This cathartic and catchy musical charts the romantic breakups of three women and the lively antics that ensue. ’60s girl group music, like “Be My Baby,” “And Then He Kissed Me,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and “Where Did Our Love Go?” provide the perfect backdrop for the bittergirls’ journey back to happiness. Who knew getting dumped could be so much fun?
Artistic Managing Director Bill Millerd says, “Bittergirl: The Musical is a contemporary hit created by three writers and actresses who turned heartbreak into a play, the play into a book, and all three into a hit musical. We toured this production across the Lower Mainland in January to rave reviews from audiences, so we’re excited to have that same energy and enthusiasm at our Granville Island Stage this summer.”
In 1999, Annabel (Griffiths) Fitzsimmons, Alison Lawrence, and Mary Francis Moore, met in Toronto—one divorced, one just dumped by her long time live-in, and one facing yet another failed short-term romance. The women took their outrageous and sometimes unbelievable experiences of getting dumped and turned them into the hilarious smash-hit play BITTERGIRL; touring the show from London to New York City, and performing three sold-out runs in Toronto.
Audiences immediately connected to the show and often sought advice from the seasoned break-up experts, so the bittergirls decided to turn their stories into the relationship advice book BITTERGIRL: Getting Over Getting Dumped, which was published by Penguin in 2005. Building on the interest in both the play and the book, Fitzsimmons, Lawrence, and Moore wrote Bittergirl: The Musical to offer a new flavour to the bittergirl brand. Retaining all the hilariously unbelievable breakup stories, but adding the sweetest girl-group music from the ’60s and ’70s, Bittergirl: The Musical is a fizzy cocktail for musical lovers and heartbreak survivors. The popular show debuted at the Charlottetown festival in June of 2015, with recent productions at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre and Winnipeg’s Manitoba Theatre Centre.
June 15 – July 29, 2017 at Granville Island Stage
Mon–Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri & Sat at 8 pm, Wed at 1:30 pm, and Sat at 2 pm
Tickets from $29 at artsclub.com or the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644
Photo: Emily Cooper
