Alumnae Theatre’s current production of After Mrs. Rochesteris somewhat of a mess. Polly Teale’s uneven script tells the story of Jean Rhys, a novelist who grew up in the West Indies, which inspired her to write a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre about the life of Bertha, Mr. Rochester’s troubled first wife who hailed […]
I’ve been to many productions in the Tarragon theatre but until recently I had never been to a Tarragon Theatre production. Turns out it’s a remarkably capable company with strong production values and solid actors. In the hands of director Richard Rose, Sarah Ruhl’s clever play on modern medicine, domestic power and female sexuality is […]
Going through our My TV archives I discovered the following article in an “Obsessions of the Week” column from the days before My Theatre existed. As I embark on my Stratford 2011 top 12 rankings, I thought I’d share the article, if only for the nostalgic fun. “I recently wrapped up my 7 show summer […]
Without question, The Odd Couple is the first production at Soulpepper that I’ve truly loved. I liked The Kreutzer Sonata a lot, enjoyed The Glass Menagerie and was very impressed by the heft of White Biting Dog. But with The Odd Couple, Soulpepper has moved from a solid company I admire to one I will […]
I am by no means an opera expert. A working knowledge of classical music, a solid background in French, a decent understanding of Greek myth and a critical eye for good storytelling was what I had to cling to as I entertained the prospect of reviewing the Canadian Opera Company’s current production. What I found, […]
It’s remarkable how many meanings that the word “fall” can take in our daily lives. We fall asleep, we fall down, we fall in love, we fall back on those we love. This fall, I was delighted to attend SpeakEasy Stage Company’s New England premiere of Next Fall by Arlington, MA-native Geoffrey Nauffts. This stunning piece […]
Ranking: #1 Of the 11 productions at The Shaw Festival this year, there wasn’t a single one I enjoyed more than the lightening-paced lunchtime one-act The President. The zippy script by Fenrenc Molnar moves so fast that director Blair Williams seems to have choreographed it more than staged it- the entrances and exits are so […]
Ranking: #2 What makes The Admirable Crichton so notable is that it’s the only Shaw Festival production in my top 5 that really fits with the festival’s brand. While not a GB Shaw script, This JM Barrie play enjoys the conventional staging, English accents and Shavian commentary on the class system that proved so ineffective […]