Author Archives: Todd

REVIEW: Cambodian Rock Band hits high notes!

I’ve been telling friends and colleagues to see Cambodian Rock Band, a musical production at the Arts Club’s Stanley Theatre. Why? It’s funny and dark and addresses issues that are very much alive today with repressed family stories, refugees from civil wars, and overcoming trauma. And… the music is like going to see a great rock concert, part cover tunes, and original songs by the Cambodian-American band Dengue Fever, which pays tribute to the 1960-70’s Cambodian rock styles of some of the artists that disappeared during the Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge regime.

Written by American playwright Lauren Yee, the scenes shift backward and forward in time to tell the story of how a father shares his trauma of survivorship of the Pol Pot regime genocide in Cambodia with his American-raised daughter. Set in 2008, Chum returned to Cambodia to persuade his daughter, Neary, to return home and to law school in the USA. But she is now working for an NGO and gathering evidence to prosecute a notorious Khmer Rouge Prison leader, Duch, for crimes against humanity.

It seems simple enough, right? But this show opens with cast members playing fictional Cambodian rock band The Cyclos, blending traditional Cambodian chants with California-style psychedelic surf rock. This sets the stage for recognizing the mid-70s thriving pop-rock music scene in Phnom Penh. Then, the narrator character comes out to speak to the audience with his nonchalant, quirky “I know more than you know” attitude.

Chum is a Cambodian-American immigrant who came to America for a new life after being in refugee camps. He wants the best for his daughter and tries to encourage her to follow her plans for law school. But Neary has just discovered that at Prison S21, which the Vietnamese Army liberated in 1979, only to find seven surviving prisoners, there had been an 8th survivor, and won’t be dissuaded. She challenges her father, “Why haven’t you told me any of this? I feel like a stupid American,” about his time and family in Cambodia.

His reply, “Better a stupid American, than a sad Cambodian.”

Raugi Yu plays Chum, who makes self-deprecating jokes to hide his real emotions. His daughter runs away after their argument, and this father-daughter conflict sets the stage for the next scenes, where he tries to reach out to her via phone messages as he shares his story as an act of reconciliation. He is an accomplished actor who can tell his Dad jokes while hinting at the underlying trauma and tragedies that are revealed later in the play.

The scene changes back to 1975, and a group of musician friends are recording their first album. Kimberly-Ann Troung, who plays Neary, also plays Sothea, the lead singer of this Cambodian Rock Band. She balances the stressed-out Neary with a flirtatious Sothea, based on real-life famous Cambodian rock singer Ros Serey Sothea, who disappeared in 1977 (accounts of her death are attributed to execution, overwork at an agricultural camp, or malnutrition in a hospital.) Troung is a powerhouse singer, commanding the audience

Duch was the real-life Khmer prison commander of S21 who oversaw the torture and killing of thousands of Cambodians for the sin of being artists, intellectuals, and teachers – not dissimilar but much more extreme to Mao’s Cultural Revolution in nearby China. In this fictional characterization, played brilliantly by Nicco Lorenzo Garcia, he is the engaging narrator who chides, goads, teases, and challenges the audience with what is Truth and questions his Conscience and role in this horrific nightmare state of human history, or does he?

Rounding out the cast is Jun Kung playing the character Rom, the drummer in the band, and Kayla Sakura Charchuk as keyboardist Pou and S-21 guard. They look like they are enjoying the music, smiling and performing for the audience. Combined with Raugi on his groovy bass, Jay on his sizzling guitar, and Kimberly-Ann singing enchanting vocals. You almost wish you could be part of this band.

The second act takes a dramatic turn to the dark side. It is now a few years after the fall of Phenom Pehn to the Khmer Rouge, and their campaign for a Utopian society is well underway. Actor Jay Leonard Juatco, who had dazzled the audience with his rock star singing as guitarist extraordinaire Leng, is now a head prison guard interrogating the recently captured Chum. Are they friends still, or are they enemies? The path is hidden but more apparent when Duch takes a special interest in the “banana seller” prisoner.

