Unit 102 brings Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to life at Toronto’s Parkdale Theatre
This was my first time seeing the great Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and I am so happy that it was Unit 102’s production that I saw. They used their intimate Parkdale Theatre to its full potential and transported the audience to 44 BCE.
For anyone, like myself, not familiar with Julius Caesar here is a basic break down: Cassius and Brutus, played by Luis Fernandes and Brendon Smith, along with a handful of other men decide that Caesar, Carmine Lucarellli, has to be taken down. Continue reading Review: Julius Caesar (Unit 102)→
An uplifting romantic comedy for the holidays, Parfumerie is playing at Toronto’s Young Centre
I walked into the theatre exhausted and ready for some light, feel-good theatre. Luckily that’s exactly what was in store with Soulpepper‘s Parfumerie, on stage now at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District.
Even though the piece seems to have become somewhat of a holiday tradition around these parts, this was my first time seeing the Soulpepper production. I was first struck by the absolutely luscious set. It was so beautiful. The show hadn’t even started and I was already in a better mood. I couldn’t stop staring at the revolving doors that were the entrance to the shop. Why aren’t revolving doors that beautiful these days? But I digress.
Mirvish presents the Tony Award-winning musical Once in Toronto
When you hear the term “Broadway musical” you might picture singers with big, brassy voices belting their emotions to the rafters while massive hydraulic sets rise from trap doors, chandeliers crash and life-sized animal puppets parade down the aisles. Broadway shows can get to be a bit much even for those of us who are fans of the admittedly chintzy and frequently over-the-top genre.
Once, adapted from the 2006 film of the same title, is none of the above. Despite the fact the show won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical it is the antithesis of the typical Broadway musical; it’s an intimate story told in a beautifully understated way that feels so genuinely personal and that’s precisely what makes the show so impactful. Once is a Broadway show for people who don’t like Broadway shows. Continue reading Review: Once (Mirvish)→
The thoughtful and hilarious God of Carnage is playing at Toronto’s Studio 180 Theatre
I really love the Off-Mirvish Series. It’s an opportunity to introduce a Mirvish audience to a different type of show from blockbusters like Les Miserables. This season, its second, was launched with a presentation of God of Carnage, a Studio 180 Theatre production at the Panasonic Theatre.
And what an excellent start it was. I found it a thoroughly satisfying night of theatre. There were moments of intense discomfort and moments of absolute hilarity. It’s a combination I loved.
Chicago mobsters take center stage in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui playing at Toronto’s The Great Hall
When I read the play listing for The Red Light District‘s production of Bertolt Brecht‘s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, the premise of mobsters in 1930s Chicago monopolizing the vegetable industry in the only way the mob knows how — intimidation, brute force, and an increasing body count, I was sold. It’d be like watching The Sopranos on stage I thought, but more Al Capone and tommy guns.
Reaching out to my theatre types in search of my plus one, my friend Grace chimed in, “I love Brecht!” she told me. Considering I didn’t know much about the German dramatist who wrote the play in the span of three weeks during 1941 when he was in exile in Finland, I knew that bringing Grace along would shed some needed light on this production.
It was time for me to get schooled on Berlin-style cabaret and epic theatre.
