William Finn and James Lapine’s A New Brain ranks highly in my musical theatre playlist and Pipedream Theatre’s production more than lives up to expectations in its Vancouver premiere.
Roger (Tyson Coady) and Gordon (Andrew Cohen) share a hospital bedside moment.
Save for a spattering of inaudible lyrics lost to upstage singing and some occasional overly-loud piano, Tuesday’s preview of A New Brain went off with few hitches.
It’s Finn’s semi-autobiographical story of a song-writer, Gordon Schwinn, who is hospitalized with a life-threatening illness and faces the possibility of not being able to finish the songs he dreams of writing.
Andrew Cohen more than holds his own as the lead Gordon, amid a very strong ensemble cast. Cohen and Tyson Coady, as his lover, Roger, score some tender romantic moments in both “Just Go” and the reprise of “Sailing.”
Georgia Swinton playing multiple roles as an overly-familiar waitress and as nurse Nancy D. is a delight to watch.
Sabrina Prada as Gordon’s mother Mimi, is a stand-out, and neatly steals the spotlight in the tail half with “Throw It Out” and “Music Still Plays On.” I can’t wait to see her again soon in more Vancouver productions.
William Finn’s score shines best in the ensemble numbers and choreographer Keri Minty (who I last saw this spring as Sheila in Royal City’s A Chorus Line) really makes the most of them in a balancing act of cohesiveness and controlled chaos.
The show runs for approximately 100 minutes with no intermission at Performance Works on Granville Island until June 21st. Evening performances: Wed-Sat, June 17th-20, 8pm | Matinees: Sat-Sun, June 20-21, 2pm. Tickets available at www.ticketstonight.ca. Students: $15.00 | Adults: $20.00.
7 responses so far ↓
CBC’s Triple Sensation: Vancouver Auditions « Musicals in Vancouver // June 29, 2009 at 11:39 pm |
[...] two of the featured auditioners. Georgia Swinton and Andrew Cohen, who both recently impressed in A New Brain (Pipedream Theatre), were among forty hopefuls trying out for six [...]
CBC’s Triple Sensation: Master Class « Musicals in Vancouver // July 7, 2009 at 10:34 am |
[...] has already moved on from the experience having recently starred as leading man Gordon in A New Brain (Pipedream) and is currently studying at UBC in the BFA acting [...]
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Playhouse (Upcoming show) « Musicals in Vancouver // November 17, 2009 at 11:51 pm |
[...] Colgate and an ensemble including Danny Balkwill (Thoroughly Modern Millie, TUTS), Tyson Coady (A New Brain, Pipedream), Brennan Cuff, Kazumi Evans (West Side Story, RCMT), Gabrielle Jones (The Drowsy [...]
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Royal City Musical Theatre (Review) « Musicals in Vancouver // April 15, 2010 at 6:54 am |
[...] that there really are no small parts, Tyson Coady (A New Brain, Pipedream), who also played Pharaoh’s Butler, was a definite highlight of the evening. His [...]
NINE; Pipedream (Upcoming show) « Musicals in Vancouver // June 4, 2010 at 3:00 pm |
[...] 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment From the innovative company that brought A New Brain to Vancouver last year comes the Tony Award-winning musical NINE. NINE follows the story of [...]
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Arts Club (Upcoming show) « Musicals in Vancouver // June 23, 2010 at 3:07 pm |
[...] and lyrics by William Finn (Falsettos, A New Brain), book by Rachel Sheinkin and conceived by Rebecca Feldman. Starring Michael Blake, Jeremy [...]
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; TUTS (Upcoming show) « Musicals in Vancouver // July 15, 2010 at 4:40 pm |
[...] musical direction by Kevin Michael Cripps (Footloose, Exit 22), and choreographed by Keri Minty (A New Brain, Pipedream). Costume design by Chris Sinosich (Thoroughly Modern Millie, TUTS), lighting by Gerald [...]