Spring is officially here and everywhere you look, you can see the signs: cherry blossom trees, magnolia blooms, sunshine and shiny, happy Vancouverites! An eclectic collection of events this month, so whether you’re into the comedy, sports, museums, theatre, concerts or dance, there’s something for everyone – so get out there!
Sarah Tiana – The Comedy Mix
Event dates: March 30-April 1 | Various times
Sarah Tiana has been a “working” comedian/ex-waitress in Los Angeles since 2003. Originally from Calhoun, GA, Sarah’s act emphasizes the thrills of growing up after “The War of Northern Aggression” and trying to survive in the current battle of the sexes. Recently Sarah was seen as the red carpet host for the Roast of Justin Beiber, as well as, the roast-theme midnight episode. Currently, she can also be seen as a series regular on the Josh Wolf Show.
Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience – Rogers Arena
Event date: April 1
Featuring a full orchestra, choir and solo performances, the immersive experience will also use state-of-the-art audio visual technology to showcase footage from the show, as well as, all new visuals created just for the tour.
Refuge – Firehall Arts Centre
Event dates: March 18-April 1 | Various times
Refuge tells the emotionally riveting story of a former child soldier from Eritrea who seeks out his mother, a recent immigrant to Canada, and meet people who try to help him.
German Lopez – Presentation House Theatre
Event date: April 2 | Time: 8pm
Imagine the love child of a ukulele and a guitar and you have the small but resonant 5-string timple. Virtuoso timple player German Lopez hails all the way from the Canary Islands off the Southern Coast of Spain and is bringing his unique and modern take on timple music to venues all over the world.
The Music of Mozart and Bruckner – Orpheum Theatre
Event dates: April 1-3 | Time: 2pm and 8pm
Mozart’s sublime Violin Concerto No. 4 is performed by Henning Kraggerud, whose lyrical and seductive playing is praised by audiences and critics worldwide. On the other end of the scale, Bruckner’s majestic Symphony No. 7, powered by Wagner tubas and mighty, soaring themes, was that composer’s greatest triumph at the time he wrote this magnificent symphony.
Easter Brunch at Grouse Mountain – Grouse Mountain
Event date: April 6 | Time: 930am-2pm
Enjoy a buffet brunch featuring delicious options for all ages. There will also be face painting and an exciting Easter Egg Hunt led by the Easter Bunny.
Peppa Pig Live – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Event date: April 7 | Time: 2pm and 6pm
Valley Song – Pacific Theatre on Hemlock and 12th
Event dates: March 24-April 8 | Various times
Torn between the hope of the new South Africa and the familiarity of all he has known, Abraam “Buks” Jonkers tills land he will never own while his granddaughter dreams of the Johanesburg stage.
Dan Soder – The Comedy Mix
Event dates: April 6-8 | Various times
Featured on Comedy Central’s ‘Live at Gotham’ and was a standout at 2011 Montreal JFL Comedy Fest.
Zab Maboungou / Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata – Scotiabank Dance Centre
Event dates: April 6-8 | Time: 8pm
Montreal-based choreographer Zab Maboungou has earned an international reputation for pioneering a unique style which is deeply rooted in traditional African dances, but is imbued with a fiercely contemporary approach.
Compagnie Herve Koubi – Vancouver Playhouse
Event dates: April 7-8 | Time: 8pm
Twelve Algerian and Burkina Faso dancers, mostly coming from street dance and hip-hop, perform in this contemporary dance work that takes its name from an eponymous 2008 novel by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra.
Brian Wilson – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Event date: April 8 | Time: 8pm
American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for being the multi-tasking leader and co-founder of the Beach Boys.
Mantra Percussion – The Annex at 823 Seymour Street
Event date: April 8 | Time: 8pm
Committed to honouring the deep past and expanding the far-flung future of percussion music, Mantra brings to life works fro percussion by living composers. The ensemble returns to Vancouver with a program that includes three brand new pieces written specially for Mantra: Mantra Groove by Canadian composer Paul Dolden, Moment of Inertia by New York-base composer Tristan Perich, and A Great Number by Aaron Siegel.
The Refugee Hotel – Studio 58
Event dates: March 23-April 9 | Various times
Set in a run-down hotel in 1974, only months after the start of the torturous reign of Augusto Pinochet, eight Chilean refugees struggle, at times haplessly, at times profoundly, with the effects of seeing their homeland. More than a dark comedy about a group of refugees who arrive in Vancouver after Pinochet’s coup, this play is an attempt to give voice to refugee communities from all corners of the globe.
