Mary’s Musings

By Mary Alderson in collaboration with Vicki Stokes, Sookie Mei, Debbie McClure, Kim Kaitell and Hazel Fowler. Now that 2024 is behind us, Entertain This Thought has a round-up of favourite shows we saw over the year. With nominations from our team, Vicki Stokes, Sookie Mei, Debbie McClure, Kim Kaitell, and junior reviewer Hazel Fowler,  […]

From left: Jonathan Goad as Lawrence, Shakura Dickson as Christine Colgate and Liam Tobin as Freddy Benson, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Stratford Festival 2025. Photo: Ted Belton.  Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino is proud to announce the 2025 season, a playbill of classic and new texts, that celebrates harmony and examines the forces that enhance it or work

With the 2024 season not quite complete, Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre is announcing their 2025 season. The theatre hosted a special event offering the unusual combination of champagne and popcorn (What? No caviar?). But there was a gala atmosphere with entertainment live on stage, as well as videos from some upcoming performers. Artisitic Director Rob

By Mary Alderson If you know any little ones who want to be on stage some day, here’s the perfect gift for them – Victoria’s Playhouse! It’s an excellent children’s book for those who want to work in theatre some day, whether on stage or at one of the many fascinating behind-the-scenes professions. Victoria’s Playhouse

By Mary Alderson Congratulations to Artistic Director Tim Porter and the whole team at Tweed & Co on their stellar season at their theatres: The Marble Arts Centre in Actinolite north of Tweed, The Outdoor Stage in Tweed, and the Village Playhouse in Bancroft.  In promoting the three venues, Tweed & Co has published a

What? Audience Participation is Welcome? by Mary Alderson When I go to the theatre, I want the audience to be quiet. No talking, no loud whispering, no phones buzzing. The great musical theatre star Patti LuPone has actually halted Broadway shows when audience members were making noise, calling them out for their lack of theatre

At Three Venues: the Bancroft Village Playhouse, the Marble Arts Centre, and the Tweed Outdoor Stage. The main stage season’s theatrical performances will kick off in June, starting with the Ontario premier of DEAR RITA. A musical celebration of Cape Breton’s iconic songstress and storyteller Rita MacNeil, audiences will be transported through her music and

An Evening with Mark Whelan: Raised on Songs & Stories A Boy’s Dublin in the Rare Old Times May 10, 11 & 12 Join us for an intimate performance by superb singer and storyteller Mark Whelan The Dating Game by Peter Quilter May 29 to June 8 World Premiere romantic comedy full of dating disasters

2024 will be a busy as Blyth Festival celebrates 50 Seasons!  The Farm Show: Then & Now – Harvest Stage by Theatre Passe Muraille with additions by the 2024 Company Runs from Wednesday, June 12 to Sunday, August 4, 2024 Arguably the most influential play in Canadian theatre, The Farm Show was originally produced in

So, 20 years ago (February 2004) Thomas Alderson and I went to New York City for the first time – we saw Gypsy with Bernadette Peters, Wicked with Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, which was supposed to be starring Sutton Foster (the main purpose of the trip!) but as luck would