Animal Farm
Southridge Senior School presents the musical allegory Animal Farm, in 7 p.m. performances from Wednesday to Saturday (Feb. 21-24) at the school’s great hall, 2656 160 St.
The show is directed by drama teacher Sara MacGregor with assistance from an ultra-keen student-teacher-parent production team including Grade 12s Dilly Cooner (Snowball the pig, music director) and Molly Maguire (Minimus, a poetic pig and drama steward).
Adapted from George Orwell’s 20th century novel by Sir Peter Hall – with lyrics by Adrian Mitchell and music by Richard Peaslee – the animals-take-over-the-farmyard tale is an examination of how even the best intentions can be derailed by political compromise and creeping totalitarianism.
The imaginative experimental-style production, which includes black-clad actors wearing wire masks to depict the animal characters, is designed as an immersive audience experience in which the auditorium area becomes the farm.
And not only is the show timely “in the current political climate,” as Maguire – also a prolific young playwright – said, but proceeds of the production will go to benefit the South Surrey SALI farm, which helps protect both abused and neglected animals and also youth at risk.
“They’ve been a great production partner,” MacGregor said. “And I’m a firm believer in theatre as an agent of social change.”
Less a traditional musical than “a play with songs,” according to Maguire, the role of music is still important in providing wry comment on the evolution of the animals’ self government.
“It helps keep the tension – even a single chord can build that,” added Cooner, a budding musician and songwriter who is also collaborating with Maguire on their own original musical.
“Dilly’s had to fight to keep a couple of the songs (in Animal Farm),” MacGregor said.
Tickets are available from www.southridge.bc.ca or by calling the school at 604-535-5056.
Mud Bay Blues Band
The ever-popular Mud Bay Blues Band will celebrate 40 years of music-making – and their fifth independent release, Mud Bay – Live at Lorenzo’s – Saturday (Feb. 24) at 8 p.m., at the Crescent Legion Club 240, 2643 128 St.
Singer/harmonica player Mud Bay Slim, drummer Murphy Farrell, singer/guitarist Mark Branscombe, bassist Dennis Ingvaldson and singer/multi-instrumentalist Randall T. Carpenter on guitar, steel guitar and mandolin can be classed as ‘soul survivors,’ whose music has evolved into a high-intensity blend of multiple influences, including classic Chicago blues, country, cajun, rock, soul, along with innovative songwriting, which has won them a legion of loyal fans. Tickets ($20) at the door or at the legion box office, 604-535-1043.
Club 240
Popular event band March Hare returns to the Peninsula this Friday (Feb. 23) at 8 p.m., as part of Club 240’s (Crescent Legion) continuing series of Friday night dances presented by the Semiahmoo Music Consortium.
They’ll be luring dancers to the floor with a sizzling Motown/60s-era playlist sparked by the great guitar and vocals of frontman Dan Hare and the unstoppable energy of of musical theatre and dance-trained lead singer Georgia Sinton.
Rounding out the band’s sound are the dynamic keyboard stylings and vocals of Andy Smyth and the solid drum work and vocals of Ian Paxton.
The venue is located at 2643 128 St.
Tickets to all Friday Night Club 240 events are $20 and are available online at brownpapertickets.com, at the legion box office, or at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m. with shows at 8 p.m.
Blue Frog
The music continues at White Rock’s popular intimate 100-seat concert venue, Blue Frog Studios (1328 Johnston Rd.).
Among upcoming artists are Maple Blues Award 2018 winner Jason Buie and his band, back this Saturday (Feb. 24) to serve up a well-seasoned gumbo of blues, funk, rock and soul sparked by his from-the-heart vocals, fiery guitar work and charismatic stage presence.
And March will feature two blockbuster-hot Celtic acts to celebrate the month of green – internationally-recognized fiddle sensation Kierah Raymond (March 10) and smoky-voiced, passionate vocalist Pat Chessell and his band (on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17).
Visit bluefrogstudios.ca
Traditional jazz
White Rock Traditional Jazz Society’s regular Sunday 2-5 p.m. drop-in sessions of live Dixieland, hot jazz and swing music for dancing at the Crescent Legion Branch’s Club 240 continue this week (Feb. 25) with well-known singer and instrumentalist Holly Arntzen’s Some Like It Hot, featuring her dad – legendary reedman Lloyd Arntzen.
Upcoming bands include the Fourth Avenue Five (March 4), Alan Matheson with Prebop and the Teagardners (March 11) and house band Red Beans & Rice (March 18).
The venue is at 2643 128 St.
Admission is $10 at the door (WRTJS members), $12 (non members) and $6 (students with ID).
Don’t Dress
The White Rock Players Club 1980s-evocative production of the racy French sex farce Don’t Dress For Dinner continues at Coast Capital Playhouse until this Saturday (Feb. 24).
Directed by Canadian-born film and TV actress and producer Julianne Christie, in her first show in White Rock, Marc Camoletti’s 1987 play – a followup to his 1960 mega-hit Boeing-Boeing – brings back the characters of architect/ladies man Bernard (Dann Wilhelm); his old friend, nervous, conservative accountant Robert (Tomas Gamba) and Bernard’s wife, former airline stewardess Jacqueline (Lori Tych).
Bernard and Jaqueline’s renovated farmhouse two hours from Paris sets the scene for marital infidelity run amok, due to multiple misunderstandings and mistaken identities.
Complicating the plot are Rebecca Sutherland as Suzanne, a Parisian lingerie model; Jenn Lane as Suzette, a mercenary Cordon Bleu chef, and Greg Tunner as Suzette’s jealous husband George.