Redpatch – Presentation House
Event dates: March 29-April 9 | Various times
This historical drama focuses on a young Metis soldier from teh Nuu-chah-nulth nation of Vancouver Island who volunteers to fight for Canada in the First World War. Set in both Canada and the battlefields of France, Redpatch follows the experiences of this young soldier as he endures the horrors of trench warfare. This world premiere production will coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the historical Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Han Finckel Setzer Trio – Vancouver Playhouse
Event date: Apri 11 | Time: 8pm
Cellist David Finckel, violinist Philip Setzer, and pianist Wu Han make as fine a piano trio as the world knows. Given their resumes, this is no surprise: Finckel spent more than thirty years with the famed Emerson String Quartet; Setzer is a founding and continuing member of the Emerson Quartet; and Han has an outstanding career as an orchestral soloist and chamber player, as well as, a close artistic relationship with Finckel.
Snoop Dogg – Rogers Arena
Event date: April 14 | Time: 8pm
Room 2048 – Firehall Arts Centre
Event dates: April 11-15 | Various times
This multi-media dance theatre piece explores the socio-political realities of the Cantonese diaspora, sourcing themes of loss, nostalgia and desire that re-occur with selected works of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. From teh creators of NINEEIGHT.
Ivan Decker – The Comedy Mix
Event dates: April 13-15 | Various times
Winner of Vancouver’s 2011 Comedy Showdown 5, Ivan has appeared in ‘Just for Laughs’ in Montreal and has his own 1/2 hour special on CTV.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Event dates: April 11-16
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is the Tony Award winning Broadway musical from the creators of The Sound of Music and South Pacific that’s delighting audiences with its contemporary take on the classic tale. This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love – the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more – alongside some surprising new twists.
Van Dusen Garden Great A-Mazing Egg Hunt – Van Dusen Botanical Garden
Event dates: April 15-16 | Time: 10am-3pm
Take part in the 9th Annual A-Maze-ing Egg Hunt at Van Dusen Botanical Garden. Afterwards, enjoy some fun crafts and activities or check out the yummy food selections and explore the beauty in our 55 acre garden.
Vancouver Special: Ambivalent Pleasures – Vancouver Art Gallery
Event dates: December 3-April 17
Presenting works by forty artists, the exhibition encompasses a range of approaches and reinvigorated explorations of surrealism, abstraction, and conceptual practices.
Stanley Park Railway Easter Train – Stanley Park Miniature Train
Event dates: April 13-17 | Various times
Hop on the Stanley Park Train for an egg-citing Easter ride through Stanley Park. Other fun activities include mini golf, an Easter egg hunt, meeting the Easter Bunny, and planting a posy.
John Mayer – Rogers Arena
Event date: April 19 | Time: 730pm
Charlie Demers – The Comedy Mix
Event dates: April 20-22 | Various times
A regular guest on CBC’s The Debaters and This is That and author of the books, The PRescription Errors and Vancouver Special.
Lesley Telford – Scotiabank Dance Centre
Event dates: April 20-22 | Time: 8pm
Lesley Telford’s choreography brings together a technically rigorous vocabulary and a though-provoking approach, refined by her years dancing with Nederlands Dans Theatre and creating for companies at home and abroad, most recently Ballet BC.
Songs and Serenades – Orpheum Theatre
Event date: April 22 | Time: 8pm
Multi-talented Canadian artist audience favourite James Ehnes conducts and performs on the violin and viola, in a beautiful, lyrical program that kicks off the 2016 Spring Festival.
Angels in America – Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
Event dates: March 23-April 23 | Various times
Hailed as one of the most important works of 20th century theatre, Angels in America is a timeless tale of companionship and abandonment that takes place when the personal becomes political. Set in New York City at the height of the Reagan era, Tony Kushner’s modern masterpiece contrasts the lives of five individuals struggling with identity issues alongside the crippling effects of stereotypes and an incurable diagnosis. Through spectacular staging, their stories intersect and crescendo in an exhilarating conclusion that will leave you breathless.
