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THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards® including Best Musical, is back in Vancouver!

I've seen the The Book of Mormon the last time it was here in Vancouver and it was the most hilarious musical I've ever been to. This time was no exception. The Book of Mormon ended with a well deserved standing ovation! I can rave and rave about the show but why not let someone who has seen it for the first time tell you all about The Book of Mormon. My guest has not seen The Book of Mormon before, nor know anything about the story prior to this. This is her review of the show:

"The Book of Mormon has been on my list of musicals to see for quite some time. I love Broadway musicals and generally sing along to most of the famous broadway tunes. However, I have not watched the Book of Mormon before nor have I heard the music from it. I did hear that it's very raunchy, explicit, slightly offensive (depending on who you are), and despite all of this it's a MUST see.

When the opportunity arose for me to see the Book of Mormon, I did not know what to expect. Most of the time, I'd read the summary of the musical online first, but this time I wanted to be completely surprised. It took all of one minute for me to be completely immersed with musical. Everyone was super energetic and expressive. Most of all, I felt completely engaged and connected to everything happening on stage. Although there were parts where I didn't catch what the actors or actresses said, it did not matter because every inch of their body was so expressive. Best of all, the humour was witty and had me laughing in stitches for most scenes and sometimes it seems like this is a comedy show mixed in with a musical. If this comes to town again, I'd definitely watch it again! Leave the kids at home though :)"

The Book of Mormon is musical not to be missed! It is currently playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and only here for a limited two-week engagement through Sunday September 4, 2016! Make sure to catch it before it's gone! Get your tickets at http://vancouver.broadway.com/shows/book-mormon-baa.

Photos provided courtesy of Broadway Across Canada.

Disclosure: Tickets to the show were received from Broadway Across Canada free of charge. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any other way.

Get ready for Disney's NEWSIES!

They delivered the papers, until they made the headlines...Direct from Broadway comes NEWSIES, the smash-hit, crowd-pleasing new musical from Disney. Winner of the 2012 Tony Awards® for Best Score and Best Choreography, NEWSIES has audiences and critics alike calling it “A MUSICAL WORTH SINGING ABOUT!” (The New York Times). Filled with one heart-pounding number after another, it’s a high-energy explosion of song and dance you just don’t want to miss. Now is the time to seize the day with NEWSIES, playing July 5 - 10, 2016 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.

Show: Disney’s NEWSIES
Dates: July 5 – 10, 2016
Theatre: Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Presale dates: May 6 – 8, 2016
Presale link: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/venueartist/139293/1984863?brand=bac
Presale passcode: 5FANSIES THIS PRE-SALE CODE WILL BE LIVE AS OF FRIDAY, MAY 6 @ 10AM.

NOTE:
ALL SALES FINAL. No exchanges or refunds. Blackout dates and other restrictions may apply. Standard Ticketmaster service fees apply to online or phone orders. Dates, times, prices, and cast subject to change without notice. Offer may be revoked without notice. Limit 9 tickets per person per 7 day period. All prices are in CAD and include a $3.00 CIF. Tickets must be purchased by May 8, 2016.

Read more about Disney's NEWSIES below:

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Tickets for Disney’s NEWSIES on Sale

at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on Monday May 9

Performances Begin on Tuesday July 5 and Play Through

Sunday July 10 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre

(Vancouver, British Columbia) - Disney Theatrical Productions and Broadway Across Canada announced today that tickets for the highly anticipated Vancouver engagement of Disney’s NEWSIES will go on sale to the public on Monday May 9 at 10:00 am. The Tony® Award-winning production will begin performances at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Tuesday July 5 for a limited engagement of one week through Sunday July 10.

In Vancouver, NEWSIES will play Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday 2:00 pm and

7:30 pm, and Sunday at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm. Beginning Monday May 9, tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.ca or by calling 1.855.985.5000. Orders for groups of ten (10) or more may be placed by calling 1.800.889.8457. Advance tickets are available through Front Of The Line ® by American Express May 2 – 4, 2016.

