Frog and Toad
Surrey Arts Centre will be awash in amiable amphibians – and talent – when the young players of Surrey Youth Theatre Company (SYTCO) present A Year With Frog and Toad, March 4-6.
Based on the popular children’s books by Arnold Lobel, the Tony-nominated Broadway musical has music by Robert Reale and book and lyrics by Willie Reale, and is directed by SYTCO founder and artistic director Susan Pendleton, with choreography by the ubiquitous Carol Seitz.
Staying true to the spirit of the original books, the family-friendly show follows cheerful Frog and sometimes grumpy Toad through four fun-filled seasons, along the way celebrating the idea of friendship and the attributes that make each of us different and special.
Awaking from hibernation in the spring, Frog (Ethan Donnelly) and Toad (Cassandra Strain) enjoy themselves – and meet new friends – while planting gardens, swimming in the pond in the summer, raking leaves in the fall and sledding downhill in the winter.
Also featured in the production are Benjamin Dunnill (Snail), Jordan Aisenstat (Mouse) and Marina Cyr, Fiona Firby and Adriana Dobbie (The Three Birds).
Completing the cast are Kana Saarni, Paisley Hoogenraad, Kallista Van Beest, Madison Smith, Andrea Moorhouse, Elizabeth Olsson and Jenna Gunderson.
The show, which is best suited for audiences aged three and up, lasts 70 minutes.
Performances are 7 p.m. Friday, March 4; 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, March 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 6. Tickets are $17.70 and $12.70 for seniors and children five and under; or $22.70 and $17.70 for tickets that include a special Cookies with Frog and Toad party following the Sunday matinee.
For reservations, call 604-501-5566 or visit www.arts.surrey.ca
Three Visions
A new show of photography, Three Visions, presents the work of Dwayne Lamb, Jevon Safarik and Bob Warick, March 4 to April 1 at Semiahmoo Arts’ gallery, 90 – 1959 152 St. (Windsor Square).
Opening reception is Thursday, March 3, 7-9 p.m. at the gallery with the artists in attendance.
For more information, call 604-536-8333 or visit www.semiahmooarts.com
Trad jazz
White Rock Traditional Jazz Society’s popular schedule of Sunday sessions continues on Sunday, March 6, 3-6 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240 (2643 128 St.) with The Red Onion Rhythm Kings.
Next up on the WRTJS roster are Red Beans & Rice (March 13); the New Orleans Ale Stars (March 20) and the Clam Digger Jazz Band (March 27).
For details, visit www.whiterocktradjazz.com
Mardi Gras
Royal Canadian Legion Crescent Branch 240’s annual Mardi Gras event will be back, Saturday, March 5 – this time with two bands. Perennial favourites Mojo Zydeco, fronted by Randy Schultz, will be joined by a reunion of Tony Rees’ Blues Caboose (for which Schultz also played guitar).
The latter band, which wound down in the 1990s, was noted for reviving original blues from the `20s, `30s and `40s in an upbeat, electric context.
Joining Rees and Schultz will be original band members Dave Clairmont (bass) and Martin Eade (drums).
Mojo Zydeco (featuring Jane Carnahan Schultz on rub board) will also present its always entertaining salute to the danceable driving rhythms of rural Louisiana.
But there’s also a serious subtext to the evening – the event is also in support of the Jack Velker Legacy Project which is keeping alive the music of the late keyboardist extraordinaire – who was also Mojo Zydeco’s dynamic accordionist.
The multi-talented Velker was also a talented composer in many idioms and the project is releasing much of his work on CDs, some of which will be available at the event, which is also an opportunity for those who knew the musician to relive fond memories of him.
For more information, call the legion at 604-535-1043 or Mojo Zydeco at 604-721-0872.
Arts and Culture Cafe
Members of the public are invited to get involved and make their voices heard in an ongoing conversation on the arts in White Rock, by participating in an upcoming Arts and Culture Cafe, Monday, March 7, 7-9 p.m. at the White Rock Community Centre, Miramar Village.
The session is designed for individuals to share thoughts and desires, and also learn about the ongoing arts and culture scan commissioned by the city of White Rock.
To register, call 604-541-2199.
Romeo and Juliet
Earl Marriott Theatre Company’s 35th annual production, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, comes to the stage of the school’s Wheelhouse Theatre, March 9-12 (performances at 7:30 p.m.).
Audiences are invited to dress in black and white to match the black and white theme of drama teacher/director Candace Radcliffe’s version, which emphasizes a timeless ‘old but new’ look, aided by an original digital music score by technical director Sebastian Galina, blending classical-style melodies with techno beats (choreography of fights and dances is by Carol Seitz).
The star-crossed romance of Romeo (Erik Kavanaugh) and Juliet (Marika Stanger) will be given added vibrance for modern audiences by a swift pace, multi-media presentation, a beautiful masked ball and sword fights staged throughout the auditorium.
Also featured are Reilley Olexson (Princess of Verona), Ben Avery (Montague), Celine Dempsey (Lady Montague), Stephan Singh (Capulet), Kaitie Yott (Lady Capulet), Tess Adebar (Nurse), Brett McCrady (Mercutio), Greg Summers (Benvolio), Benn Button (Friar Laurence), Dallas Friel (Tybalt), Jensen Edwards (Paris), Jake Hildebrand (Gregory), Eric Dunnill (Sampson), Marlowe Ferris (Apothecary), Celeste Taylor (Sister Joan), Jacob Tamminga (Peter), Karter Hall (Balthasar), Garnet Butcher (Abraham) and Cassidy Johnson.
