Fiddler on the Roof

Gateway Theatre

Dec 12-31, 2012

Fiddler on the Roof is known as a 1964 hit Jewish Broadway musical that won 9 Tony Awards, while the 1971 film adaptation wan 2 Oscars and 3 Golden Globe Awards.   I grew up playing the songs on my accordion, because my mother used to listen to the movie soundtrack while I grew up in the 1970’s.  “Sunrise Sunset” and “If I Was a Rich Man” are great songs to play on the accordion, as well as “My Favorite Things” and “Edelweiss” from the musical The Sound of Music.  But instead of thinking that this musical was about Jewish people, I found myself thinking of the similarities to the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “The Flower Drum Song” which was about Chinese-Americans dealing with a clash between generations in San Francisco, which had recently been performed in Vancouver and Richmond by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.  Fiddler on the Roof deals with universal themes of family, love, generational divide, while addressing racial discrimination and anti-semitism.

David Adams is brilliant as Tevye, the family patriarch.  He has a full rich voice and presents a warm humane character that struggles between his own ambitions singing “If I Were A Rich Man”, as well as the balance of “Tradition” with his wife Golde (Patti Allan) and letting their daughters be happy, and be empowered to make their own decisions about love and life, or not.  It is a time of social and political changes in Russia, and there are hints at the changing times and what this will mean to the small Jewish village.   A teacher named Perchik (Gaelan Beatty) comes to town, telling the villagers about what is happening in other cities.  Tevye takes a liking to the young man and barters with him to help educate his children.  This sets the wheels in motion for the challenges to the family in this musical.  Perchik bring knowledge of the outside world to the village, and falls in love with the oldest of Tevye’s daughters Yenta (Barbara Pollard).

The stage is simple, but works well.  The raised platform with doors, acting as either a village yard or the inside of a restaurant or house.  The musicians in the live pit orchestra are wonderful, led by music director Allen Stiles.  I especially the clarinetist, as it squeaked and bent the musical notes so I could really imagine a Jewish klezmer band coming alive with each song.  During the intermission, I was surprised to learn that my violinist friend Mark Ferris was playing in the pit orchestra, so I sent him a text about the clarinetist, who replied “Thanks” to my compliment.  The Gateway Theatre always employs great local musicians for their productions and the feedback is always genuine when I hear how much they are enjoying themselves.

The direction and cast are good.  There is strong acting from all the characters, but especially from Tevye’s three daughters and his wife.  Unfortunately, not all the actors have strong singing voices, so the use of microphones changes the ambiance levels and can be a distraction.  The action and the dialogue flows smoothly, and I found myself smiling a lot.  It was a real pleasure to see the dancing in the musical.  I don’t know how accurately traditional it was but it felt authentic.  And the dancing at the wedding of Perchik and Yenta is one of the philosophical turning points in the play.  The choreography is by Dawn Ewen, who is originally from Scotland.

While I thought that this was a great show for Vancouver because there is a strong Jewish community, it is even more important for other ethnic groups like Richmond’s large Chinese population, to see the show and learn more about the commonalities we all face.  And so I found myself thinking how the musical could be performed with Asian actors, and still be very relevant in almost any culture.  Ahh… but there are Asians in the cast, and Sharon Ong Crandall is one of them, playing multiple roles – but most brilliant in her role as Fruma-Sarah’s ghost.  It is a pivotal scene in the play. Gateway has always been supportive of colour blind casting for their supporting roles and chorus, and I absolutely remember being thrilled to see their production of “Brigadoon” a few years ago.  (Of course, I could imagine myself in the lead role – or at least wish I could be…)

I enjoyed Fiddler on the Roof, and was personally surprised to learn how much Jewish culture I have been recently learning, especially since I attended a friend’s Jewish wedding 2 years ago, and my partner got to hold one of the poles of the happa – a suspended cloth canopy held up over the bridal couple during the ceremony.  Having this personal experience, as well as knowing that I have so many friends of Jewish ancestry, whose own daughters are marrying into different cultures, just made this musical all the more real and poignant for me.

