Toronto Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 28

BWW Reviews: Stratford's KING LEAR
by Mary Alderson - May 29, 2014

Love between parents and their offspring should be unconditional. As soon as King Lear puts conditions on the love of his daughters, his life unravels: he goes mad. But what really drives him crazy? Is it remorse resulting from his bad decisions? Is it stress, worrying about his daughters? Or is sim...

BWW Reviews: Stratford's CRAZY FOR YOU
by Mary Alderson - May 29, 2014

If you like musicals with amazing dancing, powerful singing and farcical comedy - and who doesn't? - get your tickets now for Crazy for You, on Stratford's Festival stage, as this show will sell out this summer. Crazy for You is an interesting invention. George and Ira Gershwin's old songs from the ...

BWW Reviews: What a Feeling? FLASHDANCE in Toronto Lacks Finesse
by Alan Henry - May 29, 2014

Flashdance, the 1980's Paramount Pictures movie which led to the creation of the MTV format has been translated to the stage by a group which includes the original film creative team. The show tells the story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams ...

BWW Reviews: CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
by Mary Alderson - May 26, 2014

The laughter echoed throughout the sold-out house as Victoria Playhouse Petrolia marked its 2014 season opener with Church Basement Ladies. And it is laughter of recognition, whether the audience has memories of cooking in a church basement in the sixties, or feels the discomfort of hot flashes tod...

BWW Reviews: Lower Ossington Theater's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is Loud, Electric, and Shocking
by Brittany Goldfield Rodrigues - May 19, 2014

Cult classic HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is making waves on Broadway right now with Neil Patrick Harris, so Torontonians will be happy to know that they can catch a production of the edgy rock musical. The Lower Ossington theater is currently staging its own production of the musical about an East Ger...

BWW Reviews: CABARET at the Shaw Festival
by Mary Alderson - May 15, 2014

Deborah Hay as Sally Bowles is a brilliant light shining in this otherwise very dark production of Cabaret, on stage this season at the Shaw Festival. Hayes has captured Sally completely, and in doing so, captivated the audience. Her rendition of "Maybe This Time" is so convincing that you believe ...

BWW Reviews: The 'STARS OF DAVID' Shine Brighter Than the Sun at the Toronto Centre
by Alan Henry - May 14, 2014

It's no secret that there are more Jews in Musical Theatre than stars in the sky - and the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, along with Angelwak Theatre are shouting it from the rooftop of the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts....

BWW Reviews: Theatre Passe Muraille's VITALS
by Toronto Newsdesk - May 06, 2014

'You don't know what a call is going to be like until you get there,' says Anna the paramedic. The same can be said of playwright Rosamund Small's new one-person drama Vitals, produced by Outside the March with support from Theatre Passe Muraille. This site-specific show about the arduous work of pa...

BWW Reviews: THE LION KING is Wholesome Family Entertainment
by Alan Henry - May 04, 2014

If you get concerned taking your children to the theatre because of all the recent productions featuring violence, swearing, and sexed-up drag queens - you should know The Lion King is fantastic, wholesome family entertainment with none of those (okay, there is one moment in drag, but I promise it's...

BWW Reviews: David Suchet in THE LAST CONFESSION is Drama at its Absolute Best
by Alan Henry - April 27, 2014

For the longest time, I was under the impression that Toronto audiences were not fans of drama - for we just don't seem to get many of them in our biggest theatres during most theatre seasons. From now until June 1st, Toronto audiences have the opportunity to experience drama at it's finest - The La...

BWW Reviews: 'Of Human Bondage' Explores Love and Obsession
by Catherine Kustanczy - April 25, 2014

William Somerset Maugham's monumental novel 'Of Human Bondage' has never had a stage translation —until now. Adapted by award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, and produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company, 'Of Human Bondage' is currently on at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts through May 17th....

BWW Reviews: Tarragon's SOLICITING TEMPTATION
by Toronto Newsdesk - April 16, 2014

Sex can be a touchy subject, something many people have trouble talking about. The topic can get messier when discussing sex as a profession and, more so, the murky industry of sex tourism in which privileged westerners exploit the egregiously disadvantaged youth of the third world. This is the subj...

BWW Reviews: THE GIGLI CONCERT Makes Sweet Music in Toronto
by Catherine Kustanczy - April 07, 2014

'The singer is the voice of the subconscious self.' So utters the main character in Tom Murphy's famous play, The Gigli Concert, now on at Toronto's Young Centre for the Performing Arts through May 14th. Produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company, the line is key to understanding this epic yet intimate ...