This play was fun to watch. The music performance intervals appear to express the emotions of the characters and the story, particularly when Neary is singing through her anger and frustration at her father, weaving with a drink in her hand, constantly refilled by Duch, as his character wanders in and out of music scenes like a ghostly metaphor of a hidden understory.

The Arts Club has done a good job reaching into the Pan-Asian-Canadian community to fill the cast, technical crews, and artistic team. Director Jivesh Parasram and Music Director Mary Ancheta have created a blend of joy, anger, hope, and sadness in drama, comedy, and song. The Assistant Director is Johnny D. Trinh, current interim executive director at Historic Joy Kogawa House and executive director for Vancouver Poetry House.

On the Sunday afternoon during preview week, I attended a Solidarity Feast, organized by the Arts Club Theatre Company, with invited community elders and artists, with Cambodian food provided by Angkor Harves, followed by a matinee show. I attended again on the official opening night, seeing many more of Vancouver’s local theatre community members.

Seeing this show twice allowed me to see the craft and thought of the writing, the foreshadowing and hints of this multi-layered story. I even cried at the Opening Night performance as I listened a second time to Chum’s monologue about not wanting to let his young daughter go to a baseball stadium washroom by herself, because he was “afraid” of “losing people.” It emphasized to me the long-lasting effects of trauma. And made too real, the news stories of the War in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, the discovery of unmarked graves at Residential Schools, and the incarceration of refugee immigrants in the USA.

This play has made me think about my 1980 travels through Asia when I was 20. I visited Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan. I specifically avoided Communist China, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia wasn’t even on the radar. It’s challenging to think that while Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan were emerging as economic powerhouses, at that time, Vietnam and Cambodia were just recovering from terrible civil wars. Now, my friends are visiting these countries as popular tourist attractions. Even former prison S-21 in Cambodia has become a tourist destination as a historical reminder of the Khmer Rouge genocide. In Canada, we have former Residential Schools and Japanese-Canadian Internment sites as historical sites and museums.

I started reviewing theatre in Vancouver in the 1980s when I wrote for my college newspaper. Most theatre in Vancouver was still very traditional and mainstream at the time. I enjoyed going to the Firehall Arts Centre to see ground-breaking Asian-Canadian theatre and actors, such as Rick Shiomi’s “Yellow Fever” and Rosie’s Cafe, and Marty Chan’s “Mom, Dad, I’m Living With a White Girl.” Back then, actor Donna Yamamoto won the Jessie Award for “Most Promising Newcomer” in an Arts Club production, but there were few significant roles following. Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre appeared on the scene created by Joyce Lam, who put on regular theatrical events for VACT , starting with Asian Comedy Nights and later putting on Rogers & Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song.” Donna took over as VACT’s Artistic Director and produced Empire of the Sun, written and performed by Tetsuro Shigematsu, whom I bumped into on the opening night of Cambodian Rock Band.

It’s great to see the evolution of Asian Canadian theatre and actors in Vancouver. Roles like these don’t come around much for Asian ethnic actors, but they are happening more frequently now. It is also lovely to see the colour-blind casting by many local theatre companies like Arts Club, Gateway Theatre, and Firehall Arts Centre. Over the past decade, I have seen a South Asian “Maria” in Arts Club’s Sound of Music and a Chinese-Scottish actor play the Gene Kelly role in Gateway’s Brigadoon.

In 2016, Lauren Yee’s play King of the Yee was produced at Gateway Theatre in Richmond with actor Raugi Yu. I’ve seen Raugi in several roles, including Anosh Arani’s Men in White at the Arts Club in 2017. It’s great to see actors mature in their craft since I first saw him in The King & I, in Theatre Under the Stars, about 20 years ago.

Two years ago, the Arts Club premiered “Forgiveness” (now playing at the National Arts Centre), a play based on Mark Sakamoto’s memoir of his grandparents’ experiences of surviving the Japanese-Canadian Internment camps and as a Canadian soldier in the Japanese Prison of War camps after the fall of Hong Kong. These are important stories to tell and present, as is the Cambodian Rock Band. I will see this show again, as I saw Forgiveness at the start and end of its run.

