Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Stratford Festival’s ‘Grand Magic’ mines existentialism, absurdism and nihilism to cast a riotous spell by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

Geraint Wyn Davies, Gordon S. Miller and director Antoni Cimolino’s versatile ensemble don’t miss a beat in this Neapolitan tragicomedy.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:00PM
Monday, June 5, 2023

At Stratford, Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ leaves you smiling, humming by Glenn Sumi - Special To The Star

With standout pastiche numbers, ‘Spamalot’ is apt programming for a theatre festival — it’s a very clever send-up of musicals themselves.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 01:24PM
Saturday, June 3, 2023

Impassioned reimagining of pop-rock play energizes summer theatre stage by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Iconic 90s play led by a new generation of performers could lure younger demographic to Stratford this summer

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 04:00PM

Theatre etiquette 101: 9 things that make this critic cringe by Glenn Sumi - Special To The Star

From smartwatches to cramped seats: things that can turn this mild-mannered theatre fan into a full-on drama queen.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:11PM

‘Incredibly moving’: Stratford play ‘Casey and Diana’ captures Princess Diana’s iconic visit to Toronto’s Casey house by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Writer Nick Green’s play deeply honours the experiences of gay men at the end of their lives and the people who care for them

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM
Friday, June 2, 2023

Toronto proclaims Live Theatre Day amid celebration of one-year Harry Potter anniversary by Janiece Campbell - Staff Reporter

The event featured an official proclamation from city councillor Gary Crawford, a panel discussion with the show’s actors and installations from local artists.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

Where feminism meets courthouse drama with a musical score: ‘Kelly v. Kelly’ at the Berkeley Street Theatre by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

This new musical by Britta Johnson and Sara Farb features a winning cast and some inventive direction but its narrative is muddled and uncompelling.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:52PM

Future of the iconic Toronto Fringe Festival is in jeopardy amid low attendance, rising costs and lack of sufficient revenue by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

The Fringe’s struggles aren’t unique, industry experts warn, but rather indicative of issues affecting the wider performing arts sector.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM

Guillaume Côté, Robert Lepage reimagine groundbreaking multimedia ballet ‘Frame By Frame’ by Michael Crabb - Special To The Star

For this summer’s National Ballet opener, famed choreographers got together to make the project even stronger than it’s much-lauded 2018 debut

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Yes, Canadian TV star Paul Gross has the chops to play King Lear by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Gross and director Kimberley Rampersad have the guts and vision to let this Stratford Festival Lear be genuinely unlikeable at the start.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 04:51PM

Eric Idle sings with the cast in surprise Stratford ‘Spamalot’ appearance by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The original Monty Python troupe member reflects on collaboration, laughter and being a ghost

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 11:23AM

Hamilton, the musical incubator: Multi-million dollar program to develop new Canadian shows set to launch by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

City’s Theatre Aquarius will host the National Centre for New Musicals, with support of “Come From Away” producer Michael Rubinoff.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Friday, May 26, 2023

Kate Hennig is a commanding Momma Rose in the Shaw Festival’s ‘Gypsy’ by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The musical based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee is musically resplendent and boasts two superb performances from Hennig and Julie Lumsden.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 04:38PM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

Music for dreamers and strugglers: Eric McCormack, Cynthia Dale and more take on Sondheim’s ‘A Little Night Music’ by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

Along with Dan Chameroy, the stars reflect on Stephen Sondheim’s legacy ahead of Friday’s Koerner Hall concert production.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 03:20PM

‘Woods’ at the Bentway turns humans into trees to make a point about climate by Michael Crabb - Special To The Star

Mostly amateur performers willing to stand on their heads for as long as they can will create a forestlike landscape growing out of rock-hard concrete.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 08:00AM
Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Black choreographers, often neglected in the ballet world, are celebrated by Ballet Jörgen by Michael Crabb - Special To The Star

“We’re doing this program because they are all talented artists and perhaps have not been recognized as much as they should have,” says Bengt Jörgen.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 08:00AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Aaron Sorkin’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ adaptation makes its Canadian debut in Off-Mirvish season by Debra Yeo - Toronto Star

The four-play season also includes the comedy “Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of),” Crow’s Theatre’s “Uncle Vanya” and “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.”

