Athena Reich’s #ARTBIRTH was so unexpected, such a witty and subversive spectacle. Reich, as her pregnant Lady Gaga alter ego, drops a line early in the show warning us that this experience will transcend everything we think we know about music, theatre, and performance art… and it’s true. #ARTBIRTH is a parody, but it is […]
Carole King is a worthy musical heroine, an artist of prodigious talent and notable personality, and book writer Douglas McGrath has crafted her life story into a dramatically compelling piece that is, if we’re being picky, really a play with lots of music more than a musical (with one tiny little exception, everyone is singing […]
One of my favourite music teachers once observed how challenging it can be to write music with a positive tone. Personally, I’ve never tried my hand at it, but I can certainly recognize that going the other way and digging into and indulging negative emotions is a potent source of inspiration. The one possible exception […]
When the epilogue ended and the house lights came up in the movie theatre where I saw Love & Mercy, no one moved. The real Brian Wilson was on screen in unflattering close-up as he sang the title song, live and imperfectly, accompanied by barely a breath of sound from the audience watching the credits […]
Katy Perry’s music is very theatrical and generally rooted in storytelling, two qualities that pretty much guarantee that one day we will see her songbook turned into a Broadway show. That Broadway show will be a commercial blockbuster production and she will be paid millions of dollars for the rights to the hit songs around […]
I’m not even a little bit embarrassed about seeing the Backstreet Boy documentary. Other than Joshua Jackson and Gilbert Blythe, I’ve loved nothing in my entire life as long or as consistently as I’ve loved the Backstreet Boys. Those opening chords of “As Long As You Love Me” still pull my heartstrings and, yes, I […]
I’m halfway through the 7th (and final?) Global Cabaret Festival weekend down at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Here are the highlights so far: UPDATE: Read Part 2 HERE. Best Show (so far) The American Pie Songbook I know, I’m the most predictable person in the world, but the songbook show music directed […]
As the smell of weed wafted through the air, the lights dimmed, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z took the stage at Gillette Stadium. The two walked out with one of their first musical collaborations “’03 Bonnie & Clyde.” The duo was perfectly in sync and rocked out the start to one of the most fun concerts. […]