In a tight fisted town where no producer seems willing to risk his or her musical budget on anything except tired retreads and warhorses, like West Side Story or Fiddler On The Roof, it’s up to a company like APPLAUSE! Musicals In Concert who dares to throw every penny it’s got at professional, semi staged productions of mammoth musicals.”
- Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun Theatre Critic
In 1997, independent theatre producer Scott Ashton Swan wanted to find a way to produce flop musicals that he felt should have a second voice. However, recognizing the economics of producing fully staged musicals, he was inspired by a company in London called Lost Musicals, and in New York City called Encores that produced rare shows in a concert or “on book” format.
"APPLAUSE! Musical Theatre Concert Series” presented Stephen Sondheim’s flop musical Merrily We Roll Along at the newly opened Roundhouse Community Centre in the summer of 1997. The success of this concept lead to the organization of a second musical reading, this time of an un-produced work, a musical adaptation of Dorian Grey written by a New York composer.
Shelved for a couple years, Swan brought the series back again in 2002 this time presenting three musicals in concert – Anyone Can Whistle (another Stephen Sondheim flop), Nine (Maury Yeston), and Dear World (Jerry Herman flop musical).
APPLAUSE! Musicals In Concert launched their first “season” of musicals in 2003 expanding their mandate to include rare, shelved, forgotten and seldom produced musicals. Their season included CHESS (written by the two B’s of ABBA fame), Woman of the Year (Kander & Ebb who also wrote Chicago), On The Twentieth Century (Cy Coleman), and Aspects of Love (Andrew Lloyd Webber).
2004 brought incredible growth for APPLAUSE! with another full season of musicals in concert, growing audiences, a new venue: The Dance Centre, and new non-profit status. 70 Girls 70 featured an entire cast of performers over the age of 50 written by John Kander & Fred Ebb. Wish You Were Here featured a cast of performers under the age of 30. The Bakers Wife actually brought the composer Stephen Schwartz to town to attend a gala held in his honour. Closing their season was another Jerry Herman flop Mack and Mabel.
In June of 2005, APPLAUSE! presented two musicals in concert which ran on alternate nights. They were On The Town (Leonard Bernstein) and Saturday Night (Stephen Sondheim).
In the fall of 2005, APPLAUSE! moved to become a new resident company of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Studio Theatre) in Burnaby. They presented a four-concert season, which included Jubilee (Cole Porter), Strike Up The Band (George Gershwin), Louisiana Purchase (Irving Berlin) and Flower Drum Song (featuring an all Asian cast written by Rodgers & Hammerstein).
After presenting three successful seasons (12 concerts) at the Shadbolt Centre, APPLAUSE! moved back downtown Vancouver with an arrangement with the Vancouver Space Centre to perform two concerts in their auditorium. This was part of their three concert "Sondheim Season" which included revisiting the first musical they presented - Merrily We Roll Along, followed by Passion and then Follies - presented at Performance Works. The highlight of the Sondheim Season was bringing Stephen Sondheim to Vancouver for
An Evening With Stephen Sondheim, held at the Vogue Theatre.
APPLAUSE! moved its concerts to CBC's Studio 700 for a four concert season in 2010 including Good News, Mame, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Little Me. They once again moved to another new venue in Vancouver - Pyatt Hall in 2012 to present another four concert season - Flora The Red Menace, Fiorello, Ernest in Love and The Frogs.
APPLAUSE! Musicals Society is the new non-profit, charitable umbrella responsible for APPLAUSE! Musicals In Concert as well as a number of other musical theatre programming including monthly cabarets for three years, a Musicals 101 educational program, and a series of historical revues called Showtunes Year By Year. In 2004, APPLAUSE! also founded and presented the first OVATION! Awards ceremony and show presenting awards to people involved with the presentation of musicals in the lower mainland.
APPLAUSE! is administered 100% by volunteers. The mandate remains clear to present rare, shelved and forgotten works – at least 10 years old, by popular Broadway composers & lyricists - that have never been presented in the lower mainland.
"APPLAUSE! Musical Theatre Concert Series” presented Stephen Sondheim’s flop musical Merrily We Roll Along at the newly opened Roundhouse Community Centre in the summer of 1997. The success of this concept lead to the organization of a second musical reading, this time of an un-produced work, a musical adaptation of Dorian Grey written by a New York composer.
Shelved for a couple years, Swan brought the series back again in 2002 this time presenting three musicals in concert – Anyone Can Whistle (another Stephen Sondheim flop), Nine (Maury Yeston), and Dear World (Jerry Herman flop musical).
APPLAUSE! Musicals In Concert launched their first “season” of musicals in 2003 expanding their mandate to include rare, shelved, forgotten and seldom produced musicals. Their season included CHESS (written by the two B’s of ABBA fame), Woman of the Year (Kander & Ebb who also wrote Chicago), On The Twentieth Century (Cy Coleman), and Aspects of Love (Andrew Lloyd Webber).
