Storyeum Has Officially Bit the Dust

After a drawn out bout of 'maybes' and 'I hope not's, there she goes. I can't say I'm too devastated by this news. I went to Storyeum once when my parents were visiting last March. It was a bit of a grey day, and we found ourselves in Gastown with nothing to do so we (they) shelled out the cash to take in the show. I think it was one of the most bizarre museum experiences I've ever had. And that's counting the time my family got trapped inside the digestive system of a giant model human being and my baby sister had to save us. Oh wait, no.

My visit to Storyeum started off weirdly enough, when paying for our tickets, the girl at the cash looked at the three of us and said "So two adults and one child?" I looked at the ticket prices to see that child rates are for individuals 12 years old and younger. I was 23 at the time. I know I look younger than I am, and I expect to get ID'd at bars but she thinks I'm 12 at the most?

A few minutes later, we got in a huge round elevator and went down about 4 inches to the underground 'museum' while watching Vancouver's Olympic bid video with a few extra shots of Terry Fox thrown in for good measure. Of course.

Basically, the group follows a pathway through different sets, where actors perform scenes that tell the story of British Columbia's founding and development as a province of this glorious country. Woo. But here's the thing, we start off with some First Nations people, singing songs of the circle of life, and there's a love story too, but then the British come! Yeah! Finally! Then we rally for women's rights! Woo democracy! Thank God for the Brits! Then the Americans get in our way because they're drunk! Stupid Americans! So we build a train! Yeah! Trains! And so ends B.C.'s history. Keep in mind this is all done in song, with a cast of about 4, so parts are recycled. British become American and the same guy who was on the first boat to BC also helps build a railway and digs for gold and rallies as a woman in the suffrage movement. Well not quite.

The group we were in wasn't huge. It was me, my parents and a large group of Japanese tourists who had a translator mumbling in the background of each scene. There was definitely a language barrier and most scenes were met with blank stares. I'm fluent in English and I still responded with a blank stare most of the time.

As the train approached in the final scene, the cast came together on the 'stage' and there was dead silence. "Thanks for coming! We hope you enjoyed the show!" and the music rose and they did their bows. And the audience shifted a bit, avoided eye contact and looked for the exits. My dad sort of nodded an awkward nod at the train conductor and clapped once, a few people said "Yep" and we got back on the grain silo of an elevator back to Gastown, where I whispered, "That was so weird" over and over again. Apparently in Japan, applause isn't a standard display of appreciation, which may account for the silence. Or it may simply be because the entire lot of us wasn't quite sure what we'd just put ourselves through or why.

So good riddance, Storyeum. From now on, I'll keep my history lessons away from musical theatre.