Azaleah Korn plays the title role in Gateway Theatre’s production of Annie, which runs to Jan. 3. Neko is one of three dogs that plays Sandy. (photo by David Cooper)
If you want a warm and fuzzy holiday treat, see Gateway Theatre’s production of Annie. Set in Depression-era New York City, Orphan Annie and Sandy, a rescued dog, embark on a search for Annie’s real parents only to be caught up in a world full of mystery, lovable waifs, a kind-hearted billionaire bachelor, dastardly villains and a nasty headmistress who hates children. Even President Franklin Roosevelt makes an appearance, getting the FBI and Elliot Ness involved in Annie’s quest. All of this plays out against a backdrop of great songs and fancy footwork.
You could not pick a better actor than dashing Charlie Gallant to play billionaire Daddy Warbucks. He exudes charm and sophistication but with a sense of vulnerability. Sarah Cantuba, as Warbucks’ personal secretary, Grace, and ultimate love interest (surprise, surprise), plays the role with calm confidence.
Jennifer Copping as Miss Hannigan, the orphanage’s flask-swigging, whistle-blowing matron, plays it big and in your face. Josh Graetz does a marvelous job as her brother, Rooster, as he conspires with her and his moll, floozy Lily St. Regis (Manuela Palmieri) to win the rewardoffered for information leading to Annie’s parents. Their “Easy Street” number is a showstopper.
The six supporting orphans span the spectrum from sweetly shy to tough as nails. Special mention goes to Elle Hanson, who plays the youngest, Molly, a mischievous little imp if ever there was one.
Even with a 19-person cast, most of the supporting actors have to take on multiple roles and do so admirably.
And, of course, the dogs. Three different dogs will play Sandy over the course of the run, all cute as heck. Opening night showcased Neko, who had the audience oohing and aahing every time he scampered on stage.
Ryan Cormack’s set starts out in the bleak orphans’ bunk room and transitions seamlessly (thanks to the nimble work of the cast) into the orphanage office, the streets of NYC, the Roxy theatre and the Fifth Avenue mansion of Warbucks. Each transition is accompanied by a lighting change courtesy of designer Sophie Tang, from the dark opening scene to the bright and festive final Christmas scene, a metaphor for the optimism that grounds the production and grows as the story unfolds. Nicol Spinola’s choreography is the icing on the cake.
The six-piece orchestra, under Sean Bayntun’s leadership, provides the upbeat and lively sound that drives this production, although sometimes the volume drowns out the actors’ words. Donnie Tejani’s costumes are bang on for the era: simple dresses, pinafores and pantaloons for the orphans, three-piece suits and fedoras for the gents, fancy frocks for the ladies and Shantytown chic for the hobos.
Although there were a few hiccups on opening night, they should work themselves out. Perhaps the best measure of the show’s success is the response of the audience, who leapt to their feet even before the closing notes of the finale.
Director Josh Epstein (also highlighted in the Dec. 5 JI) is to be congratulated for bringing all the elements together in this heartwarming story of love.
Running until Jan. 3, tickets for Annie can be purchased at gatewaytheatre.com or by calling 604-270-1812.
Tova Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.
The thriller Shelter, set in Germany, features Mona, a Lebanese woman, and Naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent sent to protect the informant while she recovers from plastic surgery for her new identity. Mona and Naomi are together for two weeks in a quiet apartment in Hamburg, a safe house, a shelter. No one knew that this supposedly quiet fortnight would turn into an abyss and that shelter would need to be found elsewhere. In this game of deception, beliefs are questioned and choices are made that are not their own. And yet, their fate takes a surprising turn in this suspense-laden, elegant neo-noir.
Shelter is one of the eight best films the festival has screened over the last years.The others are All About the Levkoviches, Here We Are, Kiss Me Kosher, No Name Restaurant, Pink Lady, Restoration and The Women’s Balcony. For Hanukkah, the Vancouver Jewish Film Centre is making them all available online until Dec. 28. A full pass is $36; each film, $15.
Itamar Erez takes part in International Guitar Night Feb. 1. (photo by Diane Smithers)
International Guitar Night returns to Massey Theatre on Feb. 1. This year’s all-Canadian tour features classical and flamenco guitarist Itamar Erez, jazz guitarist and vocalist Jocelyn Gould, harp guitar innovator and fingerstyle virtuoso Jamie Dupuis, and flamenco guitarist Caroline Planté.
Erez is an internationally acclaimed guitarist and composer whose music fuses Middle Eastern delicacy, jazz improvisation and other world music influences. A recipient of both the 2014 ACUM Prize for Special Achievement in Jazz and the Landau Prize, he has shared the stage with artists such as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tomatito and Avishai Cohen, performing at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican and the Sydney Opera House. His albums Mi Alegria (2019), May Song (2022) and Migrant Voices (2024, with Hamin Honari) explore the interplay of global musical languages. Erez tours widely throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Gould, a JUNO Award-winning guitarist and vocalist, is known for her soulful tone, modern bebop phrasing and charismatic presence. She has shared stages with Freddy Cole, Bria Skonberg and Michael Dease, among others. Her four solo albums include Elegant Traveler (2021 JUNO winner) and Sonic Bouquet (2024 JUNO nominee).
