alex.browne@peacearchnews.com
Frankenstein 1930
Pre-Halloween chills are assured in the White Rock Players Club’s current production Frankenstein 1930, by Fred Carmichael – an updated retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic tale that sets it in the era of its first talkie adaptation.
Opening Sept. 28 and running to Oct. 15 at the Coast Capital Playhouse, the play, directed by Fraser Valley Gilbert & Sullivan alumni Dann Wilhelm, features Elliott Figuera (Rev. David Lee in Beach House Theatre’s The Foreigner) as obsessed scientist Victor Frankenstein; Janine Guy as Gorgo – a female counterpart to the traditional henchman Igor – and Jerret Schwartz as The Creature.
Also featured are Gary Pettinger as the august Dr. Hellstrom, Lauren Gloanec as Elizabeth, Brad Dewar as Henry and Colleen McGoff-Dean as Aunt Frederica, with support from Chantelle and Kris Dewar, Paige Thomsen, Lionel Rust and Charles Buettner.
For ticket reservations and showtimes, call 604-536-7535, or visit www.whiterockplayers.ca
Vaudevillians
The Vaudevillians – well-known on the Semiahmoo Peninsula and beyond as one of the top seniors entertainment troupes – are coming to White Rock this week.
Tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 29), at 2 p.m., the entertainers will perform at the White Rock Seniors Village (1183 Maple St.).
Cost to attend is $5 – collected at the door – with funds being donated back to the Vaudevillians to support future endeavours.
The Vaudevillians – whose members range from 61 to 93 years old – have been performing together for 12 years, and have raised more than $130,000 for charity, bursaries and other causes.
For more, visit www.thevaudevillians.com
Harpdog Brown
The man who has been described as “Canada’s premier ‘old school’ harp wizard” returns to South Surrey’s Pacific Inn Resort (1160 King George Blvd.) this Saturday (Oct. 1).
Veteran bluesman Harpdog Brown will play at 8:30 p.m. at the Costa Brava Ballroom in a special launch show for his latest CD, Travelin’ With The Blues.
The evening will feature many songs from the new album, recorded in San Francisco this year with contributions from such world-class blues artists as Little Victor, Kid Anderson and Charlie Musselwhite.
Tickets ($20) are available at the door or through www.whiterockblues.com or for more information, call 604-723-3905.
Hazeltones
Popular community musical group The Hazeltones will present their annual fall concert this Saturday (Oct. 1) at 2 p.m. at Sunnyside United Church, 15639 24 Ave.
Hosted by the PEO Chapter AN, the event will feature desserts and refreshments provided by the sisters of the chapter.
Tickets ($15) are available at the door or from Bea Robertson (604-514-7793) or Shirley Howard (604-531-8130.
IAD Festival
International Artists Day – founded by White Rock artist Chris MacClure – returns to the city as usual on Oct. 25 (Picasso’s birthday).
But this year’s celebration – now a month-long event – actually gets under way Oct. 4 at the city’s Pop Uptown arts space at 1459B Johnston Rd. (near Thrift Avenue just north of Hilltop Mall).
Opening the event will be the much-anticipated show of 12 by 12-inch paintings from 6 to 9 p.m. – in which more than 50 artists, both well-known and lesser-known, are displaying paintings anonymously, each of them priced at $150.
Throughout the week of Oct. 4-12, artists Georgina Hunt, Jill Charuk and Richard Tetrault will also be displaying their work at the space and sometimes painting on location there.
In addition, Tetrault will speak on his work Oct. 6, 7-9 p.m.; the public will have an opportunity to explore their own creativity at a Art & Wine Party, Oct. 7, 7-9 p.m. ($50 each, all supplies and instruction included); and noted celebrity artist Dave Benning will do a demo and talk on his portrait techniques on Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m.
Partial proceeds from the events will help fund IAD High School Fine Art Bursaries.
Outside The Box
Supported in its sixth year by a grant from the City of White Rock, the Outside The Box festival – originally a showcase of the potential fibre arts – has expanded its horizons to include all forms of artistic expression for “a celebration of fibre – plus.”
