Author Archive
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 »
Review: Spring Awakening (Toronto Youth Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Toronto Youth Theatre presents the edgy musical Spring Awakening through November 26, 2011.
I’ve been a fan of Spring Awakening since 2007 when I took a chance on lining up for a rush ticket to a Broadway show I knew virtually nothing about. I ended up loving the edgy rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on a play written in 1891 by German playwright Frank Wedekind.
Mirvish brought the North American tour to Toronto for a run at the Canon Theatre in 2009 and now we’re starting to see the first of the local productions, including one by the Lower Ossington Theatre, that I reviewed back in September.
Review: Ride the Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville, Acting Up Stage Company and Theatre Passe Muraille)
By Wayne Leung
Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille in collaboration with Acting Up Stage Company present Atomic Vaudeville’s Ride the Cyclone through December 3.
I’ve been figuratively waiting in line to “Ride the Cyclone” for about a year and a half now. This delightfully quirky little musical by Victoria, B.C.’s Atomic Vaudeville was the hit of the 2010 SummerWorks festival and, like many, I was left in the cold while trying to get tickets during the sold out latter part of the show’s all-too-short run here two summers ago.
Review: Seussical (Young People’s Theatre)
By Wayne Leung
Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre presents its new production of Seussical through December 30.
Like millions of kids around the world, I grew up reading Dr. Seuss but I really didn’t appreciate the depth of Seuss’ brilliance until much later in life; the beauty of his text and its pithy life lessons still resonate with me today.
Review: Love Lies Bleeding (Alberta Ballet, David Mirvish and Corey Ross)
By Wayne Leung
David Mirvish and Corey Ross present the Alberta Ballet’s Love Lies Bleeding featuring the music of Elton John at Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts through November 12, 2011.
Admittedly, I’m not super-familiar with Elton John’s musical catalogue. I came of age in the ‘90s so I’m more familiar with Elton through The Lion King and Billy Elliot than Bennie and the Jets or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. But since Sir Elton has been such a prolific figure in pop culture throughout his illustrious career I’m certainly aware of his music as well as many of the details of his personal life. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: FELA! (Mirvish)
By Wayne Leung
Mirvish presents the hit Broadway musical FELA! at Toronto’s Canon Theatre through November 6, 2011.
When Sahr Ngaujah leaps out onto the stage as the title character in FELA! and cries out, “Let me hear you say, ‘yeah, yeah’”, the audience responds with an exuberant, “Yeah, yeah!” Our instinctive enthusiasm is ultimately well placed for this heart-pounding and thrilling performance.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti isn’t exactly a household name and many of us are probably unaware of who he was. A gifted Nigerian musician, Kuti was the father of the Afrobeat jazz genre of music, a fusion of jazz, funk, rock and traditional West African music and rhythms.