Tom Patterson News

Canada's most esteemed theatre festival was honoured as a national historic event during a ceremony today in Stratford, Ontario.

The Stratford Festival is celebrating a major milestone in its Spirit of the Tent Campaign for the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre with a remarkable $5-million gift from Kelly and Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. In recognition of this gift, the Stratford Festival Forum, which will have a dedicated space in the new theatre centre, will be renamed The Meighen Forum.

The Stratford Festival celebrated a crowning moment at the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre on Wednesday. Major donors, Board members and government officials gathered together for the first time in the new facility for a "topping off ceremony" - the placement of the final beam that will support the roof over the new auditorium.

Business / Arts, a national charity that shows the power in partnership between business and arts to strengthen Canada's arts sector, is thrilled to announce Antoni Cimolino C.M. as this year's recipient of the Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award.

The Stratford Festival kicks off its 67th season on Monday with the gala opening of Shakespeare's Othello, followed by five more openings as the week unfolds: Billy Elliot the Musical, Henry VIII, Private Lives, Little Shop of Horrorsand The Merry Wives of Windsor. Artistic

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) presents the second production of its 2019 Stage III Series: Cherry Docs by David Gow, a fearless exploration of hatred and the powerful role it plays in society. Called "Bracingly Intelligent" by The Boston Globe, Cherry Docs sheds light on the dangers of extremism and depicts how fear can quickly change into hate. Cherry Docs starts playing in FST's Bowne's Lab Theatre February 20.

When Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama teacher Melody Herzfeld heard the fire alarm on Feb. 14, 2018, she was in rehearsals with her students for their annual children's musical. Moments later, a Code Red sounded. Herzfeld rushed her 65 students into a storage closet while a shooter killed 17 teachers and students nearby.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) opens its 2019 Stage III Series with Hand to God by Robert Askins, a dark comedy exploring the shockingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us. An Obie Award winner and five-time Tony Award nominee, including Best New Play, Hand to God was the most produced play in the 2016-17 theatrical season. Called "A darkly delightful play" by The New York Times, Hand to God is a ribald and irreverent comedy that dramatizes the fine line between good and evil.

The 2018 season ended on Sunday but work continues at the Stratford Festival with a number of exciting projects in the Laboratory, the Festival's research and development arm.

Executive Director Anita Gaffney has been named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women and will be honoured tonight at the Women's Executive Network (WXN) awards ceremony in Toronto, where she will receive the Top 100 Award in the BMO Arts, Sports & Entertainment category.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino is pleased to announce the playbill for the 2019 season. Featuring 12 productions, it's built around a theme of Breaking Boundaries, which will also be explored through more than 150 thought-provoking and entertaining events at the Forum.

Over the years, I have had a variety of different thoughts as I walked out of a theatre at the Stratford Festival having just watched a Shakespearean production. I often reflect on how the show made me feel, or the incredible performances I just witnessed, or the creative ways the director made the production his or her own. All of those thoughts certainly crept into my mind in the hours following the opening performance of CORIOLANUS, but Friday night was the first time that I exited the theatre after seeing one of Shakespeare's works where the very first thought that crossed my mind was 'That. Was. Cool.' The second thought that crossed my mind was 'Had the Tom Patterson Theatre been available, would this production have been at the Avon?' If the answer is 'no', then thank goodness for construction because the Avon Theatre is exactly where this production needed to be and Robert Lepage is exactly the person who needed to direct it. Again…That. Was. Cool.

In July, The Village Light Opera Group will present On The Twentieth Century at the Riverside Theatre (91 Claremont Avenue).

The Stratford Festival's Spirit of the Tent campaign has received a major boost from Andy & Helen Spriet. The London, Ont., couple has donated $1 million to the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre.

On Friday night, a unique production of Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS was performed at the Studio Theatre-another production, which in any other year, would likely have been performed at the Tom Patterson Theatre, but I must say, it was neat to see it done at the Studio. Director Keira Loughran's production takes place in a completely gender fluid society-accepting of all sexual identities and orientations. Though potentially confusing for those who don't take the time to read the program liner notes, this twist proves to be quite inspired.

The latest production to open at the Stratford Festival, is the Eugene O'Neill classic LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT. Directed by Miles Potter, this emotional and honest production will rip your heart out and leave you thinking about the family it is based on for days. It is an absolute must-see this season at the Festival.

In July, The Village Light Opera Group will present On The Twentieth Century at the Riverside Theatre (91 Claremont Avenue).

This Sunday, April 22nd, will mark the cinematic release of the 2017 Stratford Festival production of TIMON OF ATHENS - One of Shakespeare's later plays, for which productions are not nearly as common as some of Shakespeare's other stories. Directed for the stage by Stephen Ouimette, and directed for the screen by Barry Avrich, TIMON OF ATHENS is a story of a man who gives generously but does not pay close enough attention to his own debt. When the collectors come calling, Timon's friends do not show up for him like he did for them. This betrayal drastically changes his worldview and sends him into a tragic, reclusive life. Joseph Ziegler, who portrayed Timon in the production, was kind enough to chat with Broadway World about bringing this play to the big screen.

Stratford City Council voted last night to sell the property known as 48 Water Street to the Stratford Festival, paving the way for the Festival to build a new Tom Patterson Theatre at its current site. While there are still some details to be worked out before the sale is finalized, the Festival hopes to begin construction in March.

When ten-year-old Elliott asks his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack, about the number tattooed on his arm, he sparks an intimate conversation about Jack's life that spans happy memories of childhood in Poland, the loss of his family, surviving Auschwitz and finding a new life in America.