Shows dates are March 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th at 8pm

Tickets are available at http://www.ticketstonight.ca

Here’s what people are saying about Matt & Ben:

“Both Gauthier and Strom do terrific jobs in their roles here”

“Gauthier and Strom work well together on stage which was most evident in a hilarious scene where the two trade-off reading from the Goodwill Hunting script and in a very funny fight scene.  They also have great comedic timing and keep the quick pace demanded here.”

“Director Laura McLean has done a great job working with Gauthier and Strom to ensure they don’t overstep their caricatures”

Mark Robins, GayVancouver.Net

“I laughed so hard!! I was thinking my 50 year old bladder wouldn’t hold up under the stress. Great show… great performances by both actresses.”

“You MUST go see this if you have a chance… great concept and damn amusing performances by the 2 leading ladies who portray Matt Damon & Ben Affleck, unlikely buddies whose careers teeter on the brink of a breakthrough when a certain Oscar-winning screenplay literally falls from the sky. We laughed and laughed and laughed.”

“So far i have been more than happy with every Fighting Chance show, this one was no exception. I will continue to see everything you guys produce! Keep it up ”

Audience Members

Tickets

What was your first theatre experience?
When I was in 3rd grade, my class was slated to perform a play in the Christmas recital at our school. Being the most nervous and shy person in the class, I was cast as one of 8 angels, so I didn’t have any lines or responsibilities. All I had to do was stand there and flap my glittery crepe paper wings with the rest of the angels. My parents even borrowed a friend’s video camera to capture this “once in a lifetime event” (as the LAST thing I ever wanted to do as a kid was to be an actor). Needless to say, my stage fright left me vomiting in the boy’s locker room while my parents waited expectantly in the audience. I never made it onstage.
What is your Dream Role?
I’d love to play Lady Macbeth. Though I’d also love to do The Syringa Tree…it’s such a beautiful and powerful story–and gosh, what an impossibly wonderful challenge it would be.

Had you seen Good Will Hunting before auditioning for Matt & Ben?
I’ll be honest, before auditioning, I’d only seen bits and pieces of Good Will Hunting. I’d always wanted to see it all but had never gotten around to it. But I’ve watched it a good four or five times in the last couple of months to make up for that.

What is the best experience you’ve had in the theatre?
I was in a production of Legoland a couple of years ago that was really the pinnacle of my theatre “career” to date. I have never had more fun or been more connected to a character, nor have I ever felt so in control of myself as a performer. Plus the script is brilliant, and so, so funny. During one performance, a man in the audience was laughing so hard he nearly fell over out of his chair. That was a great feeling.

Do you have any theatre role models?
Not specifically. I really admire people who take risks and believe in what they’re doing. People who are passionate about their craft and who commit and strive to be the best that they can be, and people who don’t let negativity hinder them.

List the four theatrical people you would have around your dinner table in an ideal world.
Oscar Wilde, Judy Dench, Daniel MacIvor, and Sarah Bernhardt. I’d be nervous as hell. But I’d probably take them to somewhere like Arby’s so they wouldn’t be intimidating. Nobody can be intimidating in an Arby’s, it’s a known fact.

If you couldn’t perform, what would you do?
Write, direct or produce. It would have to be arts related, or I’d go crazy.

What do you think is missing from the Vancouver theatre scene?
Opportunities for more independent artists and smaller companies to produce their shows. Some of the best theatre I’ve ever seen was done on a shoestring budget–and unfortunately, there was hardly anybody in the audience to appreciate it’s brilliance and innovation. I think there should be more opportunities for new and original works by local companies, and for people to be able to take more risks and challenge themselves creatively. Other than money, I’d say the one real thing missing is the audiences willing to support the smaller things that are maybe just a little bit “out there”. Oh and puppets. There could definitely be more puppets in the Vancouver theatre scene.

What was your first theatre experience?
I played Sophie the TV as an 8 year old child in the original play Sydney Crump and the Circus of the Sky. To this day, it is still the only part I can recite all my lines to.

What is your Dream Role?
You mean other than my life-long dream role of playing Ben Affleck? Hmmm. It’s rather token but I would love to play Lady Macbeth and Ophelia. That or Medea. Or Angelo in Measure for Measure.

Had you seen Good Will Hunting before auditioning for Matt & Ben?
Yes and I am very fond of it!

