oy

Se Ua aN aE SOME La ZEs ana Leay Dw eAOPS AG oUt AC

LONG ACTING CAREER BLOSSOMS INTO BRIGHT FUTURE

Local actress gives audi
a taste of Chicago - musical

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

NORTH: SHORE actress Rosanne: Hopkins frankly. discusses her life and
goals during. an interview. Hopkins’ busy schedule has her hopping from
play to play. Her next venture is an upcoming musical entitled Chicago.

1 of 2 seats on Air France

Covr7ccovoe
TO ENTER:

29 - Friday, June 27, 1986 - North Shore News

debut
‘PAGE 31

SINCE BEFORE she can remember, Rosanne Hopkins has
teen doing a song and dance number.

As a child she was a natural.
Rummaging around in her grand-
mother’s sewing room, Hopkins
would emerge clad in colorful
cloth, dance her way around the
room, and sing out in what might
have been Italian had she known
any.

Nothing has really changed ex-
cept sie no longer performs in her
grandmother’s sewing room and
rarely sings in Italian.

Sitting on the porch of her
North Vancouver hideaway where
she and her family — who are all
performers and musicians -—
retreat to after a busy day at the
theatre, Hopkins told the News a
little about her successful life on
the stare and her new show
Chicago, a musical-comedy set in
Chicago’s Cook County woman's
jail during the roaring 20s.

The play opens July 8 at Queen
Elizabeth theatre.

SERIOUS DANCE

After her days prancing about
her grandmother’s sewing room,

By! ROSS MEEK
Repa:

Hopkins graduated to serious
dance at age 8.

Hopkins studied under Mora
McBirney at the Royal Academy
of Dance, but after a stint with the
Winnipeg Ballet, she soon
discovered the convent-style life of
the ballet wasn't for her.

She fell back onto her favorite
— the musical — which she had
been doing since the age of 15.

But Hopkins never lost her love
of ballet, which she teaches at
North Shore schools.

STAGE HOPPING

With a list of credits that would
fill the pages of a small novel, in-
cluding choreographing in the
Cave at the age of 19, acting in
West Side Story, Sweet Charity,
CBC variety shows, Theatre Under
the Stars, Damn Yankees and so
on, Hopkins has become one of
Vancouver’s top song and dance

ence

actresses,

And when she is not on stage,
she is rehearsing for the next show,
helping out local schools with
imaginative ballet classes, or
choreographing their musicals.

In fact besides spending time
with her family, she does little that
is not connnected with the stage.

After recently finishing an Expo
version of Carmen, Hopkins is
already keyed up about Chicago.

Hopkins plays Velma Kelly, a
convicted murderess, who is nixed
as the top jail bird by Roxie Hart,
played by another North Shore ac-
tress, Lel-ni Marrell.

The pair squabble but end up
fast friends, with ‘the help of
Chicago’s best lawyer Billy Flynn,
played by John Payne.

Hopkins says Chicago is a tough
show physically, but she is
predicting a hit.

Back at her retreat in North
Vancouver Hopkins is looking
forward to a bright future.

She has just registered with
Haines Talent Management and
wants to break out of her type cast
as a song and dance actress.

Tickets for Chicago are available
through all VTC/CBO outlets.

ate,