The Legend of Gordon Lightfoot Reviewed by Mary Alderson When Gordon Lightfoot was only four-year-old, he sang in front of an audience at his family’s church in Orillia. The song? “I’m a Little Teapot”. And from those humble beginnings, he went on to stardom. This is the kind of information you can learn about Canada’s […]
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The Three Tonys Reviewed by Vicki Stokes War veteran, painter, and superstar crooner, Tony Bennett had incredible success and longevity, working until he died in 2023. Victoria Playhouse walks you through the life of this remarkable man in The Tony Bennett Songbook, now on stage in Petrolia. Bennett kept himself relevant until the end, working with
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Comedy Created in Rural-Urban Mix Reviewed by Mary Alderson In Buying the Farm, a clever comedy now on stage at the Globus Theatre, an eager young real estate agent gets skunked at the end of act one. But no skunk appears on stage. Sadly, after the show on opening night, we learned why. The skunk
The High School Project Returns to the Grand with Roald Dahl’s Beloved Tale Reviewed by Eden Eidt Matilda tells the story of a gifted young girl who prefers to read instead of watching television with her aloof, and often cruel, parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (James Wright and Piper Jesney), and older brother, Michael (Shakotshanunyatha
The Finest Fiddling You’ll Find Reviewed by Vicki Stokes The Ultimate Fiddler on the Loose is now on stage at Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia, the latest of a series of Fiddler shows. Reminiscent of Fiddler on the Loose 2022 with Drayton Entertainment, this show is billed as The Ultimate, meaning the best and most extreme, so
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An 1840s Mockery of the Upper Crust Reviewed by Mary Alderson London Assurance, now on the Festival stage in Stratford, is a delightful romp, which has great fun pointing out the foibles of the upper class. Or maybe they are upper class only in their own minds. Written by Dion Boucicault, and Anglo-Irishman, in 1841,
Not Lost in Translation Reviewed by Mary Alderson It seemed like such an unlikely choice. A Chinese actor asked Arthur Miller to come to China to direct Death of a Salesman in Chinese in 1983. Now a new play about that project is on the Avon stage at the Stratford Festival: Salesman in China. Miller’s
He’s Having an Affair Reviewed by Mary Alderson Edward Albee is known for his strange yet often humorous plays. Devoted Albee fans love his bizarre story lines. But who would want to see a play about an otherwise sane and successful man, happily married with a son, who suddenly falls in love with a goat?
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Successful Novel-to-Play Endeavour Reviewed by Mary Alderson When I heard that Margaret Laurence’s novel, “The Diviners”, was adapted for stage and going to be presented at the Stratford Festival this season, I was excited. I have been a big fan of the late writer’s works since I first read “A Bird in the House” in
An Enjoyable Season Finale Reviewed by Sookie Mei The final show of the 2024 season at Port Stanley Festival Theatre (PSFT) is Dan Needles’ The Perils of Persephone, which was originally programmed by the late Simon Joynes in 2020, and then postponed due to Covid. The play, a comedy from the Canadian playwright who brought
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