The law is reason, free from passion. Point taken, Aristotle. The law is neither sympathetic nor scornful. Everyone is theoretically equal before the black letter of the law. Philosophy is all well and good, but let’s get real for a second. While the law may be free from passion, humans are anything but. This simple […]
I re-wrote this review three times, which is never a good sign. Do not get me wrong. Sharr White’s new play The Snow Geese is not bad per se, it just left me feeling incredibly nonplussed. Set during the first World War, Snow Geese is a story about adaptation, perception and pretense – it thrusts […]
We all have them. Those books or plays we battled in high school and despised for a plethora of reasons, some legitimate (with all due respect William Faulkner, punctuation is a useful writing tool that you should consider wielding) and some less so (dear Holden Caulfield, please stop being emo, thanks). Do not get me […]
It is a rare treat when a talented cast gets a hold of an engaging play that leaves the audience cracking up one minute and utterly subdued the next. Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews, directed by Daniel Aukin, at the Laura Pels Theatre is a darkly comedic and compelling show about […]
I cannot help but think that Nina Mansfield conceived of Gymnos: A Geek’s Tragedy while hobbling along on an elliptical machine in an over-crowded gym. Do not get me wrong, I am 100% behind my illusionary version of Ms. Mansfield – gyms suck. Gyms are terrible. Whoever thought that communal exercise was a good idea* must […]
The Canadian Opera Company is kicking off their 2013/14 season with a really smart choice. Puccini’s La Bohème is among the world’s most famous operas but it’s also one of its more entertaining. Far from the unrelenting doom and gloom of every other example I can think of (except Gianni Schicchi, that one is a Hoot), […]
Politically charged and culturally relevant plays face a significant hurdle on the revival circuit – historical context. Popular social commentary is ever changing and playwrights that take up causes are, in part, dependent upon their audience knowing the historical and cultural backdrop for their message. Therein lies the problem for the Keen Company’s revival of […]
I am not a public crier. Of the hundreds of movies and theatrical productions that I have seen in my 26 years on this planet, I can count on one hand the number of times that I cried in a theatre. So, you can imagine my bewilderment when I found myself wiping tears away with […]