Ticket buyers are reminded that Ticketmaster Canada and Broadway Across Canada are the only official retail ticket outlets for all performances. Ticket buyers who purchase tickets from a ticket broker or any third party should be aware that Queen Elizabeth Theatre is unable to reprint or replace lost or stolen tickets and is unable to contact patrons with information regarding time changes or other pertinent updates regarding the performance.

ABOUT NEWSIES

NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony® Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony® Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES is directed by Tony® nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award® for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.

When it opened on March 29, 2012 NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show’s fiercely devoted fans had other ideas, however; they propelled the show to a run of 1005 performances, attendance of more than 1 million and a gross of over $100M.

While on Broadway, NEWSIES set and broke seven Nederlander Theatre house records and became the highest-grossing show from the 2011-12 Broadway season. The show received 23 major theatrical nominations – including eight Tony Award® nods – and won Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Score and Choreography.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged ‘newsies,’ who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right.

NEWSIES is inspired by the real-life ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899,’ when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.

The stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, including a song written specifically for the tour called ‘Letter from the Refuge,’ while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including ‘Carrying the Banner, ‘Seize the Day,’ ‘King of New York’ and ‘Santa Fe.’

Since the film’s 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage. (The film featured a screenplay by Bob Tzudiker & Noni White (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians).)

For more information, visit NewsiesTheMusical.com, Facebook.com/Newsies and Twitter.com/Newsies.

The Vancouver engagement of NEWSIES is presented by arrangement with Broadway Across Canada and is a subscription offering of the 2016/2017 Series.

# # #

BROADWAY ACROSS CANADA and Broadway Across America is part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies which includes Broadway.com and is operated by John Gore (Owner & CEO). BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring musicals and plays in North America, operating in 40 markets. As a leading Broadway producer, BAA is dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse theatre. Current/upcoming productions include Beautiful, Betrayal, Bullets Over Broadway, Little Miss Sunshine, Million Dollar Quartet and Pippin. Past productions include Hairspray, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Memphis, Promises, Promises, The Producers and War Horse. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossCanada.ca and Broadway.com.

Thousands of LEGO fans flocked to RiverRock Casino Hotel this past week to attend BrickCan, the inaugural LEGO convention held in Richmond. The four-day event featured keynote talks, games and an exhibit full of astounding LEGO models. The first two days were geared towards AFOLs (adult fan of LEGO) while the weekend was open to families who enjoy viewing LEGO builds or were looking to buy LEGO sets. Vendors had plenty of LEGO for purchase, as well as LEGO-related art, jewelry and clothing. Half the fun while browsing the vendor tables was digging though the minifigure bins, trying to look for that elusive figure needed to complete your own collection.

BrickCan was a sold-out success; make sure to sign up for updates so you don’t miss out on BrickCan 2017! Visit Seapotato's blog over at Savvy Shopping, Deals and Reviews for more photos and details about BrickCan 2016.

From the time you hear first note of Disney's THE LION KING's signature opening song, The Circle of Life, sung by Tshidi Manye as Rafiki, it was evident you are not watching any ordinary musical. It is imperative that you are not late for this musical, as you will miss the greatest opening ever! I do not want to spoil it for those who are seeing for the first time but think of that sense of awe you felt when you first watched the opening sequence in The Lion King on screen. You will experience that exact same feeling during the opening of the musical; the scene was very true to the movie. At times, the stage did not seem big enough to fit all the elaborate costumes. The strong vocals of the opening and impressive set design set the bar for the rest of the musical.

Tre' Jones who played young Simba conveyed the spunky rebellious young lion cub very well. Young Simba and Nala (Mikari Tarpley) carried the first half of the show with impressive vocal skill for eleven year olds. Zazu (Drew Hirshfield) provided comedic relief and breaks the fourth wall several times. The entire cast performed extremely well and it is hard to pick who performed best. Scar (Patrick R. Brown), Timon (Nick Cordileone) and Pumbaa (Ben Lipitz) were practically lifted from the Disney movie, their voices and mannerisms were spot on.

