TORONTO THEATER REVIEWS

Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra are two accomplished pianists who also happen to be pretty darn funny. Together they've created a musical comedic romp, 2 Pianos 4 Hands (2P4H) playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, an ode to their lifelong obsession with the 88 keys. If you've ever endured a mus...

Taking on Sondheim is a daunting task. It’s an even more daunting task to mold his works to fit and frame one’s own life story. Cynthia Dale encourages us to TAKE THE MOMENT at her show at the Winter Garden. Dale’s winning voice and a thoughtful script distinguish this deeply personal show fro...

With the world on fire in so many different ways, we could all use a good laugh. Second City’s new mainstage offering at Comedy Bar Danforth, MISSION TOTALLY POSSIBLE, provides one, and then some....

Mirvish has brought a truly spellbinding production to the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre this season. After over two years sitting empty, the theatre was packed on an opening weekend showing of the latest show in their 2022 season: the Canadian premiere of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD....

A Victorian thriller melded with a dash of 21st century female fortitude makes up the fabric of the Shaw Festival's gripping new production of GASLIGHT. Over the years the Festival has mastered presenting these chilling stories in it's quaint jewel box  Royal George Theatre. Memories of REBECCA and...

It’s been nearly two years since the National Ballet of Canada had planned on premiering their new SWAN LAKE, but in this case late is definitely better than never. The stunning new production, directed by former Artistic Director Karen Kain, has finally arrived on the Four Seasons Centre’s sta...

Dixon Road, a new musical by Fatuma Adar produced by The Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre in association with Canadian Stage, would not let the burst of rain drenching the High Park stage drown its opening night exuberance. DIXON ROAD ably balances despair and delight to create a show that...

What did our critic think? Soulpepper Theatre along with Native Earth Performing Arts presents Where the Blood Mixes written by Kevin Loring. This production, directed by Jani Lauzon, is a story about loss, reconnection, and generational trauma brought about by the hands of those in charge at the St...

A riveting production of Shakespeare's RICHARD III at the brand new (and gorgeous) Tom Patterson Theatre. Directed by Antoni Cimolino and starring Colm Feore, this production offers an impressive take on one of Shakespeare's greatest villains. With a skilled company and stunning design and effects,...

Stratford Festival audiences have been waiting a while for some 'razzle dazzle' and we finally got it when, after being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020, CHICAGO had its much-anticipated opening at the Festival Theatre exactly 47 years to the day the original production opened on Broadway! This pro...

The audience's enthusiasm for the much anticipated Stratford Festival production of HAMLET swas palpable. The opening applause may have been for a return to the Festival Theatre, but the thunderous ovation at the end was for this fresh and brilliant production led by the luminous Amaka Umeh....

“Are we ready to play God?” is the question that pervades R.U.R.: A TORRENT OF LIGHT, Tapestry Opera’s new co-production with OCAD University. Inspired by Karel Čapek’s 1920 work, the opera updates the source material while preserving its central questions about servitude and freedom. Will ...

Americana and the Golden Age of the Broadway musical has happily landed at the Shaw Festival in their knock it out of the park production of DAMN YANKEES. After years without a staged musical at the Festival Theatre and repeated cancellations of it's production of GYPSY (thanks Covid!), the magic of...

Canadian Stage with Obsidian Theatre Company and Necessary Angel Theatre Company present Is God Is playing at the Berkeley Street Theatre until May 22, 2022, written by Aleshea Harris and directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu. This explosive story of revenge and murder is an eye-opening and revealing expl...

What are the essential qualities that make people who they are? What are the ties that bind us together, emotionally and physically? Is memory crucial to continuing a relationship, or does love conquer all? These are some of the questions asked in LESSON IN FORGETTING, Emma Haché’s heart-wrenchin...

If you’ve ever wanted to experience Mozart’s work live, there’s no time like the present to do so in Toronto. The Canadian Opera Company has brought their acclaimed production of THE MAGIC FLUTE back - delayed after a few years of theatre shut-downs, but better late than never in the case of t...

In Guillaume Côté’s CRYPTO, a man has nightly visions of a mysterious beast. Driven to distraction by his desire to discover what features in the foreground of his dreams, he eventually finds himself set free by his wife to seek the cryptozoological creature. After the man locates the mythical b...

The Canadian Opera Company marked its return-to-stage after nearly two years with this all-around stunning production of one of Verdi’s most well-known works. Clocking in at just shy of three hours, the four-act opera tells the tale of Parisian courtesan Violetta (Amina Edris, making her COC debut...

“What do you do when life disappoints you?” is the question asked in the program of Jake Epstein’s BOY FALLS FROM THE SKY. For Epstein, his life and career have been intertwined since childhood, with his dreams of performing woven into many choices he’s made....

ITALIAN MIME SUICIDE, in a new production by Bad New Days playing at The Theatre Centre, is both more tongue-in-cheek and more serious than its name suggests. The show, written by Adam Paolozza and directed by Paolozza and Kari Pederson, was inspired by the 2003 suicide of an Italian mime who felt t...

Generational trauma, familial obligation, and the futile and inevitable results of “an eye for an eye” justice are given voice in Indrit Kasapi’s powerful TOKA, a Theatre Passe Muraille and lemonTree creations digital co-production currently enjoying its digital premiere....

What lengths would a mother go to to save her son and his future? In PIPELINE, there doesn’t seem to be a limit....

Set over 40, 000 years BCE, ORPHAN SONG follows the story of a Homo-sapiens couple struggling through the recent loss of a child. In their travels, they come across a being they've never seen before - a Neanderthal child orphaned and alone. Instinctively, they take the child under their care but lan...

Adopted for the stage by Emma Donoghue, the writer of the novel, ROOM is a 2-act spectacle full of imaginative creative choices, heart wrenching performances, and original music....

The work soared when its highly skilled dancers were given the chance to show off their control; however, the production struggled to maintain its original ideas as it moved further from dance and towards more theatrical components....