The Cowichan Performing Arts Centre delivers an eclectic mix of events this November with music sensations Colin James, Tom Cochrane, a tribute to CCR along with hilarious plays, moving musicals, comical strippers, a morning at the opera and for movie buffs, Real Alternatives with the Celine Song film Past Lives.
Whether the changing seasons make you feel blue or not, November kicks off with the sold-out Colin James Blues Trio as he brings his two notable and accomplished sidemen Steve Marriner and Chris Caddell to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 1. Hailing from the prairies, James, who has been regarded as one of Canada’s top musicians, has graced countless stages across the globe over the span of his three decade career, allowing him to share his gift with some of the most talented and influential musicians of all time. With six Juno’s and multiple Maple Blues Awards under his guitar strap, James’s superb guitar prowess, and electrifying stage presence is definitely a hot ticket to kick off one of the first of the cooler months.
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On Nov. 2, ease on down to Cowichan Performing Arts Centre for The Yellow Brick Road Experience which will feature Andrew Johns and his eight-piece band The Jets paying tribute to the one and only authentic Elton John. Tickets are $53 for this 7:30 p.m. concert, which will take attendees on a fast track ride down memory lane as they pay homage to John’s hits such as ‘Candle in the Wind’, ‘Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Burn Down the Mission’, ‘Your Song’, ‘Crocodile Rock’, ‘Tiny Dancer’, and ‘I’m Still Standing’.
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Back by popular demand, the Comic Strippers will gladly give the shirt off their back for a laugh. The fictitious male stripper troupe made up of some of Canada’s best improvisational comedians is leaving it all out on the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage on Nov. 3 with even more improv, comedy, and sexylarious dance moves. Starting at 7:30 p.m., with a script that is 100 per cent unscripted, all one can expect is a laugh riot. Tickets to see these funny guys are $50, and can purchased online or through the box office.
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The laughs keep on coming on Nov. 5 with a night of R-rated comedy featuring L.A.-comedian Geoff Keith, who was voted Orange County’s funniest person in 2005 and has been seen on Comedy Central, HBO and MTV. Keith has received tons of accolades over the years, not only for his performances in a myriad of comedy festivals, but also for his sharp writing on the comedy game show Funny You Should Ask and Fox’s prime-time reality show Paradise Hotel. This 19-plus only event will also feature special guests Ryan Williams, East Van Dan, and Larke Miller who is a Vancouver based stand-up comedian, actress and filmmaker. Tickets for this night of comedy, which begins at 7 p.m., are $50.
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On Nov. 7, begin your Tuesday on a high note in fine operatic fashion as the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts Dead Man Walking in HD from the Big Apple. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s poignant music and a libretto by Terrence McNally. Award-winning performances are complimented with the musical masterpieces of American composer Jake Heggie as what has been proclaimed the most widely performed opera over the last two decades debuts out of the Met for the first time.
The cast features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham — who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere — as De Rocher’s mother.
With adult themes, and strong language, viewer discretion is advised for this morning with the Met that begins at 10 a.m., for the admission price of $36.
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On Nov. 9 Arts Club Theatre presents The Birds & the Bees by Canadian playwright Mark Crawford at 7:30 p.m. Crawford’s comedic rib-tickling tale abut life and love follows Sarah, a turkey farmer who has split up with her husband and moved in with her mom Gail who is a beekeeper. Earl, the flirty neighbour, and Ben, an eager young graduate student add fuel to the fire for the unlikely attractions that spark in the play. The show contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual content. Admission for this production is $55 for adults, $50 for seniors, and $35 for students.
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On Nov. 16 fans of Monty Python, Mr. Bean, and Dr. Seuss are encouraged to grab their teacups for two lumps of laughter in James and Jamesy’s O Christmas Tea. In this inventive show reminiscent of classic British pantomimes London’s three-time Impresario Award-winning duo bag big laughs as they steep an outrageously funny production which is rich in word play and comic physicality when catastrophe strikes at James and Jamesy’s Christmas tea party, flooding the world with tea.
Once they realize they are in hot water the duo conjure wildly funny solutions to stay afloat, and sweep the audience out to sea in this jolly holiday escapade which combines British propriety with an unabashed love for the unexpected. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and regular admission tickets are $58.50, while students get in for $48.50
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On Nov. 18 Vancouver Island tribute band Completely Creedence will take the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage at 7:30 p.m. to put a spell on all those who love the roots and swamp rock sounds of John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival. For the price of $50 classic rock lovers will travel back to hear songs that dominated the airwaves throughout the late ’60s and early ’70s such as ‘Proud Mary’, ‘Suzie Q’, and ‘Fortunate Son’.
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In this mad mad world we live in, there will be no regrets for those who decide to see Tom Cochrane grace the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Cochrane has rocked stages worldwide for four decades, as both the songwriter and front-man for Red Rider, and for his solo career that made him an international icon. Cochrane remains one of the only three male Canadian singer-songwriters to have a diamond certified album in Canada. He has not only made a difference on the music scene, but also with his humanitarian efforts and lifetime of charity work. Rows A-J are $85 and Rows K-W are $70.
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Dance steps onto the Cowichan Performing Arts stage on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. is Mascall Dance: The Impossible Has Already Happened. This performance is a choreographic collaboration between Vancouver’s Mascall Dance and Footnote New Zealand Dance that demonstrates the enormity of the climate crisis and the role humans play in it.
Set to an evocative score and co-choreographed by Jennifer Mascall and Claire O’Neil, seven dancers tell seven stories of water and real situations the planet is experiencing.
This multimedia show first premiered in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand in spring 2023, which was followed by a city tour of the North and South Islands. For the last 38 years Mascall Dance, under the lead of artistic director Jennifer Mascall has produced and incited somatic movement creation.
Regular admission is $38 while students and children are only $10 for this evening of poetry in motion.
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On Nov. 27 the Cowichan Hospice Society presents Past Lives, the third of their five acclaimed films for Reel Alternatives. Grab your concessions and get comfortable as this film, from writer-director Celine Song, take moviegoers into the world of Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends who are forced apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later they are reunited for one fateful week, as they are confronted by love, destiny and choices.
This heartwarming film begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 with all proceeds going to Cowichan Hospice.
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On Nov. 28, the month ends on a high note as the creators of the hit off-Broadway show JOSEPHINE bring their new musical Josie and Grace to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage. Josie and Grace explores the untold story between legendary singer/dancer/activist/spy Josephine Baker and Academy Award Winner and European Princess, Grace Kelly/Princess Grace of Monaco. Vancouver Island’s Pierre Komen Quartet will be accompanying this performance that was the winner of the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Play, Musical at the 2021 Orlando International Fringe Festival. Tickets for this musical are $45 for regular admission and $38 for seniors.
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Tickets for all events can be purchased in person from the box office at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan, online at cowichanpac.ca, or by calling 250-746-2722.