The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a sensational ensemble as a whole. Though its population (and, notably, its audience) is ageing, the vibrancy of music director Peter Oundjian’s baton keeps them at a performance level on par with their technical achievements. In the early February concert series featuring Beethovan’s Emperor Concerto and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, […]
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A new company has journeyed to Boston to make its new home with a daring production of the provocative play Some Explicit Polaroids written by British playwright Mark Ravenhill. The Brown Box Theatre Project features local Boston actors with a mix of Boston and New York City designers and, with this show, makes a stark […]
I’ve often praised the Netflix/Hulu stumble upon. It’s one of the greatest parts about streaming video, the ability to happen upon strange, offbeat, foreign or forgotten gems when browsing through one’s Netflix queue/hulu home page. So here’s the latest installment of my two part series, Better Know a British Sitcom. Spy, the shortly-named Sky-1 tv […]
Futureproof is a messy, utterly debauched ride into a 90’s drug-ridden hell. And we’re not talking Baz-Luhrmann-Moulin–Rouge-opulent debauchery. This is grunge flavored—everything is dirty, scummy, gray, wearing ripped black tee shirts and dirty flannel, and sort of feels like a cop-less episode of SVU. In a word: gritty. It’s fast paced, witty, and conversational—the narrator […]
Neil Bartram and Brian Hill are the award-winning composers of multiple musical theatre hits including Broadway’s The Story of My Life (nominated for 4 Drama Desk Awards). Acclaimed directors and actors who’ve worked on international hits like The Lion King , The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and The Little Mermaid (Brian Hill) and received prestigious grants such as the Jonathan Larson Foundation Award […]
Last week the CBC premiered a new web series by previewing it on good ole fashioned television. The pilot of Ben’s City sets up a wacky world full of conventional characters who live at a wonderfully refreshing pace. The dialogue is lightning fast , a style that is more than uncommon in animation and notably […]
Wanderlust, the new David Wain (Stella, Wet Hot American Summer) comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, is a deeply funny movie, with laughs that run the gamut from the shocked “Oh Shit!” style laughter to the character-based chuckle. Unfortunately, despite its producer pedigree in the form of one Mr. Judd Apatow, it’s also a […]
There’s a reason The Who’s Tommy is called the original rock opera and not a great rock opera- it kind of stinks. The music is cool enough- I don’t think it calls for the rock-and-roll glorification older generations insist on, but that might just be my stubbornly square 20-something self talking-, but the story and storytelling are […]