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 […]
I don’t remember the last time I saw a Mirvish production that really wowed me. The Toronto titans of entertainment are known for big budget musicals and star-powered productions, but it seems like lately their light just isn’t as bright as it was in the pre-Sars heyday of The Lion King and Mamma Mia. The […]
Ross Petty’s annual Christmas Pantomime has been a beloved event in Toronto for 16 years. I can remember going as a kid and getting to see Canadian legends like Mr. Dressup (Ernie Coombs), Fred Penner, Kurt Browning, Rex Harrington and Karen Kain onstage as absurd twisted fairy tale creatures. It was the thrill of the […]
I’m loving the fact that Atomic Vaudeville/Acting Up Stage’s Ride the Cyclone has all the buzz in the world heading into the last 2 weeks of their sold-out run at Theatre Passe Muraille, not because I adored the show (it’s good, but nothing to write home about), because it’s weird. Really weird. And when it […]
I never saw the original production on Broadway; in fact, the F.U.D.G.E Theatre Company production (one of the first in the New England area) is my first foray into Spring Awakening’s dynamic rhythm of awakening youths. Impressed with the company’s summer production of Carousel, I was anxious to see Joe DeMita’s creativity in the punk-rock […]
Sonus Stage Company’s Sondheim revue Side by Side just opened at the Walmer Center Theatre. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to enjoy excerpts from Acting Up Stage’s Both Sides Now, a revue of Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell songs. Sonus’ production, a less polished restaging of a pre-existing cabaret has none of the […]
Jesus Christ Superstar is inarguably the biggest hit The Stratford Festival has had in years. But that was fairly predictable. Current Artistic Director Des McAnuff is, at heart, a rock musical man and he’d been dreaming of JCS for quite some time. After the arrival of Josh Young in last year’s Evita and with the […]