Peaceful Restaurant, is a Vancouver trendsetter according to Georgia Straight

Are Vancouver restaurants trendsetters?
We went to Peaceful Restaurant on Broadway following dragon boat practice.
Great
little article about food in Vancouver – with a mention of one of my
favorite Chinese restaurants. Great lunch yesterday at Peaceful Restaurant after dragon boat practice. Great hand made noodles and potato
wraps…
Rehttp://www.straight.com/article-640151/vancouver/our-place-culinary-map

We always look for good cheap eats following a dragon boat practice, and over the years we have developed some favorite restaurants.  We had been to Sha-Lin
noodle house off and on over the years, and really enjoyed their hand made noodles. But one evening, when it was too crowded, we
discovered Peaceful, and fell in love with both the food and the people – Especially Amelia!

This Sunday, we ordered Mu-Chuy vegetables with hand-made noodles, as well as our perennial favorite potato rolls.  We then added some more noodles with spicy cucumbers.  Xiaolongbao are also some of our favorites – they are bun dumplings with meat and soup inside.  How they get the soup inside is a mystery!!!

www.straight.com

Restaurant-industry professionals debate how trendsetting our food scene is on a global scale and what makes our city unique.

Barber of Sevillie is a comedic and cultural gem

Barber of Seville is a comedic and cultural gem

Vancouver Opera
March 17-25
http://www.vancouveropera.ca/Barber-of-Seville.html

Figaro (Joshua Hopkins) “fools around” with Rosina (Sandra Piques Eddy).
– photo courtesy of Vancouver Opera

Rossini’s Overture to the Barber of Seville is one of the most perfect pieces of music ever composed.  It stays with you for the rest of your life.  A quick listen of a few notes will remind you of the Bugs Bunny cartoon “The Rabbit of Figaro” or the movie “Breaking Away” with the young bicyclist racing down the roads of the American mid-west.  But at the Vancouver Opera, when most operas leave the stage curtain down and simply play the overture, for this production the curtain was up and the characters of a 1940’s era movie backlot came on stage to move props around and attend to the wardrobe.  One of the workmen even came onstage, opened his lunch bucket, and took out a carrot, in a comic sight gag nod to Bugs Bunny.  Much more was to come, as this smallish three scene opera originally set around a barber shop in Seville, was made to fill the large stage that became a movie backlot full of visual delights.  And when the overture was finished, there were about twenty men all standing on stage in their underwear.

This opera can sometimes be a long one to sit through, leaving some who have seen it a few times before wanting to give it a pass. Kudos go to the VO designers and directors for a totally delightful and refreshing staging that keeps us entertained both musically and visually throughout.

Barber of Seville reminds of me some of the Shakespeare comedies, such as As You Like It or All’s Well That Ends Well, because of the disguises and miscommunication that result in the comedic plot.  In this Rossini opera, Rosina (now a young movie starlet) is overseen by Bartolo (now the movie director) who plans to marry her.  But Rosina is also being wooed by Count Almaviva who assumes a number of disguises to woo her and be in her presence.  Guess who wins the girl.

The character of Figaro the barber is both a matchmaker and mischief maker. He is sung brilliantly by Joshua Hopkins who is a crowd favourite. Sandra Piques Eddy plays Rosina, and is a flirtatious standout, easily reminding me of all the reasons why I fell in love with Italian-Canadian women. Rene Barbera as Count Almaviva is amazing especially with each costume change and disguise.  Thomas Hammons has to play the villainous svengali of Dr. Bartolo, who was sometimes hard to hear, but his broad actions more than conveyed the comedic nuances well beyond the middle of the mezzanine.

