LITTLE WOMEN
Jordi Mand’s new adaptation of the classic children’s story Little Women comes to vibrant life in a production directed by Esther Jun at the Stratford Festival’s Avon Theatre.
With Brefny Caribou as Beth, Allison Edwards-Crewe as Jo, Verónica Hortigüela as Meg, and Lindsay Wu as Amy, Little Women tells the story of four sisters as they navigate the road to adulthood. Struggling to reconcile societal expectations with their own hopes and dreams, the girls are held together by bonds of loyalty and love.The production features Marion Adler as Aunt March, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff as John Brooke, John Koensgen as James Laurence, Richard Lam as Laurie Laurence, Irene Poole as Marmee and Rylan Wilkie as Professor Bhaer.
The production features Marion Adler as Aunt March, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff as John Brooke, John Koensgen as James Laurence, Richard Lam as Laurie Laurence, Irene Poole as Marmee and Rylan Wilkie as Professor Bhaer.
Mand based the play on Louisa May Alcott’s books Little Women and Good Wives, taking the story through to the girls’ young adulthood. Jun’s interpretation will appeal to young and old, those familiar with the story and those new to it. It features an innovative combination of the traditional and the contemporary with set design by Teresa Przybylski, costume design by A.W. Nadine Grant, lighting design by Kaileigh Krysztofiak and sound design by Emily C. Porter.
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
The Stratford Festival’s new Tom Patterson Theatre opens its doors to its second production, as director Scott Wentworth’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well begins performances.
This Shakespearean comedy follows Helen, the orphaned daughter of a celebrated physician, who works a miraculous cure on the King of France. As her reward, she claims the hand of Bertram, a family friend whom she adores. Although the union has the blessing of Bertram’s mother, the Countess of Rossillion, and the King, Bertram resents being forced into marriage, and Helen finds herself in search of another miracle.
The production features Jordin Hall as Bertram, Jessica B. Hill as Helen, Seana McKenna as the Countess of Rossillion, Ben Carlson as the King of France, André Sills as Lavatch, and Rylan Wilkie as Parolles.
They are joined by Elizabeth Adams, Anousha Alamian, Sean Arbuckle, Peter N. Bailey, Nigel Bennett, Wayne Best, Michael Blake, Brefny Caribou, Jon de Leon, Allison Edwards-Crewe, Christo Graham, Kim Horsman, Daniel Krmpotic, Devin MacKinnon, Jonathan Mason, Hilary McCormack, Chanakya Mukherjee, Lisa Nasson, Irene Poole, Sepehr Reybod, Tyler Rive and Lindsay Wu.
This breathtakingly beautiful production was designed by Michelle Bohn, with lighting design by Louise Guinand and sound design by Paul Shilton, who also composed the music.
The play was selected for the first season in the new Tom Patterson Theatre along with Richard III, as the two plays also opened the Festival’s inaugural season in 1953. As then All’s Well That Ends Well is set in the modern era, in this case against the backdrop of World War I.
EVERY LITTLE NOOKIE
The Stratford Festival is welcoming audiences back to the Studio Theatre as performances begin for director ted witzel’s production of Every Little Nookie.
This world première by playwright Sunny Drake takes us to Toronto in the very near future where we meet a suburban boomer couple who begin to question the state of their marriage upon returning home to find their queer millennial daughter, Annabel, hosting a swingers’ party to make cash. Annabel, in turn, must ponder her own future when she adds a new relationship to her chosen family of polyamorous and platonic roommates. In this high-spirited sex romp, it’s not just the earth that moves, as shifting paradigms encourage new possibilities, both personal and political.
This production features Marion Adler as Margaret; John Koensgen as her husband, Kenneth; Rose Tuong as their daughter, Annabel; Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah as Annabel’s partner, Grace; Stephen Jackman-Torkoff as Smash; Richard Lam as Matt; Verónica Hortigüela as Crystal; and Robert King as Phoenix.
“sunny’s script is as sharp as it is generous. it is a heartfelt and witty comedy that is not shy about getting into the muck of our current unsustainable economic paradigm. every little nookie nimbly treads a line between the joy we’re all looking for after two years of isolation, while still provoking us to consider the world we want to create now,” says witzel. “we have a brilliant, funny and wickedly smart group of artists who have come together to take audiences on a wild ride into big conversations. i could not be more grateful to have spent these months collaborating with them.”