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Friday, May 19, 2023

Enchanting ‘Prince Caspian’ at Shaw Festival likely to stir fond memories of the Narnia books by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Damien Atkins’ retelling puts the focus on the four Pevensie children and the delightful creatures who join them in their quest.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 03:31PM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Yes, Fatuma Adar is having a Black Out night at ‘She’s Not Special’ — but she wants everyone to have fun at her show by Glenn Sumi - Special To The Star

“She’s Not Special” deals with some serious hot-button subjects around race, but Adar wants people of all backgrounds to let loose at the new version of the show.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 09:00AM
Monday, May 15, 2023

Sara Porter expresses her love of the ocean in absurdly funny ways in ‘L-E-A-K’ by Michael Crabb - Special To The Star

In “L-E-A-K,” Porter explores ecosexuality, the theory of horizons, swimming safety and homosexuality among seagulls. And did we mention the game-show episode?

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Sunday, May 14, 2023

‘The Rite of Spring’ gets a feminist, African perspective from Dada Masilo by Michael Crabb - Special To The Star

Masilo’s ‘The Sacrifice,’ inspired by Stravinsky’s original, is a universal statement about ritual in our lives, and the connection of healing and grief.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 09:00AM
Saturday, May 13, 2023

In Coal Mine Theatre’s deftly directed ‘The Sound Inside,’ a professor and student languish in lonesome tragedy by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

Moya O’Connell and Aidan Correia play a Yale creative writing educator and student whose lives intertwine in Adam Rapp’s riveting two-hander.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:40PM
Thursday, May 11, 2023

Maev Beaty, Stratford star, shares her culture obsessions, including ‘Women Talking,’ ‘Sort of,’ some horror by Toronto Star

Acting powerhouse Maev Beaty, a star of breakout movie “Beau Is Afraid,” on what’s inspiring her in music, movies, books and art.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM
Monday, May 1, 2023

‘New’ a fresh take on on-stage portrayals of new immigrants deserves to get the on-screen series treatment by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Pamela Mala Sinha latest play has so many such fascinating episodes and layers it feels as if it’s bursting out of its 2.5-hour long run

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 03:15PM
Sunday, April 23, 2023

Meet opera’s super couple: a retired teacher and a broadcast technician who have performed in some of the COC’s largest productions by Joshua Chong - Staff Reporter

Bruce Jakacki and Nancy Mellow are COC supernumeraries, amateur actors who appear as extras to fill out crowded scenes.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:32PM

What’s in a page? To print theatre programs or deliver them digitally, that is the question by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

For some stage fans, downloading a program via QR code is a poor substitute for a record you can hold in your hand.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 08:00AM
Sunday, April 16, 2023

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will end in Toronto July 2 by Debra Yeo - Toronto Star

After 13 months, Mirvish says “Cursed Child” set a record for longest running professional play in Canadian history.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00PM

‘Kooza’ is Cirque du Soleil distilled to its essence with signature risks and humour by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The acts, as expected, are world-class and nicely varied. And the clowns are even funny, not always a guarantee.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 03:04PM

‘The best kind of staging’: ‘Mesmerizing’ production of Anton Chekhov’s play ‘The Seagull’ at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Director Daniel Brooks creates an updated production in which the actors talk like real people and that includes the audience in a fully realized, emotionally engulfing world.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM
Friday, April 14, 2023

‘Sort Of’ star Amanda Cordner is ‘incandescent’ in ‘Body So Fluorescent’ at Buddies In Bad Times theatre: ‘The show deserves full houses by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Lightning transformations between characters and the emerging revelation of the relationship between them is the central theatrical conceit

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 05:00AM

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