I Love You Because by Toronto’s Angelwalk Theatre is a romantic comedy treat based on Pride and Prejudice
As soon as I took my seat and glanced at the program, I knew I was in for a good time. I was immediately excited to discover that both Jeff Maden and Gabi Epstein were in I Love You Because, two wonderful actors who I’d previously seen in Dani Girl. I Love You Because lived up to my expectations and completely surpassed them.
Lauded as a modern musical twist on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a book I just couldn’t seem to get through in my first year English class, I Love You Because was bright, hilarious and based on every woman’s dating experiences. This Off-Broadway musical tells the tale of Austin (Jeff Madden), an uptight, conservative, Republican greeting card writer and Marcy (Elena Juatco), a flighty, fun, leave-it-to-fate photographer who find themselves falling in love. Continue reading Review: I Love You Because (Angelwalk Theatre)→
Strangers at a bus stop connect in this Toronto show at Fairview Library Theatre
What would you do if you were stuck in a diner with seven other strangers? Having taken many Greyhound trips, I found myself wondering what I would do as I watched Bus Stop. This quirky play tells the story of eight strangers in Kansas City who are stuck in a diner because of a snow storm. The uncleared roads make it impossible for the bus they were traveling on to continue on its way, forcing them to seek refuge in a small town diner with its owner, waitress and town sheriff. Continue reading Review: Bus Stop (Stage Centre Productions)→
Harbourfront World Stage’s Entity is a wonderful dance piece examining kinesthetic intelligence
New to the world of dance, I didn’t know what to expect going into Wayne McGregor’s Entity. Running 60 minutes long, with no intermission, Entity was a completely enjoyable production that featured many talented dancers and beautiful choreography.
Taptoo commemorates the bicentennial War of 1812 at Toronto’s Jane Mallett Theatre
Taptoo! is an operetta that is set around the War of 1812 and explores the founding of Upper Canada and Toronto. The short run of Taptoo! at the Jane Mallett Theatre is the professional world premiere of the play and the opening night even featured an appearance (and speech) from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David C. Onley, O. ONT.
The music was composed by John Beckwith, while the libretto was written by James Reaney. Perhaps the most interesting part of the script was that Reaney managed to include verbatim quotations from the journals of Major John Graves Simcoe and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Simcoe. He also included quotations from a drumming manual of the time which was fitting because the main character of the play, Seth, was a drummer boy for American rebels and British troops. Beckwith
incorporated several 18th century musical pieces into the operetta, including the crowd-favourite “Yankee Doodle”, which I thought was a nice touch.
Dani Girl written by hot New York playwrights plays at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille
Written by Christopher Dimond and Michael Kooman, a duo who has been dubbed some of the hottest up-and-coming writers in New York, Dani Girl tells the story of a nine year old girl battling leukemia. It is set entirely in a hospital, and in Dani’s imagination (played by Gabi Epstein), as she struggles to understand cancer and overcome the disease. While in the hospital, she meets and befriends Marty, a young boy played by Jonathan Logan, who Dani likes to refer to solely as Meriwether. A fact which she learns from snatching up his hospital chart like any nine-year-old would do when curious and impatient for information. Continue reading Review: Dani Girl (Talk Is Free Theatre and Show One Productions)→
I Love You Because by Toronto’s Angelwalk Theatre is a romantic comedy treat based on Pride and Prejudice
