TORONTO THEATER REVIEWS

In the last few years there has been a resurgence of the jukebox musical - shows that are based on popular music that people already know, designed to sell tickets on the 'name' or the 'hum-ability' of the catchy songs in the score. I have no problem with jukebox musicals - they are generally fun, t...

Stage West Dinner Theatre brings The Marvelous Wonderettes to Toronto audiences. The nearly endless parade of pop standards, novelty tunes and early rock'n'roll songs gives the show a built-in nostalgia factor that proves popular with Stage West audiences....

This new production of The Secret Garden comes to us from The Festival Theatre in Edinburgh. A tighter, more effective first act is a decided improvement, and though the show remains somewhat problematic, it will entertain and delight your inner child. * * * 1/2 (out of 5)...

Encore Entertainment is opening their production of Leonard Gershe's Butterflies Are Free this week. Reviewed at a dress rehearsal performance, I am happy to report the show is so good there's no need to wait until opening night to spread the word. You won't want to miss it! * * * * * (out of 5)...

A top-notch cast coupled with crisp direction makes Theatre Unlimited's revival of the Broadway musical Cabaret a powerful performance. * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)...

A thoroughly enjoyable production of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS from Hart House Theatre. Show has a clever book and a delightful score, and the cast makes the most of both. * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)...

Encore Entertainment's production of the off=beat Broadway hit THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a crowd-pleaser. Enriched by both crisp direction and fine performances, the musical seems a perfect fit for the cozy confines of the Studio theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. * ...

After two weeks of previews, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT had its official opening in Toronto on Tuesday October 26. The production is in terrific shape and delivers both spectacle and spectacular entertainment. Even when it falters, as it does on occasion, the musical is lively and tremendous fun....

Wicked is a fun , entertaining show and the touring production on view at the Canon Theatre has enough magic to make one forgive some of the inadequacies, but it isn't as sharp a production as was previously seen here. * * * 1/2 (OUT OF 5)...

On Wednesday, November 10, 2010, the Toronto Centre for the Arts launches Out of Character: Intimate Portraits of Stage Stars, a five-part series that features some of Canada's most revered theatrical talent performing unplugged at the intimate George Weston Recital Hall, a venue renowned for its ou...

Angelwalk Theatre presents the Toronto premiere of [title of show] at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Though the production values are minimal, the dynamite cast take hold of the material and milk it for all it's worth! * * * * 1/2 (OUT OF 5) ...

This is one not to miss - a first rate touring edition of a much lauded Broadway revival of one of Rodgers & Hammerstein's most challanging and rewarding musical plays. Jason Howard, Carmen Cusack, Jodi Kimura and Anderson Davis head a settlar cast. * * * * * (out of 5)...

The Civic Light Opera Company wraps up their 2009-10 season with an enjoyable staging of the musical Funny Girl, anchored by a performer more than up to the task of the role of Fanny Brice. * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)...

A terrific cast and a score made up of 80's evergreens makes Rock Of Ages an energizing night out. The cliche-ridden plot serves solely as an excuse for the two dozen period songs, but the in the end it's the music that delivers the high-octane entertainment. * * * * (OUT OF 5)...

Almost ten years to the day, Mamma Mia returns to the city where the show had its North American premiere. It isn't the happiest of homecomings, due to an annoying tendency for the cast to overplay the material. Still the songs are as effervescent as ever and the book cleverly weaves them into a sl...

A revival of GREASE offers a watered down version of the original stage script, needlessly interpolates four songs from the motion picture version, and pointlessly brings in Taylor Hicks to play Teen Angel. Some lively choreography fails to compensate. * (out of 5)...

The Gene Wilder screenplay becomes the unsatisfactory basis for a failed Broadway musical. The star performance of Roger Bart goes a long way to making the performance endurable, but the show is far cry from being any kind of musical theatre classic. * * (out of 5)...

Rebecca Northan's wildly popular improv comedy Blind Date just finished a sold-out three week run as part of Harbourfront Centre's World Stage 2010 Season. Funny and charming, I had a wonderful time watching 'Mimi' woo her date of the evening! This is a little show with big potential, and I encoura...

Rex has a reputation as a big Broadway disaster. It is well known that the show had many problems on the rocky road to Broadway in 1976, but The Civic Light Opera Company's new production shows off the show's strengths. Sheldon Harnick attended the opening night performance and pronounced this produ...

Leave it to Theatre Erindale to unearth a relatively unknown recent play and turn it into a brilliant showcase for the female members of the school's acting ensemble. A String of Pearls is a fascinating and funny piece that is highly recommended, with the caveat that there is some strong language an...

It will never be regarded as one of Broadway's greatest, the show Footloose can be fun and entertaining when the production features an energetic and youthful cast and a charismatic leading man. Meadowvale Music Theatre's production scores on both of these points, and even if the production occasion...

Birdland Theatre has joined forces with Barrie's Talk is Free Theatre to present a mesmerizing production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's darkly comic piece Assassins. Fans of the show will no doubt want to see it, but others are well advised to take this scary ride and see for themselves. ...

Amicus Productions presentation of Noel Coward's comedy Fallen Angels proves to be a real crowd pleaser thanks to its leading ladies. * * * * (OUT OF 5)...

If you have fond memories of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House books or the popular 1970's TV series, steer clear of the Canon Theatre because your expectations sure to be foiled. The same applies if you are a musical theatre fan out to see this new musical adapted from the novels. Despite a f...

Caitlynne Medrek gives an incandescent performance as the title character in Encore Entertainment's engrossing staging of the 1997 version of The Diary of Anne Frank. * * * * * (OUT OF 5)...