An all-North American cast performs this Italian opera, which was originally based on a trio of French plays by Pierre Beaumarchais.  As a comedy, many of the lines are spoken rather than sung.  This is one of the first times, I have really been able to pick out many of the words such as “Presto” and understand the action.  I like to say that Italian is the 3rd language I have learned, having studied classical music, and sitting at the QE Theatre, I really wished that I was fluent in Italian to really enjoy more of the production.  But it really is wonderful in any language.  The surtitles translate the meanings of the conversation, complete with 1940’s idioms and dialect.  The singing is excellent, the orchestra, lead by Robert Tweten, shines, and the music is some of the best ever composed.

More opera spoof.
– photo courtesy of Vancouver Opera

Gung Haggis brings Chinese dragons and lions to St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragons invade St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Vancouver 

Lions and Dragons and more Dragons – oh My!  Gung Haggis Fat Choy entry in the CelticFest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Vancouver. “Perhaps
no group spoke to the modern mixing of cultures better than the Gung
Haggis Fat Choy revellers who wove in and out of the action Sunday
morning. The colourful Chinese dragons and green attire represented the
relatively new hybridized festival that originated in Vancouver. A
coincidental celebration of both Robert Burns Day and the Chinese New
Year brought the new celebration that
creates an interesting
mix of poetry, music and food every January.

“I think it’s an interesting idea — we have these Chinese unions combined with St. Patrick’s Day,” said Nick Hsu.

The 43-year-old was part of a group of family and friends who travelled up from Seattle to parade.

Vancouver St. Patrick’s Day parade takes over streets of downtown

 

It was one of the best entries yet for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy troupe in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade… Past years have seen a large Taiwanese dragon boat as a parade float.  But for 2012… we had 2 Chinese Lion dancers + 1 five-person parade dragon + walkers holding 5 more dragon hand puppets to help celebrate the Year of the Dragon.Paddlers from the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in Vancouver were joined by martial artists friends from Seattle.  In Seattle, the 2012 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Seattle dinner was a benefit for Belltown Martial Arts Club, which have participated in the Seattle multicultural dinner for most of the past six years.  The Vancouver Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner celebrated it’s 15th dinner in 20012, and the dragon boat team has been paddling since 2002.

For 2012, I brought some of my dragon boat hand puppets from home, as I did for the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade, when I had walked with the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Gardens.  We interacted with many of the children watching the parade, who were delighted to see the plushy dragon toys!  We encouraged them to “pet the dragon’s head for good luck”, which many children including adults such as CelticFest chair Joanna Hickey did.

Gung Haggis paddler Xavier MacDonald strutted the streets in his kilt with a Chinese lion head costume – photo Todd Wong


photo

Decorating the car, and everybody wears a necklace with green hats optional!  What a great group of people!  We were entry #73, and we decorated the car from the middle of Granville St. Bridge – then moved onto the Howe St. onramp, as the parade filed into order starting at Drake. St.

Video from St. Patrick’s Day Parade – look for Gung Haggis Fat Choy sign at 0:19 + interviews at 9:36 http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Vancouver+Patrick+parade+takes+over+streets+downtown+with+video/6321376/story.html

www.vancouversun.com

Hundreds
of people have crowded downtown Vancouver’s Howe Street this morning to
watch as bagpipers, Irish dancers and hurlers–of the sporting variety
–paraded with dreadlocked dancers, green samba queens and even a roller
derby team.

Charlie Quan, head tax warrior, Rest In Peace, 1907-1912

Charlie Quan stood up for Head Tax Redress in 2005 at age 98

Charlie
Quan was the the first person to receive a head tax redress ex-gratia
payment in 2006.  Charlie came to Canada as a small young child, and had
to pay $500 head tax, at the start of the previous century. In 2005, He
was a brave man calling for a full head tax redress and payment, when
others were feeling too afraid.  It was wonderful to meet and talk with
him, and I discovered he was the grandfather of one of my childhood
friends.



by
Todd
on Fri 20 Oct 2006 03:59 PM PDT

Charlie
Quan. Standing are Victor Wong, Gim Wong and Sid Tan – photo Todd Wong

I met Charlie through renowned head tax activist Sid Tan.  Sid told a story at Charlie's service in his eulogy, about how Charlie came up to him after the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in 2003.  “Charlie came up to me,” Sid says, “He said, you and Gim and Victor are doing a good job, but you need some help.”

