This is a very weird year in Stratford because most of the really good productions are musicals. North America’s most prominent Shakespeare company usually does fine musicals and great Shakespeare, but Pirates of Penzance and Wanderlust are two of the only highlights of this season (Charlie Brown is good, but not a standout). I was […]
Fox’s extra Tuesday comedy is fine. It’s cute, it’s good for the occasional chuckle and sympathetic quirk. But that’s about it. The reason I call Ben & Kate Fox’s “extra” Tuesday comedy is that it’s programmed alongside New Girl, The Mindy Project and Raising Hope in what I think is the strongest comedy block on […]
First a story: My dad doesn’t like Charlie Brown; he finds him depressing, and this is an argument we have every December when it’s time to pull out the old tape of Christmas specials. I love Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts world (especially Lucy!). If I had to pick a Christmas special to call […]
Death of a Salesman is exactly the sort of piece that Soulpepper does brilliantly- intimate, personal, actor-driven, and a modern classic. The tight-knit company always fares well with family stories and any time you can cast the first couple of Soulpepper- Joseph Ziegler and Nancy Palk- as the parents at the centre of things, it’s […]
Let’s just start here- I am a Mindy Kaling girl. For awhile I thought I might be a Tina Fey girl- idiosyncrasies, writerly personality, glasses – or a Rosie O’Donnell girl- commanding, opinionated, occasionally funny. But that’s just because I didn’t know about Mindy Kaling. It’s uncanny; I feel like she’s quoting me half the […]
I can’t stop smiling. Really, you’ve got to believe me, no pilot has made me this unexpectedly* gleeful in recent memory. I love Partners. I love it. It’s hilarious and heartfelt and just nostalgic enough to hit that allusive brand of happiness that almost nothing else can. First of all, I love the concept. My […]
Cymbeline is the production I’d been waiting to see in Stratford all season. It’s really good Shakespeare. That’s what Stratford does- really good Shakespeare- and I think it’s telling that most of the really good productions this year aren’t that. There are quite a few good musicals, one decent Shakespeare, and one that’s close to […]
Okay, let’s keep this simple. The New Normal is generally well written- though full of Ryan Murphy hangups and predictability- and has an incredibly charming cast, highlighted by central couple Justin Bartha (as David- a practical, sort of nerdy, endlessly sweet, perfect man) and Andrew Rannells (as his flighty, dramatic, quick-witted partner- Bryan). I was […]