Category Archives: Theatre Reivews

Stratford – Canada’s Go to Theatre Experience – The Festival Stage


9 Plays in 5 days – really? Am I nuts? I guess the answer must be the obvious yes – but somehow it didn’t seem nuts to plan one trip to Stratford – and while there see as many plays as I possibly could.

And probably it’s only at Stratford, the repertory theatre par excellence of Canada, that one can squeeze in that many plays without worrying about conflicts and travel times. All the 4 venues are within easy walking distance of each other, and all performances start at 2:00 or 8:00. Since much of the staff performs in multiple plays – they need time to get to the next gig – just like the audience does.

I’m not going to review all 9 plays in one super blog – My plan is to break up the plays by Theatre – starting with the Grande Dame – The Festival Stage. It’s huge, it’s famous, the acoustic are awesome, the staging reliably stunning, and of course the acting is superb. So picking winners is a bit like choosing between grand-kids. You kinda love them all! But that said – here goes nothing.

My favorites of the 3 we saw on the main ‘Festival’ stage was a toss-up between the absolutely brilliant Fiddler on the Roof – excellent in its ability to convey the conflicts, the joys, the troubles of the fiddler in top-notch fashion. Great singers, solid convincing acting, a lovely set that was inspired by the art of Marc Chagall combine to get and keep the audience enthralled. No wonder good seats are hard to get. This is a production worth seeing.

My second favorite – and it was a close call thing – was the outstanding production of the Merchant of Venice. The actor playing Shylock also plays Tevye – which quickly tells you a lot about his range and capabilities. He was quite literally mind-blowing in both roles, in such hugely different ways. For those who don’t know – and apparently some of these people were in the audience – the Merchant is one of Shakespeare’s toughest plays. Today no one likes to watch people callously making fun and then physically and verbally degrading another person – regardless of why that person is ‘different’. And at the end of the highly dramatic and very emotional court scene – Shylock lies degraded and abused on the very front of the stage. It is a highly charged moment – made more so by an audience member who choose that point to stand up – throw his program to the ground and state clearly enough so everyone could hear – “This is the most antisemitic thing I’ve ever seen”.

True – and my husband argued afterwards that the director had perhaps taken the text a bit too far by placing the play in Fascist Italy just before World War II. The presence on stage of ‘brown shirts’ did little to make the audience feel better about the behavior of the main characters, and even the color-blind casting doesn’t quite make us forget that in the Merchant – what is objectionable behavior today was very acceptable when the play was written. But topic aside – the production is outstanding. Just go prepared.

Shrek vs Young Frankenstein – a Tale of 2 Summer Stock Musicals


What possess people to take a movie – even a hit movie – and transform it into a Musical? Imagine the conversation – “Well, we made millions on the movie – surely people will pay big bucks to see the same story with some dumb music added, right?” Aren’t they a bit embarrassed? Particularly if the ‘Musical’ flops?

I’m guessing that the lure of more money is simply irresistable and drowns out the voice of common sense.

Of course – I paid to see the both musicals. So what does that make me? Dumb and Dumber?

But having promised honest reviews – here goes.

The 2 ‘Musicals’ in question were Young Frankenstein – The ‘Musical’, and Shrek – The ‘Musical’. Both movies should be pretty familiar to all my readers – but if you don’t know the stories – or haven’t seen either lately – I suggest watching them again before reading further. They are both outstanding movies – fast paced and extremely funny. ‘Walk This Way’, ‘Roll in the Hay’, and ‘Put the Candle Back’ – even without the accents – always make me smile. And I can’t think of Donkey without getting a giggle started.

So I was pretty up to see these performances. Young Frank was put on at the Ogunquit Playhouse, a professional summer theatre house in Maine that takes it’s self very seriously, even while doing musicals like ‘Guys and Dolls’ or ‘The Music Man’. They hire professional actors, the sets are well-built, the performers properly miked for sound, the hall is air-conditioned, and the price is high without being silly – it is ‘Summer Stock’ after all.

Shrek on the other hand was produced by the Arundel Barn Playhouse – also ‘professional’, but on the – first job – level. The sets were simpler than those at the Ogunquit Playhouse, but still complex – the Dragon was a seriously top-notch piece of stage craft, but the performers weren’t miked, the theatre isn’t air-conditioned, and the seats appear to be recycled from a theatre in the 1930s – hard and a bit uncomfortable. But they weren’t afraid to charge – Tickets for adults were $40 each – pricy for basically university graduates.

So for comfort, production values, and performer quality – the Ogunquit is the clear winner.

