It’s the Cat’s Pajamas and the Bees Knees!
Get out the flapper dresses, brush off the pin-stripe suits and set the time machine back to 1928 as White Rock’s own vintage dance band, Alexander Browne and his Boulevardiers, strike up the tunes for A Gatsby Valentine, coming soon to the seaside city.
Presented by Aristocratic Entertainment, producers of the recent hit old-time radio show Blue Prelude, A Gatsby Valentine is a chance for patrons to dream their way back to a swanky nightclub from the Roaring ‘20s or the Flirty (early) ’30s, as they dance and romance to what Browne calls “the most authentic sounds of the Gatsby era west of the Rockies.”
Megaphone crooner Browne (also known as theatre actor, writer and director, and long-time reporter for Peace Arch News) will direct his tuxedo-clad seven-piece ensemble of consummate musicians in the toe-tapping melodies of the Charleston, the Black Bottom, Varsity Drag the Argentine tango and the waltz, all from original orchestrations of the period.
ALSO READ: Lucky 7th show in Surrey for Comic Strippers’ male-stripper comedy show
Peninsula residents will recall the music of the Boulevardiers from appearances at the 2022 Red Serge Gala, two years at The White Rock Jazz and Blues Festival and last year’s Peninsula Productions’ gala.
“It’s the perfect razzle-dazzle soundtrack for everyone, whether you fancy yourself a Valentino-style sheik, a Theda Bara vamp, a campus Romeo and Juliet, a bootlegger or a gun moll,” said Browne.
“It’s an exercise in the power of imagination. Act out your favourite F. Scott Fitzgerald story, or create your own Jazz Age scenario.”
The show is set to take the stage promptly at 7 p.m. until about 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the upstairs lounge at 1469 George St., White Rock. It is also conveniently close to home and fully accessible, Browne added, and there is free parking behind the venue.
“This is a chance to have fun without worrying about a long drive, parking fees, or booking hotel rooms,” he said.
Whether patrons are bringing someone they love or planning to fly solo (“just like Lucky Lindy”), they are eligible for prizes for best costumes, he noted.
Tickets for the Prohibition-style event are $30 at the door (cash only) – “just tell ‘em Bugsy sent you!” Browne said.