Win tickets to Theatre Under The Stars 2012 at Malkin Bowl in Vancouver

My love for Theatre Under The Stars is well known. For years I’ve attended their productions, reviewed them and created giveaways to enable my readers to enjoy the opportunity to participate in one of the best summer events in the city of Vancouver. Presented at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, Theatre Under The Stars has become one of the traditions of summer in Vancouver. In its 66th season, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) offers a unique summer experience not to be missed.

This summer, TUTS presents the Vancouver premiere of the Tony Award-winning Titanic: A New Musical along with beloved Broadway classic The Music Man. The season opened on July 8 and shows run on alternating nights until August 18. I will not have the opportunity to enjoy them, unfortunately (which is sad because JT and I had the tradition to go together – same with my friend Trevor Boudreau), but I am as always, able to promote the wonderful productions that TUTS is creating this summer. I just read the review of Titanic that my friend Mark Robins (GayVancouver) wrote and I loved it, and it looks like he really liked it too.

In 1940, Theatre Under the Stars started when a group of local theatre people formed to produce professional quality musicals during the summer. Since then, TUTS has been a Lower Mainland tradition, delighting generations of locals and tourists alike under the stars in the pastoral outdoor setting of historic Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. TUTS provides performers and technical staff an opportunity to work in a real world theatrical venue alongside seasoned professionals. Our productions are delivered by over 300 volunteers drawn from the community, requiring a broad variety of skills from board members to ushers to technical crew to cast and musicians.

Check out this little video of TUTS’ Titanic production.

One hundred years ago on April 10, 1912, the ocean liner Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, never to arrive. In the masterful hands of composer Maury Yeston and librettist Peter Stone (the writer whose re-imagining of Annie Get Your Gun lit up TUTS’ 2008 season), tragedy is transmuted into a riveting and inspiring work of musical theatre. The hopes and dreams of rich and poor, cowards and lion-hearts, lovers and enemies are woven together into a richly-layered tapestry, celebrating the power of the human spirit in the tradition of Les Miserables and Ragtime.

Titanic: A New Musical won five Tony Awards on Broadway, including Best Score and Best Musical. The 2012 TUTS production will be directed and choreographed by Max Reimer, the acclaimed theatre director and former artistic managing director of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. Titanic will also feature musical direction by Kevin Michael Cripps.

Check out this little video of TUTS’ Music Man production.

In counterpoint to the sweeping scope of Titanic comes the ageless musical comedy of The Music Man. The talented creative team that delivered last summer’s TUTS hit Anything Goes takes the lead on another beloved Broadway classic – incidentally also set in 1912. The Music Man is the story of charming con man Harold Hill, who descends on glum River City, Iowa posing as a marching band organizer who will keep the town kids out of trouble by creating a boys’ band. His scam is almost flawless – until he runs into the town piano teacher and librarian, Marian, who ultimately captures his heart. With a colourful cast of zany characters, huge musical numbers and a sweet sentimental story, The Music Man will delight TUTS audiences all summer long.

The Music Man is directed by Sarah Rodgers with choreography by Dayna Tekatch and music direction by Christopher King. I am a big fan of Sarah Rodgers’ directing, and I know of Dayna Tekatch’s skills so I am pretty excited about Music Man.

One of my dear readers will be able to enjoy (alongside a Plus One) a chance to attend a TUTS show, be it Titanic or Music Man. To enter, you have a variety of ways to participate:

1) Drop a comment on this post telling me which TUTS show you would like to check and why (Titanic or Music Man)

2) Tweet the following:

Told @hummingbird604 which @TUTSVancouver show I want to check out to enter to win tickets http://is.gd/039JYF to Titanic or Music Man

3) Pin this blog post on to your Pinterest (there’s a handy Pin This button here).

4) Drop a comment on my Pin of this blog post telling me which show you would like to see and why.

5) Re-pin my Pin of this blog post.

6) Post an Instagram photo of Stanley Park (where TUTS takes place) and tag me (@hummingbird604) and TUTS (@TUTSVancouver) on it. You can cross-post it to Twitter as well, though I check my Instagram frequently so the cross-posting may not be necessary.

Obviously, if you do all 6 modes of entry, you earn 6 entries to my contest. This is a short run contest, as I will be drawing winners at 7pm on July 21st. So enter NOW! For TUTS tickets information please check this link.