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Iago and the Great Manipulation   Iago is a nasty manipulator in the latest production of Othello, which just opened in Stratford on the Festival stage.  Gordon S. Miller’s hate-filled Iago portrays him as an ordinary man who becomes the puppet master, pulling everyone’s strings, unfolding his evil plans. Othello is a Moor (a black […]

Laughter Explodes at Second City    Hilarious sketches explode one after the other as the cast of the revue Walking on Bombshells takes the audience through a hilarious mine field at The Second City.  Three guys and three gals in different roles have us laughing, whether it’s just plain silly or it’s something we recognize.

Carole King and James Taylor Favourites     Victoria Playhouse Petrolia has kicked off the 2019 season with another of their very popular musical revues.  This time around they have compiled a show of the great works of Carole King and James Taylor, and as usual, they have offered a little history on this celebrated pair

The Toll Mental Illness Takes    A musical about mental illness?  With a rock music score? Would that work? Yes, it does, very well.  Next to Normal, the 2009 Tony winning musical, tells about the effect of mental illness on a family.  Now on stage at the CAA Theatre in Toronto, Next to Normal has

Powerful Performances Make Miracle Worker a Must-See Powerful performances in a gripping true story make The Miracle Worker a play you must see.  Now on stage at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, it’s an old play but as compelling as ever.  The Miracle Worker opened on Broadway in 1959 and took several Tony awards in 1960 including

Thank You for the Music, For Giving It to Me    Mamma Mia! is the hit show that makes everyone feel good, with all the warmth of sunshine on a Greek island.  Now on stage at the Grand Theatre in London, Mamma Mia! is the quintessential jukebox musical, featuring ABBA’s hits, spanning the years from

Come Hear the Music Play Go downstairs to the McManus stage at London’s Grand Theatre and it looks very much like a seedy bar in 1931 Berlin.  But listen to some of the words and they sound like Twitter today.  In this excellent production of Cabaret, director Dennis Garnhum has immersed his audience in the

A Second Look at Nora’s Story     Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was written and first performed in 1879.  At the time, theatregoers were shocked at Nora.  How could a wife with a husband and three children, living in a perfect little doll house, possibly be unhappy?  Her husband, Torvald, would be called a “mansplainer”

The Sins of the Fathers     The sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the sons.  In Fences, the character Rose alludes to this Bible verse, and indeed, it is the message of this heart-wrenching play.  Now on stage at London’s Grand Theatre, Fences is the story of a dysfunctional black family, struggling with