Unfortunately – Young Frank is the decidedly poorer musical. What Mel Brooks did was to take the movie – leave in all the gags, including Frau Blucher – cue horses, and add very forgettable music. The highlight was easily ‘Putting on the Ritz’ – which they seriously expanded into a complete performance number which including having the Monster climb out of a cake. Another musical number, this one at least written for the musical and not too bad – was the rather adorable piece called ‘Join the Family Business’ which featured multiple doctors and nurses trying to convince Young Frankenstein to – well – join the family business. It ends with him crying ‘Destiny, Destiny’ of course. But all in all – the music is completely forgettable, you won’t remember a single tune after you leave, and there’s quite a bit of over-the-top sexually specific slapstick that I found frankly embarrassing. I didn’t poll my seat mates, but listening in to conversations as we left make me think that my family wasn’t alone in thinking that we’d been hood-winked into paying a lot of money to see a movie that we could get cheap on net flicks.

Shrek – The Musical was very different. In this case – a lot of effort had gone into making the story more interesting through the use of the musical numbers. ‘I know it’s Today’ tells the history of Princess Fiona – growing up unloved in her castle tower, while ‘Freak Flag’ encourages Sherk to be proud of who and what he is. My personal favorite was ‘What’s Up Duloc?’, which starts with the song from the movie – and segways into a marvelous explanation of just how bad a ruler Lord Farquaad has turned out to be. Another charmer is the contest song between Sherk and Fiona – both determined that their lives have been the hardest – and summarized for the audience in ‘I think I Got You Beat’. And having Lord Farquaad placed by a very tall and thin young man on his knees, but wearing short ‘legs’ was a delightful visual treat.

But Shrek, for all the lovely music, had issues too, mostly related to the production. By far the worst problem could have been solved by giving Shrek a mike. He was impossible to hear – and hard to understand if you could hear him. And we were in the third row. He was not alone in the ‘I can’t hear you’ department either. The gal that sang the Dragon had to stand at the back of the stage because of her ‘costume’ – and her voice seemed to go up into the fly – not out into the audience. Bummer that – from what we could hear, she had a fabulous set of pipes. Arundel Playhouse – invest in mikes for the performers. Please?

So – two should have been good but weren’t – theatre performances. I’ll go back to the Oqunquit Playhouse next summer – hoping for a better pick of productions – but I’m not keen to try the Arundel Barn Playhouse again. Uncomfortable seats and inaudible performers just ruins even the best musical.

Oh well – if you never go, you never know!

Where you sit makes all the difference!


Where you sit makes all the difference!

A man on a chair that towers over the heads of all around him has a different perspective on life – and “Chairs, a Parable”, the new play by Sebastien Archibald takes a radical approach to the idea of perspective.

The play starts simply enough – 3 guys are sitting on the floor – all equals, all sharing in the tasks and experiences that have gone before – and lie ahead. A shadow play behind them shows the passage of time – and evantually becomes a window on the world outside of the theatre stage.

Drawing heavily on works by Pinter – and with the occasional nod to Theatre of the Absurd, the actors in “Chairs” craftily draw the audience into their world view.

Once the first chair – with it’s drastic change in perception – comes on stage – the relationships between the 3 characters begins to change – in increasingly radical ways. At first it’s 2 on the floor against the one with the chair. But eventually it dawns on the 2 that they could build a 2nd chair, slightly shorter than the first one. But it isn’t clear which of them should get the ‘seat’.

Eventually, one is ‘promoted’, and now you have a ‘superior’, a ‘supervisor’ and a worker. The character in the middle position twists and turns trying to see the world from both sides – sometimes successfully – sometimes with very discouraging results.

To describe the play as facsinating would be an understatement. But it’s not just well performed, it asks important questions in a very approachable way. Throughout the whole play I kept thinking about how I look at life – am I guilty of looking at the world only from my point of view? I suspect that most of us do that without realizing it – so isn’t intriguing to watch a play that through the approachable conceit of chairs exposes our inability to recognize our own blinders.

“Chairs, A parable” being performed twice more here in Montreal – on Saturday June 22, 2013 and Sunday June 23, 2014. Make an effort to see it – you will not be disappointed.

Fringe at it’s Best – Alex Cross and his Rise to Fame


Going to Fringe is always a bit of a risk – particularly because the shows at the Montreal Fringe are not picked by a jury – they are pulled out of hats. So many out of the hat for Canadian productions, so many from the hat for English Productions, so many from the hat for French Productions, so many from the hat for Foreign Productions – you get the idea.

