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.
A new Canadian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS opens at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre
Firstly, full disclosure; I’m not a cat-person. Nor am I a CATS-person; I’ve never really understood the appeal of the mega-musical from the ‘80s or why it was such a hit. Fans of CATS undoubtedly love it for the campy, fun quality of the show and those who grew up with the musical will probably want to see it again for the sake of nostalgia but when I heard that a collective of producers was mounting a new Canadian production of CATS my reaction was somewhere between a yawn and an eye-roll.
The nominees for the 34th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards were announced today at a press conference held at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
The “Doras” honour excellence in the performing arts in Toronto. This year’s awards ceremony will be hosted by Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus, founding Co-Artistic Directors of the three-time Canadian Comedy Award-winning The National Theatre of the World and will take place on Monday, June 24 at 8pm at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
The Canadian Opera Company presents Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre
The Canadian Opera Company is closing its 2012-13 season with French composer Francis Poulenc’s 1956 opera Dialogues des Carmélites. The opera tells the story of an order of Carmelite nuns who were guillotined during the French Revolution for refusing to renounce their faith and hence became religious martyrs.
Mirvish presents the Toronto premiere of the Broadway sensation The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is the hottest ticket on Broadway right now. When the satirical musical taking on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made its Broadway debut in 2011 review after review sang the praises of the plucky show. After it won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Musical it became nearly impossible to get tickets in New York without booking months in advance.
Now, Mirvish is presenting the Toronto and Canadian premiere of the Broadway phenomenon at the Princess of Wales Theatre but because the Toronto run is just a stop on Book of Mormon‘s North American tour instead of a sit-down Canadian production, the engagement is strictly limited to six-weeks and it may be equally difficult to get tickets here. Continue reading Preview: The Book of Mormon (Mirvish)→
Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre presents the world premiere of David Yee’s play carried away on the crest of a wave
On December 26, 2004 an earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami along the coastline of Southeast Asia. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were hit the hardest. I still remember being haunted by the images from the 24-hour news cycle that day; entire villages washed away into the ocean, the endless heartache and misery. It was devastation of unimaginable proportions.
