Keith Alessi’s award-winning show draws on an inspirational true story at Western Gold Theatre, June 11 to 14

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life documents the creator’s retirement, cancer diagnosis, and pursuit of a long-deferred passion for music

Western Gold Theatre presents Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life at the PAL Studio Theatre from June 11 to 14.

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life is more than a show—it’s a movement. Created by Keith Alessi and directed by Erika Conway, it tells the true story of Alessi’s retirement from the corporate world and the life-threatening cancer diagnoses he receives shortly afterward. Embracing his long-deferred passion for the banjo, he finds physical and emotional healing in a circle of musicians.

While Alessi’s journey to the stage may have been an improbable one, his narrative of perseverance and survival continues to inspire audiences. Peppered with humour, this deeply moving production celebrates the power of following your dreams—and of never giving up.

Alessi has donated 100 percent of his portion of ticket sales to charities, with contributions to date totalling over $1.3 million. Proceeds from this run will support Western Gold Theatre’s Creative Accessibility Program and the West End Seniors' Network’s delivery of essential services.

Tickets are available through Western Gold Theatre.

Post sponsored by Western Gold Theatre.

Featured

Theatre review: Arts Club production of The Play That Goes Wrong goes hilariously right

Great performances and impeccable set design and stage management ensure that the comedy about a hapless theatre company is a chaotic mess in all the right ways

Antigone gives ancient Greek play a modern feel at Bard on the Beach, June 30 to September 18

In playwright Kate Besworth and director Ming Hudson’s adaptation, contemporary language highlights the continuing relevance of Sophocles’ 5th century BC tragedy

Theatre review: Horror resonates in Bard on the Beach’s dystopian Macbeth

Bold and bloody new take on “the Scottish Play” speaks effectively to an era of intense societal fears, with postapocalyptic atmosphere to burn

Kat Reynolds channels her inner disco diva for Theatre Under the Stars’ Sister Act

The Vancouver performer straps on the platform shoes and readies her powerhouse voice for musical based on the movies she grew up watching

Ionesco's Cabaret mixes absurdist theatre with a playful art party, July 23 to 25

Homage to Eugène Ionesco is presented by Rumble Theatre and produced by Theatre Conspiracy in association with Pi Theatre

Theatre review: Bard on the Beach's spirited, soccer-mad take on The Merry Wives of Windsor builds a wonderfully no-frills sense of place

In a shamelessly fun update, the comedy’s colourful schemers, lovers, and busybodies are regulars at a Vancouver community centre during World Cup fever

Bard on the Beach stages a riotous Goblin:Oedipus in the Douglas Campbell Theatre, launching July 5

WUG, KRAGVA, and MOOG return to the Shakespeare festival for a hysterical take on the titular Greek tale

Josh Epstein’s job is to ensure everything goes right in The Play That Goes Wrong

The Arts Club director says the smash-hit U.K. show is one of the most technically demanding comedies ever written

Theatre review: Sophie's Surprise 29th throws the season’s wildest party, mixing offbeat laughs and high-calibre acrobatics

At The Cultch’s York Theatre, wonderfully weird characterizations meet gravity-defying feats in a raucously unpretentious banger that has “hit” written all over it

Summer Arts Guide: Vancouver stage artists reveal their favourite pre- and post-show patio spots

Whether you’re looking for a quick drink and snack, conversation, reflection, or people-watching, these airy meeting places hit their marks

Antigone lands at Bard on the Beach's Douglas Campbell Theatre, starting June 30

Playwright Kate Besworth and director Ming Hudson team up for a contemporary adaptation of the classical Sophocles tragedy

Theatre scene's raucous new Rumpus Awards hope to come back in 2027

Cheeky, DIY theatre event aimed to throw light on the stage scene’s unsung heroes—and ended up selling out

Stir Q&A: Director Stephen Drover takes Macbeth into a dystopian near-future at Bard on the Beach

The veteran theatre artist grappled with big questions of good and evil, and took inspiration from genre films, for his visually stylized new adaptation

Theatre review: Come From Away captures the humanity at the heart of hit musical

Elevated visual design and a strong, multitasking cast bring ample Newfoundland warmth to new Arts Club Theatre Company and Citadel Theatre coproduction

Merry Wives of Windsor star is an old hand at bringing Sir John Falstaff to the stage

Ashley Wright has helmed it himself, but in Bard on the Beach’s new production, he plays Shakespeare’s dissolute knight under the capable direction of Rebecca Northan

Sophie’s Surprise 29th gets the party started with a few Brit circus twists

London’s Three Legged Race Productions folds in influences from contemporary circus to cabaret in a raucously funny show that celebrates a ’90s-style birthday at The York Theatre

Theatre review: Me & the Forest prefers profound pondering to straight-ahead storytelling

Boca del Lupo and ArtstageSAN’s show at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival is more of an immersive experience than a plot-driven play

Theatre reviews: Two bold shows at rEvolver Festival explore life in an increasingly synthetic world

Megan Milton’s Free Kittens and William Rubel’s Robin Redbreast in a Cage converge on close human relationships in an age of reality TV and AI

Come From Away highlights Newfoundland’s generous spirit, to August 16

The Arts Club teams up with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre for new local production of the international smash-hit musical

Theatre review: Salt-Water Moon's casting brings compelling undercurrent of melancholy to story of first love

Two senior artists play young Newfoundland couple in Western Gold Theatre’s gentle staging

A thrilling Macbeth hits Bard on the Beach's BMO Mainstage, beginning June 11

Stephen Drover directs his own haunting adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, laced with tyranny and moral corruption

THEATREStir VancouverMay 15, 2026Partner Content, Western Gold Theatre

Keith Alessi’s award-winning show draws on an inspirational true story at Western Gold Theatre, June 11 to 14

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life documents the creator’s retirement, cancer diagnosis, and pursuit of a long-deferred passion for music

Western Gold Theatre presents Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life at the PAL Studio Theatre from June 11 to 14.

While Alessi’s journey to the stage may have been an improbable one, his narrative of perseverance and survival continues to inspire audiences. Peppered with humour, this deeply moving production celebrates the power of following your dreams—and of never giving up.

Alessi has donated 100 percent of his portion of ticket sales to charities, with contributions to date totalling over $1.3 million. Proceeds from this run will support Western Gold Theatre’s Creative Accessibility Program and the West End Seniors' Network’s delivery of essential services.

Tickets are available through Western Gold Theatre.

Related Articles

Check out our Instagram @stirvancouver

CONTACT US

LINKS