THEATRE NEWS: Cast updates for Stratford and 'Priscilla'
23 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Brent Carver, Martha Henry, Lucy Peacock, Even Buliung, Gareth Potter, Andrea Runge and Cara Ricketts were all added to the Stratford Festival ensemble for the 2011 season, it was announced by Fest officials earlier this week. Festival officials also announced that Darko Tresnjak will direct the Festival's previously announced production of TITUS ANDRONICUS next season.
In other casting news, producers of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT: THE MUSICAL announced earlier this week that Nick Adams will join the cast of the pre-Broadway production slated to open at the Princess of Wales Theatre October 26. Currently appearing in the Broadway revival of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Adams has also appeared there in A CHORUS LINE, CHICAGO, GUYS AND DOLLS and THE PIRATE QUEEN.
Friday, July 23, 2010
MUSICAL THEATRE NEWS: Fundraising, Broadway style
23 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Cast members from Dancap's production of MISS SAIGON will play host to guests from the company of Dancap's production of THE JERSEY BOYS at a special fundraiser to benefit Gilda's Club Of Greater Toronto & DKMS Americas/One Match.
It will take place Sunday, July 25 at 8 p.m. in the Charlotte Room, 19 Charlotte St. and admission is by donation, with a suggested minimum of $20.
23 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Cast members from Dancap's production of MISS SAIGON will play host to guests from the company of Dancap's production of THE JERSEY BOYS at a special fundraiser to benefit Gilda's Club Of Greater Toronto & DKMS Americas/One Match.
It will take place Sunday, July 25 at 8 p.m. in the Charlotte Room, 19 Charlotte St. and admission is by donation, with a suggested minimum of $20.
THEATRE REVIEW: LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE
22 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5
You just might be surprised at what you find in the closet. Certainly, Nora And Delia Ephron were -- and we're not talking about a male relative.
Just what they find is explored in a new play called LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE, a play that takes women -- and those who love them -- on a sentimental journey through their closets and their memory banks in an evening of simple, often delightful theatre. LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE opened Wednesday at the Panasonic Theatre, a production of Michael Rubinoff in association with Daryl Roth.
As is often the case with good theatre, it all started out on the page -- a personal reminiscence of writer Ilene Beckerman, who originated the idea in a book intended for her children in which she sketched various outfits she had worn over the years with an accompanying narration detailing reams of other personal detail. In bringing it to the stage, the sisters Ephron have preserved Beckerman's voice (and her drawings) in the person of Gingey (short for Ginger) -- the evening's narrator and anchor, played with usual style and joyous panache by Louise Pitre.
But the Ephrons have overlaid Beckerman's voice with a chorus of other female voices -- and such voices. Andrea Martin, Mary Walsh, Sharron Matthews and Paula Brancati form a simple chorus of characters and together conspire to expose just a few of the ways a woman and her wardrobe come together. That leads, almost inevitably, of course, to the deep connection between clothing and self-esteem (or, as often as not, the lack thereof). Bras, prom dresses. wedding gowns, handbags, boots and short skirts -- even the little black dress -- are all trotted down the runway of the imagination in a show that embraces the strong connection between what one wears and how one feels.
It's often delightful and silly stuff -- Walsh's take on a bra-fitting is delirious, while Martin all but steals the show in a monologue detailing a safari through the wilds of Paris, in search of the apparently elusive Kelly bag. But it also doesn't shy from the darker corners, be it in the lushly curved Matthews response to Martin's claim that she's always been thin -- or in the deeper explorations of personal issues undertaken by Walsh and Brancati.
Under the direction of Karen Carpenter, it's all good stuff stalled just shy of greatness by a few niggling missteps, starting with Pitre's casting in the central role.
Now, right off the top, let it be said that there are very few roles the hugely talented Pitre can't tackle; but frankly, the role of a 60-year-old woman, past her prime and hiding behind long sleeves and scarves is a bit of a stretch. Add in the disconnect created by the fact that, cast as the New York-born and bred Gingey, Pitre has not been encouraged to even attempt New York speech, which further weighs her down.
Which leads to another niggling concern. Not surprisingly -- considering its off-Broadway pedigree -- this is a very New York-centric piece. But all of these talented actors have strong (and treasured) roots in Canada -- and save for a single reference to the Habs and another to a local mall, there is absolutely no attempt to recognize their roots. It's an evening of theatre that tells more than a few universal truths -- so how tough might it have been to make a few of the stories a little more universal too?
Just asking.
22 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5
You just might be surprised at what you find in the closet. Certainly, Nora And Delia Ephron were -- and we're not talking about a male relative.
Just what they find is explored in a new play called LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE, a play that takes women -- and those who love them -- on a sentimental journey through their closets and their memory banks in an evening of simple, often delightful theatre. LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE opened Wednesday at the Panasonic Theatre, a production of Michael Rubinoff in association with Daryl Roth.