White Rock Library at 15342 Buena Vista Ave. will continue to feature related displays, events and lectures through early October (for information and times call 604-541-2201), among them the ongoing show A Touch of Green by the Cutting Edge Mixed Media Art Group, including works by Judy Alexander, Linda Sharp, Georgina Powell, Wendy Mackinnon, Janet Kugyelka, Lynn Johnson, Angie Gursche, Susan Germain, Jennifer Cooper, Elaine Anderson, Julie Rudd and Kathy McColeman.
At the White Rock Community Centre (15154 Russell Ave., 604-541-2199), Wood Diamonds and Other Eccentricities includes work by OTB artistic director Alicia Ballard, Pauline Dutkowski, Elizabeth Carefoot, Kat Siemens, S.C. Sylph, Justine Morley, Lynn Bradford, Thelma Newbury, Karen Kroeker, Mimi Am, Bette Hurd, Matt Streifel, Gail Heaver, Maggie Ma, Sherry Jin, Shelley Wang, Katie Sun, Lorena Kraus, Roger Golden, Heather Quinney, Margaret McCarthy, Suzanne Kendall, Sandy Stevenson and Barbara Carscadden.
At the Arnold Mikelson Mind and Matter Gallery (13743 16 Ave.) Outside The Box Month’s featured artists are Elizabeth Carefoot, Thelma Newbury, Mary Mikelson, Arnold Mikelson, Ashley Jackson, Valerie Grimmel, Eileen Fong, Bob Gonzales, Anita Lindblom, Robert McMurray, Millie Meerheim, Shirley Thomas, Elmer Gunderson and David Kilpatrick.
The gallery is open daily from noon to 6 p.m. (for more information, call 604-536-6460 or visit mindandmatterart.com).
For more information and other venues for the festival, visit https://www.facebook.com/
OutsideTheBoxWhiteRock/
Blue Frog
Blue Frog Studios in White Rock is venue for a continuing series of concerts bringing world-class performers to the Semiahmoo Peninsula.
Coming up Oct. 5 (7 p.m.) and Oct. 6 (7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.) is The Piano Man, Ryan Langevin‘s electrifying tribute to Elton John and Billy Joel, presented by Rock.It Boy Entertainment.
Tickets are $42.50 plus facility fee and service charges.
The venue is located at 1328 Johnston Rd.; tickets are available at 604-542-3055 or to book seats online – or find information on other Blue Frog concerts – visit www.bluefrogstudios.ca
Trad jazz
The White Rock Traditional Jazz Society’s season of regular Sunday afternoon dances is back at Club 240 (the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch) most Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m.
The upcoming dates include The Crescent City Shakers (Oct. 2), The Bonnie Northgraves Jazz Band (Oct. 9), The Square Pegs Jazz Band (Oct. 16), WRTJS house band Red Beans & Rice (Oct. 23) and The Ben MacCrae Sextet (Oct. 30).
Admission is $10 for WRTJS members, $15 for everybody else; tickets are available from 604-591-7275.
The venue is located at 2643 128 St.
Red Beans and Rice, led by Ocean Park’s Rice Honeywell, can also be caught some Fridays at 6:30 p.m. at Porter’s Bistro, in Langley’s Murrayville district (for more information, call 604-530-5297).
Live at Club 240
A consortium of Peninsula musicians and music promoters – including the White Rock Blues Society – is collaborating with the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240 to build the legion’s ‘Club 240’ brand as a dance-oriented venue for live music on Friday nights.
The Semiahmoo Musical Consortium’s Live At Club 240 program – which plans to offer multiple genres of music to reach the largest audience – starts on Oct. 7 and runs every Friday, except for special holidays (such as Remembrance Day, Nov. 11).
The line-up so far is Big City Soul (Oct. 7), The So Tight Band (Oct. 14), Incognito (Oct. 21), Souled Out (Oct. 28), March Hare (Nov. 4), The Ocean Park Wailers (Nov. 18) and No Quarter (Nov. 25).
