New York’s infamous hotel, The Chelsea Hotel, makes a return to the Firehall Arts Centre March 17th to April 21st, 2018. Leonard Cohen’s powerful and inspirational music is the heartbeat of Chelsea Hotel, as six performers play seventeen different instruments in a rollicking tribute to the remarkable writer. Haunted by memories of his tumultuous love life, a writer checks into New York’s infamous Chelsea Hotel desperate to find the words and inspiration for his next song. Wading through past relationships, he reluctantly comes face to face with the love of the present, a love he wishes he could not only forget, but erase from memory.
Conceived and directed by Tracey Power, with musical arrangements by Steve Charles, Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is an inventive fusion of music, dance, and theatre that invites its audience into the hotel room of a creative mind and takes them on a poetic musical journey. The production premiered in February of 2012 and was nicknamed ‘the make out show’ as patrons were often caught kissing outside the theatre after the show. It was remounted by popular demand in the Fall of that same year and went on tour to Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, and Toronto.
With over 200 shows since its premiere, Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen has played to audiences of all ages and received praise across the country for its imagination and creativity. It received Ovation Awards for “Outstanding Ensemble Production” and “Outstanding Director,” and received numerous nominations for awards including the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award, Calgary Theatre Critics’ Award, and Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award. The production kicks off in Vancouver March 17th. For those on a budget, note the Firehall Arts Centre offers Pay What You Can shows on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm. Also for anyone 30 years of age and under, you can get in for $20 any day with proof of age. Tickets are available online at Firehall Arts Centre.
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Map of the Land, Map of the Stars by Gwaandak Theatre achieves the unusual feat of being very educational and raising provocative questions, while at the same time presenting a dreamlike quality as theatre, dance and projected images blend to present a variety of “story beads” about life in the Yukon over the centuries for indigenous people and the various other peoples who came to the country and interacted with them.
The late Venezuelan populist Hugo Chavez had a phrase he would use when elections and referendums didnʼt go his way;
lutions? “A lot of names have been bandied about as future mayor but no one has mentioned a return of the greatest candidate ever; Vincent “ Mr. Peanut “ Trasov. Certainly the City would be no worse if Trasov dusted off his Mr. Peanut suit and ran for mayor like the time he did in the 1974 election and got 2600 votes, a ton of press, and the endorsement of Beat Generation poet William S. Burroughs. As to who may actually end up warming the big chair at 12th and Cambie, it is like coaching changes for the Canucks. Only a few of the names should be taken remotely serious.
It’s time to laugh! Every time we watch the news, we think the world’s gone mad and then think, we really need to laugh more often. If you are feeling the same way, or just need a good laugh, you have lots of great opportunities to do just that during the upcoming 
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