Who: Norman Foote
Where: Four Seasons Resort
When: Friday, Dec. 30
Tickets: $15/$10
Entertainer extraordinaire Norman Foote –he’s a musician, writer, comedian and puppeteer – has received four Parent Choice and NAPPA Gold Awards along with multiple West Coast Music Awards for his children’s music. But to limit his show’s scope to four-foot nothing kiddies would be a gross injustice to the breadth and just plain hilariousness of his all-age-encompassing shows that have mom, dad, grandma and the kids all laughing together side by side.
"The kids sing back, the parents sing back: I love to hear kids and parents singing out loud together," Foote said from his car on his drive up to Whistler. "That is my challenge in life and my goal."
Foote’s universal humour and crossing generation gaps hilarity will entertain young and old Friday, Dec. 30 at 4:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Resort.
The children’s pied piper, who stacks physical slapstick humour, outrageous characters, sing-a-longs and of course kids and more kids into his join-me-on-the-stage show, has chuckled his way around Whistler stages for 10 years, as well as around North American symphonies, festivals and concert halls. He’s recorded songs for Shari Lewis, Disney Records and CBC’s Scoop and Doozie. He’s even given a special command performance for former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
If you can’t make the show, you can now bring Foote’s talents right into your own home. The veteran entertainer, taking the children entertainment scene by storm for more than 20 years, is finally tying all of his successes into one self-entitled DVD, which includes his performances in Disney Music Videos, live shows and television programs.
Foote is famous for inviting local children choirs to share the stage with him. However, this holiday show is strictly a solo act, with of course audience members becoming the supporting cast.
Whether helping Foote sing along or giving life to his puppets (or as he likes to call them "props with an attitude"), children and adults are free to join in the fun or just sit back and watch the circus unfold.
"The funniest thing I do in the show is pick a child and put this head on them and they make movement and I make the mouth move and to this day, I don’t know why it is funny, but it brings down the house every time," he said.
The father of five is never at a loss for material and can definitely find humour on both the finger pointer and the pointee side.
The curtain rises at the Four Seasons’ Harmony Ballroom. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and free for kids under two years old. Purchase tickets by calling 604-966-2607.
