The term “jukebox musical” is used to describe two completely different types of productions. It’s a general label thrown onto anything that uses pre-existing songs instead of original music and is thus very often misapplied to biographical musical plays like Jersey Boys or Beautiful where all the music is diegetic. In this context, I completely […]
Set in Duluth, Minnesota in winter 1934, Girl from the North Country is not a typical musical. Understated and thoughtful, this Depression-era drama does not conform to what people might expect from a West End and soon to be Broadway hit. Instead of attempting to blow you away, the production quietly pulls at your heart […]
I came out of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical with a smile on my face. Seeing a musical is always a night full of fun and passion, and this show provides the audience with no less. There were flashing lights, impressive costume changes, and an evening of music we all know and love. However, despite […]
It’s very easy to understand how Jersey Boys has been such a big hit with audiences around the world. Combining the feel-good hits of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons with the lively story of how it all came together, the show really puts other jukebox musicals to shame. Now in its 13th touring season, […]
Carole King is a worthy musical heroine, an artist of prodigious talent and notable personality, and book writer Douglas McGrath has crafted her life story into a dramatically compelling piece that is, if we’re being picky, really a play with lots of music more than a musical (with one tiny little exception, everyone is singing […]
Toronto Theatre is killing it so far in 2016. Here’s the lowdown on the latest, starting with the best. Mustard (Tarragon Theatre) The first non-indie offering from indie Toronto’s most prolific mainstay is a great introduction for the many unfortunate individuals who have managed to make it this far without seeing a Kat Sandler play. […]
Katy Perry’s music is very theatrical and generally rooted in storytelling, two qualities that pretty much guarantee that one day we will see her songbook turned into a Broadway show. That Broadway show will be a commercial blockbuster production and she will be paid millions of dollars for the rights to the hit songs around […]