Arts & Culture

The 2023-2024 season at Gateway Theatre will be filled with musical theatre, madcap comedy, a world premiere, audio plays, and community based-celebrations.

Photo by Jaana Björk

Gateway Theatre announces its 2023/2024 season

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 11:21 PDT, Wed June 21, 2023

Last Updated: 4:42 PDT, Thu July 20, 2023

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Gateway Theatre is thrilled to announce its 2023-2024 season, an exciting lineup of musical theatre, madcap comedy, a multidisciplinary world premiere, audio plays, and community-based celebrations. With artistic offerings taking place from September 2023 to April 2024, Gateway welcomes multigenerational families, performing arts lovers, and particularly Richmond community members.

The season begins on Sept. 24 with the Family Fun Mid-Autumn Festival celebration and the live reading of the fourth episode of A Year of Blessings audio play series, followed by craft activities for families. Tickets are $10 per person and free for ages 2-and-under. A Year of Blessings is a five-part audio series created by Five Blessings Collective, a talented team of Asian-Canadian artists that includes Nancy Tam, Derek Chan, Jasmine Chen, Howard Dai, and Amanda Sum. Co-produced with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, these free audio plays allow young audiences and their families to enjoy and explore the wonders and meanings behind traditional Chinese festivals in a fun and entertaining way.

The holiday season brings the timeless tale of Cinderella in a captivating musical adaptation that has charmed and inspired audiences all over the world since its original broadcast on CBS in 1957. With a bit of help from her fairy godmother, a magical pumpkin carriage transformation, and a dash of humour, Cinderella promises the entire family will have a ball. Directed by Johnna Wright (Sylvia, Annie, Leading Ladies), with choreography by Nicol Spinola (Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) and music direction by Sean Bayntun (Anne of Green Gables: The Musical) Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella runs Gateway Theatre’s MainStage from Dec. 14 to 31. Ticket prices from $40.

Then in February, for one night only The Flame: Lunar New Year Edition, a special performance of Vancouver’s wildly popular storytelling series is coming to Richmond for the first time. On Feb. 10, join Deborah Williams, the award-winning actor and one of the creators of Mom’s the Word, and talented local storytellers for an evening full of “stories that are true”. With themes of family, traditions, and new beginnings, this entertaining night features live musicians and storytelling in English with occasional dialogue and songs in the storyteller’s mother tongue. Tickets: $25.

From March 6 to 17, experience the world premier of Jade Circle, a beautiful multidisciplinary performance by Jasmine Chen. Through powerful music, captivating movement, and poignant storytelling in Mandarin and English, Jade Circle follows Jasmine’s journey to find her place within the legacy of her matriarchs. Whatever your language is, spoken or unspoken, it can bring you closer to who you are. Jade Circle is a part of Jasmine Chen’s Mother Tongue Project, and is a rice and beans production in association with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. Tickets: $30.

The final production of the 2023-2024 season is Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, co-produced with Thousand Islands Playhouse and Western Canada Theatre. From the award-winning mastermind of mayhem Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor) comes a fast-paced, pulse-pounding comedy like no other. Equal parts adventure and comedy, Baskerville finds Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson attempting to crack their most notorious case. Who killed Sir Charles Baskerville? In this midcap retelling of the ultimate Victorian whodunit, a nimble cast of five takes on nearly forty characters, darting on and off stage almost as quickly as the twists and turns of t his delightfully complex plot. Directed by Brett Christopher, Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs from April 11 to 20. Ticket prices start at $35. This production is presented in English with Traditional and Simplified Chinese subtitles.