Kelly Cameron - Page 6

The wickedly funny National Theatre of the World is bringing Torontonians a special treat this holiday season courtesy of It's A Wonderful Toronto! The Rob Ford Holiday Spectacular! The show is a musical comedy that chronicles the dress rehearsal of The Rob Ford Christmas Special. Directer Matt Baram took a few minutes to talk to BWW about Rob Ford, the holiday show, gravy nog and more.

Thom Allison has had a very successful year, receiving rave reviews for his performance in Shaw Festival's Ragtime and guest judging on the CBC hit 'Over the Rainbow'. This holiday season he returns to his first love of cabaret with a special performance entitled 'Shut Up! It's Christmas!' at Buddies in Bad Times. He spoke to BWW about what cabaret means to him, how much he loves Christmas and whether he's been naughty or nice.

This holiday season BWW is featuring some of Toronto's best and brightest musical talents in a series of feature interviews celebrating their cabaret performances. Today we talk to Micah Barnes who is hosting an upcoming 'Singer's Playground' next week. The evening will showcase songs from his new album and feature up and coming musical theatre talent. Micah spoke to us about how he chose his young guest stars, what cabaret means to him and whether he's been naughty or nice this year.

The holiday season is here and it's bringing with it a whole host of exciting cabarets courtesy of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre! Up first is Chris Tsujiuchi's Christerical Cabaret - a show that promises laughs, love and holiday sweaters! BWW will be featuring many of the holiday cabaret artists leading up to Christmas, and Chris sat down to talk with us about what cabaret means to him, how he's made his show festive and why 'Dick in a Box' is really a holiday treat.

Ordinary Days is kicking off Angelwalk Theatre's 2012-2013 Season at The Toronto Centre for the Arts. The show features four of Canada's brightest up and coming musical theatre talents, and BWW sat down to speak with three of them about their best and worst romantic movie and stage choices.

On Thursday morning members of Toronto's media were given a sneak peek look at the brand new Canadian production of The Wizard of Oz. The North American premiere will take place this holiday season at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, featuring Danielle Wade in the lead role of Dorothy after she won the CBC competition 'Over the Rainbow'. BWW is thrilled to bring readers photos from the sneak peek!

The musical Les Miserables has been a worldwide phenomenon for the past quarter of a century, and this Christmas it gets the big screen treatment as Tom Hooper's film adaptation hits cinemas across the country. Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and more, the big screen version features all of its actors singing live for the first time in a motion picture. Advance buzz has been extremely positive, with many proclaiming it could be this year's big Oscar winner. For me, Les Miserables was the reason I fell in love with theatre and the powerful story has served me well throughout my life. For that reason, I'm excited to share the story with the world at large - in the hopes that Jean Valjean's tale will help us all to dare to dream this holiday season and hope for a more compassionate tomorrow.

This past Monday, stars of Toronto's theatre scene joined together for a fundraiser in support of Acting Up Stage, a 'modern musical theatre' company in Toronto. Artistic Director Mitchell Marcus once again teamed with Musical Director Reza Jacobs to create an evening filled with unique songs by popular composers. Tapestries featured the music of Carole King and James Taylor and included stars such as Cynthia Dale, Jake Epstein, Josh Young and more. BWW is thrilled to bring its readers photos from the special evening.

Randy Graff, who originated the role of Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway, is coming to Toronto to conduct an exciting master class this December. Known for her story-telling through song, Randy will focus on teaching that unique ability to her students. She sat down with BWW to talk about her career, the benefits of the master class and the upcoming feature film version of Les Miserables.

Acting Up Stage presents TAPESTRIES this Monday, a unique concert featurin the music of Carole King and James Taylor as arranged by Reza Jacobs. These concerts take place once a year and feature some of Canada's best and brightest musical theatre talent paying tribute to some of the most well-known and loved music of the past century. This year's show features Cynthia Dale, Josh Young, Jake Epstein, Arlene Duncan, Sterling Jarvis and more. Reza spoke to BWW about how he goes about putting the show together, how he feels about Toronto's musical theatre landscape and why people should come see the show.

