Meghan Somerville performs in a new Douglas College production.
Photograph by: Submitted photo , for Langley Advance
Aldergrove thespian Meghan Somerville has once again earned the lead role in a Douglas College theatre production opening this week.
The 20-year-old D.W. Poppy grad, who started in the school's production of The Rez Sisters last fall, is cast this time as Marlene in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls.
Set in Britain in the early 1980s, Top Girls examines the meaning of success for women in a world ruled by men. But director Claire Fogal says the play goes much deeper.
"Churchill is a brilliant writer who manages to pack a lot of political thought into the play without it feeling preachy," she says. "There are bits about power and the masks that we put on as women to climb the ladder, and there's also a lot about socialism and the poor versus the rich."
Fogal says the Douglas College production mainly focuses on relationships, because they are at the heart of the play.
"Not only that main relationship between Marlene and her sister, but the evolving relationships between a whole group of fantastical characters who are similar to women Marlene knows in real life."
Marlene's toughest battle takes place in her sister Joyce's kitchen, when they confront the darkest secret from their past.
"They have this amazing verbal battle at the end, and Marlene finally realizes that everything she's been running from has actually fallen right down into her lap. There is no escaping."
Top Girls runs March 8-16 at the Studio Theatre, Douglas College, 700 Royal Ave., New Westminster. Tickets ($8-$12) are available at www.masseytheatre.com or by phone at 604-521-5050.
STRINGS: BOWED AND PLUCKED
Langley Community Music School is hosting a Cafe Classico concert this weekend, and there's been a late-breaking change in the lineup.
Due to scheduling complication, instead of violinist Patricia Armstrong and guitarist Paul MacDermot being featured in the Strings - Bowed and Plucked show, the concert will feature a pair of pianists well known in Langley.
The school's artistic director Elizabeth Bergmann, accompanied by her husband Marcel Bergmann, will join cellist and fellow music school instructor Joel Stobbe in this concert.
The coffee and commentary still begins at 3 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m. Tickets vary in cost and are available from the school at 4899 207th St., or by phone at 604-534-2848.
QUARTET CELEBRATES 30 YEARS
The Nylons, a Canadian a cappella group with seven gold and platinum recordings to their credit, will be in Langley later this month to celebrate their 30-year anniversary with local fans.
Coming off a trip to Vancouver Island - which includes stops in Campbell River and Sidney - The Nylons will be performing in Langley on Saturday, March 16.
It all begins with the voice. And The Nylons have never even needed a band - they just needed their voices, their joy, and their ability to entertain audiences.
The Nylons appeal has taken them across North America, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan on sold-out tours prompting Billboard Magazine to give praise to the captivating live show: "Possibly the most intoxicating, power packed show of harmony and percussion."
The group has performed more than 1,000 concerts worldwide bringing fans to their feet with such hits as (Na Na Hey Hey) Kiss Him Goodbye, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Please, Happy Together, Drift Away, Stepping Stone, Bop 'Til You Drop, Chain Gang, and Up On the Roof.
They'll be performing in the Cascades Casino's Summit Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 and available online at www.ticketweb.ca, from casino guest services, or by phone at 604-530-2211.
