The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 31

Arts QUEUE THEATRE OPENING Einstein's Dreams Pangaea Arts' fusion of Asian and Western theatrical forms revolves around dreams Albert Einstein has while grappling with the theory of relativity. Heidi Specht directs a cast from England, Taiwan, Japan and Vancouver; with Camyar Chai as Einstein, video art by Shawn Chappelle and music by Judy Specht; based on the novel by Alan Lightman. Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, May 2-12, 8 pm, matinee May 5, 2 pm, 604-875- 8316. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! Return of the New York musical about relationships and dating, by Joe DiPietro with music by Jimmy Roberts. Michael Scholar directs a cast of four who portray more than 40 roles.

Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island, May 2-18, 604-257-0366. The Puck Stops Here Second City tours a show all about hockey. Surrey Arts Centre, 13750 88 May 2, 8 pm, $20, 604-501-5566. The Foreigner By pretending not to understand English, the "foreigner" learns secrets of an evil plan. Larry Shue's play is presented by Stage 43.

Evergreen Centre, 1205 Pinetree, Coquitlam, May 2-11, 8 pm, May 5, 2 pm, 604-927-6555. Odd Couple Langley Players presents a female version of Neil Simon's hit comedy. Langley Playhouse, 4307- 200 May 2-25, 8 pm, matinee 2 pm, 604-534-7469. Wit Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prizewinning play about a dying woman's battle against the medical research establishment features Karen Lindh in the lead role; Kerry Heywood directs. Surrey Little Theatre, May 2-26, 8 pm, 604-576-8451.

Season in Purgatory Before his prisoner can be executed, a warden in a Beijing prison must solve the mystery of her identity. Richmond Gateway Theatre, Studio May 2-11, 604-270-1812. Romeo and Juliet in East Side Story A poor Vietnamese boy falls for a wealthy Indo-Canadian girl and chaos ensues; Gladstone secondary school students wrote and act in this musical adaptation of a familiar story. Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1895 Venables, May 2-3, 7:30 pm, New Play Festival Playwrights Theatre Centre's 28th annual workshop series of plays by Canadian playwrights features established directors and actors. TIN SPITE OF GREY: By Aaron Bushkowsky, directed by Roy Surette, May 6, 7 pm "FALLING OUT OF PLACE: By Sharon Stearns, directed by Marilyn Norry, May 7, 7 pm SIMISS ME: By Leslie Mildiner, directed by Stephane Kirkland, May 8, 7 pm BIRTH OF FREEDOM: By Andy Thompson, directed by Alex Ferguson, May 9, 7 pm REFUGEE HOTEL: By Carmen Aguirre, directed by Glynis Leyshon, May 10, 7 pm GREMLIN: By Vanessa LeBourdais Cori Caulfield, Holy Body Tattoo, Crystal Pite and more of Vancouver's most esteemed dancers discover the beauty of limitation in the Royal Hotel pub in Dances for a Small Stage, Tuesday and Wednesday.

PETER BIRNIE rehearsal, so you really get the flavour of it more than you have a chance to get into the nitty-gritty of it." In Spite of Grey opens the festival on Monday at 7 p.m. Each of the following nights sees a different debut: Peter Anderson leading the cast Mom's the Word Six women share tribulations about motherhood in the hit comedy written and performed by Vancouver's Mom's the Word Collective. Wayne Harris directs Arts Club Theatre's presentation. Arts Club Theatre Granville Island Stage, May 9- July 6, opens May 15, 8 pm, matinees 2 pm, 604-687-1644, 604-280-3311. Twelfth Night Music, madness, mistaken identity and other Shakespearean shenanigans in the comedy directed by David Gram, produced by First Impressions and Shifting Point Theatre.

Deep Cove Shaw Theatre, May 9-25, 8 movie about the famous violin-maker. His late-in-life drive to make the perfect instrument matches the festival's own passion, as personified in executive director Chapelle Jaffe, for the proper presentation of new works. The New Play Festival is an annual magnet for Vancouver's top talent, offering audiences a one-week parade of eight new full-length plays acted by the brightest lights in theatre. Each piece is given a workshop production with noted directors and top-notch professional casts; in the case of In Spite of Grey that means Belfry Theatre artistic director Roy Surette travels over from Victoria to direct Anna Susan Hogan, Meredith Woodward, Bernard fling, Joy Coghill and others. "It's a wonderful group of senior artists," Surette, adding with a laugh that he refers his cast as "500 years of talent." Surette the energy of coming up to speed quickly unknown work, noting that "this is working from impulse, and it's exciting.

