Arts Beat

Who doesn't remember wanting a nanny like Mary Poppins when they were growing up? The magic, the fun, and the love underneath the 'spit spot' sterness all combined to make the classic 1964 Walt Disney movie that starred Dick Van Dyke and won Julie Andrews a Best Actress Academy Award, a hit.

The entire original creative team, including the Academy-Award winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, has been reunited and can be seen at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre for one week only starting Tuesday, July 17.

Vancouver + acumen will be hosting its annual DIGNITY Vancouver photography exhibition and auction on Thursday, May 24 from 7 p.m. Dazzling photographs by skilled photographers brings the lives of nameless men, women and children around the world into focus, lending them a sense of importance and dignity (hence the name). 

"People seek dignity, not dependence, which is why Acumen Fund invests in entrepreneurs who are building transformative businesses to serve the poor," Acument Fund member Carla Culos said. "The reason behind hosting DIGNITY Vancouver is to raise funds and awareness about Acumen Fund. 

Culos explained that the event  is curated by Nuru Project, a group that leverages photography as an agent for social change. Each of the 21 Nuru prints are sourced from India, Pakistan, East Africa and West Africa, which are the countries that Acumen Fund invests in.

The Arts Club's new musical, "High Society", brings audiences back to a time when when second marriages were scandalous and affairs even more so -- and the gorgeous wit and melodies of Cole Porter enticed the world. Playing at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage May 10 - June 24 with the official opening this Wednesday May 16, artistic director of the Arts Club and director of High Society, Bill Millerd suggested that the story "has a contemporary feel, even though the Philadelphia Story was considered edgy discussing a  woman who was divorced and about to enter a second marriage. "

Vancouver native and Royal Winnipeg Ballet member Sophia Lee is living the story of Svengali. Plucked from the corps de ballet to play one of the leads is heady stuff indeed, but Lee, whose passion for the art form is impressive, is up for the challenge. At The Centre for Performing Arts April 20 to 22, her friends and family will be packing the audience to watch her interpretation of the young woman manipulated to fame by a man yearning for recognition.