All posts by Wayne Leung

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.

Canadian Opera Company Announces 2014-15 Season

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The Canadian Opera Company announced today the details for their 2014-2015 season

This evening the Canadian Opera Company announced the details of its 2014-15 season to a house full of media, subscribers and opera-lovers. COC General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus joined CBC’s Brent Bambury on stage at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing arts to unveil an exciting new season that promises something for everyone.

The COC’s 2014-15 season will feature six operas, four of them helmed by Canadian directors; three new productions, three revivals, all six operas will be COC productions or co-productions (as opposed to presentations of works mounted by other companies).

The new productions are Verdi’s Falstaff, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The shows being revived by the COC in the season will be Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Wagner’s Die Walküre (directed by Atom Egoyan) and a double bill of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung (directed by Robert Lepage).

See below for more details:

Continue reading Canadian Opera Company Announces 2014-15 Season →

2014 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: On The Other Side of the World (Harley Dog Productions)

On the Other Side of the World is a story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai at Toronto’s Next Stage Theatre Festival.

on-the-other-side-finalIn the years leading up to World War II as country after country closed its borders to Jewish refugees fleeing persecution from Nazi Germany, one port remained open to them; Shanghai, China. On the Other Side of the World, written and directed by Brenley Charkow and making its debut at the Next Stage Theatre Festival, is a fascinating look at this little-known piece of history.

When I first visited Shanghai what struck me most was the indelible imprint the West had left on this bustling Chinese metropolis. After China’s defeats in the Opium Wars the country was forced to concede large swaths of Shanghai to the West and open up trade. Shanghai’s iconic Bund and French Concession are still lined with European architecture today. But as much as I had read about the city’s history I had no idea that Shanghai was home to between 20,000 and 30,000 Jewish refugees during the Second World War.

Continue reading 2014 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: On The Other Side of the World (Harley Dog Productions) →

Cheap Theatre in Toronto for the Week of January 6th, 2014

Ten for Twenty (Or Less)

A surefire way to beat the winter blues; the Next Stage Theatre Festival offers ten groundbreaking works from established artists on the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit performing at the Factory Theatre from January 8 – 19, 2014. And, even if you’re dreading the arrival of your holiday credit card bill, don’t worry, at just $15 a ticket you’ll be able to afford to a show and have money left over for a beer in the (heated) McAuslan Beer Tent afterward.
Continue reading Cheap Theatre in Toronto for the Week of January 6th, 2014 →

Review: Once (Mirvish)

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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) →

Review: Needles and Opium (Ex Machina/Canadian Stage)

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Canadian Stage presents Robert Lepage’s Needles and Opium at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre

In the past few weeks the issue of drug addiction has been at the fore of the news cycle in Toronto. Indeed, the psychotropic misadventures of Mayor Ford have all the trappings of a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s a fitting backdrop for Canadian Stage to present avant-garde Quebec theatre director Robert Lepage’s revival of his play Needles and Opium; a meditation on addiction and dependency. Continue reading Review: Needles and Opium (Ex Machina/Canadian Stage) →