What is the best experience you’ve had in the theatre?
Wow, that is a monster question. I definitely have had so many disparate and uniquely incredible experiences in the Theatre. As an audience member, I will never forget seeing the mindblowing piece of work Grace at Pacific Theatre. As an artist, my time creating and writing two different plays with some of the most talented people I know through the process of playmaking will stick with me forever. In fact, being a Theatre major at Trinity Western University with such a nurturing and devoted faculty, discovering the kind of artist I want to be, was definitely my over-all best theatre experience.

Do you have any theatre role models?
I am most inspired by the people around me who are making their opportunities happen for themselves; who are taking risks and telling beautiful stories; The Ryan Mooneys, the Ron Reeds, the Jonathan Youngs, the Aaron Calebs, the Jonathan Christensons, the Kevin Bennetts, the Lucia Frangiones not to mention the Matts and Bens and Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers of my world who are out there telling unique stories that matter to them and creating their own work. I long to have the courage they do.

List the four theatrical people you would have around your dinner table in an ideal world.
Euripides, Ionesco, Shakespeare and Judi Dench.

If you couldn’t perform, what would you do?
Be a psychologist or addictions counsellor.

What do you think is missing from the Vancouver theatre scene?
I am in love with Theatre that knows it is Theatre that takes risks and challenges its audience members. Theatre like that needs audience members who are willing to go there with them. So, I guess, a devoted audience that wants to see new and innovative art and will let Theatre be Theatre!

This year, Fighting Chance was awarded 6 awards in a possible 9 categories.

Colleen Winton, Ryan Mooney and Theresa Morrison at the Ovation Awards. Colleen won an Ovation Award last year for Lead Actress in The Musical of Musicals: The Musical

It was thrilling for us to make such a great showing. On top of that, FCP alumni also took home another two awards for their work on other shows. All in all it was a great night. Below are some quotes from the Fighting Chance winners:

“My body had a totally unnatural reaction to winning. I thought I’d be able to get up there and crack some jokes, say thank you and sit down, but when they called out Rent, I started to shake and choke up. Rent was such an amazing theatrical experience for me, and to have Fighting Chance recognised for our work on the show in this way meant so very much. It was a great end to an experience I won’t soon forget.” – Ryan Mooney, Artistic Director

“I was truly honored to be recognized at the Ovations. I was doubly happy to share Best Supporting Actress with Jacquline. The talent is immense in Vancouver, and to be honored with an award is always fantastic. Thank you to all that voted. This year will be another great year for theater in Vancouver.” – Cathy Wilmot, Actor in Rent and Forbidden Broadway, Supporting Actress Winner for A New Brain

“When I heard my name announced I was STUNNED!  I was actually sitting out in the lobby, (1) as it was full in the house, and (2) because I did not expect to win!  I was up against some very talented competition, so when Cathy looked at me with this giant smile on her face and said, “get up there” I was still in “holy shit-balls mode”!
To hear the roar of the crowd while walking up the aisle brought me to tears.  Fortunately, the walk was long enough that I was able to reign them in before I made it to the stage.
I perform because I love it… pure and simple.  I started doing this about 11 years ago to counter-balance my career stresses (I was a cop), and while I never expect to be able to earn an income from performing, I left the policing world and have designed my business around being able to perform.  And to know that others appreciate what I bring to the stage is the ultimate affirmation!

To be able to then sit back and see so many others from the same production that I was in (RENT) also win… well, that was a very proud moment for me!  Not only was I ecstatic for my fellow actors and friends, but I was just so proud of EVERYONE in the cast & crew, because I was reminded once again that collectively we really brought to the stage something very special this summer.” – Arne Larsen, Actor in Rent, Winner of Male Gypsy Award

“This year’s Ovation Awards night was a total blast; st

anding room only, packed full of performers, friends, and family. I never thought I’d ever actually win something, though! A million thanks to all; it sure feels good to be appreciated.” – Nick Fontaine, Actor in Rent and Ovation Award Winner for Supporting Male and Male Newcomer

FCP Winners

• Actor in a Musical – Brandyn Eddy, tick… tick… BOOM!
• Supporting Actor in a Musical – Nick Fontaine, Rent
• Supporting Actress in a Musical – Jacqueline Breakwell, Rent
• Gypsy – Male – Arne Larsen, Rent
• Gypsy – Female – Andrew Bailey, Rent
• Community Production – Rent

For a review of the evening and full list of winners check out reviewvancouver.org

For the next two weeks you can vote at http://www.applausemusicals.com for your favourite musical theatre shows that played in 2009!

