Adapting a novel for the stage is certainly no easy feat. Sacrifices and changes must be made to slim down what can be a lengthy and detailed narrative into a coherent, streamlined and more visual medium. The risk lies in the impact this conversion can have on the end-product, specifically whether what works on the […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of Fringe Reviews Cam Baby (A) Jessica Moss doesn’t live here anymore; she’s in New York and somehow I’m just now noticing how much I’ve missed her work in the Toronto theatre scene. Moss’ signature style of quick-witted dramedy with personal themes is shared with some of […]
Click Here for our full coverage of the 2015 SummerWorks Festival. The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely (A-) Almost every play that I have seen at Summerworks this year has involved characters and events that transcend whole decades, and sometimes centuries. In An Evening in July, two women seem to be living simultaneously in the early […]
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a wonderfully accessible play, made for adaptations to different times and places with ease. The Hyperion Shakespeare Company and The Office for the Arts at Harvard presented their own adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with some talent and some reckless abandon befitting the play’s mastery. The […]
Technically, I can’t review Boston University Shakespeare Society’s Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare. Former My Theatre (Boston) writer Elizabeth Ramirez directed, and Junior Editor Fabiana Cabral played King Leontes. I have to create boundaries for conflict of interests, and this is one of them. However, read on to hear a bit more about this rarely-produced […]
I can’t appreciate Cloud 9. Playwright Caryl Churchill wears on my patience whenever I see her work performed (though I like reading her plays), and Cloud 9 proved to be a humorous but grating variation on the same pattern. The Boston Conservatory student-actors achieved mixed results, but, overall, the production felt tedious, lacking some of […]
Be sure to check out Part 2, Part 3 and our Full Listing of SummerWorks 2014 reviews. New This Year: The My Theatre Favourite Discount If your Fringe or SummerWorks show scores an A+ or A, you can cash in on that goodwill with a 50% discount on advertising your next show on My Entertainment World. If you scored an A- […]
Legally Blonde: The Musical (music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and book by Heather Hach) is an outstanding piece to feature young, strong female musical theatre performers. Following the novel by Amanda Brown and popular movie by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Pictures, Legally Blonde tells the story of pretty SoCal “It” girl, Elle Woods […]
Ever have one of those college English papers which you can’t seem to write because you’re worried that the professor will judge you for your crazy ideas? What if you just wrote your ideas to him or her in a musical adaptation of the most accessible Shakespeare plays and called it a night? Midsummer Night: […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. We’ve been covering director Ted Witzel and his indie company The Red Light District since My Theatre first started in 2010. He’s created some of Toronto’s most memorable avant-garde productions, pushing the boundaries of our comfort zones […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. In the RESISTIBLE rise of arturo UI, a Best Ensemble-nominated group of recent theatre school grads came together to bring a piece of their York University education to the Toronto independent theatre scene. Pairing up with Ted Witzel‘s boundary-pushing Red Light […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2013 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. In the RESISTIBLE rise of arturo UI, a Best Ensemble-nominated group of recent theatre school grads came together to bring a piece of their York University education to the Toronto independent theatre scene. Pairing up with director Ted Witzel‘s […]
Boston College’s Theatre Department workshop production of Circle Mirror Transformation, directed by Maggie Kearnan, marks the beginning of my Annie Baker weekend (next up: Company One’s production of The Flick, at the Modern Theatre of Suffolk University). Friday night found me back at the Bonn Studio at BC, and I found it hard to believe […]
Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play Arcadia has been called one of the finest plays by a contemporary playwright; I would have to agree. The play offers a juxtaposition between a turn-of-the-nineteenth-century country house and the present day. The characters have delightful interplay through the props and general atmosphere in the English country house, Sidley Park. This […]
Paradoxically, an impressive and professionally staged university theater production often receives a harsher critical glare. When indulgent excuses need not be made for technical mistakes, missed cues, or flubbed lines, almost the entire critical focus shifts to the actors’ skills and the directorial choices made regarding the performances themselves. Boston College’s workshop production of The […]
When I first spoke to Red Light District Artistic Director Ted Witzel in preparation for his 2010 production of Woyzeck, three things stood out to me. The first was his obvious intelligence and sense of artistic adventure- he’s a jumble of 8-syllable words and avant-garde German theatrical philosophy. The second was a heightened social conscience- […]
As America’s economy begins to slowly emerge from a painful recession, who isn’t in the mood for some lighthearted musical numbers about sailing into administrative success on waves of charisma, luck, and savvy fix-the-system know-how? Boston University on Broadway (BU on Broadway) provided some musical fun with their November production of How to Succeed in […]
I was honored and blessed to review a senior project a few weekends ago at Brandeis University. tick, tick . . . BOOM! is not an uncommon choice for a senior theatre project or thesis; Jackie Theoharis makes her senior project uncommon by focusing on the character Susan in unique and interesting ways. Aided by […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2012 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. In As You Like It‘s oft-overlooked but crucial role of Celia, Siobhan O’Malley was in a class of her own amidst The UC Follies with her bright and charming Shakespeare-in-the-Park performance. The Best Student Actress nominee cheerfully […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2012 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. The sweet-voiced standout of No Strings Theatre’s 2012 production, Michael Spiroff’s rendition of “I Miss the Music” (the best number in Curtains by far) captured the audience’s hearts. One of our Best Student Actor nominees this year, Michael took […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2012 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. The highlight of Theatre Sheridan’s Rent, Joel Gomez lent the iconic role of Mark new details and a uniquely beautiful voice, scoring him a Best Student Actor nod in this year’s My Theatre Awards. The sweet and candid singer/songwriter […]
Toronto is one of the greatest theatrical cities in the world and this winter I’ve seen a smattering of productions that prove that across style, medium, budget, and venue. Here’s a sampling of some of the standout eclectic work from recent weeks: The Student Show: A friend of mine invited me this past weekend to York […]
It is not that often we get to see realism on stage anymore. Even more rare: three hour productions. Do people even have that sort of attention span these days? Lucky thing for intermissions. At least in opera you have the chance of being taken on a musical journey. But this is three hours – […]
Look, I find some of what Rent teaches suspect, because I’m used to relying on intellect (and intellect says that investing in junkies, strippers, squatters and ATM RobinHood-ers isn’t necessarily wise), but I try to open up to what I don’t know*. I’m a twenty-something goodie-two-shoes who has never once not been able to pay […]
Boston Conservatory (BoCo) has always held a special place in my heart. Factory Girls was one of my first reviews for this site just under a year ago. I have gone to see a few BoCo shows since then and I’ve been consistently impressed with the quality of work produced, from the singing, to the […]
Last weekend, Boston University Stage Troupe succeeded in thrilling its audience with In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play directed by Melissa D’Anna. I’ll mention before I go into my impressions, that I had never seen or read the play before, so I was unsure of what to expect. The very first thing I […]