Blown away by BOOM

I’m still basking in the wonder, the sheer joy of seeing an amazing performance. Last night I saw BOOM at the Arts Club Theatre Granville Island Stage. It was fantastic.

Rick Miller wrote, produced and stars in this fascinating journey in time from 1947 to 1969, exploring the lives of the boomer generation, through bits and pieces of news, events and music – a “collage of stories” he calls it – a “Multi-media spectacle defining a generation” as the Arts Club bills it. They’re right.

He’s a wonder, a brilliantly versatile singer, actor, mimic, storyteller: doing over a 100 different voices, copious wardrobe tweaks that somehow nail the personas he’s portraying at the moment. Because it is a moment….then he’s on to the next. From Perry Como to Mick Jagger, Elvis to Janis, it’s a wild ride.

Another element of the show which I loved was the set. Images are projected on to a cylindrical mesh vertical screen and also a circular horizontal plane. Miller has deftly synched those images with his person and his shadowy projections – and the combined effects are mesmerizing and engaging.

If that wasn’t enough, Miller comes back on stage after the performance to chat with the audience, eager to hear their sharing of stories and their impressions of his production. Icing on the cake.

I can’t say enough about this fabulous performance and urge Vancouverites to check it out! It runs till February 13th.