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Review: Mozart's Beloved Comic Opera THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Takes A Gloriously Chaotic Turn At Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company presents this production of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, originally created by the Salzburg Festival, as part of its 2023 season. Directed here by Claus Guth, some of Mozart's most recognizable operatic works come to life through the COC Orchestra, conducted by Harry Bicket....
Review: PRESSURE at Royal Alexandra Theatre
What did our critic think of PRESSURE at Royal Alexandra Theatre? Mirvish Productions presents Pressure playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre until March 5 2023. Fitting to the name, this performance is a pressurized exploration into the days leading up to D-Day in June, 1944. General Dwight Eisenh...
Review: MARTYR at Aki Studio
Marius von Mayenburg’s MARTYR tells the story of a radicalized Christian teenager and his crusade of extremism that damages everyone around him. ARC’s production's sharp, slick direction and assured cast expose some flaws in the idea-heavy script. However, it ultimately succeeds in showing theat...
Review: JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Dazzles in Imaginative New Production
The highly acclaimed production of JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT has made its way to Toronto. Presented now by Mirvish and directed by Laurence Connor, its premise is straightforward - the Narrator (Vanessa Fisher) is retelling the biblical tale of Joseph (Jac Yarrow) to a group of children....
Review: THE NUTCRACKER Brings The Classic Ballet To Life In Toronto This December
The National Ballet of Canada has brought its beloved production of THE NUTCRACKER back to the stage for the holiday season. Originally created in 1995 and now choreographed (with libretto) by James Kudelka, the production is grand, whimsical, and performed beautifully by all cast members to make fo...
Review: PETER'S FINAL FLIGHT Takes Audiences On A Whimsical Adventure in Ross Petty's Farewell Production
Looking for an escape this winter season? Ross Petty’s final holiday pantomime is whisking audiences away to Neverland on a whimsical, musical adventure that’s got something for everyone, no matter their age....
Review: MIRIAM'S WORLD at Theatre Passe Muraille
Inspired by Martha Baillie’s novel The Incident Report, multi-media artist Naomi Jaye has brought MIRIAM’S WORLD to Passe Muraille. In this approximately 20-minute video installation, the theatre is transformed into a library, where interactions between projections of a librarian and patrons mak...
Review: FISHERMANS FRIENDS THE MUSICAL makes for a reel-ly fun night out
While a musician underdog story isn’t a brand new concept, it’s refreshing to see it done so well - and luckily for audiences, FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS THE MUSICAL is packed to the gills with gorgeous music and vocal performances. ...
Review: LITTLE DICKENS at Canadian Stage
Ronnie Burkett's LITTLE DICKENS, a partially-improvised puppet homage to A Christmas Carol set in the bawdy and naughty world of show business, is a metatheatrical, in-joke-filled wonderland that pulls all the right strings....
Review: Holiday Classic WHITE CHRISTMAS Takes the Stage At Shaw Festival
Christmas traditions may come and go, but watching the film WHITE CHRISTMAS has always been an obligatory part of the holiday season for me. And for the past 20 years or so, audiences can experience Irving Berlin's classic live on stage. The Shaw Festival is presenting their joyous version this ye...
Review: OUR PLACE at Theatre Passe Muraille
In Kanika Ambrose’s OUR PLACE at Theatre Passe Muraille, Andrea (Virgilia Griffith) and Niesha (Sophia Walker), immigrants without papers, dream of better lives for themselves and their children back home. Due to the pandemic, the show was postponed twice; now, like a dream deferred, it explodes o...
Review: POST-DEMOCRACY at Tarragon Theatre
Moscovitch’s POST-DEMOCRACY, a new, tight one-hour drama at Tarragon Theatre, bares the seedy, nepotistic underbelly of the glistening penthouse. The bleak hour is gleefully biting in its criticism of a class invulnerable to consequence. However, it bites off a little more than it can chew in addr...
Review: CHOIR BOY Strikes All The Right Chords At The Bluma Appel Theatre,
As far as coming-of-age stories go, many are predictable and follow a pretty standard template. Thankfully for CHOIR BOY, written by acclaimed playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, the story maintains all the charms of the genre while still embarking on a more unique take....