We are happy to announce the following nominations!

Community Production – Rent
Ensemble Production – tick… tick… BOOM!
Director – Ryan Mooney, Rent
Musical Director – Sarah Jaysmith, Rent
Lead Male – Brandyn Eddy, tick… tick… BOOM!
Supporting Female – Jacqueline Breakwell, Rent
Supporting Male – Nick Fontaine, Rent
Gypsy Female – Andrea Bailey, Rent
Gypsy Male – Tyson Coady (Rent), Arne Larsen (Rent), Cesar Erba (Rent)

We’d also like to congratulate the following performers or artists who have worked on Fighting Chance Productions shows in the past:

* Mandana Namazi (Side by Side by Sondheim, remount) for her role in APPLAUSE! Musicals in Concert “Passion”
* Sean Parsons (Rent) for his role in Joint Effort’s “Reefer Madness”
* Anna Kuman (The Musical of Musicals: The Musical) for her roles in A Chorus Line, The Fully Monty and White Christmas
* Cathy Wilmot (Rent, Forbidden Broadway) for her role in Pipedream’s “A New Brain”

Congratulations to ALL the nominees. We hope you’ll take a minute to vote for your favourites and perhaps even attend the event on January 31st!

From Kathleen Oliver, Georgia Straight

“With this production, the evening flies by and the laughs come easily.”

“Director Ryan Mooney sprinkles in plenty of costume changes and low-budget special effects. (Just wait till you see the chandelier in Phantom of the Opera.) Mooney works his energetic cast at a crisp pace—all are superb singers and fearlessly playful actors—and musical director Sarah Jaysmith provides solid accompaniment on piano”

“Andrea Bailey mines the moves in “Glossy Fosse” and is deliciously jaded as Cosette in an extended parody of Les Misérables.”

“David Nicks is a hilariously histrionic Mandy Patinkin, and dons ever more outrageous costumes as the evening goes on.”

“Aaron Lau plays a sweet and hapless cat in a send-up of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and he teams up with a charming Natalee Fera for a generic love song (“The Song That Goes Like This”).”

“The standout is Cathy Wilmot, whose whip-smart comic precision enlivens all her parts, which include a washed-up, cigarette-smoking, 30-year-old former Annie and a sloppy but relentlessly grinning Carol Channing.”

“Whether you’re a rabid fan of musicals or averse to all the hype, this show has something for you. Behind the laughs, there’s lots of love.”

From Mark Robins, GayVancouver.net

“If this production, our first for the year, by Fighting Chance Productions is any indication, we’re in for a great year of theatre in Vancouver!”

“The entire cast of five takes on the wide range of characters, musical styles and shows with relative ease and more importantly with a great deal of tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek fun.”

“Cathy Wilmot continues to amaze, and I dare say, is one of Vancouver’s best actors… she and Director Ryan Mooney definitely have a sense of humour.”

“Both Director Ryan Mooney and Musical Director Sarah Jaysmith obviously know their musical theatre stuff and deftly help their actors with the diversity of styles here.”

“Indeed a fun start to Vancouver’s 2010 theatre season from one of Vancouver’s amateur theatre groups. Go. I dare you not to laugh-out-loud-until-you-cry!

From Ed Farolan, ReviewVancouver.org

A parody to Broadway, this musical takes jabs at musicals and performers of Broadway including Les Miserables, Wicked, Rent, Liza Minelli, Carol Channing, Chicago and others.

“These five performers will get you laughing, giggling or snickering at the lyrics of this spoof musical.”

“Musical Director Sarah Jay Smith did a good job accompanying the singers.”

“Stage manager Liz Wilton McMahan must have had a hard job cuing actors to come in and out of the different scenes and getting them to change costumes after every number. Good job! Perfect timing!”

“Artistic Director Ryan Mooney who loves musical theatre should be continuing along this vein because this indeed is his forte.”

“All that energy, talent, this was indeed a fun-evening, Be sure and get your tickets soon as this might be a sold-out show, as it was the first two nights.”

