Lauren Gienow - Page 3

For the first time since 1975, the Stratford Festival is putting on a production of Arthur Miller's chilling 1953 play, THE CRUCIBLE. Directed by Jonathan Goad, this production maintains a thrilling level of intensity for its entire duration, keeping audiences in the Avon Theatre utterly captivated while simultaneously squirming at the challenging situation they are seeing on stage and the frightening fact that some of the most outlandish elements of the plot are far too relatable to what is going on in politics and society today.

The Stratford Festival is celebrating the World Premiere of Michael Healey's adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's THE FRONT PAGE at the Festival Theatre. A beloved American satire set in 1920's Chicago, THE FRONT PAGE tells the story of journalists in a courthouse pressroom doing whatever they need to do to get their story while at the same time being the only potential failsafe against political corruption at a time when the seedy Chicago subculture was in full swing. Directed by Graham Abbey, this adaptation is updated to include more diversity among the characters. It is a knee slapping night at the theatre whilst also providing a seemingly timeless commentary about the flaws and biases of the criminal justice system.

On Wednesday evening, a powerful and complex exploration of identity, generational trauma, and spirituality opened at the Stratford Festival's Studio Theatre. The English language premiere of Wajdi Mouawad's BIRDS OF A KIND (English Translation by Linda Gaboriau) provokes thought and emotion and is a great companion to NATHAN THE WISE, which opened at the same theatre earlier in the season and despite being very different tonally, shares many themes. Directed by Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, BIRDS OF A KIND begins as a story of two almost unknowingly star crossed lovers and morphs into a tale about members of a family each struggling to honour their perceived identities and religions in their own ways.

As I took my seat in the lobby of Stratford's Festival Theatre on Monday night, the eager patron next to me leaned in and proclaimed a?oeThere is quite the buzz in here!a?? She was absolutely right. We had both arrived early enough to grab seats for WHY WE TELL THE STORY: A CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE--A much anticipated cabaret event conceived by Festival actor Marcus Nance who can currently be seen in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and BILLY ELLIOT. After initially selling out months before the Festival season even began, the high demand of this show led to more chairs being added and eventually to 'standing room only' tickets being sold so that as many people as possible could witness what indeed turned out to be a magical night of words and song.

Fresh off an acclaimed run at the Toronto Fringe Festival, new musical EVERY SILVER LINING is coming to Stratford City Hall for what is sure to be a moving and memorable performance on Sunday August 25th. BWW had the opportunity to chat with Producer, Playwright, and star, Laura Piccinin about how this musical came to be, the deep and moving themes it explores, and the journey it has taken to get to this point.

If you are looking for a master class in acting, look no further than Drayton Entertainment's production of 12 ANGRY MEN currently playing at the Huron Country Playhouse II in Grand Bend. Not only are the performances stellar, but there is also something equal parts thrilling and horrifying about how much this play resonates with today's audience. It is horrifying that so little has changed when it comes to the risk of the influence of prejudice and racism in the criminal justice system, but it is also thrilling that this exceptional piece of theatre still has the ability to reflect the good the bad and the ugly of the world back onto the audience in a way that challenges us to be better.

The Italian Stallion himself is currently tearing up the stage at Drayton Entertainment's Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend. ROCKY: THE MUSICAL premiered last week and audiences appear to be loving it. Based on the classic movie, with Book by Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone, Music by Stephen Flaherty and Lyrics by Lynn Ahren; this Alex Mustakas directed beast of a show is sure to be thoroughly entertaining for the entire family.

On June 15, a moving, and at times very funny production of NATHAN THE WISE opened at the Stratford Festival's Studio Theatre. Directed by Birgit Schreyer Duarte, this production of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1779 play is a thought-provoking exploration into humanity, the concept of "the other," and the meaning of tolerance.

This season at the Stratford Festival, a new generation of imaginative dreamers now has the opportunity to be introduced to Michael Ende's THE NEVERENDING STORY. In partnership with Canada's National Arts Centre and presented by Schulich Children's Plays, this play is the perfect out for a family looking to immerse themselves in the arts while visiting Stratford.

