Reviews of productions based in Toronto – theatre includes traditional definitions of theatre, as well as dance, opera, comedy, performance art, spoken word performances, and more. Productions may be in-person, or remote productions streamed online on the Internet.
A love story musical for Sondheim fans, Marry Me a Little is playing at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
Marry Me a Little is a musical for Sondheim fans currently playing at Tarragon Theatre Mainspace. My phrasing is deliberate. While the music and lyrics are written by Stephen Sondheim, this particular show is a patchwork that was conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman René. Taking songs that were cut from early Sondheim musicals, they’ve strung them together to suggest a bittersweet love story.
Let me set the scene for you: There is a gorgeous loft apartment. Yes, it really is stunning. Ken MacDonald has created an urban bohemian dream—exposed brick, large windows, high ceilings. Into this artsy wonderland, drops a Man and a Woman. They are never named. At first, we don’t know much about them except that they both work in musical theatre—he’s a songwriter and she’s an actress. Continue reading Review: Marry Me a Little (Tarragon Theatre)→
A couple’s decision to have a baby leads to interesting complications in Lungs at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
Lungs, currently playing at Tarragon Theatre, is a two-hander that explores the relationship between a man (Brendan Gall) and a woman (Lesley Faulkner) as they decide, and then attempt, to have a child. As the play starts the man has just dropped the “let’s have a baby” bomb on the woman in a most inappropriate circumstance – while in line at IKEA.
This provokes the woman into a neurotic spiral, worrying about what a child would mean for their lives, and her body, but mostly concerned with the ethical implications of bringing a CO2-producing human into an overpopulated, over-polluted world. The man tries to calm her down but he does it poorly — as always, telling someone to “calm down” does the exact opposite. Continue reading Review: Lungs (Tarragon theatre)→
Love themed burlesque lit up the Gladstone Hotel in Be Mein Valentine
Be Mein Valentine is an annual burlesque event set at The Gladstone Hotel. Thrown by the Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque troupe and Boylesque T.O, Be Mein Valentine is a cabaret of stripping women, men, and the occasional gingerbread cookie. The night combines the celebration of Valentine’s Day with the theme of German tradition and debauchery. Even though it seems like a random mix, it was nothing but entertaining.
Three charming hosts guide you through the den of iniquity. Sexy Deutsch Mark Brown, a small-town conservative man who feels corrupted by all the naughtiness around him; Ginger Darling, the clever, cheeky and – obviously – ginger host; and lastly Balonia Wry, the sex-crazed and hilarious dominatrix who, with her wandering leather crop and tasteless jokes, steals the show.
Unusual staging sets a unique tone to A Beautiful View playing at Toronto’s Factory Theatre
I was stricken when I first entered Factory Theatre’s Studio. Instead of the usual linear floor plan, the stage had been moved so that seats rose up on either side, butterfly like. The effect is that when you go see A Beautiful View, you are literally walking into a book, a diary. The stage is the spine, the seats on either side the pages, rising up and just waiting to be read.
The classic Shakespearean tragedy is told through the beauty of ballet at Toronto’s Betty Oliphant Theatre
Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known and culturally referenced plays. The tale tends to be spun as a romance, but all who have stayed on for the final act know that the story ends in tragedy. The two lovers are torn apart by rival families, distance, and even death. In Canada’s Ballet Jorgen‘s production at the Betty Oliphant Theatre, Romeo and Juliet are given a new obstacle in the production: silence.
William Shakespeare is without a doubt a wordsmith. His grand odes to love and soliloquies of pain are meant to sway the hearts of audiences. In ballet, there is no shouting or crying. The dancers speak with their bodies, floating across the stage in a whisper and leaping into the air for shouts of joy. The dancers convey all the emotion of words through Bengt Jorgen’s inspiring choreography. Continue reading Review: Romeo & Juliet (Canada’s Ballet Jorgen)→