Terminus was a smash-hit at last year's Summerworks Festival, and now it is the first offering in the inaugural Off-Mirvish Season. The new endeavour from Mivish Productions aims to showcase smaller, independent works to a larger audience within Toronto. BWW spoke to Terminus director Mitchell Cushman about the show, and about how he feels getting the chance to showcase it to a larger audience.

On Saturday November 17th Torontonians came out to support Gilda's Club of Greater Toronto at the eleventh annual It's Always Something variety show and fundraiser. The event was once again hosted by Russell Peters and featured performances by Eric McCormack, Nelly Furtado, Glass Tiger, Louise Pitre and more. All proceeds went to support Gilda's Club, which provides an invaluable support system and resource for people's who's lives have been touched by cancer. BWW is thrilled to bring our readers photos from the event.

Colm Wilkinson is having an exciting year. He's one of the founding artists of Theatre 20, he will be appearing in the much anticipated feature film version of Les Miserables and he's about to embark on a Christmas tour entitled Christmas, Broadway and Beyond. Featuring Christmas tunes as well as favourites from his solo albums, Colm will be dazzling audiences throughout Canada over the holiday season. BWW caught up with him recently to talk about the new show, as well as passing the Jean Valjean torch to Hugh Jackman.

On Saturday night I took my Conservative father out to see Studio 180's production of The Normal Heart, in an attempt to prove this is a piece of theatre that can transcend pre-existing stereotypes and appeal to a person's basic humanity. Thankfully he thoroughly enjoyed the show, and the experience reminded me of why I think this is such an important piece of theatre. Part human rights, part love story, part history lesson - The Normal Heart examines the best and the worst of the human spirit in a powerful evening of theatre. It is because of the lasting impact it has and the lessons of tolerance it teaches that I believe everyone should see this show.

The 2nd Annual Hope Rising Benefit took plays this week at Roy Thomson Hall to benefit the Stephen Lewis AIDS Foundation, an organization that helps women and children with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Annie Lennox returned to Toronto for one night only to lend her gorgeous vocals to the cause, along with Canadian sensation Sarah McLachlan and African singer Angelique Kidjo. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, the very special evening was both heartbreaking and inspiring. BWW was on hand to capture photos from the event.

La Cage Aux Folles is wrapping up their first National Tour in Toronto at The Royal Alexandra Theatre with Canuck Jeigh Madjus in the role of Jacob. This is Jeigh's first time on a Mirvish stage, and he spoke to BWW about what his last year on tour has been like, how he's enjoyed being the only Canadian in the cast and how important it is to always be true to yourself.

Canada has spoken, and Danielle Wade has been given the coveted red ruby slippers and the role of Dorothy in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Wizard of Oz. Wade, 20, won the eight week long reality competition 'Over the Rainbow' Monday night after a nation-wide vote eliminated runners-up AJ Bridel and Stephanie LaRochelle. Danielle will headline the Mirvish presentation of The Wizard of Oz, opening this Christmas at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

Speaking in Tongues is the latest offering from Company Theatre, and it opened this past week at the Berkeley Street Theatre where it will run until November 24th. The show tells the story of nine interconnected people and explores issues such as infidelity, intimacy, and human connection. It is directed by Company Theatre co-founded Philip Riccio, who sat down to talk to BWW about the challenges that come with directing a play such as this, the mature subject matter and his vision for Company Theatre.

On Monday Oct 29th members of the original Canadian cast of RENT gathered together with graduates from Sheridan College to perform a special benefit concern in support of Fife House. Produced by Michael Rubinoff, the event celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the Canadian production of the Tony Award Winning musical, and was a fantastic evening filled with songs and lots of love. On hand to celebrate were Chad Richardson, Cary Shields, Dominique Roy, Karen LeBlanc, Jenifer Aubry, Gavin Hope and Thom Allison. BWW is thrilled to bring its readers photos from the evening.

The 15th Anniversary of the Canadian cast of RENT is upon us, and alums from the original production are getting together with Sheridan College students for a very special concert to raise money for Fife House and honour the spirit of the show. Thom Allison, currently a judge on CBC's Over the Rainbow, has recently been added to the growing list of alum coming back for this one special night. He spoke to BWW about the message of RENT and how it's changed for him over the years, as well as how it applies to the young girls vying for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.