Dupuis is a guitarist and composer celebrated for his fingerstyle technique and his distinctive voice on the harp guitar. His viral 2016 cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” earned more than 19 million views and international acclaim. Winner of the Canadian Guitar Festival Competition (2016), he combines classical training with influences from rock, jazz and folk.
Planté is one of the world’s few prominent female flamenco guitarists and a pioneering voice in contemporary flamenco composition. Born in Montréal and trained in both Canada and Spain, she studied with master musicians and led Cruceta Flamenco in Madrid as musical director and composer from 2005 to 2013. Her 2010 album 8 Reflexiones made history as the first flamenco CD composed and recorded by a woman, receiving international acclaim.
Since returning to Montréal in 2013, Planté has launched various projects and collaborated with flamenco artists from diverse backgrounds. Her latest work, The Roses of Lorca, premiered in 2024 and draws inspiration from Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
Robert “Lucky” Budd, left, and Roy Henry Vickers have co-authored close to 20 books together, with more to be released in 2026. (photo from “Lucky” Budd)
As oral historian Robert “Lucky” Budd tells it, his collaboration with First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers, which has produced several award-winning and bestselling books, was accurately summed up during a car ride with Vickers’ sister, Patricia, as a unique version of a father-son bond.
“Roy’s the same age as both of my parents, and I am the same age as one of his sons. So, we do have this relationship that’s very, very close, and there definitely is a bit of a father-son element to it,” said Budd, who is a member of the Victoria Jewish community.
“I consider him one of my closest friends, and I love learning with and from him, and we learn a lot together, and he teaches me something all the time. I’m so deeply interested in the stories he has to share.”
For the past 14 years, the pair has teamed up on a variety of projects, but the path that led them to one another, according to Budd, goes back decades, to when Vickers was in high school in Victoria.
His art teacher, realizing that there was little to teach his student, tasked the young Vickers with delving into the art of the Tsimshian and the Haida. Missing his home on the Skeena River, in Hazelton, Vickers started his research, but his efforts yielded no results until he met cultural anthropologist Wilson Duff.
Through Duff, Vickers was able to locate books and recordings, such as those produced by CBC journalist Imbert Orchard, who, from 1959 to 1966, recorded interviews with BC pioneers and those from First Nations. On the cassettes, Vickers listened to stories of the people of the Tsimshian and was moved.
“Over the years, he ended up losing those tapes, but it stuck with him. And so, around 2009, 2010, he went on a mission to try to find those recordings,” Budd said.
Vickers got in touch with the BC Archives, but nobody there knew what he was talking about, until he spoke to someone who said, “Oh, I think the person you’re supposed to be talking to is Lucky Budd.”
Vickers called Budd, asking for help in retrieving the recordings, and their work together began.
Budd holds a master’s in history from the University of Victoria; he is also a rock musician with a penchant for recording everything. At the time of Vickers’ call, he was digitizing audio recordings owned by the CBC and the BC Archives.
“The crown jewel was the Orchard Collection,” said Budd. “And it hit me very early on that I was supposed to turn that material into a book because I was getting an education on the history of the province that no one had ever heard before.”
Budd’s first book, Voices of British Columbia, was based on those recordings, and many of the ones that interested Vickers were in the book.
Budd returned Vickers’ call, telling him, “I know exactly who you are, I know exactly what you’re looking for, I can help you find those stories. It’d be my pleasure to do so.”
By this time, Budd had started a business, Memories to Memoirs, where he interviews and records people to help them tell their stories. He asked Vickers if he had thought of sharing his.
“He said, ‘Oh no, no, no, I’m way too young to do a thing like that,’” Budd recalled. “I was joking with him, and I took a little risk, and I said, ‘Hey man, didn’t you just release a print called “65 Years”? Doesn’t that mean that you get an old-age pension?’ And I started laughing, and he said, ‘OK.’”
After deciding that he had found the right person to work on his story, Vickers invited Budd to visit him in Tofino on Nov. 11, 2011.
“We hit it off like old friends. Roy, in that moment, was, like, if this isn’t the voice of the Creator saying that we ought to be working together, I don’t know what it is,” Budd recalled.
“Lucky has been an inspiration for me since the day we met,” Vickers told the Independent. “His enthusiasm and positivity is uplifting. Lucky has impressed upon me the importance of writing my stories.”
In the 14 years since their first meeting, the duo has co-authored close to 20 books, with more to be released in 2026. Their published titles, such as Raven Brings the Light (2013), Cloudwalker (2014), Orca Chief (2015) and Peace Dancer (2016), have sold well and brought home awards.