Forbidden Broadway is now playing at the PAL Theatre (581 Cardero Street)

Tickets are available at http://www.ticketstonight.ca

Showtimes are:

Wednesday January 6th, 8pm – SOLD OUT

Thursday January 7th, 8pm – SOLD OUT

Friday January 8th, 8pm

Saturday January 9th, 2pm – TALK BACK FOLLOWING THE PERFORMANCE

Saturday January 9th, 8pm – LIMITED SEATING

Tuesday January 12th, 8pm – TALK BACK FOLLOWING THE PERFORMANCE

Wednesday January 13th, 8pm

Thursday January 14th, 8pm

Friday January 15th, 8pm

Saturday January 16th, 2pm – TALK BACK FOLLOWING THE PERFORMANCE

Saturday January 16th, 8pm – LIMITED SEATING

What was your first musical theatre experience?

The first musical theatre experience I can think of was when I was 3. My mother put on Annie for my younger sister and I, and we watched it almost every day. It got to the point where we were under 5 years old, and we could recite, sing, and dance the entire movie.

What is your Dream Role?

Since I have already played my dream role, “Lucy” in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, I would love to play one of the Hilton twins in Sideshow, or “Elphaba” in Wicked (like half the musical theatre world), or Lynette Fromme in Assassins. My other dream role will most likely not happen, as it is “Judas” in Jesus Christ Superstar.

What is the scariest thing you’ll have to do in Forbidden Broadway?

Sing the he Barbra Streisand song, AND make it entertaining…..

What is the best experience you’ve had in the theatre?

Doing shows at Capilano College (now Capilano University) in the Theatre Program. Also, the Musical Theatre class started while I was still at Cap, and learning from Lars Kaario and Gillian Barber was inspiring and was a huge wealth of knowledge.

Do you have any musical theatre role models?

Lea Salonga. Her voice is perfection. I am also very attached to Ethel Merman. When I was younger, I bought a cassette tape (I was pretty young) called “You Sing the Hits of Ethel Merman”. Just saying……don’t be jealous.

If you could go back in time and be a part of any Broadway show which show would it be, who would you play, and why?

It would have been amazing to have been a part of the 1957 live broadcast on CBS of Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. It was shot and aired LIVE on TV, just like real theatre, but with no audience. I beleive it was Julie Andrews’ first role, and I would have LOVED to have played either the Fairy Godmother, or be an ugly stepsister alongside Kaye Ballard.

List the four theatrical people you would have around your dinner table in an ideal world.

Cole Porter, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, and Stephen Sondheim

If you couldn’t perform, what would you do?

I would be pretty cranky if I couldn’t perform. I would write shows that I couldn’t be in, and then be overly critical of the people in the shows…..muah ha ha ha!

What do you think is missing from the Vancouver theatre scene?

A larger audience of cultured people who appreciate all kinds of theatre, mainstream and off-beat.

What was your first musical theatre experience?
When I was in grade 2 our local high school did a production of Oliver and I dragged my parents to see it multiple times.

What is your Dream Role?
There are too many, but the one I’ve had for the longest time would have to be Roxy Heart in Chicago

What is the scariest thing you’ll have to do in Forbidden Broadway?
An accurate Liza Minnelli impression :Z

What is the best experience you’ve had in the theatre?
There’s too many! One that sticks out in my mind is Patrick Street Production’s The Full Monty. I’ve never laughed and cried in the same show. Another one was hearing my Mom tell me how proud she was after seeing Rent.

Do you have any musical theatre role models?
Not specifically. I admire the people who never let negative criticism bother them, and the people who never take no for an answer!

If you could go back in time and be a part of any Broadway show which show would it be, who would you play, and why?
Ugh. Maybe Sweeney Todd as Mrs Lovett, a show big enough to launch my career to stardom but with a challenging character who still provides some comedic relief.

List the four theatrical people you would have around your dinner table in an ideal world.
Liza Minnelli – so she could teach me to be like her! Shakespeare – to find out if he really did write all his plays, Madeline Kahn – to bask in the glow of her comedic genius, and Stephen Sondheim – because I missed seeing him while he was in Vancouver.

If you couldn’t perform, what would you do?
Teach. And I don’t mean that in a negative way, considering I’m in this show with three of them…

What do you think is missing from the Vancouver theatre scene?
Money!