Hi everybody – You can be the first to order a table…
for the 2013 Gung HAGGIS Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year.

~ change of ticket sales:
is now through Ricepaper Magazine – We thank Firehall Arts Centre for helping us with ticket sales for the past few years, but are now trying to do it in-house at Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop / Ricepaper Magazine.  Please check out Firehall Arts Centre for the great multicultural programming that they do.

~ new theme for 2013:
celebrating Sir James Douglas, the father of BC and first governor in 1858.
~new incentive to buy tickets early:
We are going to put a bottle of wine on the tables that are ordered by January 1st
http://ricepapermagazine.ca/gung-haggis

Gung HAGGIS Fat Choy

Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner

Sunday January 27, 2013

Celebrating BC Scottish and Chinese pioneer culture, history – in music, poetry and culinary fusion

Photo by Deb Martin

Reception: 5:00 pm
Dinner: 6:00 pm – 9:15 pm
Floata Seafood Restaurant (#400 – 180 Keefer St, Chinatown Vancouver)

Photo by Deb Martin

Gilbert and Sullivan is not often performed by serious opera companies.  And to me, it often represents Victorian colonial values, which I have tried to rebel against in the quest for post-modern multicultural Canada.  But Pirates of Penzance was also written as social satire, critiquing the values of the day.  And with more multicultural inclusion of global pirates such as Chow Yun Fat in the Pirates of Penzance: End of the World movie,  I think I can allow myself a little more enjoyment.

This version of Pirates of Penzance is a lot of fun!  The cast and the orchestra are having fun.  We know this because the pirate king pointed his pistol at conductor Jonathan  Darlington, who also during the final applause sported a pirate hat.  And the audience was having fun… there was lots of laughter from the audience at appropriate moments, as they followed the actors and staging.

If you remotely like Gilbert and Sullivan – you will love this production.  If you have never before experienced G & S, then you will like this production.  If you were not raised in a country of the British commonwealth, then you will learn about the culture and history of the realm, and understand better about British humour, the evolution of British Music hall tradition and Broadway musicals, and maybe why the sun set on the British empire.  The program notes are by my former English teacher from Capilano College Graham Forst, who now teachers literature, philosphy and opera history at both UBC and SFU, and just happens to be married to opera star mezzo-soprano Judith Forst, who plays “Ruth” in this production.  He dares the audience to not leave the theatre humming some of the songs for this light opera.

Most G & S productions I have seen are usually by small or amateur opera/theatre companies.  So to have Vancouver Opera give Pirates a lavish treatment on the huge stage is a wonderful treat.  But then to ask Vancouver’s celebrity and theatrical Shakespearean star actor Christopher Gaze to pay Major General Stanley, and ask him to direct – is an opportunity for both the audience and Gaze, who said he “jumped at the chance.

– More to come….

Montreal film maker Karen Cho wins the World Documentary Award at the 2012 Whistler Film Festival. photo courtesy of Craig Takeuchi

Karen Cho’s new movie about Feminism, “Status Quo?” won the top documentary prize at Whistler Film Festival on December 2nd.

I initially met Karen probably around 2004 when she brought Shadow of Gold Mountain (2004) to Vancouver.  It is an extremely moving documentary about the Chinese Head Tax Survivors and descendants,and questioned how one side of the her family (white) could be given free land to come to Canada, while the other side of the family (Chinese) would be charged a racist head tax and denied citizenship.  It also features interviews with my friends: activist Sid Tan, WW2 Veteran Gim Wong; and recently deceased Charlie Quon – the first person to receive an ex-gratia Head Tax Redress payment after the Canadian government apologized in 2006.