The two have also put together board books for children featuring Vickers’ artwork: Hello Humpback! (2017), One Eagle Soaring (2018) and Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue (2019). In 2026, Harbour Publishing will be releasing Summer Brings Berries, a board book using rhyming text and colourful imagery to explore and celebrate traditional foods of the West Coast.
Additionally, Budd and Vickers have two other books coming out next year: a children’s colouring book and an art book celebrating Vickers’ 80th birthday.
“I am an oral historian,” said Budd. “I work in the medium of storytelling, and he’s one of the best storytellers I can imagine. We get on the phone and we start talking and, the next thing I know, 45 minutes or an hour has gone by, and he’s told me a ton of different stories.”
Besides his books, Vickers is recognized as a printmaker, painter, carver, designer, author and keynote speaker. Among his numerous accolades is a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2019 for his artwork on a box set of Grateful Dead recordings.
Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
As the owner of the 95-year-old Jewish Independent, I know full well that our Jewish community is built on the shoulders of those came before us. It is upon this foundation that we continue to grow, keeping our institutions going, while also starting new ventures and winding up groups that have served their purpose. Sometimes an organization will rebrand and recreate itself, sometimes it will reconnect with and reestablish its roots.
It is with these thoughts in mind that I watched the short documentary film Four Pillars of Peretz, which premiered last month at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. But it was also more personal than that, as I knew the four women being profiled: Bluma Field, Sylvia Friedman, Claire Klein Osipov and Gallia Chud, all of whom have passed away. To me, these women exemplified grace and grit. They were doers and they lived by their beliefs – most important, to me, though, was that they welcomed me, made a place for me, treated me as if I mattered, despite my holding very different views than they did on many things.
Bluma Field, left, and Claire Klein Osipov. (screenshot)
Nothing in filmmaker Michael Kissinger’s 36-minute documentary shattered the notion that they treated everyone with such respect, for which I’m grateful. I want to remember these women this way. A key element I feel is missing in the world today is this ability to be friends, or at least be civil to, people with different opinions. We are so polarized that our own views – and our need to express them – often take precedence over making another human feel, well, human.
I know that this phenomenon is nothing new. As is the case with most organizations, the Peretz Centre was started to fill a need that wasn’t being met by other groups at the time. Secular and socialist in nature, the Peretz has rarely “fit in” with the mainstream Jewish community over its 80-year history. While its politics held no interest for me, its focus on Yiddish culture, its choir in particular, did appeal to me and I was involved for some 30 years, having been introduced to the centre by Claire, who was the epitome of class – and, wow, what an incredible voice. She was close friends with my aunt, who also, sadly, has passed away.
Going down memory lane with Four Pillars of Peretz was truly a pleasure. For people who don’t know the four women profiled, I would still recommend watching it, if only to demystify the Peretz Centre. Community unity shouldn’t mean community uniformity, and everyone should be so lucky as to have at least one place where they feel welcome. We don’t need to belong everywhere, but it’s vital to our health, I think, that we belong somewhere.
Sylvia Friedman with her son, Michael Friedman. (screenshot)
Four Pillars of Peretz is also an example of what other organizations could do to honour their founders. Keeping history alive is so important, in my view. It’s not an inexpensive endeavour, but it’s worthwhile. In the case of this documentary, Kissinger really captures the spirits of these women and the way in which they still inspire others. Bluma, Sylvia, Claire and Gallia were by no means the only pillars of the Peretz Centre, but they were particularly driving forces, and they were so for decades.
“These stubborn old ladies, you know, they get sh*t done,” says Faith Jones, providing the first comments in the film, which features clips frominterviews with other Peretz members and with members of the women’s families. Through these snippets, as well as photographs and other archival material, you get a sense of the enormous amount of effort and love that it takes to start an organization and keep it running.
The film starts with an overview of the four women, then each gets their own spotlight. The snappy music and the way in which Kissinger has edited the film makes it move along smoothly, both communicating the challenges these women – and others in their generation – faced with tenacity, but also with joy.
“I think all of these women, if they were here today, would say that they got just as much out of it as they put into it, because it’s community,” says one of Gallia’s daughters, Rita Chudnovsky, near the end of the film. “And there’s no replacement for a sense of community, and that’s something that’s, I think, getting harder for people to find.”
Margaux Wosk is a cast member of The Assembly, currently streaming on CBC Gem. (photo by Erich Saide / The Assembly)
“I am so proud of what we accomplished,” Margaux Wosk told the Independent about The Assembly, which is now streaming on CBC Gem. “The show offers fresh perspectives on autism and highlights how diverse autistic experiences can be. It also makes for authentic interviews, because no questions are off the table, which is rare to see in mainstream programming.”
