Ordinary Days
Playwright Adam Gwon’s critically acclaimed piece of musical theatre has been a small- scale hit in New York, which is not so surprising considering it depicts four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfilment, happiness, love and those ubiquitous yellow cabs.
Jan. 3-19 | Carousel Theatre Studio
Tickets: $5-$15, brownpapertickets.com
 

Medicine
What do addictions physician Gabor Maté, psychotropic Amazonian plant ayahuasca and group therapy have in common? For Fringe circuit favourite TJ Dawe, they all lead to his new play Medicine, in which he explores his and our common life motivations.
Jan. 3-19 | Firehall Arts Centre
Information: firehallartscentre.ca 

The Theory of Everything
The story of seven Asian-Americans gathered atop a Las Vegas chapel trying to spot UFOs reveals a comedy where the politics of race, identity and faith are closely intertwined.
Jan. 9-12 | Roundhouse Theatre
Tickets $15/$10 at vact.ca 
 

Nelly Furtado
For her fifth studio album, Victoria-born singer Nelly Furtado enlisted the help of top-notch producers like Bob Rock and Tiesto to deliver a record she says represents her growth, both personally and as a songwriter. The album has charted poorly, however, failing to break the Top 10 in Canada, and the concert originally scheduled for the Orpheum Theatre was swiftly moved to the smaller Commodore Ballroom next door. With guests Dylan Murray and Jessica Tyler.
Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m. | Commodore Ballroom
Tickets $59.50 at Ticketmaster
 

Die Fledermaus: In Concert
Vancouver Concert Opera is a new organization but an ambitious one: for a post-holiday treat they offer a concert version of Johann Strauss’s classic operetta, Die Fledermaus, in two performances in the intimate Pyatt Hall, just behind the Orpheum on Seymour, followed by a run out to White Rock.
Jan. 4/5, 7 p.m. | Pyatt Hall
Tickets: In advance $39, students and seniors $34; tickets at the door (cash only), $45, students and seniors $40
Jan. 6, 7 p.m. | First United Church, White Rock
Tickets: In advance $29, students and seniors $24; tickets at the door (cash only), $35, students and seniors $30, www.vancoco.ca/events.html
 

Arts Club On Tour presents Henry and Alice: Into the Wild
Mid-life crisis gets a wild twist when Henry and Alice go camping and are forced to examine their relationship in this funny sequel to Arts Club hit Sexy Laundry written by Michel Riml and directed by Andrew McIlroy.
Jan. 9–Feb. 3 | Seven Lower Mainland venues
Information: artsclub.com
 

Cecilia String Quartet and Georgy Tchaidze
Music in the Morning starts the New Year with the Cecilia String Quartet, a prize-winning ensemble of young women who met as students at the University of Toronto. They play early Beethoven, and are then joined by pianist Georgy Tchaidze for Cesar Franck’s lush and lovely Piano Quintet.
Jan. 9, 10, 11, 10:30 a.m. | Vancouver Academy of Music
Jan. 9 to 11, 10:30 a.m. | Vancouver Academy of Music
Jan. 10, 5:45 | CBC Studio One
Tickets, information: www.musicinthemorning.org
 

Sing It Forward
The third instalment of Sing It Forward, a project created by Hey Ocean!’s David Vertesi and HootSuite’s Ambrosia Humphrey to raise awareness about music education, will feature performances by Hey Ocean!, Yukon Blonde, Shad, We Are The City and CR Avery, as well as a grand finale featuring students from St. James Music Academy, which serves low-income families in the Downtown Eastside.
Jan. 10, 8 p.m. | Vogue Theatre
Tickets $25 at northerntickets.com
 

Here Be Dragons / Non Plus Ultra
This new work, by choreographer Henry Daniel, with musical director/composer Owen Underhill, features dancers, musicians and media artists from Barcelona, Spain and Vancouver.
Jan. 10 to 12, 8 p.m. | Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre
Tickets $29/$19 at sfuwoodwards.ca
 

For the Time Being, A Christmas Oratorio
Dramatic reading of W.H. Auden’s poem For the Time Being, a Christmas Oratorio, co-sponsored by Carey Hall, Regents College, St. Andrew’s Hall, University Hill Congregation and Vancouver School of Theology. The readers are from the supporting institutions, mostly from Green College and University Hill Congregation.
Jan. 6, 7 p.m. | Chapel of the Epiphany, UBC
Free; More information: at 604-817-1943 
 

Don Juan
Peter Jorgensen and Simon Webb star in this bold re-telling of Molière’s classic tale, festooned with wordplay as sharp as its swordplay. Directed by John Wright for Blackbird Theatre, this adaptation will feature new music composed by Peter Berring, as well as arias from Mozart’s Don Giovanni sung and played on guitar and harpsichord by the actors.
To Jan. 26 | The Cultch
Tickets: From $17 at TheCultch.com.