Neil Bartram and Brian Hill are the award-winning composers of multiple musical theatre hits including Broadway’s The Story of My Life (nominated for 4 Drama Desk Awards). Acclaimed directors and actors who’ve worked on international hits like The Lion King , The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and The Little Mermaid (Brian Hill) and received prestigious grants such as the Jonathan Larson Foundation Award […]

There’s a reason The Who’s Tommy is called the original rock opera and not a great rock opera- it kind of stinks. The music is cool enough- I don’t think it calls for the rock-and-roll glorification older generations insist on, but that might just be my stubbornly square 20-something self talking-, but the story and storytelling are […]

Before we announce the winners of the 2011 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series. My first memory of The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is from their 1997 production of Camelot, in which a rebelliously elusive Mordred captured my attention. It would be years before I put a name to […]

I’ve heard nothing but glorious praise for Acting Up Stage/Obsidian Theatre’s recent production of Caroline, or Change at the Berkeley Street Theatre. After Acting Up Stage’s glorious production of Parade last winter and their exceptional Joni Mitchell/Leonard Cohen concert in the spring, and knowing as I do what a phenomenal talent leading lady Arlene Duncan […]

Dancap is kicking off their 2012 season with a massive bang. One of Broadway’s biggest recent hits FINALLY comes to Toronto for a depressingly short run at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Not a frequenter of NYC, I’ve been waiting to see In the Heights for 4 years since it won the Tony for […]

 

Going into Woodland Theatre Company’s latest production, I was delighted to get the opportunity to see Cabaret; though a fan of Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, Alan Cummings, and Michael C. Hall, I’d never seen this classic of American musical theatre. Unfortunately, the company’s attempts to mount an engaging production misses the mark in numerous […]

Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret is a fundamentally flawed piece of theatre; it’s absurdly constructed, tonally conflicted and full of disjointed and ill-conceived numbers. Then Adam Brazier got hold of it. The charming tenor-turned savvy director took on none of the musical’s high-profile baggage when he began preparing to stage the problematic piece at Hart House Theatre. […]

 

The Next Stage Festival is the fascinating bridge between a show’s Fringe Festival run and its life beyond the circuit. It’s an inspired idea and a chance for some truly splendid indie theatre to get a little more attention than it did/would amidst hundreds of Fringe offerings in the summer. There are 12 shows this […]