Ranking: #4 After I read late Stratford artistic director Richard Monette’s beautiful memoir This Rough Magic, I couldn’t wait to buy a copy of the play that made him famous. But when I finally got to read great Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay’s groundbreaking 2-man play Hosanna, I was surprised by how much I didn’t like […]
Ranking: #5 Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath is incredibly demanding. With no fewer than 61 characters (not including “Travellers, Guards, Strikers, Citizens and Hoopermen”), an on-stage river, a rainstorm, ever-changing locales and a moving vehicle of remarkable size, it’s a wonder that any company would consider attempting a production. But if […]
Jesus Christ Superstar is inarguably the biggest hit The Stratford Festival has had in years. But that was fairly predictable. Current Artistic Director Des McAnuff is, at heart, a rock musical man and he’d been dreaming of JCS for quite some time. After the arrival of Josh Young in last year’s Evita and with the […]
Ranking: #7 Take a look at that promotional photo- doesn’t that look like a kickass Richard III? Unfussily sexually ambiguous, surrounded by attack dogs and draped cockily on a throne that’s not hers- I really think that should have been Seana McKenna’s Richard III. I mean look at those boots! Who needs a penis when […]
Ranking: #9 The Merry Wives of Windsor is not a particularly great play on its own merits. It’s a silly “one more time, just for the financial benefit” retreading of beloved characters from superior plays (most notably, Henry IV’s breakout star Falstaff). It can be amusing, I would imagine, if staged innovatively with the unhelpfully […]
Ranking: #10 Set designer John Lee Beatty hits The Misanthrope out of the park. As does costume designer Robin Fraser Paye. But there’s a reason the aesthetics and design teams are the standouts in this production- it’s a superficial one. Moliere’s brilliant script is in predictably fine form with the superb English translation by Richard […]
Ranking: #11 Alright, Pinter is not my thing. In fact, he is so far from my taste that I found myself getting progressively annoyed at his characters and their seeming inability to make a decent decision about their lives. I have a tendency to not think nutso people are interesting or metaphorical, I usually just […]
I think it’s delightful when I can just enjoy theatre; it doesn’t happen often that I can sit back with a glass of Pinot Grigio and appreciate a play like a good sitcom. Sugar Cereal Productions’ launch and world-premiere of Girl Hopping was such a night. Housed in the infamous Club Oberon, Girl Hopping is a sweet, tarty […]