By Melanie Minty, arts columnist
SURREY — Hooray for Hollywood, glamour, art deco, the Marx brothers and music from Hollywood musicals of the 1930s. The movies of the era, and particularly musicals, were a diversion for folks from the harsh times of the Great Depression. Hollywood provided happy times with lively and inspirational musicals – toe-tapping, feel-good shows that allowed viewers to leave the troubled world behind them for an hour or two. Just what they needed. Don’t look over your shoulder, but maybe we need a bit of this toe-tapping, happy-time escape today.
Starting next Thursday (May 4), FVGSS, a Musical Theatre Society (formerly known as Fraser Valley Gilbert &Sullivan Society), presents a nostalgic nod to the glory days of Hollywood with a very quirky, small-cast musical production called “A Day in Hollywood, a Night in The Ukraine.” I know, I know – you’ve never heard of it, right? Here is a simple explanation: Act I is a revue of 1930s movie musicals, and Act II is a Marx Brothers madcap melodrama. What? Is that bizarre or not? OK, let’s just stop trying to figure out what we might experience if we go to see this show – let’s just go and discover something a bit different.
It gets even more quirky. With theatre space booked for all the usual venues, FVGSS faced the challenge of finding an affordable venue for the show. The theatre couldn’t be too big, or too small, and of course there is a budget of what could be affordable. It is a great risk these days mounting a musical, no matter how popular the title. It is a definite challenge to pull in a decent audience. OK, guys, be brave. Book tickets for this show.
“A Day in Hollywood, a Night in the Ukraine” – I still don’t get the title, but all will be revealed no doubt – runs at The Clova theatre, in Cloverdale at 5732 176th St. from May 4 to 14. The Saturday and Sunday are matinees are at 2:30 p.m., and the shows from Wednesday through Friday are at 8 p.m.
Wait a minute, isn’t the Clova not a movie theatre anymore? Yep. This historic art deco building began life as a movie house, then briefly transformed to a live-theatre venue, then back to a movie house, and it is now the home of the Crossridge Church. See? Quirky.
The Clova is a perfect place for this particular production. There is history and an ambiance that perhaps would not be found in a more traditional live-theatre space. FVGSS Society is making it work. Rehearsals have revealed some great talents, the costumes look great and the music is more than nostalgic. It is toe-tapping. The cast features Clive Ramroop, Paige Thomson, Brad Dewar, Chantelle Dewar, Jake Hildebrand, Melissa Funnell, Breanna Branson and Chris Roberts, with director Rebekah MacEwan and choreographer Carol Seitz.
Tickets for the show’s preview night, on May 4, are only $10, and on the other performance dates there are group rates and discounts for students and seniors. Tickets are at BrownPaperTickets.com/event/2886523. There is also a trailer you can watch at Youtu.be/6kMckBtigNM.
It is festival seating (not reserved), and there is a huge parking lot behind the Clova, but it is in mid-block so you have to walk around the block to enter from the front. Or, there is ample on-street parking. Take a chance on this “double feature” ridiculous entertainment. Isn’t a little quirky good for us now and then? Say yes.
