VANCOUVER – His trademark cape was there, as were more than 500 family members, friends and admirers who came to celebrate the life of the late theatre impresario David Y. H. Lui Sunday afternoon at the Vancouver Playhouse.
Singers, dancers and former colleagues took to the stage at the free event to perform, tell stories and reminisce about the man who is widely credited with bringing world-class productions and performers to Vancouver’s arts scene in the ’70s and ’80s.
Ballet icon Evelyn Hart and former Vancouver Sun dance and arts writer Max Wyman hosted the event, which followed the progress of his life, beginning with his time as a ‘Boy Impresario’ producing musicals, then on to his work in the dance scene and then to his philanthropic and community activities.
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“He changed the city,” said Peter Cowley, a business partner of Lui’s in his early days as a promoter of musical theatre. Largely because of Lui, he said, “we became a much more cosmopolitan city in terms of our appreciation of the arts.
“Everything about David is fun. I mean, we started out, we had so much fun – sometimes we made money, sometimes we didn’t.”
Stars of early Lui productions such as Godspell (Jeff Hyslop) and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Ruth Nichol), Company (Pat Rose) and Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill (Leon Bibb) all performed songs.
A fun atmosphere pervaded the theatre as the audience participated by slapping their knees and laughing heartily.
Old friends poked fun at the Vancouverite credited with helping found Ballet BC, the Scotiabank Dance Centre as well as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Video tributes poured in from around the dance world and performances ranged from tap dance to ballet and modern dance.
In his early years, Lui took over a garage on Richards Street to create the David Y. H. Lui Theatre, which eventually became the now-defunct Richards on Richards nightclub.
Lui died in his sleep on Sept. 15 at his home in the Vancouver’s Performing Arts Lodge. He was 66.
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