Having watched the show, I couldn’t agree more. Produced by Vancouver-based production company Small Army Entertainment, The Assembly is entertaining. The way in which everyone interacts is refreshingly respectful, the content of the questions is unexpected and the honesty from both the interviewers and interviewees makes for compelling viewing. Everyone comes off as down-to-earth, friendly, with joys and fears most of us have experienced, just in different ways. In the inaugural season, the cast comprises more than 40 autistic and neurodivergent British Columbians interviewing six celebrities – Howie Mandel (America’s Got Talent), Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever), singer-songwriter Jann Arden, Allan Hawco (Saint-Pierre), Arlene Dickinson (Dragon’s Den) and comedian Russell Peters – over the course of six episodes.
According to CBC, the show is adapted from a French program, Les rencontres du Papotin, which started in 2022 on France 2 and became so popular that it has been commissioned in 19 countries to date. It was renamed The Assembly for British audiences, which is how it has been imported into Canada. But the origins go back even further, notes CBC – “The TV program was inspired by a real-life newspaper that has been written and published by autistic journalists since 1990.”
Wosk found out about the Canadian production via a Small Army Entertainment social media post.
The casting process took more than a year, according to CBC. “Producers worked with professional organizations within the autistic community to find people who would be interested in appearing on the show. Once selected, they were provided with some background information about each celebrity guest, but it was up to them to do their own research and decide how much or how little they would prepare,” says a Nov. 6 CBC Gem post.
“We received information about each guest and submitted about five questions each,” said Wosk. “These were then narrowed down to the best questions, and the team made sure there were no duplicates from other cast members. This process allowed us to craft questions that were both meaningful and unique.”
Filming took place in various places. “We filmed mostly during the summer at a few locations around the city that had natural lighting to accommodate people with light sensitivity, like myself,” said Wosk, who wanted to participate in the show for a few reasons.
“I love public speaking, and I wanted to help reduce the stigma around what autistic people are capable of,” they said. “I also wanted to reclaim my narrative. My childhood was difficult in many ways, so being able to feel empowered and share my perspective as an adult is really meaningful to me.”
Wosk serves as president of BC People First, where they support self-advocacy and inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They have written for or been featured in numerous publications and been interviewed for radio and other media many times. They received a BC Achievement Community Award this year, recognizing that their work with BC People First “breaks down barriers, fosters pride and amplifies underrepresented perspectives through creativity, advocacy and education”; that their business, Retrophiliac, empowers “others to express themselves, reduce stigma and build community”; that, in their leadership on accessibility, education and business development, their artwork and other initiatives, they are “a strong voice for inclusion, pride and important systemic change.”
Retrophiliac “sells items focused on disability, neurodiversity and self-expression, as well as communication cards that help people communicate,” and has a couple of access points: retrophiliac.etsy.com and shopretrophiliac.com. Wosk’s website is margauxwosk.com.
One particularly exciting moment for me as a viewer of The Assembly, though I only know Wosk slightly through some volunteer work we’ve done, was when Arden, as she was chatting with some of the interviewers after the main filming, said Wosk looked “kick ass.”
“It was amazing,” said Wosk when I asked how it felt to hear that. “I had planned my outfit weeks in advance for each taping, and my sense of style is really important to me. It is one of the ways I express my personality, so hearing Jann Arden compliment it felt very affirming and special.”
Wosk isn’t the only Jewish community member on The Assembly. I recognized Lyle Lexier and Wosk thought there might be another. CBC didn’t respond to my emails.
“I hope viewers have their assumptions about autism challenged and reduced,” said Wosk about the show. “I also hope they enjoy seeing Canadian celebrities and public figures answer questions in ways they probably have not seen elsewhere, giving a deeper sense of how human and relatable they are.”
Azaleah Korn, who plays the title role in Gateway Theatre’s production of the musical Annie, takes guidance from director Josh Epstein. (photo from Gateway Theatre)
Vancouver Jewish community member Azaleah Korn plays the title character in Gateway Theatre’s production of Annie, which opens Dec. 11 and runs through Jan. 3. The production is directed by another Jewish community member: Josh Epstein.
“When I found out I got the role of Annie, I cried and screamed and cried some more,” Korn told the Independent. “I was shocked, excited, crazy happy and a little nervous all at once! Being able to play the role of Annie is a huge honour and fills me with so much joy, excitement and inspiration.”
For the few readers unfamiliar with the Tony Award-winning musical, which has had several movie adaptations, Annie is set in New York City in the 1930s. It centres around Annie, an orphan who is eternally positive despite her harsh circumstances. Her luck – and that of her companion, the stray dog, Sandy – changes when she is invited to spend the holidays with billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
“I love singing all the songs in this play and I truly love diving deep into this complex human and figuring out how and why she does what she does and thinks what she thinks,” said Korn, who is a Grade 8 student at Eric Hamber Secondary School.
