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Whether it draws you to the lush confines of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or out under the stars at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl, the lure of Vancouver’s theatre scene will be powerful in the coming months.
Hamilton (Queen Elizabeth Theatre to June 19) Broadway Across Canada presents performances of the Tony-winning musical that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway to tell the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
S’effondrent les vidéoclubs (Studio 16 to June 4) Théâtre la Seizième presents André Gélineau’s quirky tragicomedy set in a doomedto-disappear video club in the village of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton, where four marginal and whimsical characters intersect. Directed by Gilles Poulin-Denis.
rEvolver Festival (the Cultch Historic Theatre to June 5) Upintheair Theatre’s 12-day festival focuses on presenting new works— critical, comedic, and quirky—by emerging to early mid-career artists.
The Mountaintop (Pacific Theatre to June 11) Katori Hall’s intimate fantasia of the final night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life. Directed by Omari Newton and starring Kwesi Ameyaw and Shayna Jones.
New Societies (Progress Lab 1422, June 1 to 5) Rumble Theatre presents a work created by
Re:Current Theatre and directed by Brian Postalian in which ideal societies are created in a megagame of collaboration, competition, and potential utopia. Performers include Sena Cagla, Howard Dai, Alexa Fraser, Evan Medd, Hannah Meyers, Pascal Reiners, Amanda Sum, Montserrat Videla, and Meagan Woods.
Terminus (Pal Studio Theatre, June 1 to 12) Mark O’Rowe’s blackly comic vision of Dublin in which three lonely souls are catapulted into a fantastical world of singing serial killers, avenging angels, and lovesick demons.
This Is the Story of the Child Ruled by Fear
(KW Studio, June 2 to 4) Pi Theatre presents writer-performer David Gagnon Walker’s poetic fable about how to live with the slowly unfolding emergencies of our world.
Kill the Ripper (Presentation House Theatre, June 2 to 4; Anvil Centre, June 16 to 20; Rio Theatre, July 7 to 9 and 14 to 16) Geekenders and Affair of Honor present the world premiere of Canadian playwright Fairlith Harvey’s darkly comic revengefantasy about three working women in Whitechapel, London, who must protect themselves during Jack the Ripper’s infamous 1888 murder spree.
Exit Laughing (Hendry Hall Theatre, June 3 to 18) North Vancouver Community Players present Paul Elliott’s comedy about three longtime friends who gather to mourn the loss of a beloved friend, one of their bridge partners for more than 30 years.
How the West Was One (Vancity Culture Lab, June 7 to 11) Leaping Thespians presents an original queer western comedy about a saloon owner who plans a blackjack game to swindle enough money to keep her town and dreams alive. Warning: adult content, gunfire sound effects.
Bard on the Beach (Vanier Park, June 8 to September 24) The annual outdoor Shakespeare festival features performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Scott Bellis (June 8 to September 24, BMO Mainstage); Harlem Duet, directed by Cherissa Richards (June 15 to July 17, Howard Family Stage); and Romeo and Juliet, directed by Anita Rochon (August 3 to September 24, Howard Family Stage).
Driving Me Crazy (Presentation House Theatre, June 8 to 19) The Serendipity Theatre Collective, in association with the PHT Creative HUB, presents Linda A. Carson and Suzanne Ristic’s multigenerational comedy about a grandmother fighting to keep her driver’s license, her independence, and her voice in society. Directed by Roy Surette.
Kinky Boots (Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, June 9 to July 31) The Arts Club Theatre Company presents the Tony Award– winning musical based on the Miramax motion picture of the same name. Starring Stewart Adam McKensy and Sayer Roberts and directed by Barbara Tomasic, Kinky Boots tells a story of compassion and acceptance, in which a man struggling to save his shoe factory teams up with a drag queen.
Morag, You’re a Long Time Deid (Russian Hall June 9 to 19) A collaboration between Scottish-Canadian creator/performer Claire Love Wilson and Austrian director Peter Lorenz, the experimental musical Morag, You’re a Long TIme Deid traces a journey of queer discovery through the remixing of traditional Scottish music. It’s presented in association with Touchstone Theatre, with additional support from frank theatre company.
Marjorie Prime/Pass Over (Waterfront Theatre, June 15 to July 1 [Marjorie Prime]; June 16 to July 2, [Pass Over] ) Ensemble Theatre Company presents two dramas— one a science-fiction exploration of memory and technology, the other a radical rewriting of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot—running in repertory.
We Will Rock You/Something Rotten! (Malkin Bowl, July 2 to August 27) Theatre Under the Stars presents We Will Rock You, featuring more than 20 hits from the legendary rock band Queen’s songbook, including songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Are the Champions’”. It will run in repertory with the musical comedy Something Rotten!, set in an Elizabethan England, where William Shakespeare is a Renaissance rock star and his playwright siblings are stuck in his shadow.