Spellbinding play about cancer
Theatre Kelowna Society has opened Toolbox Theatre inside the Rotary Centre for the Arts, and is presenting the play, Wit.
Written by Margaret Edson and directed by Norene Morrow, Wit begins Thursday and runs two consecutive weekends until May 21 with two Sunday matinees on May 15 and 22.
The play is about a highly intelligent female professor of metaphysical poetry, Dr. Vivian
Bearing, who has devoted herself to the holy sonnets of John Donne and now is diagnosed with stagefour terminal ovarian cancer.
Sounds like fun, hey? A real sales pitch to get your tickets while they last!
Yet, I sat through two hours without an intermission in awe as this keenly paced production gripped my attention. The play does not attempt to present the funny side of cancer — there isn’t one — but Janet Anderson’s superlative performance as Vivian rides a script able to present her experience with the same intellectual rigour she might apply to a sonnet.
The story opens with a “Hi, how are you feeling today?” From there, the audience watches Vivian flash back to her time tethered to a chemo drip feeling like a lab rat as doctors and medical students study her.
There is a cast full of wonderful supporting performances, particularly by Kim Fournier, who plays Prof. E.M. Ashford, a formidable grande dame of textual criticism who first taught Vivian to perceive a universe of meaning through simple comma placement. This witty observation weaves throughout the play and is tied like a silk bow at the end. Laura Benty plays Nurse Susie with a natural flair of authority and gentleness just as one wishes their nurse to be.
Don Plant is Dr. Harvey Kelekian, stern and eager to convince an intellectual equal to accept extremely painful and very high doses of chemotherapy. James Long is Dr. Jason Posner, a nervous man with no bedside manner who is passionate about the study of cancer cells, but wishes his research didn’t have to be human. This play is about knowledge, ignorance, humanity, and love. Bring tissues.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through theatrekelownasociety.org/wit. There are only 50 seats inside the theatre.
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Tonight at the Vernon Public Art Gallery, Chamber Music Kelowna is to present a concert for five strings: violin, two violas, and two cellos beginning at 7 p.m. presented in a unique audio-visual concert experience with music by Bach, Boccherini, Francaix and Handel-Halvorsen. Admission is by donation. Visit vernonpublicartgallery.com.
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Tomorrow, Crown & Thieves Winery is throwing a prohibition party inside their basement speakeasy at 3887C Brown Rd. in West Kelowna, and on stage is yours truly.
My Anna Jacyszyn Trio is performing Gatsby-styled jazz. Dress up or don’t, but you will enjoy the ambience happening when you show up. Show is from 7-9 p.m. Purchase tickets through crownthieves.com.
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Okanagan Symphony Orchestra is bringing its season to a close with Back To Beethoven this weekend at Kelowna Community Theatre on Friday, Penticton’s Cleland Theatre on Saturday, and at Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre on Sunday.
This concert experience is an all-Beethoven program, featuring violinist Kerson Leong, who is arguably one of Canada’s greatest violinists at just 25 years old. Leong started playing at age four, and from 2005-09, he was awarded grand prizes at the Canadian Music Competition, each time receiving the highest score of any instrument or age category.
Since then, his travels and music appointments have put him in front of royalty and international audiences.
Tickets and livestream access (for Friday’s performance) are available through okanagansymphony.com.
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This weekend, Spectrum Singers are back on stage Saturday and Sunday at Westside Alliance Church, 2011 Daimler Dr.
This mixed voice adult choir is 32 members strong and is led by Kim Kleineberg, who started the choir 14 years ago and has led them to performances at Carnegie Hall in 2017.
“Through Love to Light” promises to reflect their love for music and bring that love to their audiences. Tickets are $15$25 at Mosaic Books or the UPS store in West Kelowna.
The choir will also include Ursula Pidgeon on piano, Ken Pendleton on percussion and Stephan Bienz on the bass, with soprano soloist Alexa Hildebrandt.
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Saturday, from noon to 7 p.m., Penticton is hosting the Okanagan Fest of Ale at Okanagan Lake Park, 84 Lakeshore Dr.
This one-day only craft beer festival celebrates a diverse array of quality crafted beverages while promoting the growing world of quality brewery products, local tourism and local charitable organizations. Since its inception in 1996, over $700,000 in net proceeds have been gifted back to qualifying registered charities. See: festofale.ca.
————— Menopause: The Musical is to be performed at Kelowna Community Theatre on May 17 featuring an all-star cast.
Set in a department store, four women meet by chance while shopping for a black lace bra. After noticing unmistakable similarities with one another, the cast jokes about their woeful hot flashes, mood swings, wrinkles, weight gain, memory loss, too much sex, not enough sex and more.
These women form a sisterhood and a unique bond with the audience as they rejoice in celebrating that Menopause is not “The Silent Passage” any more. Tickets are $55-65 (plus fees) at Prospera Place, by phone at 250-762-5050, or online at selectyourtickets.com. Showtime is at 7:30 p.m.