Azaleah Korn stars in Gateway Theatre’s Annie, which runs Dec. 11-Jan. 3. The role of Sandy is played by three dogs; pictured here is Poco. (photo by David Cooper)
“Playing Annie is challenging for me because it’s not a character that I innately identify with,” Korn said. “Her hope and upbeat attitude, even in her awful situation, isn’t my gut reaction. But playing her has inspired me to find the hope or silver lining in otherwise sad situations. The most fun part of being Annie is exploring the world through her eyes.”
At age 13, Korn has the training and experience to play such an iconic role and make it her own.
“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t performing; whether it be for my parents, friends, family and/or my stuffed animals!!” she said. “I started training in musical theatre, dance and vocals at the age of 5. Funnily enough, my very first vocal performance, at the age of 5, were songs from Annie: ‘Maybe’ and ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed.’”
Korn played Tomika in School of Rock at Theatre Under the Stars in 2024 and Brigitta in the Sound of Music at Delta Youth Theatre in 2023. She competes vocally and, this past year, won first place in the musical theatre genre at Kiwanis Music Festival. For the last three years, she has been dancing competitively, with the Happening Dance Studio. A couple of years ago, she won a nationwide songwriting contest. She would like to study musical theatre in New York and perform on Broadway.
“I prepare for my roles by learning the backstory of the show and my character. I really try to bring ‘me’ to the character I am playing, so, although I watch the musical or movie, I try not to copy or emulate exactly what I see. It is really important for me to bring my own authentic self to the character, so it feels and looks real,” she explained.
“To memorize my lines, I visualize the scene over and over. This technique helps me feel the beat of the scene and then the lines come more naturally.
“To calm my nerves,” she said, “I think, ‘what would Beyoncé do?’ I channel my inner courage and remember that musical theatre is my biggest passion and love. Reminding myself of my love for being on stage helps ease the nerves.”
Self-care is part of it, too. With Annie, for example, there are shows six days a week, and a matinée and evening performance on Saturdays.
“To have enough energy for the shows, I try to relax – when I’m not at school or rehearsing!” said Korn. “I like to zone out by watching TV or reading a book and keeping my talking to a minimum (which can be hard for me at times!), so I don’t wear my voice out. Luckily, my mum cooks me healthy meals so I have the energy to dance, sing and act my heart out on the stage. I warm up my body and voice. Cheryl Porter’s vocal warm-ups are amongst my favourite and have helped me keep my vocal cords safe throughout my singing years and daily shows.”
It was Korn’s mom who saw that Gateway Theatre was casting for Annie.
“She submitted me for the role of Annie and/or the orphans,” said Korn. “I practised the vocals for the audition with my vocal coach, Frederik Robert. My mum was my reader for the scene I had to practise. I guess she did an OK job! Mentally, I told myself to just go in there with all my confidence and courage and play the role and sing the best I could. And, like my mum always reminds me, ‘have fun!’”
This will be Korn’s first time working with Gateway Theatre. She is grateful to Epstein, choreographer Nicol Spinola, music director Sean Bayntum and the whole Gateway team for the “incredible opportunity.” Her parents have provided “endless support,” she said, also highlighting her vocal coach, Robert, and dance teacher, Kim Stevenson, “for pushing me and believing in me!”
Judaism is a fundamental aspect of Korn’s life.
“My grandfather, David Solomon Korn (he is named after two kings, he likes to remind us), is a Holocaust survivor. He and his brother Yaakov, aged 6 and 7, survived the Nazis as they came through Europe, including Brno, Czechoslovakia, where my grandfather was born. Tragically, his parents died at the hands of the Nazis, leaving my grandfather and his brother orphans. He recently wrote his memoir, in a book called At Great Risk, with the assistance of the Azrieli Foundation. My grandmother, Yona, was born in Afula, Israel. My grandparents met in Montreal and, after marrying, lived in Haifa before immigrating to Canada. It is a story of survival, determination and hope.
“Playing the role of Annie causes me to pause often to reflect upon the injustices inflicted upon my grandfather, who himself was orphaned at a young age, and the resilience of the Jewish people,” Korn continued. “My Jewish identity is strong and it is an important part of who I am today.”
It is easy to see why Epstein told the Independent that everyone who sees Annie will “walk away drawn in to our Annie, rising star Azaleah Korn – she’s got a mix of undeniable star power and acting chops.”
Epstein is a multifaceted talent himself, being an actor, producer, director and writer. The almost-46-year-old is a theatre veteran. For him, directing at Gateway Theatre is special.
“I spent my Hanukkahs doing the seasonal show at the Gateway as a kid – five winters,” he said. “It was a training ground for me, and this is all full circle.”
He directed Gateway’s 2024 production of Oliver! (He was part of Gateway’s 1992 production of the musical, playing young pickpocket Charley Bates.)
“Coming off Oliver! last year was a real awakening for me,” Epstein told the JI. “I didn’t expect how joyful it would be to dust off a classic and rediscover how well these classics hold up when you approach them with imagination and depth. The Gateway encouraged us to dream big and take risks. Barb Tomasic (executive artistic director) is an extraordinary leader, and that attitude trickles through the entire company.