I went to see Bruce Springsteen in Vancouver on Monday night, Nov 26.   It was a GREAT CONCERT!!!  We couldn’t get tix when they first went on sale… but some seats were released and I got a single seat – 7th row – Sec 112 – directly across from the stage.  I had been checking ticket prices, wondering about going, fretting about my budget, and resolving the situation by arguing to myself that I was already attending the Paul McCartney concert.  And since I had already since Springsteen 4 times, the toss-up choice was McCartney tickets… but in my heart, I still wanted to go.

I was at the McCartney concert the night before, and as fantastic as Sir Paul and his songs were… it was controlled and planned.  But Springsteen takes it to a whole other level, unsurpassed in sheer energy and spontaneity.  At a Springsteen concert, anything can happen… and surprises usually do. Springsteen picks audience requests out from the signs that people hold up. He walks into the audience… he has a young girl sing the chorus to “Waiting on a Sunny Day”… he brings an 80 year old woman to dance along with him to “Dancing in the Dark”… and during the encore songs, he pulls a fan dressed as Santa Claus up on stage to sing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Soozie Tyrell on violin, Charlie Giordano on accordion, Max Weinberg on drums, Springsteen, and Nils Lofgren on banjo. – photo T.Wong

I love the picture above because it demonstrates the acoustic side of Springsteen’s music.  Violin, accordion and banjo are more associated with blue-grass and country music.  But that is also at the heart of Springsteen’s roots.  Listen to the Dylanesque first album of Greetings from Asbury Park, the starkness of Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad, and especially the hootenanny style of the Seeger Sessions played live.  Springsteen opened with Shackled and Drawn from his latest Wrecking Ball album which has a strong Celtic influence.  It is not unlike the Celtic tunes we play in the Black Bear Rebels ceilidh ensemble.  Death to My Hometown leads with a tin whistle and a marching beat, while Land of Hope and Dreams has a more gospel feel reminiscent of the classic tunes This Train is Bound for Glory and People Get Ready.

I went with my bagpiper friends Allan and Trish who sat up on the top level.  They may have been Springsteen concert virgins, but they are stout musicians and have both seen and been in lots of performances.  They are big David Bowie fans, and we both saw him on his ’83 concerts in Vancouver – both of them!  It was only about 2 months ago we went to see The Chieftains together with some other musician friends.  This summer I loaned Allan a lot of my Springsteen concert cds, hoping to bring him up to speed.  We sang along to Thunder Road and Sandy on the way home in my car.

This was the 5th time I had seen Springsteen, and it was fresh and exciting! The E-Street band lives up to the hype – as Springsteen himself introduces the “‘The heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, Viagra-taking, love-making – Le-gen-dary E – Street – Band!” Incredible musicianship, that can play almost any style of music: soul, rock & roll, rockabilly, country, gospel and new wave punk (who do you think wrote the big Patti Smyth hit “Because the Night?

I remember back in high school Physics class, when my friends Mike and Chris asked me to join them for the Springsteen concert in June 78.  But I didn’t know his music then.  My friends and I listened to Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Crosby Stills & Nash, John Denver, Elton John and Earth Wind & Fire.  But it was in 1980 that I was forced to discover Springsteen’s music during my summer education tour of Taiwan.  One of my room mates, Dennis was from California, and a huge Springsteen fan – he taught us the lyrics to Born to Run and Thunder Road.  We actually formed a music group with our roomies.  Dennis on harmonica, Lindsay on washboard, Calvin on keyboard, sometimes me on keyboard or just singing along.

Here are my pictures from the Springsteen concert on my Flickr photo account

Springsteen 2012

Video: Bruce Springsteen in action in Vancouver | Vancouver Sun

My friend David HT Wong, launched his 1st book Escape to Gold Mountain on Sunday afternoon November 18th at the Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver BC.

It is the first ever graphic novel to tell the story of the Chinese immigration to North America.  David gave many thanks to his publisher and editors at Arsenal Pulp Press, as he had just returned from a week-long book tour in California.

For 30 minutes, David Wong explained the process of how he created his graphic novel.

Would he do it again?  David told the audience that if you had asked him that question four months ago, he would have said “Never again.” But now after speaking to many audiences, and seeing the delight in people’s faces, and receiving their encouraging feedback, he says… “maybe.”

