Normally I see plays on opening night, but for a variety of reasons, I saw Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes at a Saturday matinee at Tarragon. It’s a different feeling, a different audience; a lot more people my age (middle-aged plus). The standing ovation felt genuine rather than obligatory. It was certainly well deserved.

The plot is familiar, even clichéd. It’s 2014. Jon (Matthew Edison), a 42 year old professor and best-selling author, has an affair with Annie (Alice Snaden), a 19 year old student. We can predict the story. Right?

Continue reading Review: Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (Tarragon) →

“Inspired by the women of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude,” Beatriz Pisano’s The Solitudes (presented by Aluna Theatre in association with Nightwood Theatre at Harbourfront Centre) is about being a woman, being “The Other” — an immigrant, a descendant of immigrants, or an othered Indigenous person on stolen land — taking back spaces, and taking up space.

The 90-minute piece features the individual stories of each woman on stage, wrapping them together with interconnected themes and messages. It’s a challenging, cathartic experience that demands that you listen carefully and let these stories in.

Continue reading Review: The Solitudes (Aluna/Nightwood) →

Phantom of the Opera Brings Opulence and Gothic Romance to the Toronto Stage.

One of the longest-running musicals of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, based on the novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux, tells the story of a disfigured musical genius (Derrick Davis) living beneath the Paris Opera.

The Phantom, as he’s called by the opera’s artists and stagehands, is a controlling, sinister presence at the opera, where he frequently wreaks havoc. The Phantom also acts as both teacher and would-be lover to Christine (Emma Grimsley), the opera’s young new musical talent, who the Phantom considers the only appropriate vessel for his musical genius. Complicating matters is Christine’s childhood friend, Raoul (Jordan Craig), who also professes to love her. Along the way, there are a few murders, a love triangle, and a whole lot of stupidly-talented vocalists singing the roof off. Continue reading Review: The Phantom of the Opera (Mirvish) →