“On opening night, she asked me about returning, I was a quick yes. She had a list, I had a list, and Annie was at the top of both.”
When asked his favourite thing about Annie so far, Epstein said, “We’ve found fresh takes on every character.” As noted, he highlighted Korn. He also said, “I think audiences will see a Warbucks they’ve never seen before. Charlie Gallant brings something impulsive, surprising and emotionally alive. It reinvigorates the role and opens up the whole story.”
He added, “But, who am I kidding, the dog will undoubtedly get the most attention. Everyone loves Sandy.”
Sandy is played by three dogs: Neko, Mylo and Poco. While there is the saying, “never work with kids or animals,” Epstein said, “It’s a myth. We had 70 kids audition. Seventy. Vancouver is full of incredible training programs … so the talent pool was unbelievable and our orphans are exceptional. The challenge is harnessing all that energy and potential inside a big, fast-moving machine.”
It’s been six to 10 months of planning, said Epstein, between “sets, costumes, props, auditions and logistics. Then, three intense weeks of rehearsal into tech. In that window, we have to teach all the music, choreograph huge numbers, stage transitions, build quick changes, run fight direction, intimacy work, dialect coaching, work with three dogs and a dog trainer, squeeze in costume fittings and lift calls, and prep special promo events. When you break it down, the number of actual hours we get for scene work is shockingly small, so my job is to move quickly while still hitting all the moments we want to savour.”
There is nothing like live theatre.
“Look,” said Epstein, “more and more, most of us are at home scrolling, streaming, consuming things alone. Theatre is one of the last places where you sit in a room with hundreds of strangers and feel something together. For this price, with this level of talent and this much energy poured into it, there’s nothing else quite like it.
“At its core, Annie is a story about chosen family, about finding the people who show you that love isn’t just something you give, but something you have to allow yourself to receive – Warbucks learns that, Annie teaches it – and I hope you leave the theatre optimistic about finding that kind of connection with your own chosen family, whoever they may be.”
Into the Light – featuring the art of Gillian Richards, left, and Pilar Mehlis – is at the Zack Gallery until Jan. 5. (photo by Olga Livshin)
The current show at the Zack Gallery, Into the Light, introduces two artists: Pilar Mehlis and Gillian Richards. Both explore light and air in their paintings – though with very different approaches.
Mehlis was born in Bolivia. Her family moved to Canada when she was 12. Since then, she regularly travels between the two countries: for study or work. “I’ve lived in Vancouver since 2001, but I still visit Bolivia every year,” she told the Independent. She feels that she belongs to both cultures, the same way she belongs to art.
“I didn’t choose art as a profession,” she said. “It chose me. I always liked doing art, but, in Bolivia, art is not considered a serious profession. Not stable enough. In the beginning, I tried to deny it, found various jobs in other fields, but I couldn’t stay away from art. When I was young, I had a romantic view of the artistic life – you know, an artist in her studio. I know better now, but it is too late for me.” She smiled.
Richards is local. She studied fine art in British Columbia and Alberta, starting in high school. “After I graduated from a fine arts program, I worked for years in the film industry here, in Vancouver,” she said. “I was a scenic artist. It was a good job, with a steady income, and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t creative enough for me. I was always working on someone else’s concept. About 10 years ago, I decided to step back from film and pursue my own artistic ideas. I wanted to express myself, my vision.”
Both artists have known each other slightly for a long time, as their studios are in Parker Street Studios and both have participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl for years, but the shared exhibit is due to the efforts of Zack manager and curator Sarah Dobbs.
“Sarah brought us together,” Mehlis explained. “I applied for the show at the JCC, but I didn’t have enough new works to fill the gallery. Sarah visited several other studios in our building to find the second artist.” Richards picked up the story: “Sarah approached me with the idea of a two-artist show, and here we are.”
For Mehlis, her Latin American roots inform her paintings and sculptures. “Magic Realism is very popular in Latin America,” she said. “It fascinates me: the idea of mystical and mysterious in everyday life. My grandmother’s stories were full of magic embedded in the ordinary. And we have many street festivals in Bolivia. The performers wear colourful costumes of fantastic beasts, with only their human legs showing.”
Similarly, the birds in Mehlis’s paintings all have human legs and bright plumage. They are flying in the same direction, through the luminous light, towards goals only they know. The artist calls this series the Ornithrope Collection.
“The idea of migration of humans and animals intrigues me,” she said. “For fish and birds, there are no borders, they follow a pattern in the world. But humans – we have borders. Borders complicate things, and still people migrate. My birds are modeled on a swallow, a migratory creature. Swallows fly between North and South America every year, like me. They are my travel companions.”
“Riding on the Wings” by Pilar Mehlis.
