An all-star team including internationally acclaimed jazz musician Itamar Erez and award-winning poet Marn Norwich, come together to produce the post-pandemic dating musical you didn’t know you were missing at this year’s Fringe Festival. Light and fun, this show is the cathartic release we’ve all been jonesing for after months of pandemic isolation and if you’re single, forced celibacy.
A Coveted Wife of East Van tells the musical story of Samantha Cohen as she navigates friendship, men, and dating apps while making some very bad decisions along the way. Featuring both original music by Erez and familiar melodies from shows like Fiddler on the Roof, this delightfully relatable story will have you in stitches, as you watch Samantha meet the same guys we’ve all encountered while online dating.
Set in Commercial Drive’s iconic Cafe Deux Soleils, Samatha goes on a date with an East Van hippie, don’t forget the crystals; a mansplainer, need I say more; a pimp; and a murderer, who brings her ex’s head as an offering on their date.
Just before things go horribly wrong, Samantha is saved by her best friend in this story about friendship, online dating, and the never-ending search to find ‘the one’.
Writer and an independent journalist for the CBC and Georgia Straight, Marn Norwich and recent nominee for 2020 Instrumental Artist of the year award, Itamar Erez are joined by award-winning director Ariel Martz-Oberlander; producer of the Or Festival, Olivia Etey; Best of Fringe award-winning actor Megan Phillips; winner of Best Comedy at the 2020 Florence Film Awards actor Mostafa Shaker; and prolific actress Hayley Sullivan.
If you’re looking for a fun musical night out or just want to watch someone else suffer under the hands of the dating gods, this is the show for you.
About Marn Norwich: Playwright Marn Norwich is the author of an award-winning poetry collection. She’s also a journalist who’s written for the CBC and Georgia Straight, among many other publications. Her most recent CBC article was about her “pandemic boyfriend”, a COVID dating disaster. She runs Vancouver Women’s Writing Courses, where she facilitates workshops and retreats on the process of writing and coaches women writers.