Remaining performances are Wednesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. at the theatre, 1532 Johnston Rd.
Tickets ($22, $19 students and seniors,) are available at www.whiterockplayers.ca or at the box office (604-536-7535) open Wednesday to Saturday from 1-5 p.m.
Gordon Thorne art
Ocean Park artist Gordon Thorne is exhibiting his paintings throughout February at Ocean Park Library (12854 17 Ave.).
Following a successful banking career that spanned 37 years, a major portion of it spent in various postings in the West Indies, Caribbean and Asia, Thorne and his family returned to Vancouver in 1987.
Raised in Fernie in south-eastern B.C., Thorne spent many years travelling to the family cottage at Sheridan Lake in the Cariboo from where he derived much inspiration which can be readily observed in his paintings of natural landscapes, animals and flora.
The paintings featured in the current exhibit are for display only and not for sale.
For information on hours, call 604-502-6304, or visit surreylibraries.ca
Bennett exhibit
Vancouver born-and-raised painter Frank Bennett’s surreal paint and ink works will be featured throughout February and March at the Semiahmoo Library, 1815 152 St.
Bennett, who received early training at the Vancouver Art School (now Emily Carr School of Art and Design), counts among his influences former instructors Don Jarvis, Jack Shadbolt, Takoe Tanabe, Roy Kiyooka, Peter Aspell, Ron Stonier and Orville Fisher.
“To create my artwork I look for shapes, lines, colour and composition, ” Bennett says in an accompanying statement.
“The work in this show reaches some of my goals – there is always something to search for while attempting an art piece. Searching is challenging and satisfying.”
For information on hours, call 604-592-6900, or visit surreylibraries.ca
The Garage Sale
Well-known White Rock actor Jane Mantle is featured in the role of Lois in the Surrey Little Theatre production of The Garage Sale, which closes Saturday (Feb. 24).
The comedy, by award-winning B.C. playwright David King, and directed by Miles Lavkulich, continues Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m. at the theatre, at 7027 184 St. (with a 2 p.m. matinee Feb. 18).
Phil (Cloverdale’s Caleb Walde), a middle-aged father frustrated with the direction his life has taken, has decided to sell everything and move his wife and two teenagers to the desert. Unfortunately, he has neglected to mention this to his family, who only begin to discover the truth during the garage sale Phil has arranged, and in interactions with the group of strange characters who show up.
Also featured are Langley actors Holly Zonneveld and Eric Ritchie, and Surrey’s Kelli Colley, Kim Waite, Brittany Vesterback and Karis Duncalfe.
Tickets ($17, $15 for seniors 65+) are available from 604-576-8451; by emailing reservations@surreylittletheatre.com; or from www.brownpapertickets.com
Ronald Glowe paintings
An exhibition and sale of paintings of Western Canadian subjects by Ronald Glowe will be featured at Seventh Heaven Art and Beauty Salon in Crescent Beach on Sundays starting Feb. 25 (showings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and continuing March 4, 11 and 18.
Glowe says he likes to use his art to evoke “a little of the past and some nostalgia for those of us who appreciate the beauty of our countryside and the creatures that inhabit it.”
Formerly a graphic artist and artistic director for CTV in Winnipeg, Glowe’s fine-art career spans some 40 years, and his paintings have been exhibited in both Canada, including the National Exhibition of Canadian Nature Art and the Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg, and the United States, including the Mid-West Nature Exhibition in Kansas.
A keen supporter of conservation, his paintings have been used nationally for fundraising for Ducks Unlimited Canada.
The salon is located at 12185 Beecher St. (778-292-0687).
Saturday dances
Let’s Dance Events presents a series of dances at the Star of the Sea hall, 15262 Pacific Ave. the first Saturday of each month, continuing March 3 with music by Cheek To Cheek, followed by Nasty Habits (April 7), Inner Mild (May 5) and Front Page (June 2).
Doors and cash bar open at 6 p.m.; dancing is from 7 -11 p.m.
Tickets ($25 in advance or $30 at the door unless pre-booked) include concession bar, tea, coffee and catered snack at 9:30 p.m.
Purchase tickets online at letsdanceevents.ca or reserve tickets by emailing info@letsdanceevents.ca or calling 604-538-7868.
Kwantlen concerts
Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s continuing series of KPU Music Faculty Showcase concerts at the Langley campus wraps up on March 2 with CDelebration – an eclectic concert combining KPU jazz and classical performers and guests, and celebrating 25 years of music instruction at KPU.
The evening will mark the official release of three new CDs, including Sun Songs by bassist (and well-known Semiahmoo Secondary alumnus) Jodi Proznick, and CDs featuring KPU’s Julia Nolan, saxophone, and Jane Hayes, piano (with violinist Joan Blackman and clarinetist Francois Houle).
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the KPU Langley auditorium, 20901 Langley Bypass.
Pacific Showtime
The Pacific Showtime Men’s Chorus is a male voice harmony group of kindred spirits who love to sing, laugh it up and indulge their hammier instincts in annual musical productions, under the guidance of their director, keyboardist, writer and arranger, Jonathan Wiltse.
The group rehearses Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church, 12953 20 Ave.
New members welcome. Singers are invited to attend rehearsals and, hopefully, join in.
For more, call 604-536-5292 or email leighand@shaw.ca
Handel Society
The non-profit Handel Society of Music is celebrating its 51st year of music this season.
Based in Surrey and White Rock, the singers perform Baroque-era works and other choral compositions, with orchestra, under the baton of artistic director Johan Louwersheimer.
For information on becoming a member, call 604-202-7801.