MOTHER'S DAUGHTER, the third and final installment of playwright Kate Hennig's 'Queenmaker Trilogy' had its world premiere at the Stratford Festival's Studio Theatre Friday night. The play follows the reign of Mary I Queen of England and like the two previous instalments, it is reimagined (or perhaps 'restored') to be told from the perspective of the women at the centre of the story. Directed by Alan Dilworth, this production provides a fitting end to the intimate story of tradition, family, faith, imperfection and sisterhood that audiences first became immersed in 4 years ago.

Opening week at the Stratford Festival came to a close on Saturday evening with director Antoni Cimolino's production of Shakespeare's THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. Reimagined to take place in the early 1950's, this production is outrageously funny, with charming and distinctive performances by all involved.

If you are in Stratford, Ontario and are looking for a good time, look no further than this season's production of horror comedy rock musical LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. There aren't a whole lot of shows that can call themselves a horror comedy rock musical, but if you frequent these parts…or, you know, have a pulse, chances are you saw one last year too. The success of last season's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW has sent the message that audiences get a kick out of the subversive escape that this kind of show can offer, and so, Director/Choreographer Donna Feore is serving up another delicious hit in the same vein as ROCKY HORROR (puns intended).

PRIVATE LIVES is one of Noel Coward's greatest works. It is timeless in its humour and with the right cast, it is a delightfully hilarious exploration of all sides of love and passion. The cast assembled in the Stratford Festival's production does justice to Coward's clever use of words and wit, all but guaranteeing the audience a fun night out at the theatre.

The Stratford Festival of Ontario may be known first and foremost for mounting productions of Shakespeare's plays, but there are certain plays by the bard that only seem to come around once in a while. For example, HENRY VIII, a play written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, has only been performed three other times in the history of the Stratford Festival--the last one being in 2004. This season, director Martha Henry has created a production of this play that feels relevant and exciting. Stunning performances by Jonathan Goad and Irene Poole elevate it event further.

For the past several seasons, Stratford's Festival Theatre stage has been home to classic musical theatre productions with catchy tunes that audiences might find themselves humming long after the company had taken its final bow. This season, the musical living on that stage is a little different. It is not a classic from the golden age of broadway, the music, while moving, is likely not that familiar ear worm that you will wake up singing, and the story is as gritty and high stakes as many of the Shakespearean productions we have seen on that stage in recent years. BILLY ELLIOT officially opened to a raucous standing ovation on Tuesday evening, making it clear that Stratford audiences are more than happy to branch out to something a little different.

The 67th season at the Stratford Festival is officially underway, and off to an exciting start after Monday's opening night performance of OTHELLO. Directed by Nigel Shawn Williams and starring Michael Blake in the titular role, this production is thought provoking and electrifying from start to finish.

Did you not get a chance to see the Stratford Festival's magical production of THE TEMPEST last season? Or maybe you did see it and are eager to get a taste of that magic again! You are in luck because the production was filmed and will be available for all to see through the Stratford Festival's Stage to Screen Series! With it's theatrical release set for Saturday, BroadwayWorld chatted with the production's Miranda, Mamie Zwettler about the experience of journeying to the magical island over and over again last season.

It's not a secret that there is a vibrant musical theatre community in Toronto. From popular, award winning Mirvish productions to new musicals being developed, to up and coming musical theatre performers honing their craft at the Sheridan College Music Theatre program, there is no shortage of talent or entertainment in the GTA. For the past 7 years, SINGular Sensation has been providing music theatre performers (professional or amateur) with an opportunity to display their talent and work on their performance skills at a musical theatre open mic night. The evening, which now takes place on the third Monday of every month, is the brainchild of host Jeni Walls, a musical theatre performer and producer who was inspired to create an evening of live performances from music theatre artists of all experience levels.

Based on the promos that have been airing all week, it was evident that Thursday's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY was going to be an emotional one. Although the promos were (characteristically) misleading, the episode did not disappoint. The devastating effects of addiction, as well as the complicated ways in which different people view addiction, took center stage as the doctors fought to save the lives of over 50 patients who had overdosed, including Betty/Britney.

If you're a fan of fun cameos, you'll be a fan of this week's Grey's Anatomy! We get 'Baby' from 'Dirty Dancing' AND we get a Hobbit! More than that though, we also get a really compelling episode that explores complicated family matters, gun violence, and having to operate on someone you hate.