Caroline Larion is the middle-aged creative director at the local advertising company 'Zenspiration' and secretly in love with her younger assistant Brad. Together they've been hired by the Clearwater Bank credit union to create a queer-positive ad campaign that will both appeal to gay clients and celebrate the institution's value of social equality. Things get more farcical when the hired models for the advertisement turn out to be Caroline's ex-fiancee Jack and his new young male partner Carson, a devout Catholic. In the final layer of Poster Boys, the Church gets involved, pulling their funding for all Clearwater-endorsed events.

While the plot of the latest Arts Club original play could have some cynics muttering 'pop-fringe cliche', it's actually based on a true Vancouver story, circa 2003. Replace 'Clearwater Bank' with VanCity and you have the real-life controversy that inspired Michele Riml's new production at the Granville Island Stage, a rollicking rom-com-satire that resonates with this authenticity. Clearly the extraneous human drama is an artistic creation, and if poorly handled could make for a stale 'Sex & the City' reject... but it's sold entirely by a sharp script and some equally wonderful performances.

Long before Shrek, there was another twisted, more sophisticated take on fairy tales to answer the question of "What happens after happily ever after?"

Into the Woods, on now at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, is the hit Broadway musical from Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). More than any of his other productions, Into the Woods is stuffed to the brim with memorable characters and witty, wonderful songs.

Many of our nostalgic favourites get the revamped treatment, their intentions and their morals as compromised as any real person: Jack, with the bean stalk, is lovable but dim-witted; Little Red Riding Hood wields a knife with delectable pleasure; Rapunzel is a traumatized Virgin Mary, held captive by a wicked witch who just wants to be a mother.

I went to see Léo Wednesday night, the new production by Tarragon Threatre on now until March 1 at the Firehall Arts Centre.

Written by Rosa Laborde, and directed by Richard Rose, Léo tells the story of three young friends coming of age in seventies socialist Chilé, just prior to the violent military coup d'etat, overthrowing Salvador Allende.

A 17th century French social satire, one which seemingly holds feminism as its primary target, doesn't immediately scream 'contemporary relevance,' 'rollicking entertainment,' or 'fun Vancouver night out'... especially when said play is written entirely in rhyming verse. Theatre at UBC has taken on the challenge of presenting such difficult material to modern audiences as they stage Moliere's "The Learned Ladies" at the Frederic Wood Theater until February 16th.

The well-proven UBC theatre program's latest presentation is a comedy surrounding the follies of three women who seek education, wit, and intelligence at the sake of their family's happiness. Director Patrick Gauthier leads an almost faultless cast and crew in delivering a surprisingly relevant and entertaining performance. The play's jabs at academia give any modern audience something to relate to, and are so well handled by the troupe at UBC that one easily puts aside the comedy's slightly sexist tone.

The gutsy direction, stunning costumes and strong performances had the entire audience laughing throughout, and I implore you to order tickets now. Did I mention it makes fun of feminism? Read on for more impressions and details...

Vancouver's fourth annual PuSh Performing Arts festival drew to a close on Sunday. A celebration of innovative and independent music, theatre, and dance, the festival was overflowing with great performances... and if you're like me, you missed a ton of standout shows. However, one of PuSh's 2008 highlights is seeing an extended run at the Granville Island Stage. Catch it tonight, tomorrow or Saturday as your last chance at the festival's offering of experimental theatre.

First performed to sold-out audiences in Vancouver at PuSh 2005, The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets is a dark, adventurous musical created by Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson. This avante-garde "musical fable", which had its German debut in 1990, was revived ten years ago to critical acclaim in Edmonton, of all places, by the November Theatre... the show went on to have a hugely successful run at the New York Fringe.

Although I was born in Calgary, trained to dismiss all things Edmonton, my love for the literature of William S. Burroughs and the music of Tom Waits ensured that this was one event I could not pass up. After seeing the show in all its chaotic glory, I must firmly recommend that you do the same. More after the jump...

All right, all right, you can stop the letter-writing campaign, I'm back On the Boards. I had to take a couple of weeks off to put my money where my big mouth is and throw up a play, many thanks to Meg for filling in the planks for me while I was locked in a little room telling actors what to do. You're a rock star, girl. And my gratitude to everyone who came to Riffs, we had a sold-out run, thank you very much, despite Vancouver snowing on my parade. One more play in the bank for us, what do the rest of you have going on? Let's have a look-see...uh-oh.