“You're a head tax payer?” Sid says he thought maybe Charlie was a son or descendant of a head tax payer. But Charlie Quan had come to Canada at a young age, and in 2003, he was only 96 years old.

In the next few years, the head tax redress ramped up to one of the major issues of the 2005-2006 federal election campaign.  The Liberal Government of Paul Martin promised the ACE program of Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education.  But Charlie wanted an apology and a monetary redress.  He went on record as saying what he thought a fair price would be.  You can see him in this CBC interview. 

Check out my blog posts with Charlie here: https://www.gunghaggis.com/blog?cmd=search&keywords=charlie+quan

Sid Tan, friend of the family sent this message out yesterday evening.

In Memory of
Mr. Charlie Sang Now Quan
February 15, 1907 – February 23, 2012
 
Obituary
It is
with sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. Charlie Sang Now Quan. Charlie
was born in Hoyping, China and passed away peacefully in Vancouver, BC on
February 23, 2012 at the age of 105. He was predeceased by his wife, Own Yee
Lee. He is lovingly survived by his daughter-in-law Chung Yit Quan, his two sons
Gary, Wesley, his six grandchildren and his seven
great-grandchildren.

He will be deeply missed
by his family and friends. The family has asked for privacy until after the service.

by
Todd
on Mon 27 Nov 2006 10:12 PM PST
members: Libby Davies, Charlie Quan, Jack Layton, ??, Gim Wong, Ujjal Dosanjh – photo Todd Wong

by
Todd
on Fri 20 Oct 2006 04:08 PM PDT
Charlie Quan holding cheque, Foon
Chang Ron Mah, Victor Wong and Todd Wong – photo Eric

by
Todd
on Thu 22 Jun 2006 10:38 PM PDT

Charlie Quan with his favorite grandson Terry Quan – my elementary school friend – photo Todd Wong

Jim Green, rest in peace

Jim Green, former city councilor passes away

On
Feb 14th – City Council passed the motion to award the Freedom of the
City award to Jim Green.  Jim really was a renaissance man.  He loved opera, taught humanities, was a university lecturer, a union shop steward, a community worker and advocate, he was a two time city councilor, and a two time mayoral candidate.
Here is a Feb 16th Georgia Straight article.

http://www.straight.com/article-609781/vancouver/former-city-councillor-jim-green-suffering-cancer


Jim Green and Larry Campbell, then councilor and mayor of Vancouver, pose for pictures with Chinese Canadian veterans of Pacific Unit 280, following a Remembrance Day ceremony November 11th, 2004.  2nd from Left is Alex Louie, who just passed away on February 18th.  My Uncle Daniel Lee is 5th from left, between councilor Raymond Louie, and then mayor Larry Campbell – Uncle Dan passed away January 26th 2010.  These Chinese Canadian veterans, joined the Canadian Armed Forces during WW2 when Canadian born citizens of Chinese ancestry were designated as “Resident Aliens” and unable to vote in the country of their birth.  As a supporter of equality issues in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and a City Councilor, it was fitting that Jim Green, originally an American draft dodger, came to honour their contributions to Vancouver society and history.

Jim
Green was a lovable conundrum… who said his favorite afternoon
activity was drinking beer, playing pool and watching live opera. Sorry
I didn't get to do all that and play my accordion with him – but one
evening – I did put a kilt on Jim Green, and we had haggis and scotch.  He had phoned me to give the Address to the Haggis at a whisky tasting fundraiser for MLA Jenny Kwan.