As is often the case with good theatre, it all started out on the page -- a personal reminiscence of writer Ilene Beckerman, who originated the idea in a book intended for her children in which she sketched various outfits she had worn over the years with an accompanying narration detailing reams of other personal detail. In bringing it to the stage, the sisters Ephron have preserved Beckerman's voice (and her drawings) in the person of Gingey (short for Ginger) -- the evening's narrator and anchor, played with usual style and joyous panache by Louise Pitre.
But the Ephrons have overlaid Beckerman's voice with a chorus of other female voices -- and such voices. Andrea Martin, Mary Walsh, Sharron Matthews and Paula Brancati form a simple chorus of characters and together conspire to expose just a few of the ways a woman and her wardrobe come together. That leads, almost inevitably, of course, to the deep connection between clothing and self-esteem (or, as often as not, the lack thereof). Bras, prom dresses. wedding gowns, handbags, boots and short skirts -- even the little black dress -- are all trotted down the runway of the imagination in a show that embraces the strong connection between what one wears and how one feels.
It's often delightful and silly stuff -- Walsh's take on a bra-fitting is delirious, while Martin all but steals the show in a monologue detailing a safari through the wilds of Paris, in search of the apparently elusive Kelly bag. But it also doesn't shy from the darker corners, be it in the lushly curved Matthews response to Martin's claim that she's always been thin -- or in the deeper explorations of personal issues undertaken by Walsh and Brancati.
Under the direction of Karen Carpenter, it's all good stuff stalled just shy of greatness by a few niggling missteps, starting with Pitre's casting in the central role.
Now, right off the top, let it be said that there are very few roles the hugely talented Pitre can't tackle; but frankly, the role of a 60-year-old woman, past her prime and hiding behind long sleeves and scarves is a bit of a stretch. Add in the disconnect created by the fact that, cast as the New York-born and bred Gingey, Pitre has not been encouraged to even attempt New York speech, which further weighs her down.
Which leads to another niggling concern. Not surprisingly -- considering its off-Broadway pedigree -- this is a very New York-centric piece. But all of these talented actors have strong (and treasured) roots in Canada -- and save for a single reference to the Habs and another to a local mall, there is absolutely no attempt to recognize their roots. It's an evening of theatre that tells more than a few universal truths -- so how tough might it have been to make a few of the stories a little more universal too?
Just asking.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
DANCE NEWS: Blissful pas de deux
21 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Heather Ogden and Guillaume Côté, principal dancers with the National Ballet of Canada, pose after their wedding at the Toronto Hunt Club. The two popular dancers were married Friday. The bride is a native of British Columbia while the groom grew up in Quebec. After dancing the night away, the newlyweds - the fifth married couple in the company - and their guests enjoyed a late-night snack of poutine, a fitting and fattening nod to the groom's Quebecois heritage.
THEATRE NEWS: Stratford Fest finds a Will
20 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
The 2010 season of the Stratford Festival isn't completely out from under its wraps yet, but organizers are already tinkering with the Fest's 2011 season. In an announcement late Monday, a 12th play was added to the previously announced 2011 season.
It will be a reprise of Vern Thiessen's SHAKESPEARE'S WILL, which introduces audiences to Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's widow, immediately following the celebrated playwright's death.
The new production, which will be directed by Miles Potter and star Seana McKenna, is slated to play the Studio Theatre, where it played in an earlier run in 2007.
20 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
The 2010 season of the Stratford Festival isn't completely out from under its wraps yet, but organizers are already tinkering with the Fest's 2011 season. In an announcement late Monday, a 12th play was added to the previously announced 2011 season.
It will be a reprise of Vern Thiessen's SHAKESPEARE'S WILL, which introduces audiences to Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's widow, immediately following the celebrated playwright's death.
The new production, which will be directed by Miles Potter and star Seana McKenna, is slated to play the Studio Theatre, where it played in an earlier run in 2007.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
THEATRE NEWS: SATURDAY NIGHT CABARET
17 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Liza Minnelli can relax, it seems, for it turns out that all Toronto wanted was the chance to come to the cabaret -- and as a result, Albert Schultz seems to have another winner on his hands with the Young Centre's Saturday Night Cabaret series. The line-up for the next two months of the series was announced earlier this week, with John Alcorn kicking things off at 10 p.m. tonight.
In future weeks, look for performances by Heather Bambrick (July 24), Don Francks (July 31), Adi Braun (Aug. 7), Tanika Charles (Aug. 14), Elizabeth Shepherd (Aug. 21), Luis Mario Ochoa (Aug. 28), Mary Lou Fallis (Sept. 11) and Micah Barnes (Sept. 18).
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased either at the door or by calling 416-866-8666.
17 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Liza Minnelli can relax, it seems, for it turns out that all Toronto wanted was the chance to come to the cabaret -- and as a result, Albert Schultz seems to have another winner on his hands with the Young Centre's Saturday Night Cabaret series. The line-up for the next two months of the series was announced earlier this week, with John Alcorn kicking things off at 10 p.m. tonight.