For ticket reservations ($15, $12 seniors, $10 students) call 604-542-2181 (box office is open Monday to Friday from 11:20 to 11:55 a.m., 2:40 to 3:30 p.m.)
Cash tribute
Tickets are on sale now for the Big River show A Tribute To The Man In Black: Johnny Cash, Friday, March 11, 7:30 p.m. at Coast Capital Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Rd.
Featuring Dave Pittet’s eerie evocation of Cash’s voice and mannerisms, Big River is North America’s foremost band paying tribute to the man in black. The band specializes in performing all the hits spanning five decades of his career, including such classics as I Walk The Line, Solitary Man, Get Rhythm, Folsom Prison and Ring of Fire. Opening act will be White Rock blues musician Jason Buie, well-known for his own unique blend of blues, funk, rock and soul.
For tickets ($42.50 plus service charges) call 604-536-7535 or visit www.whiterockplayers.ca
Chamber music
White Rock Chamber Music’s next recital is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Carlton, 15366 17 Ave.
Featured performers will be pianist Christina Lo, Italian operatic baritone Silvano Gastaldo (accompanied by pianist Eric Hominick), jazz pianist Sky Leuba, soprano Sarah McNair, and the duo of harpist Kailee Price and flautist Dru Yates.
Lo, 17, a Semiahmoo Secondary student, has won eight gold medals and seven silver medals at local music festivals, won honourable mention with a 92 per cent score on her Grade 10 Conservatory piano exam, and is currently studying for her ARCT piano performance exam this summer. Gastaldo, who emigrated to Canada in 1962, is a past member of the 100 Voice Archdiocese Choir, the B.C. Italian Choir and the Italian Folk Choir, and for the last six years has directed (with his daughter) the Coro Trevigiano Veneto. He is also co-founder of the Italian Men’s Choir of Canada, and has sung with the Boundary Opera Society, the Handel Society, the Cathedral Choir and the Austrian Choir.
Leuba, a Grade 11 student at Walnut Grove Secondary, is known for playing piano at local dances and concerts and has performed at the Kent Street Activity Centre. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested).
Ensemble Galilei
A stellar group of U.S. musicians will make their only Canadian appearance during a west coast tour 8 p.m., Friday, April 1, at First United Church, White Rock.
Ensemble Galilei brings together musicians from different worlds in an ongoing adventure that utilizes their renowned expertise and technique to create new dimensions of music.
The ensemble features Ryan McKasson on Scottish fiddle, Jackie Moran on bodhran and tenor banjo, and Sue Richards on celtic harp, all versed in Scottish and Irish traditions, plus violinist Ginger Hildebrand and viola da gamba player Carolyn Surrick – both with decades of experience in Renaissance and Baroque music.
The result is quite different from groups in either of the traditions, said Geoff Giffin, who is using the concert to launch his new production company, Peninsula Productions, which aims to bring different, high quality concerts to the White Rock and South Surrey scene.
“I first heard Ensemble Galilei play a few years ago when I was living in Maryland and promptly fell in love,” Giffin said.
“When I found out they were doing a west coast tour I knew they would be perfect for Peninsula Productions’ first concert.”
Tickets ($25) area available from Tapestry Music, First United Church, Surrey Arts Centre box office 604-501-5566, online at https://tickets.surrey.ca
Local authors
White Rock author Marya Sopova’s novel for children (ages 9-13 and higher), The MouseTronaut, is now available at Kids Books or at the Semiahmoo Arts gallery in Windsor Square.
The novel, and its accompanying volume, the Rocket of Fun workbook, traces the international – and outer space – adventures of an intrepid mouse trained as part of Russia’s space program.
For more information, call 604-536-6749.
Crescent Beach author Ben Nuttall-Smith’s historical novel Blood, Feathers and Holy Men, an adventure spanning both old world and new world cultures in the 10th century AD, is currently available through local bookstores.
For more information on the book, published by busy South Surrey imprint Libros Libertad, visit www.bennuttall-smith.ca
South Surrey author Sam Wharton’s latest Jonathan Hare novel, Ignorant Armies (Melrose Books, UK), is currently available at Angel Christian Supplies (104 – 2429 152 St.) and Black Bond Books, Semiahmoo Centre.
Drawing on Wharton’s own experiences in the military and policies of recruitment for intelligence work, Ignorant Armies is the second installment in his saga of Hare, a young innocent abroad in a sea of political, social and personal intrigue in post-World War Two Britain.
Argentine tango
It first appeared in the dance halls and brothels of Buenos Aires around 1880 – and it wasn’t even considered socially acceptable in Argentina until after it became a craze in Europe just before the First World War.
But authentic Argentine tango – a distinctly different dance from the ballroom tango – has lost none of its passionate mystery and beauty. It’s also hotter than ever – thanks to exposure on such top-rated television shows as Dancing With The Stars.
Now Portal a Tango Dance Entertainment offers White Rock residents the chance to learn to dance Argentine tango with an ongoing series of beginner and intermediate lessons at Ocean Park Hall, 1577 128 St.
Owned and operated by husband and wife team Bobbi and Patricia Lusic, Portal a Tango “works to promote Argentine tango as a healthy means for individual expression, improving quality of life and experiencing joy through music and dance.”
For more information, call 778-773-9904 or visit www.portalatango.com
Rock Band for Adults
Adults wanting to rock out are invited to register for a new program called My Generation – Adult Rock Band at the Todd Brewer School of Music.
The fall program is open to adults of all musical skill levels, from beginner to advanced. For more information, call 604-538-2295.
