By Megan Mooney
When Mirvish produced The Lion King at the beginning of the century I never managed to see it, so I was excited to hear that the touring company of The Lion King was going to be part of this Mirvish season.
And my excitement was certainly warranted. The Lion King is an absolute feast for the eyes and a treat for the ears. The opening number was mind-blowingly beautiful, absolutely breathtaking.
By Megan Mooney
Calendar Girls, playing at Mirvish’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, is a touching play about an amazing group of women who take their clothes off for a good cause.
My show-partner John and I both enjoyed the piece, it was lovely. And, in case lovely scares you off, it was also very funny.
By Megan Mooney
When Mirvish announced they were bringing Billy Elliot to Toronto I was very excited. My excitement level, my expectations of enjoyment, they didn’t even come close to half of how much I *actually* enjoyed it.
This was, without a doubt, the best big musical production I have ever seen in my life. It is pretty high up on my list of best performances ever. Billy Elliot The Musical was phenomenal. You really really should go and see it. Continue reading Review: Billy Elliot (Mirvish Productions)
By Megan Mooney
I kind of don’t know how to start with this review. Really, what I want to say is, the Nightwood Theatre and Obsidian Theatre co-production of Ruined is fantastic, such a great production of such a great play. And I kind of just want to leave it at that. But I’m fairly certain people will want more details, so I will do my best.
The subject matter is tough, the play takes place in a mining town in the Democratic Republic of Congo and deals with, among other things, sexual violence. it’s often not easy to watch, there were times I wished I had my handkerchief close at hand instead of crammed into my purse under my seat, but it’s well worth it.
The piece doesn’t feel like it’s just there to horrify. The piece feels human. There is laughter in the horror, there is music accompanying the gunshots, there is love amongst the betrayal.
Continue reading Review: Ruined (Co-production – Nightwood Theatre and Obsidian Theatre)
By Megan Mooney
A lot has been swirling about in my head since I went to see Birdland Theatre and Talk is Free theatre’s production of Assassins. It’s a remount of their wildly successful, award-winning, production of the show in 2010. This time though, the timing has been a bit inauspicious. The show, which revolves around political assassination and assassination attempts, opened the same day as the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona.
The show, despite the unfortunate timing, is fantastic. I’m not a Sondheim buff, so I didn’t know anything about the show before going in, I always like going into a show that way. So, I’m not going to tell you about it that much, just about what I liked. Continue reading Review: Assassins (Birdland Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre)