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BWW Review: SUITCASE / ADRENALINE at Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille kicks off 2020 with an Arabic-language double-bill. Is it novelty or innovation? A bit of both, I think....
BWW Review: The highs and lows of leadership are laid bare in MOTHER'S DAUGHTER
England's first female regent is often forgotten and relatively unknown, but in Soulpepper's remount of MOTHER'S DAUGHTER, Queen Mary gets her moment in the sun - whether she wants it or not....
BWW Review: LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is a Bright Testimony to the Power of Women and Importance of Self-Love
There's never been a shortage of movies-turned-stage musicals, but where many achieve to go beyond their inspirations, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is a show that stays true to what makes the cult-classic film so beloved a?' and in doing so, is just as relevant and timely in 2020 as the movie was in 2...
BWW Review: Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Present SWEAT at the Berkeley Street Theatre
SWEAT is a work of social realism, that controversial genre of fiction, film, and drama that tries to be romance and documentary all in one. It casts light on an often ignored part of American society, that is, those disenchanted workers - and ex-workers - whose dreams have been disrupted by some th...
BWW Review: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Is Here With A Striking Cast And Glittering Production
It's one of the most well-known musicals, but THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues to surprise, featuring a stellar cast, design, and dozens of special effects that all add up to a massive spectacle of a show....
BWW Review: EVERY SILVER LINING at Factory Theatre
EVERY SILVER LINING is about being a teenager, and cancer. Clara (Allison Wither, who also composed the music and wrote the lyrics) is a teenager. She reads books, goes swimming, and ignores her friends. Her brother, Andrew (Daniel Karp) is dying of leukemia....
BWW Review: THE SOLITUDES is a Personal Look Into Women's Lives and Bloodlines That Struggles to Find a Narrative
Aluna Theatre and Nightwood Theatre's production of THE SOLITUDES, directed by Bea Pizano, is an interesting glimpse into the lives of eight very different women's lives, histories, and bloodlines. Despite strong creative elements and performances, the dozens of ideas that are brought up rarely conn...
BWW Review: Sex, Power, and Wit in SEXUAL MISCONDUCT OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES at Tarragon Theatre
As in the best novels by Philip Roth, playwright Hannah Moscovitch delights in convincing us that her character's predatory behaviour is a minor flaw, not that bad in context, and that he's not that much worse, really than anyone else. Annie is intelligent, independent, has some sexual experience; i...
BWW Review: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM at St Lawrence Centre
Jess is torn between her obligations to her family and her dream of being a soccer star. Everyone tells her she has what it takes to make it big - except her parents, who remind her that her commitment, first and foremost, should be to her family. I won't tell you how BEND ITa?? ends, suffice to say...
BWW Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL serves up smiles and a whole lotta heart in its Toronto premiere
Who lives in a pineapple on a big stage?
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, presented by TO Live and NETworks Presentations, seems more than ready to make its Toronto premiere with a perfectly-cast ensemble, imaginative sets and costumes, and enough optimism to rival the yellow sponge himself....
BWW Review: COME FROM AWAY Is As Heartfelt And Timely As Ever Before
Following a transfer to the Elgin Theatre that lasted most of 2019, COME FROM AWAY has returned to its original Toronto home, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, in full form. Under director Christopher Ashley, writers and composers' Irene Sankoff and David Hein story of what happened in the town of Gander...
BWW Review: IKUMAGIALIIT Celebrates Self-Exploration And Strength In The Face Of Fear
Presented as part of Harbourfront Centre's The Festival of Cool: Arctic, IKUMAGIALIIT (Inuktitut for a?oethose that need firea??) is an experiential journey presented by a four woman performance art band, who collectively go by the name Ikumagialiit. Made up of Christine Tootoo, Cris Derksen, Laakku...
BWW Review: Toronto International Ballet Theatre's THE NUTCRACKER Proves That What Glitters Can Be Golden
In the Toronto International Ballet Theatre and Bolshoi Ballet's (TIBT) production of THE NUTCRACKER, choreographer and artistic director Tatiana Stepanova takes a traditional approach to the beloved story that proves it doesn't need a modern-day refresh to appeal to a modern audience. From the glit...
BWW Review: CASH ME IF YOU CAN at Berkeley Street Theatre
Patrick Combs was knee-deep in credit card debt when he got a piece of junk mail that caught his eye - a phony cheque for nearly $100,000. He knew the bank would never cash it, but he had nothing better to do, so he popped it into an ATM and - lo and behold, it cleared. Now Patrick Combs, slacker wa...