Jelani Remy as “Simba” and the ensemble in “He Lives in You” from THE LION KING National Tour. ©Disney. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

The set design and different animal characters help create believable surroundings in the Savannah. Each character had their own movement style, like the elegant zebras and antelopes that made the stage a very interesting place to watch. Head pieces are used instead of masks so you can see the actors expressions; actors were transparently visible when controlling the animal's costumes, allowing the audience to see the characters as animal and human at the same time. The costuming and set design is the very best I've seen in a while in Vancouver. The different colors of the set and lights are used to convey different scenes, seasons and moods. The costumes employ plenty of yellows and browns often found in the grasslands of the Savannah.

The wildebeest stampede was very well done with use of background and different sized masks to show depth and create a herd of wildebeest stampeding toward the audience. The scene where Mufasa dies is one of the saddest scenes in Disney movies and watching Tre' Jones portray Simba at this particular moment was heartbreaking.

The dancing is very graceful and combined with the singing, there are a lot of fun scenes that convey the joy of Africa. The Lion King features familiar and new original songs written by the original songwriters, Elton John and Tim Rice, just for the musical. The audience will recognize the songs from the original Lion King as well as the sequel. I loved Simba's original solo, "Endless Night" sung by Jelani Remy, where he sings about his loneliness and bitterly recalls Mufasa's promise to always be there for him. It is a sad song but ends with a glimmer of hope.

I can see why this is the world's number one musical; the set, costuming and choreography were top notch. Disney's THE LION KING had a well deserved standing ovation on Friday night of opening week. Make sure to see this astounding musical while it is in town! It is one you don't want to miss!

Performances run from now through Sunday July 12th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre:

Week 1: Thursday, June 18 through Saturday, June 20 evenings at 7:30pm, Sunday, June 21 evening at 6:30pm. Matinees runSaturday, June 20 at 2pm, Sunday, June 21 matinee at 1pm.

Week 2: Tuesday, June 23 through Saturday, June 27 evenings at 7:30pm, Sunday June 28 evening at 6:30pm. Matinees runThursday, June 25 and Saturday, June 27 at 2pm, Sunday, June 28 at 1pm.

Week 3: Tuesday, June 30 through Saturday, July 4 evenings at 7:30pm, Sunday, July 5 at 6:30pm, matinees Saturday, July 4 at 2pmand Sunday, July 5 at 1pm.

Week 4: Tuesday, July 7 through Saturday, July 11 evenings at 7:30pm. Matinees run Thursday, July 9 at 2pm, Saturday, July 11 at 2pm and Sunday, July 12 at 1pm.

Tickets for Disney’s THE LION KING vary in range depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase and start at $35.00 plus applicable service fees.

Disney’s THE LION KING in Vancouver, presented by Broadway Across Canada, is part of a North American tour through September 2015. Find more information and buy tickets, please visit the Broadway Across Canada website.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

Disclosure: Tickets to the show were received from Broadway Across Canada free of charge. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any other way.

The Soup House has always been popular and I went there when they were just a hole in the wall on Victoria Drive but has since moved to a bigger space last year. I revisited them recently and they did not disappoint. The Soup House specializes in clay pot rice. You can call in and order ahead of time so you don't have to wait for them to cook the clay pot rice at the restaurant, which takes around 20 minutes. You can also order for home delivery. They come in the actual clay pots so you have to pay a small deposit to ensure you will return them.

Each clay pot meal comes with a small dish of wakame salad and a bowl of soup.

This crispy rice is what you end up with at the bottom of your clay pot. Yum!

It's a great place to eat with cheap yummy food. One of the clay pot rice starts at $7.95.

