All children’s theatre is pretty darn precious, but there’s something extra special about Project Limelight, the free performing arts program for young people living in Vancouver’s DTES – something bordering on magic.
You can tap into that special Project Limelight magic for yourself on Sunday, June 11, when a cast of young performers ages 8 to 15 will careen onto the stage at the Goldcorp Cente for the Arts for two performances of Off the Hook, a boisterous family-friendly musical comedy that takes audiences from East Van to Neverland.
Here’s the 411 on Off the Hook, by way of the organization’s press release: “The Lost Boys look for a mother, The Lost Girls look for The Pirates, The Pirates look for Peter, and Peter, he's just looking for some fun… Off the Hook offers a magical live theatre experience for the very young and the young at heart.”
Project Limelight is the passion-project of showbiz veterans and sisters Maureen Webb and Donalda Weaver. The organization was born just over five years ago, when the sisters – one of whom (Webb) won a Leo Award earlier this month for Best Casting in a Motion Picture for Little Pink House – wanted to do some good in the community following the death of their mother. Project Limelight is championed by numerous actors and artists from Vancouver’s film and television community, many of whom (like Arrow actress Elysia Rotaru and Stephanie Bennett from The Romeo Section) volunteer their time to mentor and coach the young performers.
(One of Project Limelight’s earliest and most passionate benefactors was Glee actor Cory Monteith, whose family included Project Limelight in its short list of organizations to which donations could be made in his memory following his untimely death.)
Off the Hook runs for two performances at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver) on June 11. The production is directed by Paul Belanger, co-directed by Tim Carlson, with musical direction by Chersea. General admission tickets are $12, and are available in advance at https://projectlimelight-offthehook-tickets.eventbrite.ca. For more information, visit http://www.projectlimelightsociety.org.
