Tag: Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

Art & Culture

The Arts Club – JERSEY BOYS

After more than 15 years as New York’s favorite musical, the Tony, Grammy® and *Olivier Award-winning JERSEY BOYS played its final performance in New York on May 22, 2022 and continues on tour in London and other parts of UK.  However; here in Vancouver…

Cast of Jersey Boys, 2024; set design by Ryan Cormack; costume design by Barbara Clayden; lighting design by Sophie Tang; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company.

We’re lucky to have our very own Broadway-style production of JERSEY BOYS, now playing at the historic Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (an Arts Club Theatre Company Production) – held over until October 27th due to popular demand.

Photo: d. king

My friend Margeaux and I had the pleasure of seeing this on Saturday night. Oh; What a Night! – remember that was one of the hits back in the day.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed this show.  OK; I’ll tell you – we enjoyed it very much.  The quality of the singing (which my friend thought was dubbed – it’s not) is outstanding.  With an exceptional cast and story, JERSEY BOYS features extraordinary performances by Elliot Lazar as Frankie Valli, alongside Darren Martens as Tommy DeVito, Jason Sakaki as Bob Gaudio, and Jordan Stanley as Nick Massi.

Under the direction of Julie Tomaino, JERSEY BOYS isn’t just about the music; it’s about the story behind the music. This Award–winning musical brings to life the captivating true life story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, a band that rose from the streets of New Jersey to international fame. For the Arts Club, JERSEY BOYS is more than a celebration of a legendary quartet; it’s a testament to the company’s commitment to producing Broadway-calibre productions on the West Coast.

The show brings a high-energy, emotionally charged experience to the Stanley with its sharp narrative, compelling characters, and unforgettable soundtrack.

Jason Sakaki, Elliot Lazar, Darren Martens, and Tanner Zerr in Jersey Boys, 2024; set design by Ryan Cormack; costume design by Barbara Clayden; lighting design by Sophie Tang; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

The creative team behind this production is equally impressive, featuring Set Designer Ryan Cormack and Costume Designer Barbara Clayden recreating the vibrant 1960’s atmosphere that defined the era of The Four Seasons. With hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” Musical Director Ken Cormier will keep audiences humming after they leave the theatre. The stage design, lighting, and soundscapes have been meticulously crafted to create an atmosphere that echoes the energy and nostalgia of the 1960s—a time when Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons ruled the airwaves.

Cast of Jersey Boys, 2024; set design by Ryan Cormack; costume design by Barbara Clayden; lighting design by Sophie Tang; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

*The Olivier Awards are recognized internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music.

For Tickets:
https://artsclub.com/shows/2024-2025/jersey-boys
https://artsclub.com/
Art & Culture

Arts Club RED VELVET

THE RIVETING TRUE STORY OF A THEATRE PIONEER

Lindsey Angell and Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet, 2024: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

The following review was written by Kelly Johnson.  Thank you Kelly for your contribution.

This captivating play within a play is about the little-known but true story of a ground breaking performer.

Red Velvet is the history making story of Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to appear as Shakespeare’s Othello on the London Stage in 1833.  At a time when the public and parliament were debating the abolition of slavery, he replaced a much loved white actor named Edmund Kean who apparently took ill and couldn’t fulfill his role. So in steps Aldridge, at London’s Theatre Royal no less, in the title role.  Othello was originally written about a black general in a white world.

Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet, 2024: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

The irony of ironies is that Kean’s son was part of the theatre company, and very opposed to having this replacement, mostly for racial reasons.  Racism is a central theme and runs through the company in various intensities and with various excuses.

Story:

The intense play opens up later in Aldridge’s life, in Poland before he takes the stage in a different show.  His room is invaded in his absence by a young, inexperienced and ambitious female reporter for a local paper, enabled by one of the hotel’s servants.  For the first several minutes of the play we get to watch these two frolic around the stage speaking German, and for some reason we are not treated to a translation of what they’re saying. However, the rest of the show is done in English.

So we start late in Aldridge’s career when he is asked by the ambitious small-town and small-time reporter who has ambushed him why he never went back to Covent Garden, where he made his name as the first Black Othello.  He doesn’t answer directly, but it’s clear from his cranky demeanour that it’s not a fond memory for him.  Then we switch to the past and that show in Covent Garden.  We go through what happens with the company of actors in it, the reaction of audiences to the show and the reaction of the critics.  When that is all laid out, we return to Poland in his later life and to a very powerful scene. 

The cast was excellent.  Quincy Armorer, who plays Aldridge, did a wonderful job of portraying an ambitious, cocky, optimistic and determined actor getting a big break in difficult circumstances and of the bitter, angry, disappointed and in many ways. beaten older man he becomes in the play.

Photo by Moonrider Productions.

Lindsay Angell, who plays his leading lady in the play-within-the-play, Othello, was nuanced in her portrayal of someone caught in the prejudices of the time, but open to changing her mind and perhaps more than a little turned on by Aldridge.  She also happens to be the girlfriend/fiancee of Charles Kean, who is the son of Edmund Kean, a pompous ass, racist and stuck in his prejudice and jealousy. 

John Emmet Tracy plays Pierre Laporte, who is the person responsible for bringing Aldridge into the company.  He did a wonderful job in his portrayal of someone experiencing the intense conflict of someone who supports Aldridge completely (except when the cumulative societal condemnation threatens the staging of the play and his reputation). Interesting tie-in at the end, by the way, with the young Polish reporter outlining the kind of sexist barriers she was facing with the paper she was working for – to the barriers faced by Aldridge , and them finding some common ground.  Not necessarily acknowledged by the cranky Aldridge, but still.

Kyla Ward and Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet, 2024: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

The cast for the play is rounded out by Tess Degenstein, who plays several roles; Anthony F. ingram, who plays two different characters; Nathan Kay, again a couple roles; and Kayla Ward, who is our only other Black person on stage, a servant to the theatre company and a mostly silent witness to and judge of the behaviour of the company. 

A good dollop of comedy made for a satisfying night at the theatre. The rest of the audience loved it, too – on their feet and cheering.

The play is on until April 21, 2024 at Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. 

Tickets:  https://artsclub.com/shows/2023-2024/red-velvet