BWW Reviews: THE SEAGULL, Old-School Theatre for the Modern World
by Toronto Newsdesk - March 14, 2014

Toronto gets one more blast of snow as I settle in at Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs to watch blustery Chekhov characters spend a summer holiday in the Russian countryside. A group of actors called The Chekhov Collective formed a year ago and began developing this production of The Seagull using t...

BWW Reviews: THE TWO WORLDS OF CHARLIE F is Moving, But Over Produced
by Alan Henry - March 02, 2014

When I go to the theatre, I want my attention to be gripped so that I can escape into someone else's story for an hour or two. Unfortunately, The Two World's of Charlie F just didn't manage to hold my attention throughout the performance....

BWW Reviews: Other Desert Cities
by Mary Alderson - February 23, 2014

Other Desert Cities strange tale similar in style to the great studies of dysfunctional families - it's a modern version of O'Neill's A Long Day's Journey into Night, or Miller's Death of a Salesman. The production, currently on stage at London's Grand Theatre, is an interesting study in family dyna...

BWW Reviews: The Norman Conquests Wins Hearts And Minds
by Catherine Kustanczy - February 21, 2014

Sir Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests is a three-part play cycle that takes place over the course of one weekend. The trilogy paints a deeply insightful portrait of six individuals bound by love, hate, trust, need, and fear. Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company is currently remounting their 2013...

BWW Reviews: ARRABAL is Passionate, Sexy, and Incredibly Original
by Alan Henry - February 14, 2014

The new tango-focused stage show playing Toronto's Panasonic Theatre is passionate, sexy, and incredibly original. The title character, Arrabal, loses her father as a baby after he is arrested by the military. The story then goes forward 18 years - showing Arrabal becoming a young woman and learning...

BWW Reviews: Soulpepper Enchants With Idiot's Delight
by Catherine Kustanczy - February 12, 2014

Mixing love and politics is always a dicey business, even - or especially - on the stage. There's a challenge in portraying both with the kind of depth and authenticity they both deserve. World War One veteran and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Sherwood managed the mix beautifully in his award...

BWW Reviews: A MASKED BALL Dazzles With Spectacular Singing
by Catherine Kustanczy - February 04, 2014

The Canadian Opera Company's latest production, of Verdi's 'A Masked Ball', combines challenging modern elements with gorgeous musicality, resulting in a unique look at power and love....

BWW Reviews: The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux
by Mary Alderson - February 03, 2014

1980: the times, they were a-changin'. But in The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux, poor old Narcisse is being pushed as he reluctantly keeps up with the changing times. Narcisse Mondoux and his long-time crush, Laurencienne Robichaud, are on stage together in this charming Quebecois play at London's G...

BWW Reviews: METAMORPHOSIS is Thrilling, Thought Provoking, and Thoroughly Entertaining
by Alan Henry - February 02, 2014

As I entered the auditorium of the Royal Alexandra Theatre this afternoon, I was relieved to be inside from the cold, and sat myself down to enjoy what I assumed would be ninety minutes of comfort in my plush seat. My comfort was short lived, however, as soon I found myself enthralled in the play Me...

BWW REVIEWS: CABARET at the Lower Ossington Theatre is Subtle, Sexy, and Shocking
by Brittany Goldfield Rodrigues - January 28, 2014

Although staged productions of the Kander and Ebb musical CABARET are plentiful, the production put on by the Lower Ossington Theatre is not one to miss. If you have seen the movie or the show in the past, you will still enjoy the show as every rendition of CABARET is different, and the LOT's produc...

BWW Reviews: MAKING LOVE IN A CANOE is a Glorious Celebration of Canadian Musical Theatre
by Lauren Gienow - January 26, 2014

On a frigidly cold night in the middle of a long Canadian winter, a group of people gathered together in a cozy cafe to experience what is quickly becoming Canada's newest national treasure. MAKING LOVE IN A CANOE (which can also be experienced in album form) is a review of beautiful Canadian music ...

BWW Reviews: THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS, THE MUSICAL! Delights Musical Fans at the Panasonic Theatre
by Alan Henry - December 20, 2013

Up until now, theatre audiences have been limited to see a maximum of two shows in a day (if you can make it out to the theatre on matinee day.) Under the direction of Vinetta Strombergs, the Toronto production of The Musical of Musicals, the Musical! has made it possible for you to see five musical...