TUTS seek a little help

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published May 6, 2006


Lower Mainland theatre audiences were saddened when Theatre Under the Stars, the company that has staged full-set musicals in Stanley Park's Malkin Bowl for more than 60 years, announced that it was cancelling its summer 2006 season due to lack of funds.

In a sparsely worded press release sent out April 21, the TUTS board of directors said they would "fall back and regroup" for the coming year so they can concentrate on fundraising and working in partnership with the House of Blues Concerts.

While TUTS hopes to return to the outdoor concert bowl with a full season of musical productions next year, a quick glance at their website indicates that they are indeed mighty short on current resources.

The website hasn't been updated in almost a year and, of course, there is not even a mention of the current financial troubles.

Theatre Under the Stars deserves your support. For more than six decades, it has served as a springboard for many of Burnaby's most talented singers, dancers, actors and musicians such as Jeff Hyslop and 23-year-old piano sensation Sean Bayntun, who was a guest conductor last year at TUTS during a break from his studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

The company is putting out a call for help. Contact Theatre Under the Stars at 604-734-1917 or send an e-mail to tutsbcca@telus.net.

SHE'S JOINING THE CIRCUS

Rita Javorski will be twirling above the crowds at the Gardens Auditorium in Vancouver this week as she takes part in the Cirkids' latest show, Circus Odyssey.

Javorski, a student at Burnaby North secondary, will be one of three performers on the lyra - an aerial hula hoop suspended from the high ceiling - on which she will perform a daredevil move.

Circus Odyssey, created by Jay Nunns, is described as a soaring performance of the classic Greek tale that looks at the travels, trials and tribulations of the ancient hero Odysseus after the Trojan War.

Javorski is well-known to Burnaby NOW readers. She first graced these pages when she was chosen to sit on the selection committee for the Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families when she was only 11 years old.

In Circus Odyssey, Javorski will perform alongside Bronwyn McBride, who was recently accepted to the National Circus School in Montreal.

Cirkids is the premier acrobatic school for young people in B.C.

Its coaches are affiliated with circus schools in Russia, Quebec and Cirque du Soleil.

Circus Odyssey runs May 11 to 14 at the Gardens auditorium in Hastings Park, better known as the PNE grounds. Shows are at 12:45 and 7 p.m., but there is no late show on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for anyone 18 or under and $17 for adults and can be obtained from the website www.vitix.com/online/events or by Visa at 604-737-7408.

BAINES AT THE WATERFRONT

The age-old search for one true love is onstage at the Waterfront Theatre in the world premiere of Mercedes Baines' sexy new show, Two Lip Tango, presented by La Luna Productions.

"It's about longing and love and the need to connect," said Baines, an instructor at the Shadbolt Centre. "It's definitely not for kids, but it's good fodder for conversation afterwards."

Featuring an original score by Ron Samworth and choreography by Nicole Mion, Two Lip Tango stars Louis Chirillo, Yvonne Myers, Cory Philley and Melanie Yeats.

Baines, a graduate of the SFU School of the Contemporary Fine Arts, has been a mainstay on the Vancouver theatre circuit for almost two decades.

Two Lip Tango opened last week and runs at 8 p.m. tonight (May 6) and from May 9 to 13 at the Waterfront Theatre, 1412 Cartwright St., on Granville Island. There are 2 p.m. matinees on May 6 and 12, and tickets are available through Festival Box Office, 604-257-0366, or at the website www.lalunapro.com.

MORE NAKED GODDESSES

Stumbling around for love is also the theme for those daring women (and men) at Burnaby's busy Naked Goddess Productions Equity Coop.

The Burnaby-based company will be presenting William Mastrosimone's The Woolgatherer at the Beaumont Studios.

When tough-talking Cliff's truck breaks down in Philadelphia, he enters the local five-and-dime and finds the shy daydreamer Rose, who invites him up to her apartment.

"It's about two souls who want love but who keep putting up masks because they're afraid," said Sandra Medeiros, who stars alongside Sean Tyson in the production. "It's about dropping masks, and creating a possibility of love."

Always witty, very sexy, and never dull, Naked Goddess continues to be one of the most cutting edge theatre companies in the region, and this year's presentation of The Wool Gatherer should bolster that reputation.

The Woolgatherer is directed by Karen Hamm and runs May 10 to 20 at Beaumont Studios, 316 W. Fifth Ave., Vancouver. Tickets are $20, with two-for-one Wednesdays, at the door.