All posts by Winston Soon

Elora Gorge (The Room) 2011 SummerWorks Review

Walking into Elora Gorge, my first SummerWorks show this year, I’m not sure what was higher; my expectations or the temperature in the sweltering Theatre Centre. There has been a bit of buzz around this show and for good reason. It features some remarkable talent both on and off the stage. The Room has created a piece that feels ethereal and tricky. The staging is beautifully creative, the acting is great, and Christopher Stanton’s writing is a waterfall stream of conscious from the voices that make up the small town of Elora. After this show, you’ll probably not think of Elora the same way again! Continue reading Elora Gorge (The Room) 2011 SummerWorks Review

Review: Next To Normal (Dancap Productions)

Last night I went to see Next to Normal at the Four Seasons Centre, brought to Toronto by Dancap.  I feel lucky to have experienced this show as did my date, Wayne (managing editor for Mooney on Theatre).  If this is all you read of this article then let me get this out of the way now – do what you have to do to see this production.

Reason #1: You’ll get to see the same performance that won lead Alice Ripley a Tony two years ago.  Reason #2: This show is truly special.  Reason #3: There is none of that “making fun of musicals” shtick here that has invaded nearly everything to hit Broadway and beyond in the last decade.  A welcome change for this writer.  Dear audience, welcome to the return of the earnest musical.

Continue reading Review: Next To Normal (Dancap Productions)

Oh, Raven!! (Land of the Young) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

Walking into the perfectly air conditioned Palmerston Library Theatre and the set of Land of the Young’s “Oh, Raven!!” seems magical. It is a sort of enchanted forest with trees and an older hollowed out tree lying downstage. The music sets the right tone of enchantment and the kids get excited. A perfect beginning to a FringeKIDS show.

Continue reading Oh, Raven!! (Land of the Young) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

P-DALE (Unit 102 Collective) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

If Quentin Tarantino decided to write and direct an episode of Entourage and then turn it into a play, that play would be P-Dale.  I thoroughly enjoyed my hour spent with this cast today at the Theatre Passe Murraille.  I chose the play on a whim.  I liked how their Fringe program blurb stated “DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS.  SERIOUSLY.”  That was enough to bring me in and it is this same irreverent humour that fills the play to the brim. Continue reading P-DALE (Unit 102 Collective) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

Total Verruckt! (No More Masterpieces) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

Walk into the Annex Theatre’s Total Verruckt! and one thing will instantly strike you.  Ropes.  Tons of them.  And fishing wire.  And pulleys.  They hang from the wide space between the balconies, stairs, and stage.  Joanna Caplan has created a performance piece using ropes and pulleys that is based on the stories of Jewish performers and personalities that were murdered in the Holocaust. Continue reading Total Verruckt! (No More Masterpieces) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review