Archives

Dynamic Duos

Getting Wiggy With It at the VPP Reviewed by Vicki Stokes Not everyone looks good in a wig, but Jennifer Walls and Alex Baerg can pull it off. Ba-dum tss. One can expect a similar style of humour from David Hogan at the beginning of a D2 Entertainment show. But not everything is predictable about

Dynamic Duos Read More »

2 Pianos 4 Hands

Music, Lessons Learned, and a Life-Long Friendship Reviewed by Mary Alderson It’s always fun to see the creators of a work present it on stage. You know that what you’re seeing is exactly what was intended. I have seen 2 Pianos 4 Hands twice before, both with different actors. So this time it was especially

2 Pianos 4 Hands Read More »

Chicago

An Energy-Filled Wild Ride into Fake News Reviewed by Mary Alderson Director/Choreographer Donna Feore has come back from the pandemic closure with a big bang. This season’s musical Chicago is her flashiest, brightest, fastest-paced, most energetic show yet! This is certainly the musical that has it all – excellent singing, dancing, acting – probably the

Chicago Read More »

Richard III

A Fresh New Staging of Richard III Reviewed by Vicki Stokes Richard III was presented in Stratford when the Festival first opened in 1953. The title role was performed by the great British actor, Sir Alec Guinness. Now, 69 seasons after Tom Patterson founded the Stratford Festival, it is fitting for one of its veterans,

Richard III Read More »

Hamlet

A Prince of Denmark for 2022 Reviewed by Mary Alderson At Stratford Festival’s 2022 opening night, you might have thought Hamlet is a comedy! Never has there been so much laughter at a tragedy. If you went by the audience’s amusement in the Festival Theatre, you would think there was nothing rotten in Denmark. This

Hamlet Read More »

Billy Bishop Goes to War

Canada’s Top Flying Ace Brought to Life Reviewed by Vicki Stokes A top-notch performance of Billy Bishop Goes to War is being staged at St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre. Created by Canadian writer-composer-performer John Gray with Canadian actor Eric Peterson (Street Legal, Corner Gas), it has been performed internationally and is a recipient of the Governor

Billy Bishop Goes to War Read More »

Gaslight

Manipulating Madness Reviewed by Mary Alderson The production of Gaslight, now on stage at the Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake should make the Shaw Festival very proud. One of their own, actor and playwright Patty Jamieson along with Johnna Wright, has created a new version of Gaslight. Originally written in 1938, the play was dated

Gaslight Read More »

Damn Yankees

The Devil Made Me Do It Reviewed by Mary Alderson Many Toronto Maple Leaf fans will understand the premise of Damn Yankees.  I’m sure there are plenty of Leafs’ fans who would sell their soul to the Devil in exchange for a Stanley Cup.  In Damn Yankees, we meet Joe Boyd, a fanatical fan of

Damn Yankees Read More »