Richard Ouzounian News

The Toronto Theatre Critics' Award just announced their 2014 winners. The awards are in their fourth year, and are voted upon by Toronto critics who represent five of the city's newspapers and weeklies: The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck); The Grid (Martin Morrow); NOW (Glenn Sumi); The National Post (Robert Cushman); and the Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian). Shows which opened between June 2013 and May of 2014 were open for consideration.

Directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro, the new Broadway production of Of Mice and Men officially opens tonight, April 16, 2014 at the Longacre Theatre. Let's see what the critics had to say...

The 'MIZ Kids' have been announced for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg's Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece LES MISERABLES, which returns to Broadway beginning Saturday, March 1 at the Imperial Theatre. The official opening night isSunday, March 23.

Mirvish Productions announced today they will host a free event on January 27 at the Toronto Reference Library, where guests will have the chance to meet the cast and creators of Arrabal, a new musical set to make it's world premier in Toronto this February.

Additional casting was announced today for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg's Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece LES MISERABLES, which returns to Broadway beginning Saturday, March 1 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). The official opening night for LES MISERABLES is Sunday, March 23.

Talk Is Free Theatre has announced principal casting and creative teams for the first three productions of the current season. Some of Canada's most renowned artists are scheduled to appear, with additional casting announcements expected to follow at a later date.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

'There's no cure like travel, to help you unravel the worries of living today.' The cast and crew of the National Tour of Anything Goes recently bid bon voyage to the road as they returned home from their 13 month voyage across North America. Traveling through 22 states, 28 cities and 2 countries, the company helped audience members unravel aboard the S.S. American with plenty of madcap antics and hijinks on the high seas.

Talk Is Free Theatre has announced principal casting and creative teams for the first three productions of the current season. Some of Canada's most renowned artists are scheduled to appear, with additional casting announcements expected to follow at a later date.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announced today the release ofChicago Shakespeare Theater: Suiting the Action to the Word, a collection of original essays that furthers the study of William Shakespeare in performance and stagecraft through the exploration of the Theater's first twenty-five years. Respected scholars, artists and theater critics view Shakespeare through the lens of the theater's artistry, bringing together professional observations and scholarly examinations of CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines's productions as well as collaborations with world-renowned directors who have worked at CST, including Michael Bogdanov(The Winter's Tale - 2003); Edward Hall (Rose Rage: Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3 - 2004) and Josie Rourke (The Taming of the Shrew - 2010).

Kyle Golemba and Adam White have reason to celebrate: the debut of the recording of their all-Canadian musical theatre revue, Making Love in a Canoe. A 'sonnet to Canadian culture', Making Love in a Canoe features the work of 15 Canadian writers including Nancy White, Leslie Arden, and Jonathan Monro. With four never-before-recorded songs, the album promises to introduce even the most avid theatre-goer to the riches Canadian musicals have to offer.

A transfer of this season's production of Possible Worlds to Munich, Germany, a co-production of the haunting musical Floyd Collins and a new conceptual adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in a retirement home are among the highlights. Today Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak announced details of the upcoming season for Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT), which sees the company producing a wide range of new and re-imagined material in Barrie, Ontario and beyond.

Roundabout Theatre Company's ANYTHING GOES is now playing until August 25 at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

The 25th Anniversary of the Toronto Fringe Festival wrapped up an incredible ten days in our glorious city this past Sunday night, marking a record year in terms of opening 4 day profit despite challenges such as flooding and power outages cancelling shows and closing down theatres. The city came alive with 148 shows performing in venues across the city, selling 57,182 tickets and returning $433,027 to artists. In addition, there were 200 completely sold-out performances, and many shows which were incredibly close. The joy of Fringing is the hidden gems that you discover, and I'm pleased to report I discovered two this year in Bremen Rock Musical and We Are the Bomb. In addition, there are many excellent shows headed uptown for Best of Fringe which begins in 2 days!

A brand new Canadian musical by Ted Dykstra opened last night in Charlottetown after nearly ten years of work to get it mounted on the stage. Starring Canadian darlings Chilina Kennedy and Adam Brazier, early buzz surrounding this production is incredibly promising. Racheal McCaig visited the Island to check out the days leading up to opening, and BWW is thrilled to share these gorgeous shots from the tech run of EVANGELINE.

TERMINUS wins big at this year's Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards, which were announced today (awards to be given out at a later date). The awards are determined by Toronto critics who represent five of the city's newspapers: The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck); The Grid (Martin Morrow); NOW (Glenn Sumi); The National Post (Robert Cushman); and the Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian).

Acting Up Stage opened their newest production this past Thursday, a new version of Falsettos that is being produced with The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company. The show was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1992, and took home the prize for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. On Friday night, writer William Finn joined Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian for a special post-performance Q&A, where the two discussed the evolution of Falsettos as well as Finn's life and other works. BWW is thrilled to bring its readers photos from the event.

Falsettos is a Tony Award winning musical which explores complicated issues surrounding family and love amidst the backdrop of the emergence of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City. It is the latest offering in Acting Up Stage's exciting season, and opens tonight at Daniel's Spectrum (formerly the Regent Park Arts Centre). BWW sat down and spoke with the three ladies of the production, Sara-Jeanne Hosie, Glynis Ranney and Sarah Gibbons about what the experience has been like so far, and about how relevant they feel the material is today:

On Monday April 8th, Artistic Director Andy McKim announced Theatre Passe Muraille's 2013/14 season at the company's annual fundraising gala event. The season presents a balanced approach of fresh new voices (Rob Kempson, Rosamund Small, Mitchell Cushman) and established theatrical powerhouses (Louise Pitre, George F. Walker, Linda Griffiths). It also features more than a dash of song and dance.

A transfer of this season's production of Possible Worlds to Munich, Germany, a co-production of the haunting musical Floyd Collins and a new conceptual adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in a retirement home are among the highlights. Today Artistic Producer Arkady Spivak announced details of the upcoming season for Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT), which sees the company producing a wide range of new and re-imagined material in Barrie, Ontario and beyond.