Big screen musicals are great, but nothing beats a song-and-dance stage spectacle.

The newest production at the Stanley Theatre, Hairspray has won eight Tony Awards and the hearts of countless theatregoers. Much more than doo-wop and hairdos, the musical addresses social issues of the ‘60s as it tells the story of a starry-eyed, “pleasantly plump” Baltimore teenager. 

Hairspray is proof that with big hair and big heart, anyone can be a catalyst for big change.

We caught up backstage with one of its stars, recent New York transplant J. Cameron Barnett. Watch the clip on our Editors’ Diary.

Tickets from $29, at the Stanley Theatre until July 10, www.artsclub.com

Leave it to Cirque du Soleil to turn the story of an ordinary girl in an ordinary world into something  extraordinary.

Quidam, the latest Cirque show to hit Vancouver, opens with a young, disenchanted girl who quickly pulls the audience into her imaginary world. There, gravity means nothing and physical limitations don’t exist.

Alternating between acrobatics and comedy, every minute in Quidam is more exciting and potentially neck-breaking than the last. We marveled as a contortionist dangled from the ceiling on two thin columns of silk and were awestruck by three artists who suspend themselves by their feet on hula hoops hung from the rafters.

And to think, all it takes to achieve these feats is superhuman strength and a supernatural sense of balance. —KD

Quidam is on until March 13 at Rogers Arena, tickets from $59.50 at www.cirquedusoleil.com

TiVo those season premieres, it’s time to feast on Fringe.

Packed with local colour and colourful language, this year’s festival boasts a platter of 80 acts that push buttons and tickle the funny bone. On our list is Raunch: The Rise of Female Chauvinist Pigs. Riding a wave of raves in Edmonton and Winnipeg, this romp conceived by two Calgarians brings to life author Ariel Levy’s critique of modern feminism.

To even out the estrogen, we’re seeing Stretch Dog, a one man show written and performed by a Vancouver actor about the art of selling out when you’ve got mouths to feed.

Bon appétit to two weeks of theatre à la carte.

View online program here.

September 9–19, 2010, Vancouver Fringe Festival, 604-637-6380, www.vancouverfringe.com

What is Will without Grace?

A ruthless real estate agent named Ricky Roma.

Eric McCormack, the Canuck thespian behind TV’s Will Truman, will grace the stage in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s rendering of Glengarry Glen Ross opening tomorrow. With its foul, fast-talking Mamet speak, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is sure to take your mind off the slow housing market.

That and McCormack’s cuteness. Sold!

Glengarry Glen Ross runs July 22-August 22 at the Stanley Theatre, 2750 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-687-1644, tickets from $25, www.artsclub.com

Our favourite avant-garde performing arts festival is back to bring us wackiness and wonder before the Winter Games descend. Herewith, our pick of the PuSh Festival plays:

The Show Must Go On
In the new SFU Woodward’s building, 20 Vancouver locals bring to life Parisian choreographer Jérôme Bel’s signature work, which The New York Times called “sly, witty, joyous fun.”

Nevermore
Like the sell-out production of Frankenstein Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre staged two years ago, their magical and macabre portrait of Edgar Allan Poe promises to be an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Best Before
The theatre transforms into a virtual world where audience members with game controllers have avatars that affect the action in this premiere piece from provocative Berlin company Rimini Protokoll.

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival runs January 20 to February 6, 2010, for more information visit www.pushfestival.ca

Combine the campy goodness of Glee with the goofy gore of Shaun of the Dead and you’ve got Evil Dead: The Musical.

The show, created by Toronto comedy writer George Reinblatt, is based on Sam Raimi’s '80s cult horror films about a group of college students who shack up together in a remote cabin and face an onslaught of undead. With a slew of rave reviews behind it, the over-the-top romp comes to Vancouver just in time for Halloween.

With a song titled “What the F*** Was That?” and a front row seating area referred to as “The Splatter Zone,” it’s no ordinary night at the theatre.

Evil Dead: The Musical runs until October, 30, 2009 at the Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville St., Vancouver, tickets from $26.25 at Ticketmaster, www.vancouver.evildeadthemusical.com

We’ve outgrown Casey and Finnegan, but that doesn’t mean puppets can’t still teach us a thing or two.

With intricate hand-carved creations pontificating on touchy subjects like sex and death with satirical panache, an Old Trout Puppet Workshop show is anything but wooden. The Calgary-based theatre company—who’re also responsible for Feist’s Juno Award-winning video “Honey Honey”—dazzled us with their Famous Puppet Death Scenes a couple years ago and return to Vancouver this week for The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan, their take on the world’s greatest lover.

No need to pull strings to get in. Yet.

The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan runs until May 9, 2009, Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Vancouver, tickets $26, www.thecultch.com

Why play it safe when you can dive into the deliciously avant-garde?

Shaking up the culture calendar at the top of the year and boasting trail-blazing acts of all genres, from here to Auckland, New Zealand, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival opens today.

Must-see shows include:
•Billy Twinkle where Toronto’s Ronnie Burkett delivers provocative puppetry for grown-ups.
•13 Most Beautiful which sets the live music of Dean and Britta (the duo behind The Squid and the Whale score) to Andy Warhol’s iconic screen tests.
•That Night Follows Day with its cast of 17 school-aged children expounding on how adults shape their world.

And that’s just the tip of the entice-berg. Watch the show reel to get a feel for the rest of the fest.

The PuSh Festival runs until February 8, for more information visit www.pushfestival.ca

Cirque du Soleil's majestic blue and yellow tents have arrived in Vancouver (hurrah!). Herewith, our favourite moments from Corteo:

1. We were hooked from the moment we snapped up a glass of B.C. white wine and were actually able to bring it inside the big tent minus any annoying security guards. Vive Vancouver!

2. Yes there is the elaborate mis-en-scene that we've come to expect from every Cirque show, but what wowed us most was the incredible feats of athleticism and raw energy that channeled the troupe's early years in Old Montreal.

3. The whimsical Latin- and French-inspired music that brings tears to the eyes, makes you giggle and then leaves you humming uncontrollably for days on end.

4. The quirky storyline that weaves the death of a circus clown into a humorous yet sensitive plot that appeals to young and old.

5. The sighs of wonder that flow from grown-ups lips as if they were 2 feet tall again.

6. The beautiful trapeze acts where one rather fit acrobat (read: ripped within an inch of his life) hangs from his lover's ponytail while seducing her airborne.

7. The vivacious little person who floats amongst the crowd, giggling and bouncing on their arms while attached to some six balloons.

8. Enjoying intermission under the stars to the beats of Cirque percussionists. Conga line anyone?

9. The death-defying trapeze acts: a performer climbs a wire on an incline that would kick Grouse's butt.

10. Did we mention you can drink during the show?!

Corteo is on now until July 20, for ticket info click here.

Now here’s a show with some serious buzz.

Arts smorgasbord HIVE gathers 11 of the best local companies who commandeer a warehouse space to dish out 11 avant-garde morsels of lively theatrics. If that weren’t enough, an arty after party follows where all mingle amongst curated music and performance art. Think of it as Vancouver’s Off Broadway, or in this case, Off East Broadway. Watch this preview video for a taste of the evening’s unique flavour.

Last year's inaugural event sold out in a flash, so snag those tickets quick and show them who’s queen.

HIVE opens June 5, 2008 at the Centre for Digital Media, 577 Great Northern Way. Theatre starts at 7 p.m., after party at 10 p.m. Advance tickets $25 at www.ticketstonight.ca, $35 at the door.

www.buzzbuzzbuzz.ca