YMCA Arts Live Performance Series
When: Multiple dates
“This year, I’m excited to watch the Calgary talent I love and discover new Canadian artists not yet on my radar. One organization I think is doing a fantastic job celebrating Canadian performers is the YMCA through its YMCA Arts Live Performance Series. Its 2024-2025 season includes shows for all ages, from the whacky One-Man Star Wars Trilogy to the rocking Buddy Holly Tribute.
“If you’re looking for an inclusive and accessible children’s holiday show, don’t miss Nutcracker (in a Nutshell). This 30-minute production introduces young children to Tchaikovsky’s iconic music and is designed for maximum kid enjoyment; there is plenty of space for young audiences to dance and sing along with the performers. Your ticket includes arts and crafts before the show and a sugar plum dance class afterwards.
“Another don’t-miss is LiLuune by local actor, singer and puppeteer Jamie Konchak. (You may recognize Konchak from last season’s production of Beaches at Theatre Calgary.) Presented by the Festival of Animated Objects, Liluune is a whimsical all-ages puppet show set to an original score.
“YMCA Arts 2024-2025 season is a masterclass in arts accessibility. Ticket prices are affordable (pricing starts at $15), shows are inclusive and parking is plentiful. With all performances held at either the Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge or Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, audiences can do a standing squat and a standing ovation in the same visit.” —Meredith Bailey, director of strategy and content, RedPoint Media Group
The Lehman Trilogy at Theatre Calgary
When: October 15 to November 3, 2024
“Telling the true story of the Lehman Brothers, this play in three acts covers the history of the family and their company from its founding as a store in Alabama through to the ultimate bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings in 2008.
“The Tony-award winning show has been translated into 24 languages and performed in countless cities. This Theatre Calgary production is directed by Arts Commons VP Programming SGS (Sarah Garton Stanley) with her partner Tracey Erin Smith as the Associate Director.
“The Lehman Triology has been described as epic — and in terms of the story’s scope (164-years), its importance (Lehman’s bankruptcy was the climax of the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis) and the length of the show (currently the run time is listed as TBA, but there are two intermissions) — that is certainly the case.
“The Lehman Trilogy examines the drive of entrepreneurs and immigrants and I’m eager to see this production and what it has to tell us in a city that is seeing new people arrive every day and where we emphasize our entrepreneurial spirit.
“Avenue A-Listers will have two opportunities for exclusive experiences at the show with a Date Night for two on the opening night and a private reception on October 24. Visit thealist.vip to learn more.” —Käthe Lemon, president, RedPoint Media Group
An Evening with Rachel Kushner at Wordfest’s Imaginairium
When: October 21, 2024
“I discovered author Rachel Kushner only recently and I’m kind of glad I held off until this advanced stage in life, as my 20-something self might have gone to extreme lengths to emulate her by taking up motorcycle racing. (Legend has it Kushner once crashed a speed bike going 140 miles per hour, just like Reno, the protagonist of her 2013 novel The Flamethrowers did, when she was trying to break the land-speed record on the Utah Salt Flats). Motorcycle or no motorcycle, I’m fascinated by Kushner as a writer, a thinker, a person and a speed freak, which is why I’m super excited that she’s coming to Calgary to close out this year’s Imaginairium, the annual fall literary festival presented by Wordfest.
“The event takes place on the evening of Monday, October 21 on the second floor of Memorial Park Library — an intimate room in a lovely heritage building in the middle of a park in the middle of the city. The host for the evening is Calgary Herald arts and entertainment writer Eric Volmers, who knows his books and will keep the conversation flowing until the audience Q&A period where I will have to bite my tongue to keep from asking a dumb question like ‘how are you the coolest?’ Word has it Kushner will be sticking around after to sign copies of her latest novel Creation Lake and hopefully become my new BFF and tell me all about what it was like working for underground art magazines in New York in the ’90s.
“Imaginairium 2024 kicks off officially on Tuesday, October 15, so there’s a lot more lit to experience prior to the Kushner finale. To see the festival schedule and purchase tickets, visit wordfest.com.” —Shelley Arnusch, editor in chief, Avenue
A Christmas Carol at Theatre Calgary
When: November 29 to December 29, 2024
“This Christmas tale filled with a stubborn Scrooge, insightful ghosts and an exploration through past, present and future is a timeless classic. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol begins on Christmas Eve when Ebenezer Scrooge, a stubborn man with a jaded outlook on life, is visited by three ghosts who force him to face the music (figuratively and literally, as an orchestra accompanies each scene). Through a journey to key moments in his past and present, as well as the result of these actions in a bleak future, Scrooge begins to understand there is more to life than just money and bringing misery to others.
“As someone who has grown up watching A Christmas Carol every year as a family tradition, I still find myself experiencing each show as if it were the first time, and Theatre Calgary’s depiction is no exception. As it kicks off its 36th production of A Christmas Carol, directed by Stafford Arima and associate director Jane MacFarlane, it brings the tale to life with stunning sets, vibrant costumes and a huge cast of actors that breathe life into each character. Visit theatrecalgary.com/shows for tickets and show times.” —Michaela Ream, assistant editor, RPM Content Studio
Broadway Across Canada’s Beetlejuice
When: January 7 to 12, 2025
“I’ve always identified with Beetlejuice — I regularly dress up as him for Halloween! So, to say “I’m excited” for Broadway Across Canada to bring the ghost-with-the-most to the Jubilee Auditorium is putting it mildly. This Tony-nominated musical is an adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton film about a gothy teenager and a stripe-loving spectre who brings ‘a lot of the crazy, inappropriate stuff you would expect from a deranged demon’ to the stage, according to the content advisory. The sets feel like a ghoulish theme park and the tunes are all earworms, making this the spookiest way to start 2025 in Calgary.” —Nathan Iles, editorial assistant, The Scene
