New Westminster residents will be part of the fun when Stage 43 Theatrical Society kicks off its 2017/18 season.
The theatre company opens the season with the comedy A Bench in the Sun, which tells the story of a pair of longtime friends who live in a retirement home and spend their days on a bench in the garden bickering. When a once-famous actress moves in, and they learn that the home is about to be sold, the stage is set for the friends to take action.
New West resident Wayne Nolan appears as Burt, one of the friends in question, and Nancy Ebert is the actress Adrienne. They’re joined by Paul Clarke as Harold.
They’re directed by another New West resident, Stephen Torrence.
A Bench in the Sun is onstage at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam (next to the new Lafarge Park-Douglas SkyTrain station) from Thursday, Oct. 12 to Saturday, Oct. 21.
Shows are on Oct. 12, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m., Oct. 15 at 2 p.m., and Oct. 18 through 21 at 8 p.m.
See www.stage43.org.tickets or call 604-927-6555.
An added bonus for attending: Stage 43 is partnering with SHARE Family and Community Services. Partial proceeds from each ticket sold will be donated to SHARE’s Better At Home program, which helps seniors with day-to-day tasks so they can continue to live independently.
So you can help a good cause and enjoy a good night out. Doesn’t get much better than that.
ARTS AT ONE
Music lovers need look no farther than Douglas College to find a wonderful lineup of concerts – and the best part of it all is, they’re free.
The Arts at One concert series has returned for the fall, and audiences can enjoy free concerts every Thursday at 1 p.m. in the college’s Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre.
The fall lineup features a wide range of instrumental and vocal music.
On Sept. 28, you can enjoy Trio Café, with music by Holbrooke, Ewazen and Brahms featuring Jenny Essers on violin, Brian G’froerer on French Horn and Martha Brickman on piano.
Soprano Lambroula Pappas and pianist Matthew Ma team up for Sixty Minutes Around the World on Oct. 5, while Oct. 12 will feature Aram Bajakian’s Kef, with Armenian dance music combining traditional and Western influences – featuring Bajakian on guitars, Josh Zubot on violin and James Meger on bass.
The Vince Mai Quintet appears on Oct. 19, with Mai on trumpet and flugelhorn, Miles Black on piano, Miles Hill on acoustic bass, Daryl Jahnke on guitar and Dave Robbins on drums.
On Oct. 26, it’s Echoes from the East, featuring Sunny Matharu on table and Sharnjeet Singh Mand on sitar.
The theatre is on the fourth floor north at the college’s campus at 700 Royal Ave. See www.douglascollege.ca/artsevents for the full schedule.
THE ART OF VOLUNTEERING
The Arts Council of New Westminster is celebrating the talents of its volunteers in a new exhibition at The Gallery at Queen’s Park.
Contribution: ACNW Volunteer Exhibition runs Oct. 4 to 29, with an opening reception on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. It features the artwork of people who devote their time to helping at the gallery in a variety of volunteer capacities.
“The volunteers at ACNW are essential to the work we do to promote the arts, dedicating their time and energy to create more profound connections to the community of New Westminster,” said a write-up about the show. “Their contributions not only make the daily operations of the gallery possible, but their passion for the arts enriches the environment of the arts council, providing greater opportunities for collaboration within a hub for the arts in New West.”
The gallery is in Centennial Lodge, Queen’s Park. It’s open Wednesdays from 1 to 8 p.m. and Thursdays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. See www.artscouncilnewwest.org for details.
OPERA SEASON OPENS
New Westminster residents will be part of the spectacle when Vancouver Opera opens its 2017/18 season.
The season opens with Puccini’s Turandot, running Oct. 13 to 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
New Westminster singers Kevin Armstrong (tenor) and Jeanine Fynn (mezzo-soprano) are part of the chorus for the occasion, and Phillip Crewe is in the orchestra, on timpani.
Turandot stars American soprano Amber Wagner, Argentine tenor Marcelo Puente, and French-Canadian bass Alain Coulombe. The production has been created by the Quebecois director-designer duo of Renaud Doucet and André Barbe.
It’s on Friday, Oct. 13, Thursday, Oct. 19 and Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15.
See www.vancouveropera.ca for details and tickets.
Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