Review: DOUBT at Church Of The Holy Trinity
John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt claims that doubt may be as enduring a force as certainty. Though I’ll never know if the Broadway production would have been life-changing, I can say that the intimate, intense production by new company B&E, set within The Church of the Holy Tr...
Review: MEAN GIRLS Gets Fetching Stage Adaptation That'll Thrill Fans of The Film
Mirvish’s production of MEAN GIRLS brings the cult-classic film to life, packed full of iconic lines, loveable characters, and featuring a soundtrack full of funny, new music....
Review: HUMAN MEASURE at Canadian Stage
In Human Measure, artist Cassils’ first piece of contemporary dance choreographed by Jasmine Albuquerque, trans and nonbinary bodies are highlighted. A rejoinder to Yves Klein's Anthropometries paintings, in which naked women were painted blue and then dragged across canvases as living brushes, th...
Review: CARMEN Burns Bright in Canadian Opera Company's Latest Production
Quite possibly one of the best known opera comiques, CARMEN has returned to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage in a bright blaze....
Review: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN is a Haunting, Stunning Retelling of The Classic Folk Tale
The Canadian Opera Company’s 2010 production of Wagner's THE FLYING DUTCHMAN has sailed back to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage. Originally directed by Christopher Alden, this production sees Marilyn Gronsdal take the helm....
Review: Sharp concept helps keep THE SHARK IS BROKEN afloat
What do you get when you place three actors at varying points in their careers on a boat, anchor them in the Atlantic Ocean, add a faulty mechanical shark to the equation, and delay shooting for weeks on end?...
Review: When it rains, it pours - SINGIN' IN THE RAIN makes a splash in Toronto
In a world where films are constantly being adapted for the stage, it’s refreshing to see a stage production that came from a movie and still shines like the sun on a rainy day, despite the difference in medium....
Review: PUBLIC ENEMY at Canadian Stage
Canadian Stage’s PUBLIC ENEMY is a modern dining-room drama where opinions are loudly aired and ignored. Effectively staged by Brendan Healy, with an impressive cast inhabiting its dysfunctional but believable characters, it’s like watching a conversation by your most frustrating group of relati...
Review: COCKROACH at Tarragon Theatre
We regularly use “cockroach” as dehumanizing language for the Other in an attempt to justify their oppression or extermination. That’s the central metaphor of Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)’s Cockroach, a scathingly funny screed that pits a wisecracking insect against the ghost of Shakespeare in a figh...
BWW Review: The World Premiere of 1939 at the Stratford Festival is a Moving and Powerful 'Must-See' Play
If you live in Stratford, Ontario, you may have heard the buzz around town about a new play at the Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre. Written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, 1939 had its world premiere last week and audiences sprung to their feet to show just how moved they were by this beau...
BWW Review: THE MISER at Stratford Festival is Rich with Laughter
Originally scheduled for the 2020 season, THE MISER, starring Colm Feore and directed by Antoni Cimolino, is currently playing at the Stratford Festival’s Festival Theatre stage. This Moliere comedy of manners fits right into current times, and this new adaptation by Ranjit Bolt is filled with pop...
BWW Review: QUEEN GONERIL at Soulpepper Theatre
Set seven years before the tragic events in King Lear, playwright Erin Shields takes on the dynamic character of Goneril, Lear's eldest daughter, posing the question of what drives her ambition?...
Videos
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Bee Gees Celebration - Soirée du jour de l''an Théâtre Capitole (12/31-12/31) |
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Moonstruck Comedy Bar (10/09-10/30) |
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ANNULÉ - Il était une fois... Noël Théâtre Capitole (11/25-11/29) |
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Mamma Mia! Princess of Wales Theatre (8/04-8/30) |
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Battles Young People's Theatre (4/26-5/06) |
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Grand Soft Day Young People's Theatre (4/24-5/02) |
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Iggy Beamish Destroys Traditional Marriage @ Fringe MTL Petit Campus (6/13-6/20) |
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Black Boys Cry Native Earth Performing Arts (7/18-7/18) VIDEOS |
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Roses & Thorns Comedy Bar (11/06-11/27) |
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American Devotion Streetcar Crowsnest (6/03-6/21) |
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