so how come it doesn't feel that way?
The Foundry Theatre Reading Series (at The Rearview Mirror)
By Adam Collier
On a recent snowy Monday evening, about thirty people gathered at the Rearview Mirror in Kensington Market. They were there to hear a new play in development. The event goes by the name The Foundry Theatre Reading Series.
The readings are on the last Monday of each month between September and May. If the few times that I’ve been are anything to go by, the event is more than the introduction of new writing to the public.
My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding – Mirvish
By Leanne Milech
My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding or MMLJWW for short, is, to put it bluntly, colossal Canadian yummyness.
After an amazing run at the 2009 Fringe Festival, Mooney on Theatre writer Sam Mooney raved about MMLJWW in her review of the show. After Fringe, Mirvish swiftly picked MMLJWW up and extended its run as long as it possibly could before it had to make room for a previously scheduled production. During that run, our very own editor, Megan Mooney, reviewed the show, professing her love for the production just as earnestly as our first reviewer did.
Indeed, Mirvish chose wisely when it decided to pick up this touching true love story of Claire, played by Lisa Horner, and Jane, played by Rosemary Doyle, two middle-aged women who fall for each other.
As a lesbian and a Jew, I had actually been a tad skeptical about this show: could they really pull off the whole lesbian thing without making all of the usual stereotypes and without being cliché or boringly political?
Hush- Tarragon Theatre
talk – Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company – Jane Mallett Theatre
By Sam Mooney
Until tonight, all I knew about talk was “Clashing views about the Middle East conflict threaten a friendship in this drama.” I expected that it would be difficult to “ignore” the politics and concentrate on the theatre. I also expected that it would be, if nothing else, an interesting play.
Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company’s production of talk at the Jane Mallett Theatre is not only interesting, but a wonderful evening of theatre. The play entertained me, left me with a lot to think about and didn’t hit me on the head with a hammer.
The winner of a pair of tickets to ‘Communion’ is…
Congrats David Ackerman!
You, and your lucky guest have won a pair of tickets to go see tomorrow night’s performance of Communion at The Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue. Communion will be running until April 4, with show times Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm and 2:30pm matinees. Ticket and show information can be found at The Tarragon Theatre website. Tune in next Monday for another Toronto Theatre contest!
Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci – Toronto Opera Repertoire
By Darryl D’Souza
![Pag05[1]](http://www.mooneyontheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Pag051-1024x894.jpg)
I went to the operas Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci as part of a double bill at the Bickford Centre Theatre put on by the Toronto Opera Repertoire. I was thoroughly engrossed during the performances of both and impressed by the experience.
What impressed me most was the calibre of the singing. In my opinion, the calibre of the singing is the ultimate litmus test for judging whether any opera is a success or failure. While the Bickford Centre Theatre is certainly not the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, (the home of the Canadian Opera Company), and in all truth seems more like a high school gymnasium than a theatre per se, the singing was as good – if not better – than what you’d expect to hear at the average Canadian Opera Company performance.
If you feel like opera is not for you, you’re definitely not alone. In fact, our motto here at Mooney on Theatre is: “Theatre is for everyone…so how come it doesn’t feel that way?”. If this is true of theatre in general, it’s even more true of opera. Ever since its inception over 300 hundred years ago, due to high ticket prices, seeing opera has been almost solely the privilege of the bourgeois class. Read the rest of this entry »
Five for Twenty (or Less)
by Leanne Milech
This is our second round of serving up five tasty theatre treats that cost $20 or less. For this week, we’ve tried to offer up nutritious entertainment that is even lighter on your wallet than last week’s fare. So sit back, grab a snack or a glass of wine and peruse our menu for the week of March 1, 2010.
The Marriage of Figaro – Toronto Opera Repertoire
By Adam Collier
At the Toronto Opera Repertoire production of The Marriage of Figaro, the seating was unassigned. I took a seat about ten rows from the stage in the Bickford Centre Theatre. I sat close, because I’m not too familiar with opera and wanted to take in as many details as I could, but was too timid to sit up front, because “opera” – even the word – intimidates me.
The lights go down, and three people walk across the space in front of the stage. One of them sits behind a music stand (the conductor, Adolfo De Santis), one sits at a grand piano (Valentin Bogolubov) and behind him stands a third.
Luminato 2010 Curatorial Threads
By Leanne Milech
Luminato, Toronto’s festival of art and creativity, is back! Or at least, it will be soon (June 11-20, 2010). For now, we’ll have to settle for whetting our appetites with press releases that feed us tidbits about the upcoming festival. Today’s press release does the trick. We now know that the three overarching themes selected for the 2010 Luminato festival are: 1) the relationship between east and west; 2) the artistic expression of rights and freedoms; and 3) that ever-popular and ever-present cultural figure, the diva.
Read more in the official press relase.
Toronto Theatre Contest – Win a pair of tickets to ‘Communion’
Communion, a comedy, will be playing at the Tarragon Theatre until April 4. Written by Daniel Maclvor one of Tarragon Theatre’s newest playwrights, Communion follows three women; a daughter, mother, and her psychiatrist in the search for meaning in life. Shows run from Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm with 2:30pm matinees.
If you would like a chance to win a pair of free tickets to go see Communion and the comical tale of the pursuit of happiness -just be the 13th person to contact us as contests@mooneyontheatre.com quoting the subject line Communion. Also, for more information about tickets and show dates please visit The Tarragon Theatre.
Good Luck!