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Bring the Grandkids or Grab the Neighbour’s Kids Playwright Caroline Smith continues to use her winning formula for panto writing, and another hit is on stage at Playhouse II in Grand Bend.  If you don’t recognize Smith’s name, well, perhaps you didn’t study her in your high school drama class.  Nevertheless, this is the fourth […]

Funny and Touching Look at Farm Succession Once again playwright Dan Needles demonstrates his amazing ability to get to the heart of farm life.  In his play The Team on the Hill, now on stage at the Blyth Festival Theatre, Needles examines the question of farm succession.  Can three generations exist together on the farm?

Superior Cast Provides Brilliant Acting In 1955, Twelve Angry Men was first seen on stage.  Prior to that it was a television play, and then in 1957 it was made into the iconic movie starring Henry Fonda, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman and other greats.  One might think that the material would be dated.  Sadly,

Rocky, The Iconic Movie, is now a Musical Turning the old favourite movie Rocky into a musical?  A lot of people were shaking their heads.  It’s hard to picture Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa singing his heart out. Well, thank goodness it was Alex Kelly instead of Stallone in the iconic role.  Kelly not only

Sugar, Butter, Flour and a Sweet Story Deliciously sweet, Waitress, now on stage at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre, has all the ingredients of a romantic comedy.  Yet, by the time dessert comes around, the main character is single and strong, and that’s what makes this piece of pie special. Jenna is a waitress in a

A Musical Comedy Murder Mystery –  All in One! A ‘whodunit’ in musical form is the latest offering at Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia:  Murder for Two is a silly comedy that keeps the audience guessing as to the perpetrator of the crime.  The craziness comes from the fact Victoria Playhouse’s popular music director, Mark Payne,

Amazing Dance Will Blow You Away! For dance fans, Newsies is the ultimate show.  Based on the true story of the 1899 newsboys’ strike in New York City, Newsies was created first as a Disney movie in 1992, and then re-made for Broadway, winning the Tony for best choreography in 2012.  On stage at Huron

Funny and Poignant – You’ll Get Used to It You’ll Get Used to It … The War Show encapsulates the emotional state of Canadians in World War II in just two acts.  Now on stage at Playhouse II in Grand Bend, this musical takes the audience on a trip from the excitement of going off

Just “Desserts” in a Delicious Comedy Playwright Collen Curran first wrote Cakewalk for the Blyth Festival in 1984.  Then it made the rounds of area theatres, and I was fortunate enough to see it in 1985 at the old Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia.  So it was interesting to see its return 35 years later. I

There’s Still Magic in the Updated Brigadoon The Legend of Brigadoon lives on in the Shaw Festival’s current production.  Brigadoon retains its magic as the village in Scotland that disappears into the misty moors, and only reappears once every hundred years. The disappearing village is actually a German myth and originally the creators, Lerner and