A futuristic musical that won a number of awards last year will have a Port Coquitlam actor in the cast for its Coquitlam run next week.
Riverside secondary graduate Joel Ballard plays four characters in Broken Sex Doll, a science fiction sex romp for adults conceived by Vancouver theatre and film artist Andy Thompson with music penned by Anton Lipovetsky.
The remount of The Virtual Stage production, which is at the Evergreen Cultural Centre from Dec. 16 to 20, comes after it was showcased this summer at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Halifax, N.S.; it was the only B.C. production to be invited.
Broken also played at the new York Theatre on Commercial Drive - operated by The Cultch in Vancouver - this fall and in the Yukon last month. "We had amazing crowds up there," Ballard said.
Both Studio 58 graduates, Thompson said he cast Ballard before the Halifax fest because "he had the triple-threat qualities we were looking for: He's a wonderful singer, dancer and actor... and he comes from a family of entertainers."
(Ballard's brother Joshua, a 16-year-old actor, was featured in last week's Tri-City News for his Disney flick Pants on Fire).
The six Broken shows in Coquitlam conclude the busy year for the cast who, in the R-rated love story, explore rapid technological advances and the moral collapse of society in the year 2136.
Thompson said no firm dates have been added for 2015 so he is expecting to draw a wider audience for the musical at ECC. "For Coquitlam, this will be definitely something new," Ballard said, "but it goes hand-in-hand with the programming that Evergreen's been doing this year, which has been to push the envelope."
Added Ballard, "I think Coquitlam is in for really a lot of fun."
Tickets for Broken Sex Doll at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) are $39/$30/$15. Call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca. The shows are at 8 p.m.; however, there is a 4 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Dec. 20. Meanwhile, a pre-show chat will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7:15 p.m. and a "talk back" is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 18.
@jwarrenTC
