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.

The Physical Ramifications of Attempted Global Domination (Birdtown and Swanville) 2011 SummerWorks Review

In The Physical Ramifications of Attempted Global Domination, writers Aurora Steward de Peña and Nika Mistruzzi explore some interesting hypothetical questions.

What if some of the most powerful and ruthless despots in the history of the world, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Oliver Cromwell, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Pancho Villa, Pope Pius XII, and Chairman Mao could meet together in a summit? What if they were pitted against each other in a game show-like contest to determine which among them would be named the strongest man who ever lived? Continue reading The Physical Ramifications of Attempted Global Domination (Birdtown and Swanville) 2011 SummerWorks Review

Review: The Glass Menagerie (Soulpepper)

Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company presents Tennessee Williams’ classic American tale of longing, disappointment and unfulfilled dreams, The Glass Menagerie at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts through September 10, 2011.

Written in 1946, The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams’ breakthrough play and has since become one of the most prolific works of the American theatre. Soulpepper’s production of The Glass Menagerie is an exquisitely directed, beautifully acted and wonderfully designed tribute to the classic story.

Following up on their stunning production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman last year, Soulpepper is firmly establishing its reputation for brilliant interpretations of the classic works of the American theatre canon.

Continue reading Review: The Glass Menagerie (Soulpepper)

Review: Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking (Mirvish)

Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

After a successful run on Broadway, Mirvish brings film star and author Carrie Fisher to Toronto for the Canadian premiere of her one-woman confessional show Wishful Drinking, now on stage at the Royal Alexandra Theatre through August 21.

Much can and has been said of Carrie Fisher; actress, author, mental-illness survivor, recovered alcoholic, daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, cultural icon, tabloid fodder and unwitting masturbatory aide for a generation of sci-fi geeks the world over.

Continue reading Review: Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking (Mirvish)

Wanda T. Grimsby Detective Extraordinaire (Little Monsters and Ax-Ent) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

Wanda T. Grimsby is Toronto’s top detective-slash-adventurer. Wanda works for the mysterious Franco-Russian, Big Bittions who finds companionship in the giant eyeball she carries around with her (the “private eye”) and has a fondness for prattling on in a comically exaggerated French accent.

Continue reading Wanda T. Grimsby Detective Extraordinaire (Little Monsters and Ax-Ent) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review