September 23rd, 2011
It’s not almost like being in love… I’m in love!
I was at opening night of “Brigadoon” part of the “Music Stand” series at Kelowna Actors Studio.What is a “Music Stand” Series? Here is how is is defined by KAS:
“…A concert style performance dedicated to presenting classic musicals ‘on book’ with script in hand… performers will engage the audience in an evening of unforgettable vocals and hysterical scenes…”
(A side note, if I could sing I would TOTALLY audition for a Music Stand Performance! No panic about memorizing lines!)
It was a wonderful performance! Fun to watch and such a great showcase for the talent at Kelowna Actors Studio! Randy Leslie as always was pure delight in the role of Tommy Albright and I was equally impressed with Troy Berg who played his New York friend Jeff Douglas. Brigadoon is best known for being a perfect musical for the hopeless romantic those two had me laughing hard enough for tears to be rolling down my cheeks.
The only downside of the evenings performance was the mastering of a scottish brogue. I am pretty sure a couple of the Scottish villagers had German, Italian and Greek descent.
The leading ladies were also wonderfully cast. While Arlene Irwin played a perfect older sister and star crossed lover as Fiona Maclaren, Charissa Seutter was as equally lovely as a bride to be and younger sister. The lady who did bring down the house with her performance of “The love of my life” and “My Mother’s Wedding Day” was Gillian Reed. To paraphrase my husband.. “the girl that played the town whore was great!”
Part of the nights celebrations was the completed renovations! WOW. The room feels bigger and does seat more people, it is now is a combination of both “row” seats and tables with nary a bad seat in the house! No twisting at tables anymore with all seats facing the stage and to paraphrase my husband once again “… it felt like a big city theatre and the seats are really comfortable..”
How about dinner? Seriously.. the BEST meal I have ever had at Kelowna Actors Theatre. Perhaps one of the smartest moves they have made was adding Chef Neil Schroeter of Okanagan Street Food to their roster of local stars!
The Chilled gazpacho soup with ginger poached prawns was perfection, I had the Lemongrass steeped salmon as my entree and I can not express how sensational it was, my husband had the beef wellington which he is now determined he will make at home. (heaven help us) Our dessert was the peaches and creme brulle was a nice finish. Dinner alone is worth the ticket price, the show makes it an unforgettable experience that has been missing in the Okanagan.
KAS has also added plated table service, so no more balancing a plate in a buffet line and they have also expanded the wine list to include a wonderful selection of both red’s and white’s!
My only complaint about the renovations is that with a full kitchen putting out that amazing food they need to figure out how to keep the temperature in the building more comfortable, it was very warm.
Your night at Kelowna Actors Studio will include some other surprises, but I will leave those for you to discover.
Brigadoon only runs till Sunday, so if you need some last minute plans for a wonderful night out, this is it.