Most of her pieces were inspired by Caroline Shaw’s music, set to the words of psalms, and the titles reflect those inspirational, poetic phrases: “The sparrow found a house…” or “They pass through the valley…” or “Riding on the wings…” All the pieces are focused on fantastic, anthropomorphic birds: at rest or in flight. They are the protagonists of Mehlis’s stories.
Meanwhile, Richards’ paintings are of scenery, with succinct titles: “Commute,” “Ferry Deck,” “Tree Fort.”
“Urban spaces always interested me,” she said. “We pass them. We touch them. We change them. I take lots of photos when I walk around, and my photos often serve as a base for my paintings, something I want to explore, a starting point. Light and shadows create a mood, an atmosphere. That’s why there are no people in my paintings. People change the mood, but I don’t know who they are. As it is, the viewers are the participants. They can walk into my paintings and make up their own stories.”
Light suffuses Richards’ cityscapes, be it the pink sunlight on a ferry deck, the lamplight at night on a street corner, or the yellow sunlight peeking through a tangle of boards of an abandoned tree fort. In Richards’ paintings, we are the people driving in the cars or traveling on the ferry through the lights of ocean and sky. We might have built the fort.
“Tree Fort” by Gillian Richards.
“That tree fort is such an expressive structure,” she said. “I have several paintings of it. It is in that liminal space between a residential area and a forest. There is a mystery there: who built it? What for? It’s human architecture, fragile but enduring.”
Like Mehlis, Richards finds mystery.
Another similarity between the artists is that both are cautious about commissions.
“I have only one client – a poet,” Mehlis said.
“I have done some commissions,” Richards said, “but it wasn’t really for me. It resembled too much my work in film: executing someone else’s ideas.”
Mehlis and Richards represent a generation of creative people finding their way, one step at a time, between the old brick-and-mortar gallery system and the new internet marketing world.
“I don’t know how to promote myself anymore,” said Mehlis. “It used to be all galleries, but now it is all online, and I don’t understand those algorithms.”
Richards agreed: “The gallery system is in trouble now, competing with the online sales. But Eastside Culture Crawl is still going strong. Most of us make our yearly income during Culture Crawl. Hundreds of visitors come every year to our studios. It is a huge artistic event, the most democratic art sales in Vancouver. Nobody curates it. People buy what they like.… I remember in 2021, just after COVID, there were still restrictions in place of how many people could visit at a time. I looked out the window and there was a lineup of people in front of the door to our studios. It stretched out for blocks. They all wanted our art. It was very heartening.”
I know what my wife and I will do for at least part of our winter break – go through the latest edition of Robin Esrock’s The Great Canadian Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences together and make plans. For when? I’m not sure. But plans. Wish lists.
Published by Dundurn Press, and released just last month, this is the third edition of Esrock’s popular book. I interviewed Esrock when the original book came out in 2013, and it has evolved substantially since then. Notably, as he points out in the introduction, this new list “casts an overdue lens on Indigenous tourism,” which he hopes will result in powerful and personal connections this country desperately needs.”
New experiences have been added and some revisions have been made. In tandem with the books, there has always been a website, canadianbucketlist.com, because, as Esrock writes, “Tourism is a constantly evolving industry. Tour operators, restaurants and hotels often change names or ownership, adapt their services or cease operations altogether. Records fall, facts shift and practical information needs to be constantly updated.”
The Great Canadian Bucket List is organized by province, west to east, then up to Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It wraps up with a national section, which has some “Canada’s best” lists, among other things. There are fabulous colour photos throughout. Esrock highlights four to 17 experiences in each chapter, with his home province of British Columbia having the most entries.
You will hear no complaints from me about this! During COVID, I saw more of British Columbia than I had in the previous 28 or so years of living here. What I love about Esrock’s bucket list choices is their range, from, for example, houseboating on Shuswap Lake, which I could see myself doing, to heli-skiing, which is a hard no, to visiting Haida Gwaii, which I hope to do next year, to things that I’ve done, like visit the Malahat Skywalk on Vancouver Island, and things that probably all of us have done, such as take a stroll along the Seawall.
The range is as varied for the rest of Canada: there are places I’ve been, things I’d never do, and things I’d jump at the chance to do.
Years ago, I visited Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo Jump in Alberta and found it fascinating, learning a lot about Indigenous hunting practices. According to Esrock, the “UNESCO World Heritage Site is the most significant and best-preserved buffalo jump site on the continent.”
I’m “hometown” proud of Magnetic Hill in Moncton, NB, where I was born. I’ve rolled “up” the hill more than once and still get a kick out of the cheesiness of it all. As Esrock explains, it’s all an optical illusion, but it’s still magic to me.
I’ve had the privilege of wandering, and occasionally buying something, in every one of Esrock’s best urban markets in Canada: Granville Island here, St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, ByWard Market in Ottawa and the Forks in Winnipeg.
