Once upon a time, Brian went to see a fringe theatre production on a rainy Saturday; he was tired and grumpy. He was four shows into a long stretch of reviewing, and he just wanted to sleep. However, Imaginary beasts delights, surprises, and thrills with their 2014 Annual Winter Panto, Rumplestiltskin, or All That Glitters. […]
As You Like It is my absolute favourite Shakespearean comedy. It’s both sweepingly romantic and wryly realistic about love and marriage. It’s fantastically witty but also deeply melancholy. It has as much to say about friendship as it does about romance. It’s philosophical, fun, touching and generally a pretty easy slam dunk of a show. […]
The Lyric Stage Company’s production of Working did not make my “Must See – January.” That was my mistake. I omitted it from the list because: a) none of the actors jumped out at me by name (though Ilyse Robbins, the director, certainly did – See 2013 My Theatre Award Nominees: Boston); b) the musical […]
I was pleasantly surprised to find a new Shakespeare play to enjoy on a chilly December night. Actors’ Shakespeare Project tackles the rarely-produced Henry VIII by the famous bard. This play is one of his later plays but without much of the memorable depth of King Lear or Winter’s Tale. In fact, I was surprised […]
I believe that one point of theatre is to recognize the power of discussion and the poignancy of learning from watching others. Such discourse allows communities to react with knowledge, motivation, and purpose. To that end, Zeitgeist Stage Company performed a smart and heart-wrenching production of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart. Helmed by veteran director […]
The author of the new play Two Alone/Too Together, being performed at Theatre for the New City, warns audiences that his play is “strange” and pushes the boundaries of reality. He would be right. Peter Welch’s play is unsettling, and the uncertainties around his characters, their backstories, and their motivations challenge the notion that a […]
Rob van Meenen’s Repetitive Strain Injury chronicles the meeting and relationships of five young(ish) strangers. In Act One, Julie and David are preparing for their wedding. David’s best man and womanizer Guy has a fling with Candace, whom he picks up at a bar. And Julie meets Pia, a sage-like telemarketer, over the phone. And then […]
Theatre Columbus’s Weather the Weather or how we make it home together is a good-natured evening full of holiday spirit in the Brickworks. This uniquely Canadian story of homecoming and magic is served cold and garnished with exaggerated, amusing performances across the board. The audience spends the duration of the play following the action around […]