In future weeks, look for performances by Heather Bambrick (July 24), Don Francks (July 31), Adi Braun (Aug. 7), Tanika Charles (Aug. 14), Elizabeth Shepherd (Aug. 21), Luis Mario Ochoa (Aug. 28), Mary Lou Fallis (Sept. 11) and Micah Barnes (Sept. 18).
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased either at the door or by calling 416-866-8666.
THEATRE REVIEW: HALF AN HOUR
16 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE - Whether it's simply as a quick snack or a theatrical hors d'oeuvre, chances are you're going to enjoy the tasty little dish that the Shaw Festival has cooked up as its lunchtime offering this season. Playing on the stage of the Royal George Theatre, where it opened last week, it's a tidy little one act, titled (rather appropriately, it turns out) HALF AN HOUR and it's from the pen of one J.M. Barrie, who is perhaps best remembered for spinning a little story titled PETER PAN.
And once again, Barrie seems to be playing with time, although this time out, it's turning it back that seems to intrigue him -- and not stopping it outright so that little boys never have to grow up.
Reviewed here in preview, HALF AN HOUR opens, circa 1913, when the play debuted, in the posh Park Lane drawing room of the wealthy arriviste Richard Garson, played by Peter Krantz -- and after a delightful demonstration of how to get a show running like clockwork, it quickly degenerates into a slanging match between Garson and his well-born but impoverished wife, Lady Lilian, played by Diana Donnelly. And clearly, it's not their first exchange, for it quickly develops that while Lady Lilian roundly loathes her spouse, he remains unconcerned, convinced that she cannot afford to leave him.
Then it quickly develops that he is wrong as she sets out to show him, fleeing his bed and board for a new life with an exciting adventurer (Gord Rand in a lovely turn), leaving behind only a note and some expensive trinkets her husband has given her. But fate intervenes and her new life disappears under the wheels of the mechanical revolution before it can even begin, forcing her to retrace her steps to try to reclaim her old life, which while loveless, is at least comfortable.
Under the direction of Gina Wilkinson, things get off to a shaky start -- Krantz and Donnelly could use a few lessons in venomous sparring, it seems -- but then stabilizes, thanks as much to strong performances from the principals, supported by Shaw vets like Peter Millard, Michael Ball, Norman Browning and Laurie Paton, all of whom are utterly masterful in small but pivotal roles. The only clanger here comes in the work of Jennifer Dzialoszynski, who gets so tied up delivering the perfect cadences of a lower cast dialect that would be used by her character that one can't understand most of what she is saying.
And finally, for those who enjoy the occasional theatrical peek at how the better class used to live, set designer Tyler Sainsbury offers up some nice work, ably supported by the lighting design of Kirsten Watt.
16 Jul'10
JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE - Whether it's simply as a quick snack or a theatrical hors d'oeuvre, chances are you're going to enjoy the tasty little dish that the Shaw Festival has cooked up as its lunchtime offering this season. Playing on the stage of the Royal George Theatre, where it opened last week, it's a tidy little one act, titled (rather appropriately, it turns out) HALF AN HOUR and it's from the pen of one J.M. Barrie, who is perhaps best remembered for spinning a little story titled PETER PAN.
And once again, Barrie seems to be playing with time, although this time out, it's turning it back that seems to intrigue him -- and not stopping it outright so that little boys never have to grow up.
Reviewed here in preview, HALF AN HOUR opens, circa 1913, when the play debuted, in the posh Park Lane drawing room of the wealthy arriviste Richard Garson, played by Peter Krantz -- and after a delightful demonstration of how to get a show running like clockwork, it quickly degenerates into a slanging match between Garson and his well-born but impoverished wife, Lady Lilian, played by Diana Donnelly. And clearly, it's not their first exchange, for it quickly develops that while Lady Lilian roundly loathes her spouse, he remains unconcerned, convinced that she cannot afford to leave him.
Then it quickly develops that he is wrong as she sets out to show him, fleeing his bed and board for a new life with an exciting adventurer (Gord Rand in a lovely turn), leaving behind only a note and some expensive trinkets her husband has given her. But fate intervenes and her new life disappears under the wheels of the mechanical revolution before it can even begin, forcing her to retrace her steps to try to reclaim her old life, which while loveless, is at least comfortable.
Under the direction of Gina Wilkinson, things get off to a shaky start -- Krantz and Donnelly could use a few lessons in venomous sparring, it seems -- but then stabilizes, thanks as much to strong performances from the principals, supported by Shaw vets like Peter Millard, Michael Ball, Norman Browning and Laurie Paton, all of whom are utterly masterful in small but pivotal roles. The only clanger here comes in the work of Jennifer Dzialoszynski, who gets so tied up delivering the perfect cadences of a lower cast dialect that would be used by her character that one can't understand most of what she is saying.
And finally, for those who enjoy the occasional theatrical peek at how the better class used to live, set designer Tyler Sainsbury offers up some nice work, ably supported by the lighting design of Kirsten Watt.
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