It’s not the first time I’ve been to The Second City, the greatest school and resource for theatrical comedy out there – the source that delivered SCTV and a slew of amazing Canadian comedic talent to the stage of Saturday Night Live. Th last-minute opportunity to attend their opening night of Live Wrong and Prosper was too great to turn down.
Continue reading Review: Live Wrong and Prosper (The Second City)
The number of stories that can be told about the Holocaust are as many and varied as the number of lives the Holocaust – one of the most horrific events in human history – has touched. One of those many stories lies in the diary of a young Jewish girl as she was taken into hiding with her family desperately hoping to wait out the war. This would be the diary of Anne Frank.
Continue reading Review: The Diary of Anne Frank (Shakespeare in Action)
Accompanying their production of Lucia di Lammermoor, the Toronto Opera Repertoire is also presenting The Merry Widow, a show I was invited to for a matinee showing that I graciously accepted considering how much I enjoyed my first exposure to the TOR. A show as opposite to its counterpart as night is to day, The Merry Widow is a comedic musical gallivant of cheating lovers and the pursuit of greed with a healthy dose of provocative can-can dancers.
Written by Franz Lehár and making its original debut in 1905, The Merry Widow is a story taking place in the imaginary Balkan country of Pontevedro. A newly widowed, Anna Glawari (Jennifer Rasor), has inherited a hefty sum of 20 million francs. The money, being stored in the Pontevedrian national bank, amounts to most of the country’s finances. Should Anna marry a foreigner, the country would go bankrupt! Of course, there is no shortage of Pontevedrian men (of the bachelor and married variety) willing to offer their hand in marriage including Anna’s former flame Prince Danilo Danilovitch (Jay Lambie).
Continue reading Review: The Merry Widow (Toronto Opera Repertoire)
If you’re fascinated by the opera (like I am) but are nervous about a heavy ticket price, not understanding the show and feeling overwhelmed being stuck in a tuxedo, ball gown, opera glasses and stuffy opera crowd (like I have been), then the Toronto Opera Repertoire (TOR) is perfect for you.
Opera – complete with stunning sets, stunning voices, amazing musicianship, costumes and supertitles (projected to the ceiling) combined with the dedication and accessibility of community theatre is what the TOR is all about. Their production of Lucia di Lammermoor playing at the Bickford Centre is a perfect introduction to the world of opera. Continue reading Review: Lucia di Lammermoor (Toronto Opera Repertoire)
Casa Loma makes a perfect setting for Brant Theatre’s re-imagining of DraculaJust in time for Valentine’s Day – a love story that “has crossed oceans of time to find you”, set in no better backdrop than Toronto’s own castle, Casa Loma. It is dark, gothic and eternally beautiful; it is the story of Dracula re-imagined by Sharyl Hudson for Brant Theatre Workshops. Hudson takes the classic Bram Stoker masterpiece and brings it to life utilizing the stunning rooms of the first and second floor of Casa Loma.
Continue reading Review: Dracula: A Love Story (Brant Theatre Workshops)