Ianiv & I were invited to attend the opening night of the Theatre Under the Stars production of Bye Bye Birdie. The show runs on alternating nights at 8pm in Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl, alternating nights with their other production, Anything Goes.‘
Both live theatre productions feature local actors on the open-air stage, ready to engage you in the whole production. From flying beach balls to doing the twist, this isn’t your regular theatrical experience.
I hadn’t seen Bye Bye Birdie before last night, despite it being a classic for many high schools. Honestly, I never attended any of my high school’s plays (unless you count being in the orchestra for Fiddler on the Roof). That aside, it was a fun production. It’s not the calibre of a production like Wicked, but you will have fun. Bye Bye Birdie was an easy story to engage in…
Inspired by Elvis Presley and his draft into the Army in 1957, Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of a teen rock sensation, Conrad Birdie, drafted into the Army. The story weaves in that of his manager, Albert Peterson, whose financial success depends on the rock star and whose girlfriend, Rosie, is desperate for him to quit the business after he makes it profitable, become a teacher and get married. This all depends on making one last hit song for Conrad, “The Last Kiss”, which has him deliver one last kiss to a fan in Sweet Apple, Ohio. We also follow the story of this fan, Kim MacAfee, and the dynamics of her boyfriend, family and friends. The music is fun and upbeat and the acting drew you into the story.
Some recommendations for the best TUTS experience:
Know how to get to Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park (map here)
There’s food! We didn’t know this, so scarfed down a dinner before. Wish I’d noticed that.
Wear or bring a jacket
Bring a blanket, if you want to be extra cozy
Warm beverages are available (coffee, hot chocolate, etc), or you can port in your own thermos
You can sit in the assigned seats or bring a blanket and set yourself up on the hill
Porta-potties only. Be prepared.
The show is as long as most theatrical productions, complete with intermission. Expect to be out late, under the stars!
Have fun!
Tickets for Theatre Under the Stars’ productions of Bye Bye Birdie and Anything Goes can be found here. You can follow their Facebook page for updates on both productions.
North Shore Green Markets, a program to bring healthy and local food as well as arts and crafts to North Vancouver, is currently running summer markets all across North Vancouver. We visited our first Green market, the Friday Night Market, held at the Shipbuilders plaza down by Lonsdale Quay.
Local performers took stage while booths were set up with arts, clothing, local produce, baked goods and a number of food vendors. We came away from the night with some local strawberries (most of which were in the bin, some of which were on Aiden’s face), a fantastic homemade drink syrup, some bread and full tummies from the Chili Tank chili we had for dinner. It was a wonderful way to spend a summer night – next time, I’m getting some chocolates!
The Friday Night market is held each Friday until September 23rd from 5pm – 11pm. The most up-to-date info about the Markets can be found on Facebook.
Yesterday we went as a family to the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire, an exhibition all about DIY, be it in the form of arts & crafts or robotics. Though we didn’t have a chance to see any live music or speakers due to the shortness of our visit (about an hour was all Aiden could tolerate before his nap!), we had a chance to tour most of the exhibits. Aiden was fascinated by the robots – a little mini Ianiv in the making!
Aside from watching the robots, there were a couple of family-oriented activities including some interactive displays and some windmill crafts put on by Bright Red Crayon. There were a lot of 3D printers on hand, only fuelling Ianiv’s desire to get one himself. If you didn’t have a chance to make it down to the Faire, check out some of the exhibitors (aka the Makers) here.
Some of Aiden’s big “firsts” have all involved Daddy. His first 100% accurately pronounced word was Daddy. His first two-word sentence was “Hi, Daddy” and now his first 3-word sentence is for Daddy too. And what better day for it than on Father’s Day? We tried to get Aiden to say “Happy Daddy Day”, but all he could say was “Happy Day” or “Happy D Day” until this one absolutely perfect moment:
SO SWEET!!
We spent our Father’s Day having a family breakfast and going to Car Free Day on Main Street. As you can see, Aiden made Daddy a card, though he definitely prefers using stickers to pens right now!
I’ve read all of the Wicked trilogy (Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men) and have always wanted to see the theatrical adaptation. I was not disappointed! The production tells the story of Elphaba as a young girl, growing up in the shadow because of her green colour. She attends University with her sister, Nessarose, who is wheelchair-bound and meets there Glinda, the popular and petty opposite of Elphaba. Both fall in love with the same man, Fiyero. And through it all is a political struggle for the rights of Animals (sentient animals who can talk).
At University, Elphaba discovers her “quirky” side is an aptitude for being a witch and begins to dream of someday doing good. However, on her path to doing good, and meeting the Wizard of Oz, her good deeds are misconstrued and used against her to brand her as “wicked.”
The 2011 Wicked Vancouver cast included Ann Brummel (Elphaba), Marilyn Caskey (Madame Morrible) and Tiffany Haas (Glinda understudy). We had an understudy for The Wizard as well. Despite having two understudies, the play was beautifully performed. The first scene with Glinda was a little rocky, but she seemed to find her footing after that and performed perfectly. Ann Brummel did an amazing job as Elphaba. Truly beautiful.
