Mary

Charming Canadian Crooner Reviewed by Sookie Mei The new show at the PSFT is not a play but a stylized concert, starring Jay Davis in a tribute to Canadian singer Michael Bublé.  The show also stars Neil Henry on guitar, Gord Mowat on bass, Matt Newton on piano, and Tim Shia on percussion.  This band […]

Beautiful Voices Sing Dear Rita’s Songs Reviewed by Mary Alderson Rita MacNeil was a great Canadian singer-songwriter and Cape Breton’s First Lady of Music. But did we really know anything about her?  In a new show, Dear Rita, A Musical Toast to Rita MacNeil, on stage with Tweed & Co., I learned that I knew

Losing at the Dating Game. Again. Reviewed by Mary Alderson Ironically, two happily married acting couples star in the dating game – Sarah Quick and James Barrett, Artistic Director and Artistic Producer at Globus Theatre, and well-known to the audiences as the pair that do everything. With them on stage are comedy power couple Lisa

The Ageless Love Story Returns to Stratford Reviewed by Mary Alderson The world’s best known love story and possibly Shakespeare’s best known work is back on Stratford’s Festival Theatre stage. Romeo and Juliet, the timeless love story, is making its return. You know the story: Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are “star-crossed lovers” who meet,

A Loving, But Unconventional Family Story Reviewed by Mary Alderson When a gay couple’s son wants to marry a girl, one man asks the other, “Where have we gone wrong?” That bit of reverse humour sets the tone for La Cage aux Folles, now playing on the Avon Theatre stage at the Stratford Festival. (Extended

An Astounding Study in Narcissism and Manipulation Reviewed by Mary Alderson The production of Hedda Gabler, now on stage at the Tom Patterson Theatre, is a newer view, from a recent translation. It is, to my eyes and ears, a study in narcissism. Hedda is a manipulative, power-hungry, controlling woman who even resorts to her

Strong and Interesting Casting Improves Cymbeline   Reviewed by Mary Alderson In this year’s Twelfth Night at Stratford Festival, two of the main characters have been changed from men to women. The same thing has been done in Cymbeline, now playing at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Cymbeline is a Queen rather than a King, and

Love or Hate Shakespeare? Love or Hate Musicals? See Something Rotten! Reviewed by Mary Alderson Something Rotten! is the perfect show for the Stratford Festival. (Extended to November 18, 2024.) It mocks Shakespeare and musicals, ridiculing them both equally, proving there’s something for everyone. Despite poking fun at musicals, the dancing and singing are amazing.

What You Will Gets You What You Want Reviewed by Mary Alderson Apparently, someone in Shakespeare’s time considered Twelfth Night a Christmas show – although there is no obvious reason why. But that’s how the name Twelfth Night came to be. It was traditionally shown on the twelfth day of Christmas, which was a time

An Ode to Friendship Reviewed by Mary Alderson We live in a rather nasty world where people are often rude, disrespectful and ill-tempered. We could all take lessons in kindness and courtesy from Frog and Toad. And we’d be fortunate if that led to a friendship like theirs. A Year with Frog and Toad is