High society wedding becomes a joke
Many Hats Theatre Company in Penticton are at it again and this time with a screwball comedy literally named “Screwball Comedy.”
With opening night tomorrow, this zany story is set in 1938 and is about the competition between two newspaper journalists who are pitted against each other to write the better story covering a highfalutin society wedding. Who does it best, gets to keep their job. It’s full of snappy period dialogue, outrageous characters and humour that packs a punch.
Written by prolific Canadian playwright Norm Foster, starring Shannon French, Vince Galea, Jason Lane, and Kim Palmer, and directed by Jane Pilkey, this show runs Thursdays to Saturdays until March 5. For more information and ticket links visit manyhatstheatre.com.
Tickets are $25 each and shows are held at the Cannery Stage at the Cannery Trade Centre, 306-1475 Fairview Rd., Penticton. Curtains up at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees beginning at 2 p.m.
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Luca Fogale is live at Creekside Theatre, Bottom Wood Lake Road, in Lake Country tomorrow evening, Thursday, Feb. 9. Fogale is a Juno nominated songwriter with vocal sensibilities that seem to haunt my inner core. Imagine what a seaside walk in a cable knit sweater and cup of sweet tea feels like, and that is the sense I get listening to him. Its written his influences are Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan but I hear Chris Martin of Coldplay or JP Saxe (“If the World Was Ending” with Julia Michaels) or even a hint of the melancholy of Shawn Mendes. Tickets are $35 through ticketseller.ca/tickets/event /luca-fogale or call the box-office at 250-549-7469.
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Back in Kelowna and at the Mary Irwin Theatre, inside Rotary Centre for the Arts on Cawston Ave – it’s The Pony Cabaret returning for its 7th year. This rainbow injected evening of drag storytelling, comedy and music is an annual fundraiser for Living Positive Resource Centre and will feature LGBTQ+ performers to include Ivan Coyote, Rose Butch, Ella Lamoureux, Mother Girth, Tanya Lipscomb, and your wonderful hosts Miss Cookie LaWhore and Erin Scott.
Tickets range from $10 to $40 as the price is a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. Please note this show is 18+ and is general seating curtains up at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com.
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I find when someone is a true craftsman of musical talent in any genre, the beauty shines through and releases tears of joy. But, when I hear a young prodigious talent, something ignites inside of me, and I am rejuvenated by the sheer genius of a true God given gift.
This weekend the Okanagan has the privilege of hearing pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko – fresh off wins at five international piano competitions, this talented young musician who just completed his freshman year at the Juilliard School in New York is making his first appearance with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra since he performed in 2019 on their CD, Canadian Soundscapes.
At 22 years of age, he is already an experienced recitalist. Izik-Dzurko was chosen by the Vancouver Recital Society to record a solo program for the premiere episode of “Virtually VRS” in September 2020 and has appeared in venues to include the Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid.
His October 2022 debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall drew a rave review from the New York Concert Review: “…one of the most refined tonal palettes I have ever heard, combined with a polished close-to-the-keys technique, and a certain basic humility in the service of the music.”
You have three chances to hear OSO”S series Misical Giants featuring Izik-Dzurko and the Okanagan Symphony Youth Orchestra. The first will be Friday, Feb. 10 at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water St. at 7:30 p.m. There will also be an open dress rehearsal for the public to attend that afternoon at 1 p.m. Please consider making at least a $10 donation upon arrival to the rehearsal.
The symphony then travels to Penticton to perform at Cleland Community Theatre, 325 Power St. on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday evening concert in Vernon is being held at Trinity United Church at 3300 Alexis Park Dr., Vernon at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets range from $34.60-$67.10. This is one for the whole family to get together and enjoy. For links to purchase tickets visit the OSO website at: okanagansymphony.com
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Tonight is opening night for Kelowna Actors Theatre “9 to 5,” the musical – a fun comedy based on the film of the same name that starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. Parton, who wrote the original hit title song 9 to 5, won a Oscar nomination and four Grammy Award nominations, along with her new Tony and Grammy nominated score she wrote for this musical theatre production.
This crowd-pleasing romp of getting “one over on your boss” features local top-notch talent on the stage and just as much talent behind the scenes, and directed by Randy Leslie who has an eye for finetuning a show to create a spectacular show, along with music director Spencer Bach, choreographer Gracelynn Sali, assistant director Angela Quinn, set/projection design Nathan Flavel, sound design/operation Jordan Leboe, set decor Stacey Baker and production Manager Jordan Donatelli.
I look forward to reviewing this one for next weeks column. Dinner theatre or row seating available by calling the box office at 250-862-2867 or on their website: kelownaactorsstudio .com. Kelowna Actors Studio is located at 1379 Ellis St., Kelowna.
The show runs Wednesday through Sunday until Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. or the Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.