Wayne Leung (1981-2019)
Wayne was the Managing Editor of Mooney on Theatre from 2012 - 2019 and will be sorely missed. His death from an apparent heart attack was a loss not just to Mooney on Theatre, but also to the Toronto Theatre Community at large. You can read our publisher Megan Mooney's tribute to him here here.
Wayne was a writer, editor and corporate communications professional who was thrilled to be a part of the Mooney on Theatre team. Wayne loved theatre ever since his aunt brought him to a production of Les Misérables at the tender age of ten . . . despite the fact that, at that age, the show’s plot was practically indiscernible and the battle scenes scared the bejeezus out of him. Wayne’s current list of likes ran the gamut from opera, ballet and Shakespeare to Broadway musicals, circus and Fringe theatre. Outside of the theatre Wayne’s interests included travel, technology and food.
Toronto’s Hart House Theatre presents the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s bombastic, over-the-top rock opera treatment of the Easter story is now a classic musical that’s regularly staged by community theatres, high school drama clubs, and regional theatres around the world. The Hart House Theatre is the latest company to mount a production in Toronto.
Written in 1970 as a concept album, the musical has shown a remarkable ability for adaptation to reflect the politics and culture of the times in its subsequent productions throughout the years. For this production, director Luke Brown draws inspiration from the youth culture and political movements of today. Continue reading Review: Jesus Christ Superstar (Hart House Theatre)→
Jasmine Fyffe Dance’s Pulse, a contemporary dance show set to the music of Motown, is the show filling the dance slot in this years’ edition of the Toronto Fringe’s Next Stage Theatre Festival. Motown is an enduringly popular genre of music and its soulful grooves make it a natural choice to explore in a dance show.
Mirvish presents the Off-Broadway comedy Buyer & Cellar starring Christopher J. Hanke in Toronto
There are two types of people in the world, those who love Barbara Streisand and those who don’t. Those in the former camp don’t just love Streisand, the LOVE her. Playwright Jonathan Tolins aims his one-man comedy Buyer & Cellar squarely at this group. For those of us in the other camp? Well, this show may not hold quite as much appeal. Continue reading Review: Buyer & Cellar (Mirvish)→
Toronto’s Coal Mine Theatre presents The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Every so often the theatre gods smile down on our town and we come across a production that combines the right script with the right cast in the right space and the result is electrifying. Bob Kills Theatre’s production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ profane, profound and uproariously funny play The Motherfucker with the Hat is one of those times.
Jackie (Sergio Di Zio) is a recovering addict on parole who lives with his fiery girlfriend Veronica (Melissa D’Agostino) who is still an active user. An elated Jackie comes home after finally securing a job and starts getting intimate with Veronica when he spots a strange man’s hat on the table and spirals into a jealous rage. He leaves and seeks the help of his AA sobriety coach Ralph D. (Ted Dykstra) but the health-obsessed, yoga-practicing, green-smoothie drinking Ralph may not be all he’s cracked up to be.