Here is a story about Jim by my friend Tom Hawthorn, for the Globe & Mail.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Jim
Green had helped to take cuttings from the cherry tree at Kogawa House,
then he helped to plant a young tree at Vancouver City Hall in 2005.
When I bumped into him, he would ask how Kogawa House was doing…

Back in October 2005, I had bumped into Jim at the 2nd annual Mayors' Arts Awards.  He had asked how things were going, and I told him that Joy Kogawa's childhood home was now threatened with a demolition application.  He was shocked, asking if I knew that City Council had just passed a motion to plant a cherry tree at City Hall and proclaim “Obasan Cherry Tree Day”.  He then took the opportunity to speak to the audience at the Arts Awards to tell them about the campaign to save Kogawa House, which I had just gotten involved in at at the last week of September.  Later in November, our Save Kogawa House committee when before City Council to ask for help, and they passed a motion to invoke a rarely used bylaw to delay the processing of the demolition permit.  Jim played an important role that day, and gave us lots of support.  Today we are now planning our 4th writer-in-residence program for Historic Joy Kogawa House where I am chair, and also on the board of The Land Conservancy of BC, which owns and maintains Kogawa House.

Author Joy Kogawa, then Chief Librarian Paul Whitney, Vancouver Opera Manager James Wright, and then city councilor Jim Green, in November 2005.  Joy and Jim performed the sod turning at Vancouver City Hall, for the planting of the “Obasan cherry tree” taken as a cutting from the cherry tree at Historic Joy Kogawa House.

Here is a lovely tribute by Margo Harper, News Director, CTV British Columbia

www.ctvbc.ctv.ca

Here is a Feb 17th Globe & Mail story by another friend Hadani Ditmars written about a walk in the Viaduct area with Jim Green and former city planner Larry Beasley, talking about what could happen if the Viaducts came down :
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/real-estate-development/a-plan-to-behead-vancouvers-urban-serpent-the-georgia-viaduct/article2342247/

Paul Yee reads at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens on Sunday Feb 26

Paul Yee reads from his new book “The Secret Keepers” at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Classical Gardens.

Paul Yee is one of the most prolific Chinese-Canadian writers.  I first got to know Paul back in 1986, when he was chair of the Saltwater City planning committee – for a museum quality exhibit celebrating 100 years of Chinese-Canadian history in Vancouver.  Since then, he was won the Governor General's Award for his book “Ghost Train”.  In his non-fiction book, Saltwater City (revised edition) there is a picture from the 2004 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.

Check out the website for the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Gardens
http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/calendar/feb2012.htm

The Secret Keepers
Book Launch

Sunday, February 26 | 2-4pm
at Hall of One Hundred Rivers
Music, Refreshments, Book Signing and Sale

Please join us! On February 26, Governor General's Award Winner Paul Yee will be at the Garden to launch his latest publication The Secret Keepers, a haunting novel set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the catastrophic earthquake of 1906.

Paul Yee, raised in Vancouver's Chinatown, is
one of Canada's most celebrated writers for young people. He is the
author of the prize-winning Saltwater City and other acclaimed books on
Canadian-Chinese culture and history.

Juno-nominated world music composer and musician Qiu Xia He will present a special Pipa (Traditional Chinese lute) performance at the book launch.

Check out the website for the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Gardens
http://www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/calendar/feb2012.htm

Rest in Peace Alex Louie

Alex Louie, WW2 veteran & Chinatown business man, passes away
 Alex Louie, at the 2010 Remembrance Day ceremonies in Vancouver Chinatown.
Pastor Wesley Lowe stands on Louie's right, and fellow veteran Robert Kent on his left.
Sad
to hear our family friend Alex Louie passed away.
Alex made contributions to Chinese Canadian history as a WW2 veteran, and a Vancouver Chinatown businessman for both the Marco Polo Restaurant and Le Kiu import store.  Two of his daughters have made big contributions to Chinese history and culture too.  Alexina Louie is one of Canada's top classical music composers, and is a recipient of the Order of Canada.  Jari Osborne directed the film Unwanted Soldiers.
My father painted
the show cards for the Marco Polo Restaurant, and for Le Kiu store.
Alex was a WW2 vet, and the feature story in the documentary “Unwanted
Soldiers”. I noticed that he wasn't at the Remembrance Day ceremonies
in Chinatown this past November. Our condolences to his family… Rest
in Peace Alex, you've been a warrior for a long time.

