Jackie Maxwell News

The Shaw Festival announced the 60th anniversary season. Get the full list of shows and dates here. “We have a lot to celebrate as we look forward to our diamond anniversary season. In what might be our most ambitious programme ever, we intend to show off the range of experiences available at The Shaw,” revealed Artistic Director Tim Carroll.

The Shaw Festival's 2021 season continues into fall and winter with the American classic Desire Under the Elms, the beloved Irving Berlin musical Holiday Inn and perennial Yuletide favourite A Christmas Carol.

Upon receiving a $150,000 Capital grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in 2019, the Shaw Festival immediately put it to good use. Many of The Shaw's amenities have benefitted from this infusion of funds. The support the Festival received from OTF ensures its theatres and spaces are ready for the anticipated return of audiences and company members.

The Factory Theatre Board of Directors has announced that Nina Lee Aquino will end her tenure as the Factory's Artistic Director. Nina has been a guiding force for the company for a decade during which she has mentored emerging talent, created a platform for diverse voices to be heard and a stage for the best in Canadian theatre.

As Ontario remains under a provincewide emergency and stay-at-home order, the Shaw Festival is now forced to delay the start of the 2021 season to early July. Early performances of Charley's Aunt and the full run of The Devil’s Disciple will now move to new outdoor venues.

In addition to realizing a financial gain, the Shaw Festival also made strides in cultivating new funding partnerships, while supporting surrounding businesses, during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

The Shaw Festival is adding a festive twist to its popular concert series. Running December 5 through December 19 in the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre (10 Queen's Parade), Songs for a Winter's Night features favourite melodies from the holiday season.

As of October 28, the Shaw Festival's concert series will move indoors to the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre with a limit of 50 guests and safety protocols in place. Featuring the music of Duke Ellington, Dorothy Fields and Cole Porter, the performances run Wednesdays to Fridays at 6 p.m.​ and Saturdays at 2 p.m. from October 28 through November 20.

The Shaw Festival plans to return to the stage in May with a reduced 2021 season. Many of the anticipated productions originally scheduled for 2020 will now appear as part of the 2021 playbill.

Arena Stage continues to engage the community with its education program, Voices of Now, working with middle and high school students online in addition to newly added dates to its Intermission series of virtual programming.

The Stratford Festival is seeing number of recent productions moving on to theatres across the country, where they are being received with great enthusiasm.

From January 14th to February 2nd, Montreal-based playwright Erin Shields blasts 2020 wide open by turning heaven and hell upside down in Paradise Lost, a witty, modern, and feminist reimagining of John Milton's account of the first battle between good and evil. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, former Shaw Festival Artistic Director (2002-2016), Canadian stage icon Lucy Peacock recreates the role of Satan, bookended by Amelia Sargisson as Eve and Qasim Khan as Adam. The three original company members from the 2018 Stratford-commissioned hit are supported by the Stratford designers, but the remaining cast, Centaur's largest this season, and the stage management team are all from Montreal.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has begun performances of the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You) Dear Jack, Dear Louise.

'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' is a moving, funny, and heartbreaking show with a sweetly earnest cast and a formidable production team. Based on the true story of playwright Ken Ludwig's parents' letters and courtship during World War II, 'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' is a lovingly told and timeless romance, and a pleasurable reminder of the past and of our humanity.

In Arena Stage's Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Jake Epstein is not only talking about another period, but another form of communication, one long since forgotten by society a?' letters.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has begun performances of the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You) Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Take a look at photos from the production below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You) Dear Jack, Dear Louise.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has begun rehearsals for the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You) Dear Jack, Dear Louise.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's (Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You) Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Based on his own parents' love story, U.S. Army Captain Jacob S. Ludwig and aspiring actress, Louise Rabiner, meet through a series of letters and become pen pals. Set in 1942 during World War II, a romance begins and the two must find their way toward each other, even though they have never met. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, Dear Jack, Dear Louise runs November 21 a?" December 29, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.

Artistic Director Tim Carroll and the Shaw Festival have announce their 2020 season.