Murrah Perahia – Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Event date: April 23 | Time: 3pm
Murray Perahia’s place among the great pianists of our time is not disputed. “Poetic and tender” and “scrupulous musicianship and elegance” perfectly describe his particular kind of magic.
Vancouver Sun Run – Downtown Vancouver
Event date: April 23
Canada’s largest 10K road race since its inception in 1985.
Henry V – Orpheum Theatre
Event date: April 24 | Time: 8pm
William Walton’s rich, powerful and emotional score Henry V has become as beloved on the concert stage as it was in Olivier’s movie; hear it in all its glory with the VSO.
The Planets – Orpheum Theatre
Event date: April 24 | Time: 8pm
James Ehnes performs Walton’s wonderful Viola Concerto. In the second half, take a voyage thorugh the solar system through Holst’s fantastic The Planet, enhanced by spectacular updated video footage and imagery from NASA missions shown on the big screen as the orchestra performs this epic work.
Goh Ballet – Scotiabank Dance Theatre
Event date: April 27 | Time: 12pm
The elegance and precision of ballet comes to life with an exhilarating performance by the award-winning dancers of the Goh Ballet Youth Company and students from the Goh Ballet Academy. The dancers will perform a rich selection of ballets rning from the classical repertoire to modern works by the choreographers of today.
Henry V – Orpheum Theatre
Event date: April 29 | Time: 8pm
William Walton’s rich, powerful and emotional score Henry V has become as beloved on the concert stage as it was in Olivier’s movie; hear it in all its glory with the VSO.
Dino Archie – The Comedy Mix
Event dates: April 27-29 | Various times
Winner of the 36th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition. Credits include Comedy Centra’s Adam Devine’s House Party Season 3 and Brothers in Law TV pilot.
Enigma – Orpheum Theatre
Event date: April 30 | Time: 7pm
Join Bramwell Tovey and the VSO for a very special presentation of Elgar’s Enigma Variations: Maestro Tovey will deconstruct and explain this fascinating work with his trademark insight and wit, and then the orchestra will play the full piece, with all its secretes freshly revealed! In the first half, Maestro Tovey joins Principals from the orchestra to perform Elgar’s Piano Quintet.
Otello – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Event dates: April 28-30 | Various times
Based on Shakespeare’s tale of love, jealousy and betrayal. Considered Italian Opera’s greatest tragedy.
Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty – Granville Island Stage
Event dates: April 6-May 6 | Various times
From the world-renowned creative team behind the Mom’s the Word series comes a new chapter in their stories of family and fracas. Their kids are grown, their marriages have “evolved,” and their bodies are backfiring. Life doesn’t get any prettier, but it never strays far from ludicrous or poignant as the moms continue to mine their personal history for every embarrassing detail. Filled with insights, secrets, and ribald humour, this brand-new show from the moms you love is both hysterical and deeply touching.
Dead Man Walking – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Event dates: April 24-May 7 | Various times
A tale of moral complexity and emotional depth. A standout of contemporary opera.
Western World – Improv Centre
Event dates: April 6-May 13 | Time: 730pm
An improvised parody inspired by the popular TV series Westworld. Each night features a totally new ‘episode’ under the watchful eye and guiding mind of Robert (sometimes Roberta) Ford. Throughout the show, guests help craft the storyline.
The Piano Teacher – Goldcorp Stage at BMO Theatre Centre
Event dates: April 20-May 14 | Various times
When Erin, a classical pianist, experiences the loss of the life she knew, she also finds herself dealing with the departure of her own musical expression. Navigating her way through this change, she meets an unconventional piano teacher who gives her new hope for the future.
The Marriage of Figaro – Vancouver Playhouse
Event dates: April 30-May 17 | Various times
Mistaken identities, lecherous masters and a couple who just wants to get married. As hilarious now as it was in Mozart’s time.
Circle Game – Firehall Arts Centre
Event dates: April 29-May 20 | Various times
The enduring music of Joni Mitchell is re-imagined in this energetic musical experience. Conceived and directed by Vancouver’s theatrical powerhouses (and spouses) Andrew Cohen and Anna Kuman, Circle Game reintroduces Mitchell’s iconic songs like “Big Yellow Taxi”, “River”, “California”, and “A Case of You” through the eyes and ears of a new generation.
The Cultch – Various theatres
Event dates: October 4-June 3 | Varius times
Comic relief, international hits, daring drama, family fun, movement, and mash ups!
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