Mia Stainsby, writes an obituary news article in today's Vancouver Sun.

www.vancouversun.com

Here is an interview with Alex Louie for the Chinese Canadian Military Museum oral history project http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/hr_cdnchinese/profile/louiea

 Here
is the link to the NFB film “Unwanted Soldiers” with interviews of Alex
Louie and many other veterans – produced by Alex's daughter Jari
Osborne http://www.nfb.ca/film/Unwanted_Soldiers

www.nfb.ca

This documentary tells the personal story of filmmaker Jari Osborne's father, Alex Louie.  Also some good interviews with Chinatown legend Roy Mah, creator and publisher of Chinatown News, and John Ko Bong.

Dave Samis has reached the summit of Mt. Kilamanjaro

Gung Haggis dragon boat team paddler, Dave Samis, has reached the summit of Mt. Kilamanjaro
P1280190
Dave Samis has just emailed me this picture of himself at the summit!!! as well as
another picture hiking up the mountain wearing his Gung Haggis team
shirt.

The group reached the summit on February 12th.

Dave has paddled with the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team since about 2005.  I first met him when I coached the GVRD 44 Cheeks dragon boat team around 2003.  We have been good dragon boat friends ever since, paddling in races together in Portland, Victoria, Vernon, Burnaby, Harrison and Vancouver.

This past fall he was training by hiking up the Grouse Grind once or twice a week.

P1280156
Here's a picture of Dave Samis wearing his Gung Haggis Fat Choy team shirt.  He says:
“The gold coins don't show on this GHFC shirt because my backpack straps are in the way.”

P2050064



“This was taken on day 2 of the climb when we were still in the sub-alpine areas.”

Dave now reports that after the summit climb on Feb 12th, they have done a Safari since and have tons of photos.  I asked him to take a picture of himself wearing his Gung Haggis team shirt, while next to a gazelle, elephant or lion – but to please not get eaten or trampled.

He hiked up with dragon boat paddlers from the Dogwood Nothin' team
Follow their journey here:

http://kilimanjaroclimbers.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/at-the-summit-2/#comment-39

20120212-103332.jpg

We
have our first photo of our group at the summit! Not all are present,
as a smaller group summited 20 minutes earlier and had to descend.
He hiked up with dragon boat paddlers from the Dogwood Nothin' team
Follow their journey here:

http://kilimanjaroclimbers.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/at-the-summit-2/#comment-39

20120212-103332.jpg

Chelsea Hotel is an inventive presentation of Leonard Cohen songs

Chelsea Hotel is inventive and theatrical – and probably more fun than a Leonard Cohen concert!


Adrian Glynn McMorran (The Writer), Marlene Ginader (The Lover), Steve Charles (The Sideman), and Lauren Bowler (Sister of Mercy) perform many dramatic and musically diverse collaborations of Leonard Cohen songs during “Chelsea Hotel” at the Firehall Arts Centre – photo David Cooper, courtesy of Firehall Arts Centre


Chelsea Hotel featuring the songs
of Leonard Cohen

Dates and
Venue
8 February – 3 March 2012, 8pm, (2pm Weekend matinees
& 1pm Wedmatinees) | Firehall Arts Centre

Conceived and Directed by Tracey Power

Artistic Direction by Donna Spencer

Music Direction by Steven Charles

Performed by Rachel Aberle, Lauren Bowler, Steve Charles, Benjamin Elliott, Marlene Ginader, Adrian Glynn McMorran
DATES: February 8 to March 3, 2012

8pm, 2pm (Weekend matinees), 1pm (Wednesday matinees)

Today is opening night of “Chelsea Hotel” at Firehall Arts Centre –
featuring songs and poetry of Leonard Cohen…. AND the ACCORDION is a
featured instrument… actually it is the first musical instrument to play in
this amazingly theatrical production.  There are constant visual surprises for the audience.  And there are musical surprises too.  Three
males and three females take turns on up to many different instruments
including violin, cello, double bass, electric guitar, electric bass, drum kit, acoustic guitar, keyboard, ukelele, tambourine, and kazoo…

I saw Chelsea Hotel on Friday Night – the first performance… a world premiere – preview version… and LOVED IT.  I have had Leonard Cohen ear-worms in my head all weekend, as I listened to my Cohen cd's trying to figure out the titles of the songs that were included in the production.

