Author Archive
Review: In the Heights (Dancap)
By Wayne Leung
Dancap presents the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.
In the Heights is the story of the colourful Latino-American community of Washington Heights in uppermost tip of Manhattan. Set in present day, the neighborhood is experiencing rapid gentrification and change.
The show was conceived and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical but despite the accolade I admit I wasn’t particularly excited going in to the show. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage)
By Wayne Leung
Canadian Stage presents Martin Crimp’s play Cruel and Tender directed by Atom Egoyan at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
Cruel and Tender is British playwright Martin Crimp’s contemporary adaptation of Sophocles’ Trachiniae (The Women of Trachis), a tale of love, jealousy and deceit between Greek hero Heracles, his wife Deianeira and lole, daughter of the king of Euboas, a city captured by Heracles. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Caroline, or Change (Acting Up Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Toronto’s Acting Up Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre present the Canadian premiere of Caroline, or Change at the Berkeley Street Theatre through February 12, 2012.
The teaming-up of two formidable Toronto theatre companies to produce the Canadian premiere of a Broadway musical is cause for excitement. Caroline, or Change seems a natural fit for Acting Up Stage Company, renowned for their hard-hitting musicals like last year’s Parade, and Obsidian Theatre whose recent, critically-acclaimed productions Ruined and Topdog/Underdog highlight the work of Black artists and playwrights.
Review: Cabaret (Hart House Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Toronto’s Hart House Theatre presents the iconic Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret through January 28, 2012.
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome; im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!
Cabaret is a classic musical by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic of the early 1930s, it takes place in the seedy yet seductive underground Kit Kat Club and is told through the eyes of the club’s Emcee (Michael-David Blostein). Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Green Day’s American Idiot (Dancap)
By Wayne Leung
Dancap presents the premiere of the North American Broadway Tour of Green Day’s American Idiot at the Toronto Centre for the Arts through January 15, 2012.
I came of age in the ‘90s as part of that disaffected sandwich generation between Gen X and the Millennials. Green Day was definitely a part of the soundtrack of my youth. Their 1994 breakout album Dookie was a monster and I remember watching the music videos for their string of hit songs on MuchMusic (back then, they still aired music videos).
Review: Quidam (Cirque du Soleil)
By Wayne Leung
Cirque du Soleil presents Quidam in Toronto at Ricoh Coliseum through December 30, 2011.
Okay, I’m a certified Cirque du Soleil mega-fan, I’ve followed the company closely for over thirteen years and I’ve seen 23 different Cirque shows on three continents. Having seen that much Cirque, it’s not surprising that I’ve found many of their most recent efforts a little lacklustre and sometimes downright disappointing. I can unequivocally say that Quidam is my all-time favourite Cirque du Soleil show. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Off Broadway On Stage (Angelwalk Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Angelwalk Theatre presents Off Broadway On Stage at the Toronto Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre through December 11, 2011.
When Angelwalk Theatre, announced that it would open its third season with a revue of off-Broadway songs, I admit I chuckled a bit at their modest sensibility. Angelwalk is a relatively new Toronto theatre company that focuses on producing intimate, small- and mid-scale musical theatre productions. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Memphis (Dancap)
By Wayne Leung
Dancap presents the Canadian premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis at the Toronto Centre for the Arts through December 24, 2011.
The pre-Civil Rights Era in the deep south of the United States seems so far removed from our reality today in cosmopolitan, ethnically diverse Toronto. Memphis in the ‘50s was deeply racially divided and that segregation extended beyond separate bathrooms and public seating areas.
Review: Red (Canadian Stage)
By Wayne Leung
Canadian Stage presents the Canadian premiere of the Tony Award-winning play Red at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts through December 17, 2011.
What is art? If an artist accepts a commission from a big, soulless corporation does it de-legitimize his art? Is he a sell-out? What if he’s being subversive by taking the job to “stick it to the man”? If art becomes too popular does it inherently lose some of its artistic merit? Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Topdog/Underdog (Obsidian Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Obsidian Theatre opens its 12th season with the Toronto premiere of Topdog/Underdog through December 4, 2011.
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ play Topdog/Underdog won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002 and enjoyed a successful run on Broadway. Obsidian Theatre produced Topdog/Underdog as part of this year’s Shaw Festival where it played to raves. The production transfers to Toronto for a limited run at The Theatre Centre. Read the rest of this entry »