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Ladysmith School Operetta Starring Aida Broadbent

Black and white photograph of a large group of child actors in costume arranged on a stage in three rows, kneeling at the front, sitting in the middle and standing at back. The back row features in its centre three actresses elevated from the rest, each holding flags vertically with a central Union Jack above all.

Source: Ladysmith Archives

Date: 1913

Aida Broadbent and Winnie Nimmo brought the house down with their rendering of “I will give you the keys of Heaven”, an old English folk song perhaps best known for its chorus, “ Madam, will you walk, Madam will you talk, Madam will you walk and talk with me.”

Both Aida and Winnie went on to Hollywood. Aida choreographed a number of films and successful shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles. She is included in the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. For several seasons, she was the principal choreographer for Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), which produced open-air operettas and musicals from 1940 to 1963 at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, Vancouver.