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.

Review: Dark Matters (Canadian Stage)

Canadian Stage presents Canadian dance sensation Crystal Pite’s Dark Matters at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Even though I’m not any sort of expert or aficionado when it comes to modern dance, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Dark Matters by Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM ever since Canadian Stage announced it as a mid-season replacement for another show. The draw for me was Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite.  Continue reading Review: Dark Matters (Canadian Stage) →

Review: In the Heights (Dancap)

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Dancap presents the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

In the Heights is the story of the colourful Latino-American community of Washington Heights in uppermost tip of Manhattan. Set in present day, the neighborhood is experiencing rapid gentrification and change.

The show was conceived and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical but despite the accolade I admit I wasn’t particularly excited going in to the show. Continue reading Review: In the Heights (Dancap) →

Review: Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage)

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Canadian Stage presents Martin Crimp’s play Cruel and Tender directed by Atom Egoyan at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Cruel and Tender is British playwright Martin Crimp’s contemporary adaptation of Sophocles’ Trachiniae (The Women of Trachis), a tale of love, jealousy and deceit between Greek hero Heracles, his wife Deianeira and lole, daughter of the king of Euboas, a city captured by Heracles.  Continue reading Review: Cruel and Tender (Canadian Stage) →

Review: Caroline, or Change (Acting Up Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre)

Toronto’s Acting Up Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre present the Canadian premiere of Caroline, or Change at the Berkeley Street Theatre through February 12, 2012.

The teaming-up of two formidable Toronto theatre companies to produce the Canadian premiere of a Broadway musical is cause for excitement. Caroline, or Change seems a natural fit for Acting Up Stage Company, renowned for their hard-hitting musicals like last year’s Parade, and Obsidian Theatre whose recent, critically-acclaimed productions Ruined and Topdog/Underdog highlight the work of Black artists and playwrights.

Continue reading Review: Caroline, or Change (Acting Up Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre) →

Review: Cabaret (Hart House Theatre)

Toronto’s Hart House Theatre presents the iconic Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret through January 28, 2012.

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome; im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!

Cabaret is a classic musical by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic of the early 1930s, it takes place in the seedy yet seductive underground Kit Kat Club and is told through the eyes of the club’s Emcee (Michael-David Blostein). Continue reading Review: Cabaret (Hart House Theatre) →