Franklin Brasz News

The Stratford Festival’s production of the FINALLY THERE’S SUN Cabaret allows us to reflect on the challenges, triumphs, hope, and self discovery that accompanied the past year and a half. No two people had the exact same experience, but this cabaret manages to capture the commonalities between our experiences while also shedding light on the unique experiences that others may have had. This cabaret truly takes the audience on a journey through the good, bad, and the unimaginable while always maintaining a sense of beauty. The final numbers of the cabaret will lift your spirits and send you off into the world with a spring in your step and hope in your heart.

Productions from the Stratford Festival’s 2021 season begin streaming this Thursday, September 2, with a ticketed viewing party of selections from Why We Tell the Story: A Celebration of Black Musical Theatre on Stratfest@Home, the Festival’s streaming platform. It will feature a live chat for all those virtually attending at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

This exquisite cabaret delves deep into the catalogue of African American Musical Theatre and not only poses the titular question of WHY WE TELL THE STORY but also leaves audiences wondering why theatres haven’t been telling these stories nearly enough.

This update of the sold-out 2019 Meighen Forum concert, takes you on a journey with the voices of legendary Black poets and the music of the African-American musical theatre canon, including hits from Aida, Ain't Misbehavin', Caroline, or Change, The Color Purple, Hamilton, The Lion King, Once On This Island, Showboat and many more.

The Stratford Festival will mark the start of the 2021 season on July 13, the 68th anniversary of the very first performance held under a tent back in 1953, and the official opening of the year's first show, Why We Tell the Story: A Celebration of Black Musical Theatre.

The Ontario government has issued its guidance for attendance at outdoor performing arts events, paving the way for the opening of the Stratford Festival’s 2021 season. According to these guidelines, the Stratford Festival will be able to accommodate 100 people (or 25% capacity) in each of its new outdoor canopies.

The Stratford Festival is transforming, for this summer, into an outdoor festival offering a season of six plays and five cabarets reflecting on the theme of Metamorphosis, with performances held under beautiful canopies that will hark back to the Festival’s founding under a tent in 1953.

As winter descends and the pandemic continues, the Stratford Festival offers up some heartwarming new content to entertain and inspire as we await the days when we will be able to gather in theatres again.

The Stratford Festival’s popular Thursday night free viewing parties resume this week with an entertaining variety of offerings, including new and legacy films and all new original content safely created during the pandemic – adding to the rich mine of theatrical content available on Stratfest@Home, the Festival’s $10-a-month streaming service.

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.

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.

Donna Feore's gritty new take on Billy Elliot the Musical, the Tony Award-winning blockbuster musical from Lee Hall and Elton John, is now on stage at the Stratford Fesitval. The production officially opens on Tuesday, May 28, at the Festival Theatre.

Donna Feore's gritty new take on Billy Elliot the Musical, the Tony Award-winning blockbuster musical from Lee Hall and Elton John, is now on stage at the Stratford Fesitval. The production officially opens on Tuesday, May 28, at the Festival Theatre.

Donna Feore's gritty new take on Billy Elliot the Musical, the Tony Award-winning blockbuster musical from Lee Hall and Elton John, kicks off the Festival's 67th season with its first preview today. The production officially opens on Tuesday, May 28, at the Festival Theatre.

Back for a third consecutive year as part of the 'Night Music' series with The Stratford Festival's 'Forum', is a cabaret performance by company members . THIS THING CALLED LOVE will be presented in the Festival Theatre Lobby at 7:30pm on Monday, July 30th. Steve Ross, who plays Mayor Shinn in THE MUSIC MAN and The Narrator in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW this season at the Festival, is once again developing, and performing in this cabaret.

Last night marked the opening of the Stratford Festival's production of Meredith Willson's THE MUSIC MAN at the Festival Theatre. In this show, music is responsible for bringing the children of River City back to their parents. Tonight, it also brought patrons of the Stratford Festival back to the theatre.

The Stratford Festival's 66th season is off to an exhilarating start with Meredith Willson's Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Music Man. BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at the production in the video below!

The Stratford Festival's 66th season is off to an exhilarating start with Meredith Willson's Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Music Man. Previews begin today at the Festival Theatre, marking the first performance of the season.

Eric McCormack, one of Stratford's most successful alumni, is returning to the Festival in October, to perform the lead role in a concert version of the world's longest-running musical, The Fantasticks.

With the 2017 season of the Stratford Festival in full swing, and locals and visitors alike enjoying the glorious theatrical productions on stage at the Festival, Avon, Tom Patterson and Studio Theatres. It is important to note that there is far more than just theatre for audiences to enjoy at the Festival. 'The Forum', now in its 5th year, provides additional interactive programming of talks, panels, lunches, musical performances, and behind the scenes glimpses into the Festival's 65th season.