There have been many musicals made of songs by specific songwriters.  Mama Mia by ABBA… Jersey Boys is based on the music of The Four Seasons… Uptown Girl is the music of Billy Joel.  And way before that, musicals were made of George Gershwin and Cole Porter songs.  All of these have a story arcs, and dialogue to develop the plot lines.

But there is no invented dialogue in Chelsea Hotel, nothing but the songs and poetry of Leonard Cohen.  Director Tracey Power has conceived and created a theatrical presentation that moves seamlessly from song to song with interspersed words of poetry.  The drama is in the storytelling of the songs.  The dynamic tension is in the body language and the faces of the performers.  The story is in the words of each song, as they speak of love, break ups, regret, hate, and reconciliation.  And somehow it all works.

Like the musical Chicago, these performances are part fantasy and part memory recall.  The character called The Writer (Adrian Glynn McMorran) is trying to write at his desk and having difficulties.  The inventive set is piled high with crumpled pieces of paper.  The Writer is having writer's block in a room at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City (where Cohen lived for awhile).   He groans and crumples up another piece of paper to throw it against the wall.  Suddenly a man pops up playing a tune on an accordion… and thus the interior workings of The Writer's attempts at song writing began,  The Writer recalls a woman in his life – and a female performer steps onto the stage singing about their relationship.  Then next another musician steps onstage for accompaniment, and another woman who joins in the singing…

Steve Charles (guitar), Benjamin Elliott (accordion), Marlene Ginader (violin), Rachel Aberle (voice), photo David Cooper, courtesy of Firehall Arts Centre

The songs are strangely familiar, as they take their turns like old shirts from a long forgotten box of clothes.  They are comfortable, and in a variety of musical styles and arrangements.  Some songs are old like Suzanne or Lover Lover Lover.  Many are from Cohen's middle period of the 80's and 90's such as I'm Your Man, Tower of Song, First We Take Manhattan and Hallelujah. 

The production is sooooo playful.  There is a carnival cabaret atmosphere, with the performers all wearing whitened faces and exagerated costumes.  Benjamin Elliot's character is called The Magician.  Musical Director Steve Charles is performing as The Side Man.  The arrangements vary from solo instruments to string trio, acoustic folk stylings, to full-on rock and roll.

I found the
musicianship to be surprisingly good… the performers pick up
their instruments and play them when you least expect it.  Rachel Aberle and
Lauren Bowler as The Sisters of Mercy,  both have amazing presence and create dynamic and sexual
tension with Adrian Glynn McMorran's The Writer and the audience.  Marlene Ginader is innoculously beautiful to watch.  She first seems to float down from the mountain of
crumpled paper after appearing first as musical supporting cast on violin, and her character The Lover, takes on increasingly important dynamics.

Friday night was the first audience performance prior to Wednesday's Opening Night on Feb 8th.  I thought the production flowed well.  There was a standing ovation for the performers.

Chelsea Hotel is a fun production.  There are constantly visual and musical developments happening as well as the interaction of the characters.  The songs are entertaining in themselves – both for lyrical beauty, irony and humability.  My recommendations are:
1) don't sit in row A on the floor – there is a row AA in front of you that obscures your view. 

2)
don't sit in the audience far left side.  It is hard to see some aspects
of the stage and performers – that are hidden by a set design.

Marlene Ginader (The Lover), and Adrian Glynn McMorran(The Writer) sing their hearts out to each other, after loving, hating, resenting, pining, forgiving each other to find resolution. – photo David Cooper, courtesy of Firehall Arts Centre

see other links about Chelsea Hotel:
http://www.straight.com/article-596306/vancouver/chelsea-hotel-brings-cohen-songs-life