Who Says Rural Life isn’t Exciting? There is plenty of hilarity for the 60-plus, small town crowd at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre where The Birds and The Bees is now on stage. The laughs come one right after another in this comedy that covers sex and romance for the somewhat older crowd. I can’t reveal […]
The Birds and The Bees – Port Stanley Read More »
Loving the Local Humour Little Miss County Fair, now on stage at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia, is a satirical salute to local country life. Written and directed by David Rogers with music by Mark Payne, this musical covers rural life in southwestern Ontario. The clever construction of this play is a first for this VPP creative
Little Miss County Fair Read More »
Without a song or a dance what are we? “So I say, thank you for the music!” That’s the audience’s message for Mamma Mia!, now on stage at Grand Bend’s Huron Country Playhouse. The encore number, complete with spandex and gold lamé, gets a loud and long standing ovation. Mamma Mia! is the quintessential juke
Mamma Mia! ~ Huron Country Playhouse Read More »
It’s a Magic Carpet Ride The key to a good panto is to engage the kids, and give the adults plenty of laughs, too. After all, those kids can’t drive themselves to the theatre, so the panto must also entertain mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. Aladdin – The Panto, now on stage at
Aladdin ~ The Panto 2016 Read More »
The Fate of Robert Southwestern Ontario just can’t get enough of the Donnelly story. If you live in this area, you know the story, you’ve been to Lucan, you’ve sung the songs, and you’ve seen it on stage. In fact, there are many stage versions of the Donnelly story, each more popular than the last.
The Last Donnelly Standing Read More »
Missing your Mom Denise Mader, in her one-woman show now on stage at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, moves us from hilarious silliness to overwhelming sadness, and then brings us around to foreseeing her happy future. It’s an autobiographical story, where Mader talks to the audience as if we were friends sitting at her kitchen
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Sweeney Todd may not be everyone’s favourite musical, but the production now on stage at the Shaw Festival Theatre will thrill any fans of horror musical theatre. With Stephen Sondheim’s fast-paced music and lyrics telling the story, there are very few spoken words. To get the most from this
Age, Race and Discrimination We feel despair for the bigotry rearing its ugly head around the world today. “Master Harold” … and The Boys now on stage at the Shaw Festival reminds us that racism was entrenched in 1950 and shows us that it is taught, continues to be taught, and therefore continues to spread
“Master Harold” … And The Boys Read More »
The Value of Literature So what’s the best way to make a book more popular? Try to ban it. Margaret Laurence became my favourite author, right after I heard they were trying to ban The Diviners. In marathon reading sessions, I devoured The Diviners and went on to read the rest of her wonderful books.
An Afternoon’s Chat The first thing Michael Learned wants to explain is her name…yes, she was named Michael by her parents: it is her real name and her full name. She has no middle name. It is not a made-up name for acting. Why did her parents give her a boy’s name? She was the
Miss Michael – In Conversation with Michael Learned Read More »
