Mirvish Productions brings the much beloved classic musical Annie back to the Toronto stage
I arrived to Annie at the Ed Mirvish Theatre on a sunny Sunday afternoon with my eight-year-old companion, joining a chattering throng of excited patrons for the fresh-from-London revival of an old favorite that I saw on Broadway as a young child more than 30 years ago. I vividly recall my excitement at the time, how exciting and fresh the show felt, and I hoped our visit would be equally enjoyable for my small charge. I’m happy to say it was; this production of Annie was a playful pleasure.
Mooney on Theatre has grown a lot since my first post ten years ago today. It started as a way for me to expand my coverage of Toronto’s theatre scene. At the time I was covering shows for BlogTO and really enjoying it, but there was understandably limited space to talk about theatre. Then I was included as part of Toronto’s Mille Femmes — described as “a tribute to 1,000 artistic, creative and inspiring women from Toronto and their protégés, who embody the passion and heritage of the city” — and was told I was ‘a mentor.’ It was the kick in the butt I needed to start my own place to talk about theatre as much as I wanted.
When I hit publish on that first collection of words, I never imagined it would be what it is today.
Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of April 30th, 2018
Toronto live theatre for the week of April 30th, 2018. There is something for everyone on Toronto’s stages this week, with a huge selection of brand new shows! Our Editor Samantha is on hand with a few of her top picks in red. Check them out below the cut:
Young People’s Theatre presents Selfie, nuanced and thoughtful – great for teens, in Toronto
I arrived at Young People’s Theatre to see Selfie as an adult who works with a ton of teenagers and young adults (and has one of my own), skeptical in the extreme about work by adults about social media that’s aimed at teenagers. In general, I find it exhaustingly reductionist and at least five years behind schedule. Selfie, however, felt fresh and nuanced and appropriately difficult.
Despite excellent parts, Picnic in the Cemetery feels it should be better than it actually is. Moreover, as an audience member, I feel like I should have liked it better than I did. It’s a show where all the excellent smothers what’s actually good.
Mirvish Productions brings the much beloved classic musical Annie back to the Toronto stage
Young People’s Theatre presents Selfie, nuanced and thoughtful – great for teens, in Toronto
Picnic in the Cemetery is beautiful but lacks cohesion, at the Berkeley Theatre in Toronto