This Vancouver musical comedy offers a hilarious take on child beauty pageants
Vancouverites, get ready to celebrate the end of winter (!!!) with one of the most hilarious musical comedy shows you could ever imagine.
From Friday, March 16 to Saturday, March 31 Little Miss Glitz will be taking over the stage at Granville Island’s Performance Works theatre for a series of laugh-inducing shows based on an over-the-top musical parody of child beauty pageants.
Local artists are teaming up to deliver the show written by Alan Pronger, and set with toe-tapping music (spanning three decades) from Vancouver-based composer, Christopher King.
The show will be matching questionable beauty standards and parenting practices to rhythms in a high-energy musical with a difference – there’s no scripted winner. Here’s how it works: A panel of judges will be pulled from the audience each night to determine who wins. Yep, this means the cast will literally improvise their way through to the end of the show.
Daily Hive spoke with Alan Pronger ahead of his musical theatre debut to find out more about Little Miss Glitz.
What inspired the writing of LMG?
The inspiration for Little Miss Glitz came from one of the most unlikely of places: Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. After being captivated by the charming, loveable train wreck of Alana and Mama June, I became mesmerized by the idea and workings of child beauty pageants portrayed in hit reality TV’s Toddlers and Tiaras. This reality show more than anything inspired the content and themes of the musical, and led us to incorporate talking head confessional videos, and fast-paced dialogue that reads as an episode of a reality show into the musical.
The result of this inspiration is a ridiculous, over-the-top, scandalous spectacular with show-stopping choreography and toe-tapping music. However, Little Miss Glitz is more than just a parody musical, it’s a reflection of how society considers ideals of beauty, and an exploration of the lengths individuals will take to be accepted as beautiful and successful by their peers. If you think about it, life is like a pageant. We are all under different, arbitrary spotlights being judged every day of our lives. So what do you do? Do you allow yourself to be completely changed by the opinions of others or the number of likes you receive? Or do you allow yourself to break free and let your inner diva shine?
Little Miss Glitz/Credit Ryan Bolton
How do you feel about having the show be so well received last time and being able to put it on again?
Little Miss Glitz was very well received the first time we put on the musical two years ago. Each show had packed houses and the audience laughed, cheered, and cried, from start to finish. However, we were very limited by the show being a jukebox musical the first time around. Adding new music has completely changed the feeling, dimension, and intensity of the show.
With the new music and lyrics written by Christopher King, and extensive edits to the script, we consider this version of Little Miss Glitz to be a completely different show. Each song adds new dimensions to each character and transforms their struggles into reality more than we could hope for the first time we played with this idea on stage. It is unlike anything Vancouver audiences have seen before. We are thrilled that we are able to transform the show into something new and continue the trend in Vancouver to mount quality, truly original musicals.
What is the main take away that people will get from the show?
Not only does the show have knee-slapping humour and music that will stay stuck in your head for weeks, it has a surprise ending that leaves both the audience and cast guessing all show: There is no scripted winner.
General admission tickets to Little Miss Glitz cost $29 each and you can snap up yours now via Eventbrite. Make sure to get them soon because this is one show that you don’t want to miss!
Little Miss Glitz
When: March 16 to 31 (Wednesday to Sunday at 8 pm)
Where: Performance Works – 1218 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Price: $29 | $25 for students and seniors – Tickets available via Eventbrite
Daily Hive is a proud media sponsor of Little Miss Glitz
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