! The Musical (In Concert) examines how a group of people in the fictional town of Middleburg experience both uses of the word in the unusual aftermath of an election.

There’s much to celebrate in Eurydice Fragments, an innovative tech-forward and gender-inclusive reimagining of the Eurydice and Orpheus myth.

“If your protagnoist is leading you then you’ll likely stay ahead of your reader,” says Bella Baird, one of two characters in Adam Rapp’s play The Sound Inside. But what happens when we can no longer stay ahead of the story we’re trying to write for our own lives?

The arts have always been a powerful platform for advocating social justice—and now seems to be a particularly timely moment to amplify marginalized voices. Under the leadership of artistic director Ryan Nuñez, Play On Words has reimagined Godspell from a queer perspective that celebrates love and community, while advocating for queer rights.

Have you experienced immersive theatre? If not, it’s understandable—immersive theatre is rare in Vancouver, and for good reason. There are many challenges involved in presenting it, including the need for a suitable venue. Fortunately, Dreamqueen Collective—under the helm of Fairlith Harvey—offers Vancouver audiences a chance to dive into this unique entertainment with The Last Resort. In true immersive fashion, the audience is placed right in the action as the story unfolds around them.

CTORA Theatre has plucked Roald Dahl’s beloved story Charlie & the Chocolate Factory from the pages and transformed it into a larger-than-life production that proves how pure imagination can make anything possible. Over the past few seasons, CTORA has emerged on the Vancouver theatre scene with productions infused with clever staging concepts and production values, under the direction of Mark Carter. To that end, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is right up CTORA’s alley, with a show that combines strong on-stage talent with delightful visuals to entertain and inspire audiences of all ages. 

Emotional baggage from dating is no joke. But it can be entertaining to poke a little fun at. After all, recognizing the humour in past experiences is part of how we grow. Sarah Segal-Lazar’s play Baggage is a clever and playful look at how baggage from past relationships follows us. This freshing work is superbly brought to life by a cast of tremendously talented Studio 58 students, led by the charismatic Michelle Avila Navarro. Director and Studio 58 graduate Jessie Liang offers an inventive concept with some creative ideas that highlight the many strengths of the cast and Segal-Lazar’s script.