PLAYBOT: We Are Not Alone talks ALIENS
Before Drake was cut off at the Grammy Awards, he was about to deliver a talk on his famous Drake Equation, estimating the odds of Earth being visited by aliens.
Oops, wrong Drake. It was American astrophysicist Frank Drake who came up with an algorithm in 1961. Do the math from these (somewhat paraphrased) variables:
ne = Number of planets that could support life.
Multiplied by …
fl = The fraction of suitable planets where life appears.
fi = The fraction of those planets on which intelligent life appears.
fc = The fraction of planets with intelligent life that developed technology capable of interstellar travel – assuming they don’t go extinct before Earth’s radio signals reach them.
fe = Likelihood of one of them visiting Earth – assuming we don’t go extinct before our radio signals reach another planet with intelligent life.
Assuming each of these probabilities is very tiny (especially intelligent life), the chance that aliens have been to Earth is effectively ZERO – even with billions of potentially habitable planets. Moreover, we might actually be alone in the universe. Scarier thought than aliens, is it not?
However, like God, a lot of people believe in aliens – a topic explored in some detail by St. Albert-born actor and playwright Damien Atkins in his new show We Are Not Alone. The Theatre Network production plays Feb. 12-March 3 at the Roxy on Gateway. Atkins includes tales of visiting places like Roswell, New Mexico, and the International UFO Congress, talking to people who claim to have seen – or been abducted by – aliens.
Of course the Drake Equation is meaningless when we don’t actually have any hard numbers – so no proof either way. A lot of this is a matter of faith.
Matilda
Just when we need right now: A highly-decorated wholesome family musical with a strong female lead who stands up to authority. In this case, the titular main character fights and overcomes horrible parents, a cruel headmistress, and even the Russian mafia to fulfill her potential, and eventually live happily ever after. Having magic powers turns out to be a big help. Cue Revolting Children. With music by the insanely-talented Australian artist Tim Minchin, this ripping yarn is based on Roald Dahl’s best-selling novel. Hard to go wrong here.
Since Matilda premiered in 2011, it has won just about every award you can name (including five Tonys, and seven Olivier Awards, the British Tonys), toured the world, and will run in Edmonton Feb. 16-March 17 at the Citadel Theatre.
Crystal – Cirque du Soleil
Oh, cruel irony: We’re getting a brand new original show from Cirque du Soleil, and it’s on ICE! Like we don’t get enough ice time both inside and outside of Rogers Place?
This is no Disney on Ice. As “O” was the first on water, Crystal is Cirque’s first show set on ice, with figure skaters joining forces with acrobats and some of the other talented and quirky Cirque characters for a spectacular journey into the imagination of the main character, Crystal, and said to “defy all expectations.”
The show plays at Rogers Place Feb. 13-17.
Haters Roast
Jury’s out on why drag queen comediennes can be, you know, “bitchy” – but there is no arguing the success of the reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s curious that the name of the show isn’t mentioned in the press for Haters Roast – The Shady Tour 2019, coming to the Jubilee Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 14. Maybe it’s a long story, and it won’t be told here.
But fans of the show should recognize some of the contestants: Including Ginger Minj, Latrice Royale, and Kim Chi, among others, cracking one bawdy, inappropriate joke after another.
Jury’s back in: The answer is … because they can be!
Chinook Series
Metric tonnes of live theatre are on stage in this mini-winter-Fringe Festival of festivals within a festival, which continues until Feb. 17 in the ATB Financial Arts Barns’ theatres and other Old Strathcona venues. Of note this weekend:
Songs, Stories and Spoken Words by Ins Choi (Feb. 14-16, Backstage Theatre) – The star of Kim’s Convenience presents a one-man show pretty much summed up by its title – with some references to ‘80s sitcoms and his own Asian heritage.
Gemini (Feb. 15-17, Almanac)– This two-handed dramedy deals with the special relationship between a man (Vern Thiessen) and his bartender (Louise Casemore), taking place entirely in a bar.
Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (Feb. 13-17, Westbury Theatre, Arts Barns) – This is a family opera about a deaf mother and her hearing son – the true experience of playwright and fixture of the Edmonton music theatre community, Dave Clarke. This play is part of SOUND OFF: A Deaf Theatre Festival.
There’s lots more, including dance, live music, visual art and other performances. Check the sked and plan your winter Fringe!
Lend Me a Tenor
You’ve heard of the Three Tenors, The Canadian Tenors and an act more frightening than the Nine Ring-Wraiths of Mordor: Ten Tenors?
Now we’re up for a new Mayfield Dinner Theatre show that deals with a tenor missing in action. Playing until March 31, Lend Me a Tenor is a dependable Broadway farce, and old-fashioned door slammer, about a world-famous tenor who keels over on the very night of the big show. An attempt is made to fool the audience with a last-minute replacement, which has hilarious consequences – especially when the real tenor wakes up. Like most of these sorts of plays, the audience knows what’s going on long before the characters do.
Leave of Absence
Going away doesn’t make a problem go away – a theme explored in some sobering detail in the Walterdale Theatre’s new production, Leave of Absence, on stage until Feb. 16. The play focuses on a teenage girl persecuted for being gay, of being shunned by the Catholic church, and on a community torn apart by religious dogma.
All for Love
Looks like they’re hitting the classics hard over at the University of Alberta drama department. The latest foray into the distant past is this 1677 play about the love affair between Antony and Cleopatra, which as everyone knows didn’t end well. Expect both swords and sandals in this epic adventure where very few – if any – of the main characters are alive at the end. Spoiler alert.
All for Love plays until Feb. 16 at the Timms Centre for the Arts.
