He’s Having an Affair Reviewed by Mary Alderson Edward Albee is known for his strange yet often humorous plays. Devoted Albee fans love his bizarre story lines. But who would want to see a play about an otherwise sane and successful man, happily married with a son, who suddenly falls in love with a goat? […]
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Successful Novel-to-Play Endeavour Reviewed by Mary Alderson When I heard that Margaret Laurence’s novel, “The Diviners”, was adapted for stage and going to be presented at the Stratford Festival this season, I was excited. I have been a big fan of the late writer’s works since I first read “A Bird in the House” in
An Enjoyable Season Finale Reviewed by Sookie Mei The final show of the 2024 season at Port Stanley Festival Theatre (PSFT) is Dan Needles’ The Perils of Persephone, which was originally programmed by the late Simon Joynes in 2020, and then postponed due to Covid. The play, a comedy from the Canadian playwright who brought
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The Beautiful Version of Pygmalion Reviewed by Mary Alderson Eliza Doolittle has returned to the stage at the Shaw Festival, just where she belongs. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady is a glorious treatment of Shaw’s 1912 play. It will be running until the Christmas season at the Shaw
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Whimsy and Delight Temper a Harsh Dose of Victorian Reality Reviewed by Mary Alderson The Secret Garden is set at the end of the Victorian era, as the Edwardian era was beginning. It was a time when the saying “Children should be seen and not heard” was widely used. Parents felt no responsibility in raising
The Ageless Love Story Returns to Stratford Reviewed by Mary Alderson The world’s best known love story and possibly Shakespeare’s best known work is back on Stratford’s Festival Theatre stage. Romeo and Juliet, the timeless love story, is making its return. You know the story: Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are “star-crossed lovers” who meet,
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A Loving, But Unconventional Family Story Reviewed by Mary Alderson When a gay couple’s son wants to marry a girl, one man asks the other, “Where have we gone wrong?” That bit of reverse humour sets the tone for La Cage aux Folles, now playing on the Avon Theatre stage at the Stratford Festival. (Extended
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An Astounding Study in Narcissism and Manipulation Reviewed by Mary Alderson The production of Hedda Gabler, now on stage at the Tom Patterson Theatre, is a newer view, from a recent translation. It is, to my eyes and ears, a study in narcissism. Hedda is a manipulative, power-hungry, controlling woman who even resorts to her
Strong and Interesting Casting Improves Cymbeline Reviewed by Mary Alderson In this year’s Twelfth Night at Stratford Festival, two of the main characters have been changed from men to women. The same thing has been done in Cymbeline, now playing at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Cymbeline is a Queen rather than a King, and
Love or Hate Shakespeare? Love or Hate Musicals? See Something Rotten! Reviewed by Mary Alderson Something Rotten! is the perfect show for the Stratford Festival. (Extended to November 18, 2024.) It mocks Shakespeare and musicals, ridiculing them both equally, proving there’s something for everyone. Despite poking fun at musicals, the dancing and singing are amazing.