Has it been successful?  The first printing of the Escape to Gold Mountain has already been sold out.  The book is now in its second printing and is ranked #1 for Asian North American literature.

David knows his subject.  He has been active in the community and promoting Chinese Canadian history for many years now.  I have known him when he was a board member for Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society in 2002, then later as a founding director for Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC.   He has been a blogger at the Ugly Chinese Canadian and author of the Generasian website.

Actor/playwright David Yip holds a large fan upon which images are projected for his project “Gold Mountain.”-  photo courtesy of Van East Cultural Centre.

Gold Mountain will feature exciting multi-media technology in an interesting collaboration of  Montreal’s Les Deux Mondes and Liverpool’s unitytheatre.

The media promo states that “David Yee is trying to piece together the broken jigsaw of his father’s life. In an epic journey from a small village in China, to war-torn Liverpool, through the horrors of the Atlantic convoys, follow Yee Lui’s story of friendship, addiction, and adversity. This stunning production features breath-taking imagery, engaging film, moving music, and extraordinary soundscapes. ”

Gold Mountain would be of interest to any immigrant group to any country, and the aspect of Chinese in Liverpool is an interesting twist, similar to the diversity of multiculturalism in Canada.  Stories of the Chinese diaspora have much in common to the stories of the Italian, Irish, Indian and the Jewish diaspora to Canada, as well as the recent immigrants from Iran, Taiwan and Tibet.

It is the “Telling of Our Stories” that made “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” or “Bend It Like Beckham” stories that related to all immigrants. But what makes Gold Mountain more interesting is the multi-media angle of a global story.  It’s a new perspective of story telling with awesome use of modern technology.

Canada is a country of immigrants, and so Gold Mountain will relate to all Canadians, wherever they came from.  But maybe for this story, BCers and Vancouverites are especially interested because BC is seen as the Gold Mountain of Canada, as thousands of Chinese migrant workers came to Canada first seeking gold in 1851, then building the railway in the Fraser Canyon, and working in the coal mines of Vancouver Island.

http://www.thecultch.com/content/view/363/527/

Here is the link to the Georgia Straight article by Alex Varty:

http://www.straight.com/article-812491/vancouver/painful-history-paved-gold


Around the web:
Les Deux Mondes official website
unitytheatre’s official website

(Left to right) Author Lawrence Hill, Miranda Hill (creator of Project Bookmark), Wayson Choy, Anna Ling Kaye (president of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop) and her husband Alex gathered for photos before the dinner. photo courtesy of Charlie Smith/Georgia Straight.

The Georgia Straight wrote up both a preview story and posted pictures of the event.

http://www.straight.com/article-811146/vancouver/community-honours-jade-peony-author-wayson-choy-chinese-banquet

A total of 15 speakers graced the stage to share intimate stories of growing up as childhood friends of Wayson such as Garson, to fellow students during his time as the first Asian-Canadian in the UBC Creative Writing MA program.  As well, industry representatives and community leaders also spoke including author/editor/community organizer Jim Wong-Chu, Vancouver Public Library Chief Librarian Sandra Singh, and BC Bookworld publisher and author Alan Twigg.  The evening was co-hosted by CBC Radio One broadcaster Sheryl Mackay who also hosts the CBC Radio One Bookclub, and Todd Wong creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, as well as president of Historic Joy Kogawa House and vice-president of Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop – some of the events’ presenting organizations.

Sid Tan of W2 Media filmed much of the evening along with sound technician Elwin Xie.  Both have worked with event organizers Jim Wong-Chu and Todd Wong for many . It was the conclusion of the Wayson Choy Special Tribute Evening

1. 10:37

   W2TV: Wayson Choy – Bookmark Canada Community Dinner

   Wayson Choy gave this talk in Saltwater City Vancouver BC, Canada on Sunday, October 14, 2012. It was the conclusion of the Wayson Choy Special …