I’m not a big risk taker, so won’t be leaning off the top of the CN Tower in Toronto anytime soon, even with all the safety cords in the world, or scaling a frozen waterfall in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. And I will never jump off anything much higher than a curb.
That said, there are so many experiences that I would like to have. In the context of Esrock’s book, one of the top ones is cycling the Kettle Valley Railway, especially now that I’ve learned from Esrock that there’s a company that will provide the bikes, accommodation – and carry our bags! I’d like to check out the tunnels in Moose Jaw, Sask., which “were access corridors for steam engineers, then used as a safe haven for Chinese migrants fearing for their lives, and finally by bootleggers and gangsters.”
I would love to get to Churchill, Man., something I never managed to do when I lived in Winnipeg. Visiting L’Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland and Labrador, where there are the remains of a Norse settlement from 1000 CE, would be cool. Cruising the Northwest Passage would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience (hopefully). There are hikes and kayaking adventures that call to me….
But, for now, I will flip the pages of The Great Canadian Bucket List, contemplating all the possibilities. I’ll worry about what’s affordable, what’s doable physically and mentally, what’s possible time-wise, etc., later.
Karen Bermann’s The Art of Being a Stranger: A Family Memoir, published by New Jewish Press, an imprint of University of Toronto Press, is a work of art. It is moving in ways hard to describe. It might not capture every detail of her family’s history – in fact, wide swaths of that history are missing. What’s not missing, what is powerful, are the feelings this book evokes.
Bermann, who lives in Rome, is professor emerita of architecture at Iowa State University. Her father, Fritz, was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Vienna. At 15 years old, he and his younger sister, Elsa, who was 10, fled Europe, alone, in the late 1930s. They were separated in Haifa, his sister being taken to an orphanage with the other children who were too young to work. Fritz, as lucky as one can be after losing one’s family and home, ended up with a Russian farming family who treated him well. Nonetheless, at 18, he left the farm and headed off to live on a kibbutz.
The way in which Bermann intertwines her father’s words with her own commentary and descriptions is so effective. For example, when Fritz tells her about getting in trouble, at 10 years old, for writing a story about building a bomb to blow up the school, Bermann writes, “‘Oh, Dad, that is really bad.’ Yes, that was a particularly bad one. ‘Were you always so angry?’ I was born angry. And scared. As was my father before me. ‘Even before the Nazis, you were so angry and scared?’ Well, yes. But the Nazis didn’t help.”
This dark sense of humour permeates The Art of Being a Stranger. Bermann doesn’t sentimentalize or sensationalize, she just tells us what her father tells her and sometimes shares her reactions. We also learn – and feel – what she went through as Fritz’s daughter. She writes succinctly, poetically, in both words and images.
From pre-state Israel, Fritz went to New York City, where he worked in building maintenance. After an incident with an antisemitic boss, he found work at a company, where, over 20 years, he rose up the ladder. “Somehow from being a peasant in Palestine I found myself a bigshot in the world of New York building maintenance,” he tells his daughter.
But New York never became, for him, a city of museums and operas, but remained one of crooks and bribes. Just like his Vienna wasn’t the city tourists visited to eat sachertorte and go skating, but rather was “a shtetl of poor religious Jews, a ghetto of ignorant bastards who beat their children for making noise on Shabbos, but who knew in their bones that they were not welcome, who recognized the stench of antisemitism in the street while others were perfuming their noses in the rose gardens.”
Fritz’s trauma, inherited from his ancestors, is passed on to his daughter in full force. Yet, Bermann, as a teenager, would defend her father against her friends’ calling him a Nazi, for instance. He was brutally abusive. She only talks about this in relation to herself, not others in the household. To survive, she built “a parallel structure to the one I live in my father’s house.”
“Fritz was ruthlessly (one of hisfavorite words) honest about the danger of hope. Hope was more than pointless, it was stupid, and led to suffering,” writes Bermann. “People disappointed by life were stupid people; they made him angry…. He taught us about the strength of character that hopelessness required.”
In addition to sharing some of her childhood experiences, Bermann shares some of her experiences working, at the age of 19, on the rehabilitation of one of the more than 1,000 abandoned buildings on the Lower East Side that she and a group took over from the city: “Ditched by landlords who couldn’t squeeze a profit out of a tenement in need of heat, in need of maintenance, a building that leaked from every weak pore.”
We meet other family members, we find out how Fritz’s story ends. From fragments of a life, we see how complex we humans are, how many contradictions we hold within us, how we can be that which we hate, how we can hurt who we love and how we can love the broken, how beauty exists, sometimes inextricably with the ugly. The stranger of the title is Fritz, it’s Bermann, it’s us. Yet, experiencing The Art of Being a Stranger made me feel more part of humanity, kind of like when we chant Ashamnu together as a congregation: we have abused, we have betrayed, we have been cruel…. None of us is perfect, none of us gets through life unscathed or without hurting others. Yet, we keep getting up in the morning and living. Until we don’t.