Strathcona is one of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods and has its roots in manufacturing. Today, more than 850 members from the manufacturing, retail, dining, creative, and more sectors call Strathcona home. The free to attend, Made in Strathcona Meet the Makers Expo on Saturday, June 13th, 2015 was held at Makers Lab to celebrate the local independent businesses and community of Strathcona.

VeloMetro Mobility showed off their Alpha mechanical prototype. They are looking to create a new option of sustainable personal transportation that's a cross between a smartcar and a bike. It will be fully human powered so riders will not need a license to operate it.

Yew Woodshop, a shared wood design and production studio had lots of beautiful pieces on display.

Several coffee shops were letting people sample their brands of coffee including Goliath Coffee,

and A.G.R.O. Roasters.

Divine Lights had cool, beautiful works of art on display. Each latticework features unique video media specific to that design.

Propellor specializes in lighting, furniture and sculptures. They showed attendees the process of making their Range lightbox series. Beautiful!

Sunrise Tofu set up a learning station to show the different stages in the process of making tofu.

Throughout the event, select local businesses presented what they do on stage. Here the folks from Yolk's Breakfast showed us how they make a eggs Benedict.

This one is new on their menu: duck confit eggs Benedict.

There were lots of food to try at the event. Ed's Daily is a cafe and also does catering. They were serving a delicious kale and soba salad packaged in cute little take out boxes.

The Butler Did It Catering Co. served the hungry public pork and beef tacos.

Savory Chef was making yummy takoyaki!

In the beer garden, Postmark Brewing challenged people to build their own ideal beer. Tweet or Instagram your idea with the hashtags and tag @postmarkbrewing. If they like it, they will make it and you win stuff!

Attendees were invited to "Play the Blox" to step into a member of the community and re-imagine how the neighbourhood would look through their eyes.

Above hung a cool ROCKET SHIP made by @Karlmsimmons at the Makers Lab!

These businesses and more where at the Meet the Makers Expo. It was a great event that put local businesses in the spotlight and showcased the diverse, locally made goods and foods made in Strathcona!

The FIFA Women's World Cup, the largest live spectator sporting event in our country’s history is well under way and the city of Vancouver wants to help you celebrate! Located at Larwill Park, the free to enter, FIFA Fan Zone Vancouver is in an attempt to recreate the spirit of the Olympics and capture the spirit of soccer fans with matches held at the nearby BC Place. We will even be hosting the Final game!

The main area of the Fan Zone is covered with plenty of picnic tables for people to watch the game on the two big screens or special after-game musical performances that feature strong female artists.

Sponsors of the game have their own booths, like Coca Cola's Ultimate Goalie game.

Coca Cola is also giving out free limited edition bottles of coke.

Take a picture of yourself defying gravity at Adidas booth.

You can enter a contest at Hyundai's booth as well as find some shade and seating.

The BC Sports Hall of Fame also as a booth.

There's opportunities for kids to play soccer outside.

And also test your soccer skills.

Like trying to score a goal.

Inside the FIFA Fan Experience structure, there are other interactive games to play.

Professional freestyle footballer and Latin American and European Champion Laura Biondo performs four times daily. She's amazing! The control she has on the football is astounding! You have to see her in action!

Other performers and stilt walkers periodically come out to entertain.

Last Saturday, June 6th was the opening of the FIFA Fan Zone Vancouver and drums and dancing marked the official start of the Fan Zone.

Shuéme, the snowy owl, is the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Canada Mascot.

Some rising soccer players posed with previous Women's World Cup champions.

For those who are hungry, food and drinks are also available for purchase.

The Fan Zone will be open on the days matches are played at BC Place. The next one is on Thursday, June 11th. After that, it will be open on the following days: June 12, June 15, June 16, June 21, June 23, June 27, July 1, July 4, and the Final July 5.

Find more info on the Fan Zone and the entertainment schedule on the City of Vancouver site here.

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