BWW Review: SCHÜTZ'S CHRISTMAS STORY Breathes Life into Baroque Music for the Holidays
Within the Trinity-St. Paul Centre's high ceilings and warm wooden walls, audiences can experience a telling of the nativity unlike anything created today. SCH?oeTZ'S CHRISTMAS STORY, produced by The Toronto Consort, is a seasonal program centred on Schütz's works, featuring a few other German comp...
BWW Review: TORONTO, I LOVE YOU at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre
TORONTO, I LOVE YOU has been playing on and off for a while now but, like the 6ix itself, the story is always changing. At the start of each show, the cast takes a few suggestions (Koreatown! The Alexandria Park pool!) so every night the action ends up somewhere different....
BWW Review: Immersive Production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL Highlights the Best Parts of Dickens' Beloved Tale
It's a story with dozens of iterations and adaptations, but a few small adjustments to this beloved Christmas tale make all the difference in Soup Can Theatre and The Three Ships Collective's A CHRISTMAS CAROL....
BWW Review: LIL RED ROBIN HOOD Is A Fun-Filled Romp Packed With Important Messages And Lessons
What happens when a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood gets pulled back in time, dropped in a forest, and comes face-to-face with Maid Marion, Robin Hood, and an evil sheriff?
A lot. And it all happens hilariously, with full musical numbers, in Ross Petty's LIL RED ROBIN HOOD....
BWW Review: ANASTASIA Journeys From Screen to Stage With Grace
In the last decade or so, musicals based on movies have become a regular occurrence. It seems like several new shows are opening each year, so it's not surprising that a?oeAnastasia,a?? Don Bluth's semi-unconventional take on a princess movie, made the transition a?' and thankfully, the end result m...
BWW Review: I BE LIKE... at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre
Thorne and Mullen have a natural stage chemistry, an easy back-and-forth that lets them bounce dialogue and jokes off each other like a game of table tennis. They are joined in I BE LIKE.... by Gavin Pounds, who opens the show with a stellar bit of inspirational comedy, and is a welcome addition to ...
BWW Review: STAND! Movie Musical
Although STAND! is full of romance, it is boldly honest in its historical depictions. Xenophobia and racism take centre stage in the story. Canada gets at best an ambivalent treatment, as a place where the lucky are lucky but the unlucky struggle just to avoid harm. One of the central questions of t...
BWW Review: FIGARO'S WEDDING is rapturously charming opera for a modern audience
FIGARO'S WEDDING, first staged by Against the Grain in 2013, is a perfect example of how a good story and timeless music can transcend hundreds of years and switch languages, and still be rapturously funny. Featuring an English libretto by director Joel Ivany, the production still utilizes Mozart's ...
BWW Review: New Choreography and a Powerhouse Cast Make For a Fur-midable Production of CATS
CATS is a show that, on paper, isn't necessarily an easy sell. The narrative is simple: once a year a group of cats come together for the jellicle ball, and their leader Old Deuteronomy selects one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life. There isn't too much structure to ...
BWW Review: SOLDIER ON at Berkeley Street Theatre
SOLDIER ON comes to us from the UK, where a variety of audiences, military and non-military alike, have had the chance to enjoy its easy humour and satisfying plot. It tells the story of a group of servicepeople and their families who have come together to talk through their issues and put on a show...
BWW Review: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY says what needs to be goddamn said at COAL MINE THEATRE
In life, we all get dealt a hand the moment we're born. The choice is whether to play it or try for better cards. Walter Washington never knew his own father, but he kept trading in his cards, refusing to become a wanderer, a deadbeat. He got a job on the force, an apartment, a family, a spoon colle...
Videos
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Kismet/Emma Bovary Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (5/29-6/04) |
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SYMPHONY UNDER THE STARS Memorial Park (7/17-7/17) |
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Battles Young People's Theatre (4/26-5/06) |
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Something Rotten! Stratford Festival (5/11-10/31) PHOTOS |
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síofra Red Sandcastle Theatre (6/17-6/28) |
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The Importance of Being Earnest Stratford Festival (5/19-10/23) PHOTOS |
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AC/DC Rogers Stadium (9/16-9/16) |
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Bee Gees Celebration - Soirée du jour de l''an Théâtre Capitole (12/31-12/31) |
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Grease: The Lawyer Show Nightwood Theatre (6/04-6/06) |
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Mt. Joy RBC Amphitheatre (9/21-9/21) |
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