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.

The Improv Centre a thing or two about timing, which of course is essential when it comes to comedy. And now that we’re officially into fall, The Improv Centre is right on time with its latest show, Betrayers—and not just because it’s based on one of the year’s most memed TV shows.

Cats are known to have nine lives. But Cats, the iconic Broadway musical, seems to have countless lives, as it’s still being performed worldwide after first premiering in the West End over 43 years ago. In fact, there’s even a drag-and-ballroom-themed version off-Broadway, where the Jellicle cats are voguing and waacking their way down a catwalk. Here at the Malkin Bowl, Theatre Under the Stars is offering a fresh reimagining of its own. While this retelling is nowhere near as drastic as the current off-Broadway version, director Ashley Wright’s production offers some creative ideas to keep things interesting, while still having one paw planted faithfully in the original.

The best way to cool off in Vancouver amid this summer heat is to treat yourself to Broadway Across Canada’s Frozen. Under the direction of Michael Grandage, this stage adaptation of the iconic 2013 Disney animated film is as spectacular an experience as one would expect, with jaw-dropping effects and scenic, lighting, and costume designs. But it’s the show’s inspirational messages about sisterhood and inner strength that make this experience truly impactful and unforgettable.

Hairspray, the hit Broadway musical, has danced its way into Vancouver, looking and feeling as fresh and energized as ever. The show, which premiered on Broadway in 2002 and is based on the 1988 film, oozes with fun and heartfelt messaging. You may just find yourself leaving the theatre humming its tunes and feeling inspired to help make positive change. 

The true story of Jewish American Leo Frank’s wrongful murder conviction and lynching in 1915 in Marietta, Georgia is bone-chilling, heartbreaking, and fascinating. These events are dramatized in the Tony Award-winning musical Parade, which originally premiered in 1998.

“HOW CAN I BEGIN anything new with all of yesterday in me?” asks Adrian Glynn McMorran, in Firehall Arts Centre’s Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.

WHAT DO YOU WISH for? In Studio 58’s production of the beloved Broadway musical Into the Woods, we see iconic fairy-tale characters co-existing in the same kingdom, each fighting to make their wishes come true, and experiencing the happy and not-so-happy results from each action. 

The iconic film has long been stamped into pop-culture legacy, and the recently released film, an adaptation of the 2017 hit Broadway musical, has been crushing it at the box office. Meanwhile, Broadway Across Canada’s touring production opened in Vancouver last night. Like the original film version, the show is hilarious and smart, but here, the storytelling is heightened through the magic of musical theatre, complete with splashy song-and-dance numbers and vibrant young cast members who offer their own takes on the story’s well-known characters. 

A STORY’S INTERPRETATION can evolve with time and culture—a fact made wonderfully evident in Gateway Theatre’s smart and inventive new production of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

WHILE CHRISTMAS SONGS and candy canes are currently sweetening theatres across Vancouver, there’s one stage in town that dares to go down a different path.

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE a good traditional English pantomime during the holiday season, and Metro Theatre’s Sinbad! is exactly that. Pantos usually take a familiar story such as a fairy tale, add in a localized perspective, and revel in slapstick comedy, unapologetic word puns, drag, and a ton of audience participation—including booing all the bad guys. And Sinbad! is so bad it’s good!

WITH THE HOLIDAY season in full swing, an entertaining offering that will appeal to those who love nostalgic Christmas songs and high-quality singing is The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret. This vocal showcase by The Gingerbread Men (TGM), a local quartet with a distinct 1950s-era flavour, makes for a fun and intimate evening, as though audiences are treated to a personal concert in a cozy living room. The suave and personable performers deliver their material with enthusiasm, style, and polished attention to detail in their vocals and movements. 

ELF: THE MUSICAL, based on the beloved Will Ferrell film, brings the holiday classic to life on stage in a style that tips its hat to the golden age of Broadway musicals. Think tap dance, comedy, romance, and a stylized parade of eye-pleasing sets and costumes, in a show that’s packed with crowdpleasing fun.

CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AND GREEK tragedy come together brilliantly in Hadestown, the Tony Award–winning musical currently in Vancouver thanks to Broadway Across Canada. In this retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, a talented, largely BIPOC cast performs poignant music and lyrics by Anais Mitchell, under director Rachel Chavkin’s imaginative concept. The show is captivating from start to finish and the story’s messages of undying love and hope hit with modern relevancy. 

THERE ARE FEW CULTURAL treasures as iconic as The Wizard of Oz. Thanks largely to the 1939 film, the characters, story, and quotes such as “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” have been beloved to generations of people worldwide. CTORA’s classic production of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Wizard of Oz builds off all that nostalgia, bringing the popularized versions of its characters to vivid life and keeping the story’s messages on friendship and family alive. And yes, there are even little flying monkeys.

THE COMPLEXITIES OF reconciliation are vast. Te Tangi a te Tūī is a Māori circus-theatre piece that explores some of these intricacies in a visually and emotionally powerful presentation. 

STUDIO 58’s THE TEMPEST goes beyond serving simply as a student showpiece, with director Diana Donnelly’s imaginative vision—helped by the collaborative efforts of fellow creative team members, including choreographer Lee Su-Feh and set designer Emerenne Saefkow—creating a fresh, quirky, and innovative interpretation. The production brings contemporary resonance to Shakespeare’s classic, including messaging on climate change and broken communities. A reimagined work like this would not feel out of place on the professional stages of the likes of Bard on the Beach, and it’s a tremendous opportunity for Studio 58’s students. In turn, Donnelly’s vision is brought to life with the talent and energy of the young actors. 

YOU MAY ENJOY a little chuckle the next time you tend to your plants if you see the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. This comedic horror musical has been reimagined with an enjoyably evil and stylish diva of a plant, and a combined cast and creative team of B.C. and Alberta talent in a coproduction with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre. The result is a delightfully entertaining production under the direction of Ashlie Corcoran that goes wildly over-the-top and leans into campiness at full-force.  

“THE ONLY THING that lives forever is the music,” says the character of Otis Williams in the musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, currently playing in Vancouver as part of its Broadway Across Canada tour.