This isn't a production with three or four weeks of and Ian Gschwind, directed by Chris McGregor, May 11, 12 pm, free matinee for kids BIG BABY: By Frank Moher, directed by Kathryn Bracht, May 11, 7 pm ILISA, LISA: By Rick Dobran, directed by Katrina Dunn, May 12, 7 pm. Festival House Studio, 1398 Cartwright, Granville Island, May 6-12, 604-685-6228. Sister Amnesia's Country Nunsense Jamboree A singing nun attempts to make it in Nashville in the musical presented by Footlight Theatre, directed by Peter Jorgensen. Shadbolt Centre, 6450 Deer Lake, Burnaby, May 8-18, 8 pm, Matinee May 12, 2 pm, 604-205-3000. Who Are You Calling Crazy? S.

Siobhan McCarthy's multi-media Aaron Bushkowsky leads off the 28th Vancouver New Play Festival with a fiddle. It's a Stradivarius and In Spite of Grey is Bushkowsky's new play about a family whose grieving for the death of a daughter includes trips to the black-and-white world of an old exploration of mental illness is presented by Absolut Theatre Company, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association to celebrate Mental Health Week. Shadbolt Centre, 6450 Deer Lake, Burnaby, May 6-12, 7:30 pm, matinees 2 pm, 4 Hagan, Cuf- says to loves on an full THIS WEEK Talking With Jane Martin's series of revealing monologues by 11 idiosyncratic female characters, including a fundamentalist snake handler and a May 2 8 Vancouver Sun as Marilyn Norry directs Sharon Stearns' Falling Out of Place (Tuesday), Doris Chilcott starring as silent film star Louise Brooks in Leslie Mildner's Miss Me (Wednesday), Alex Ferguson directing Scott Bellis and others in Andy Thompson's The Birth of Freedom (Thursday), Glynis Leyshon directing Dean Paul Gibson and others in Carmen Aguirre's The Refugee Hotel (Friday), Kathryn Bracht directing Wendy Noel and others in Frank Moher's Big Baby (Saturday), Katrina Dunn directing Allan Morgan and others in Rick Dobran's Lisa, Lisa and the kids' play Gremlin (Saturday) directed by Chris McGregor. Sun Theatre Critic baton twirler, is presented by Theatre West Van. Presentation House Theatre, 33 Chesterfield, Van, to May 4, $6-14, 604-990-3474.

Glengarry Glen Ross David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the cutthroat world of real estate is performed by an all female cast, presented by In Your Face and Down to the Wire Productions. Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial, to May 4, $14, 604-730-9995. Burning Vision Premiere by Marie Clements traces connections between uranium mined from native lands and the Hiroshima bomb, presented by Rumble Productions. Peter Hinton directs, with Nathan Dubois and Margo Kane, sound by Noah Drew and set by Andreas Kahre. Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E.

Cordova, to May 11, 8 pm, 604-689-0926. Spider's Web Agatha Christie's thriller about a woman drawn into a web of deceit involving drugs, murder and her stepdaughter as prime sus2002 pect. Burr Theatre, 530 Columbia, New West, to May 4, 8 pm, matinee Sat. 2 pm, 604-523-2877. Solid Gold Cadillac Howard Teichmann and George S.

Kaufman's American comedy about a timid lady who shakes up a manufacturing empire. Metro Theatre, 1370 S.W. Marine, to May 4, 8 pm, $8-16, 604-266-7191. Damien Aldyth Morris' play about a priest's lifelong quest to improve the lives of lepers in Hawaii. Pacific Theatre, 1440 W.

12th, to May 11, 8 pm, matinee 2 pm, $12-24, 604-731-5518. Vancouver Theatresports League THE IMPRANOS: Parody of the television series The Sopranos, 7:30 pm, 8 pm SCARED SCRIPTLESS: Open improv jam session. 11:45 pm. New Revue Stage, 1585 Johnston, Granville Island, 604-738-7013 or 604-280-4444. Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding Hoarse Raven Theatre presents an Italian.