Arts and Culture

WATCH: The Kelowna Actors Studio bringing back song and dance

After a long delay, the 2022 season is finally underway.

  • Full capacity audiences welcomed
  • Performers excited to be back
  • Want patrons to be dancing in the aisles

There were laughs, cheers, and an energy that only a near capacity crowd could bring to the occasion on the opening night for Legally Blonde the Musical.

Wednesday night was the first show in two years without occupancy restrictions at the Kelowna Actors Studio (KAS). There were 210 patrons in all, either in the regular seats or enjoying the dinner table experience.

The 2022 KAS season is finally underway after much delay due to the pandemic and will feature six shows throughout the year.

“We open with Legally Blonde because it’s light, it’s fluffy and fun. It has a great message about being who you are,” Artistic Managing Director, Randy Leslie, told Kelowna10. “It’s very similar to the movie. We designed a lot of projections for the show to be able to translate that movie onto the stage.”

The musical follows the story of Elle Woods, a Harvard Law student determined to win her boyfriend back and prove herself to the world, while discovering her potential.

Joanne Ryan who plays Elle, has been on stage for 27 years and said it was a massive relief when she and the rest of the cast got the green light to get ready for the musical.

“It would have been heartbreaking for the theatre to suffer another loss,” she said, referring to the last two years of relative inactivity. “Obviously I would have been disappointed to not have been able to portray such an iconic role, but seeing theatres across the world get beat down by this would have been a massive blow for everyone.”

As for the role, Ryan said there was a time in her life where she could relate to Elle.

“I think back to myself as freshly out of undergrad, age 21 with the bleach blonde hair and the cute pink clothes. I think I did identify with Elle and being underestimated,” she said.

The casts at KAS are made up of community members and semi-professional actors, with technical and other supports from various others. The organization relies heavily on large attendances to make ends meat.

Leslie said having full capacity crowds means a lot to the studio because they can keep their high standards for the guests.

“We’re able to put more production value into a show when we know we’re going to have full audiences and we have to give the show that people expect,” he said. “We’ve been around 20 years, and it’s really important that we give them a slick Broadway production.”

During the pandemic shut down, the theatre sustained finances through movie nights, and donations. They also put on their two shows: Evil Dead the Musical and Into the Woods, which were performed for 50 per cent capacity.

Leslie said having the full crowds back keeps the passion alive for the performers and crew members who want to give audiences the genuine theatre experience that was taken away from them two years ago.

“We want to bring joy back because it’s important they really need to find that joy and have fun again and dancing down the aisles when they’re leaving the theatre,” he said.

Legally Blonde the Musical runs until May 8.

Published 2022-04-21 by Connor Chan

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