2004 brought incredible growth for APPLAUSE! with another full season of musicals in concert, growing audiences, a new venue: The Dance Centre, and new non-profit status. 70 Girls 70 featured an entire cast of performers over the age of 50 written by John Kander & Fred Ebb. Wish You Were Here featured a cast of performers under the age of 30. The Bakers Wife actually brought the composer Stephen Schwartz to town to attend a gala held in his honour. Closing their season was another Jerry Herman flop Mack and Mabel.
In June of 2005, APPLAUSE! presented two musicals in concert which ran on alternate nights. They were On The Town (Leonard Bernstein) and Saturday Night (Stephen Sondheim).
In the fall of 2005, APPLAUSE! moved to become a new resident company of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Studio Theatre) in Burnaby. They presented a four-concert season, which included Jubilee (Cole Porter), Strike Up The Band (George Gershwin), Louisiana Purchase (Irving Berlin) and Flower Drum Song (featuring an all Asian cast written by Rodgers & Hammerstein).
After presenting three successful seasons (12 concerts) at the Shadbolt Centre, APPLAUSE! moved back downtown Vancouver with an arrangement with the Vancouver Space Centre to perform two concerts in their auditorium. This was part of their three concert "Sondheim Season" which included revisiting the first musical they presented - Merrily We Roll Along, followed by Passion and then Follies - presented at Performance Works. The highlight of the Sondheim Season was bringing Stephen Sondheim to Vancouver for
An Evening With Stephen Sondheim, held at the Vogue Theatre.
APPLAUSE! moved its concerts to CBC's Studio 700 for a four concert season in 2010 including Good News, Mame, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Little Me. They once again moved to another new venue in Vancouver - Pyatt Hall in 2012 to present another four concert season - Flora The Red Menace, Fiorello, Ernest in Love and The Frogs.
APPLAUSE! Musicals Society is the new non-profit, charitable umbrella responsible for APPLAUSE! Musicals In Concert as well as a number of other musical theatre programming including monthly cabarets for three years, a Musicals 101 educational program, and a series of historical revues called Showtunes Year By Year. In 2004, APPLAUSE! also founded and presented the first OVATION! Awards ceremony and show presenting awards to people involved with the presentation of musicals in the lower mainland.
APPLAUSE! is administered 100% by volunteers. The mandate remains clear to present rare, shelved and forgotten works – at least 10 years old, by popular Broadway composers & lyricists - that have never been presented in the lower mainland.
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Past Music Directors
Richard Coombes: Fifty Million Frenchmen (Pianist), Passion Kevin Michael Cripps: The Bakers Wife Larry Enns: Musicals 101 Irving Berlin, Musicals 101 Cole Porter, Musicals 101 R&H Vashti Fairbairn: Lorelei, Musicals 101 Cole Porter Steven Greenfield: Babes In Arms, Its A Bird Its A Plane Its Superman, Sunday In The Park With George, Mystery of Edwin Drood Angus Kellett: Titanic, Gigi (Pianist), Showtunes Year By Year 1960, Merrily We Roll Along Christopher King: Tenderloin, Flower Drum Song, Flora the Red Menace Scott Knight: On The Town, Louisiana Purchase, Strike Up The Band, Jubilee Ashley Lambert Maberly: Wish You Were Here Jason Lopez: Chess, Aspects of Love Alex McLeod: Mack and Mabel Joey Minshall: Nine, Dear World, On The Twentieth Century, 70 Girls 70, Fifty Million Frenchmen Mark Reid: Very Good Eddie, Do Re Mi, Gigi, Irene Caitlin Hayes: Mame, Good News, Showtunes Year By Year 1971 Fiorello, Ernest in Love |
Past Directors
Valerie Easton: Mack and Mabel Ian Farthing: Tenderloin Michel Guimond: Do Re Mi Jason Franco: Sunday In The Park With George, Saturday Night David C Jones: Its A Bird Its A Plane Its Superman, Wish You Were Here, On The Twentieth Century Peter Jorgensen: The Bakers Wife Ryan Mooney: Flower Drum Song, The Mystery of Edwin Drood Mandana Namazi: Irene Kate Polsky: Strike Up The Band Elie Savoie: 70 Girls 70 Shelley Stewart Hunt: On The Town Paul Sontz: Merrily We Roll Along, Anyone Can Whistle, Dorian Grey, Nine, Dear World, Chess, Aspects of Love, On The Town Jennifer Suratos: Merrily We Roll Along Scott Ashton Swan: Founder & Artistic Director, Jubilee, Louisiana Purchase, Babes In Arms, Very Good Eddie, Titanic, Passion Mark Turpin: Gigi Cathy Wilmot: Good News |