Archives

Integrating Baltimore   Note:  This production was originally reviewed at the Hamilton Family Theatre in Cambridge.  It is now on stage at the King’s Wharf Theatre, Penetanguishene, August 9 to September 1. Last year on TV, I heard a Trump supporter yelling the slogan “Make America Great Again”, and a reporter asking him “When was […]

Better than a Hip Replacement    Note: This play was originally reviewed at Playhouse II in 2017.  It is now playing at the Hamilton Family Theatre in Cambridge August 9 to August 26, 2018. Another great Norm Foster comedy is on stage at Playhouse II in Grand Bend.  Foster, as I have often explained before,

A Comedic Trip into History with a Sobering Conclusion Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt brings the play 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt home to the theatre where it was born.  Yet this is the first time it’s actually been performed on this stage for an audience.  What a special homecoming. 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt was

Hilarious British Farce Highlights Political Scandal Note:  This play was originally reviewed at Playhouse II, Grand Bend.  It is now on stage at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, August 15 to September 1. Remember the good, old days when the whiff of a sex scandal would force a philandering politician to resign immediately?  Nowadays, even a

Talented Cast makes up for Thin Plot After various musical revues at Victoria Playhouse, I was looking forward to seeing an actual musical with a plot.  But The Andrews Brothers, currently on stage, is more of a revue than an actual musical.  There is a plot, but it is pretty thin. Peggy Jones is excited

Let’s Celebrate Canada Every Year!     What happens when Alex Mustakas and David Rogers work together?  You get a hybrid:  a superior product, by putting two shows together.  Mustakas, artistic director at Drayton Entertainment, and Rogers, co-artistic director at Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia, have both created all-Canadian shows in the past.  So now they’ve taken the

Grandparents & Kiddies Alike will Love the Ugly Stepsisters    Drayton Entertainment has hit the mark again with a panto that offers lots of fun for the wee ones and enough laughs to keep Mom & Dad or Grandma & Grandpa entertained.  Caroline Smith, the same playwright who brought us the Aladdin and Snow White

Like Piglets, this Play Needs a Chance to Grow Here’s the best thing about Blyth Festival:  It introduces brand new Canadian works.  Then it helps those plays find their place on Canadian stages.  As their audience, we get to see the birth of a play, and sometimes we are allowed to see it grow. With

Nostalgia Trip Back to the Diner    Note:  This show was originally reviewed at Huron Country Playhouse.  It is now playing at Drayton Festival Theatre August 22 to September 1, 2018. A row of shiny, colourful automobiles was parked in front of Huron Country Playhouse on opening night of Cruisin’ Classics:  a 1960 Pontiac, a

Amazing Modernization of Coriolanus Note:  Extended to November 3.  Stratford Festival is making Shakespeare “woke”.  If the goal of a Shakespearean festival is to get young people interested in the Bard, this production of Coriolanus should do it, if anything will.  (Just to get all my readers woke – it means to suddenly become understanding