The legion is located at 2643 128 St. Doors open each Friday at 7 p.m., with the music starting at 8 p.m.
Tickets ($20) are available at the legion box office (604-535-1043) or online at www.brownpapertickets.ca
Medea
Peninsula Productions begins another season of staged readings at its regular performance space next to Centennial Arena (14600 North Bluff Rd.), Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m.
First up is a reading of Euripides’ famous drama Medea – directed by the company’s artistic director, Wendy Bollard – which, even 2,500 years after it was written, remains a powerful exploration of ideas of honour, family revenge and the eternal war of the sexes.
Thrown aside by her husband for another woman, Medea is determined to exact revenge – and Euripides’ sympathetic portrayal of the character’s struggle to take charge of her life in a male-dominated world still resonates.
The play is presented with a warning that it is not suitable for young audiences. For tickets ($10) and more information, visit www,peninsulaproductions.org
Vaudevillians
A non-profit seniors’ entertainment troupe is looking for new members in a variety of roles and positions within the organization.
The Vaudevillians have been performing throughout the Lower Mainland since 2002.
The group is currently restructuring and looking for personnel, including a new artistic director to oversee the 2016 show and rehearsals – and to write and cast the show for 2017.
The Vaudevillians are also looking for an M.C. – someone who’s comfortable on stage, able to relate to and connect with the audience, introduce numbers and tell some jokes.
New members are also needed to fill the following positions: sound tech, backstage manager, and as performers (singers, dancers, comedians).
Except for the position of artistic director, who is eligible for an annual honorarium, these are all volunteer positions.
For further information, visit thevaudevillians.com or contact entertainment@thevaudevillians.com.
Sunshine at night
There’s something special about open mic evenings – not only are you likely to hear a variety of music that most venue programmers can’t present, but you might just catch an early performance by a rising star, or a surprise appearance by an established performer trying some new material.
Semiahmoo Peninsula open mic king Dennis Peterson – a man with a good eye for White Rock and South Surrey’s growing pool of experienced and developing talents – is offering a regular show, 6-9 p.m. most Saturdays at The Good Day Sunshine Cafe, #100-2950 King George Hwy.
With dinner, drinks and dessert also on the menu, it’s a good venue to settle in for an evening of unexpected musical treats, and there’s no restriction on taking pictures of the performers (although Peterson asks that anyone wanting to video record a performance seek advance permission of the artist).
Morrison Music Nights
Morrison Cafe’s Morrison Music Nights, is a regular monthly dinner/concert series in Ocean Park, offering a three-course fine-dining-with-music experience in the licensed venue.
On music nights, dinner is served from 5 p.m., followed by the concert, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Tickets for the monthly presentations ($40) are available at the cafe, at 12855-16th Ave.
The series is being coordinated by well-known musician Randy Schultz (Swamp City), who said it fits in with his long-standing objective of developing local venues capable of providing viable showcases for chronically under-valued professional musicians, rather than simply offering the more usual ‘open mic’ opportunities.
For more information, call 604-531-3636 or 604-721-0872.
Orchestral recruits
The more than four decades–old White Rock Community Orchestra, now led by newly-appointed conductor Paula DeWit, welcomes new musicians of all experience levels, and is currently seeking violin, viola, oboe, bassoon and saxophone players.
For details, call president Don Miller at 604-807-0560 or email papadon1812@hotmail.com, or visit http://whiterockcommunityorchestra.org
Call for symphonists
Now celebrating its 30th concert season, the Fraser Valley Symphony is seeking new members in the violin, viola, and percussion sections, but also welcomes inquiries from other interested professional-calibre musicians.
Performing alongside world class instrumental and vocal soloists, the orchestra provides an opportunity for auditioned musicians to present a variety of music to audiences throughout the region.
Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings, in Abbotsford.
Contact info@fraservalleysymphony.org or call 604-859-3877.