So how does a Fringe goer with limited time pick and choose from over 90 productions? There are tons of different methods. Some people go to a specific production because they know someone in the piece. Some people go because they read a review. Some people go because they heard good things from other Fringe goers. But I go because I like the location – and it fits my time slots!

Not perhaps the most scientific of methods, and I will admit to occasionally going based on Fringe goer reviewers, but I’ve rarely been disappointed. The Intrepid Traveler thinks that perhaps I’m too easy to please – but I think I just pick well!

In any case – I do like Mainline – it’s got lots of room for the performers – less room for the audience, and lousy toilets. But the sound quality is good, and the chairs are quite comfy. So – after being tossed out of 2 for Tea (so they were sold out – surely 3 ladies could have squeezed in) – I said – hey – Alex Cross – it’s at my favorite Theatre. So we hiked over, bought tickets and settled in.

The story of Alex Cross summarized in the play-bill – “A talentless loser’s drive for fame leads him to making a deal with the devil for his soul. Join Alex’s journey during his rise to fame until he learns the truth from a conspiracy theorist who attempts to expose the hidden satanic agenda behind the music industry.”

What they don’t tell you is how well the story is going to be told. There are 11 performers on stage – in addition to Alex, the Devil, and Gavin, the Conspiracy Theorist, there’s dancers that perform when Alex is on stage as back-up, there are women who act as the Devil’s handmaidens – dressed in extremely revealing fashion of course, there’s the ultimate bad guy Baphomet – and there’s a narrator. So lots to watch and see and enjoy.

The acting was good by Fringe standards – and ranged to excellent in the surprising cases of the Devil (straight-faced business man with an evil streak) and the Conspiracy Theorist. He’s so good that when he does his excellent speel to Alex on how the Devil is taking over the music industry – the audience applauded. So he bows – and then comments shamefaced to Alex – I often pretend that there is applause right there.

Too funny, too well done, and great Entertainment.

And they end the story in 3 different ways! I have no idea what endings 2 and 3 are – because we saw ending 1.

“Eating Pomegranates Naked” – Great Title – Wonderful piece of Theatre


The Black Theatre Workshop – also known as Theatre BTW for obvious reasons – traditionally offers a Discovery Series Performance – a one night a year in the spring ‘reading’ of a new play by an Afro-Canadian playwright. I’ve attended at least 3 of these – and found them consistently entertaining. They are always held in the cafe of the MAI building on Jeanne-Mance – a stone’s throw from McGill and St. Laurent.

I was quite thrilled to be attending another one of BTW’s public readings on April 15th. I was a bit concerned about the title – “Eating Pomegranates Naked” – but I will admit to being hard pressed to explain the title after having ‘heard’ the play. Perhaps I should have gotten up my courage and asked why “Pomegranates” and why “Naked” during the Q&A after the performance.

How does a ‘reading’ differ from a play I hear you mutter? Well, a reading – at least as interpreted by the folks at BTW – means limited reversal time, no need to memorize, no sets, no costumes, and an ‘up to the performer’ attitude towards the amount of ‘drama’. All this said – these are talented performers – and they aren’t going to just stand up there and read. Nope – these performances are very ‘theatrical’, which means that the lack of costumes and props focuses your attention on the facial expressions and nuances in the voices of the performers. The result is an intriguing performance blending low-tech with high drama.

The action starts at a dinner party thrown by 2 of the characters – and through their conversations, and through brief glimpses of their lives as couples and friends, throws a spot light on one of the key concerns of this group of 30 somethings – Having Children. To have or not to have – that is the key question, along with the complimentary concern – Can and Should you have children. Having listened to my kids explore exactly these same concerns – while slightly different in some of the details, I can feel for the conflict that the thoughts of children raise.

For one couple – the revealing discover that one of them can never parent a child is devastating, to another couple a series of mis-carriages has changed the meaning of parenthood completely, and to a third, the impossibility of finding a mate in order to have children has become emotionally overwhelming. As pairs of characters regroup to engage is one revealing conversation after another, their ‘woe’s’ mount up to insurmountable heights.

Fascinating.

Obviously – it is too late for you to hear the reading – it’s done. But the play is being produced as part of Toronto’s SummerWorks festival – and I suspect will end up on stage here in Montreal before long. Keep your eye’s peeled.

But more importantly – make it a promise to go to the next in the Discovery Series – sometime in April 2014. It’s a lot of fun – it’s generally well advertised – and if you visit the BTW website – you can even sign up to be notified by email.

http:www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca

Dawson strikes out with “The Chorus of Disapproval”


I generally enjoy the productions at Dawson – it’s a very comfy theatre with good sight lines and clean toilets (yes – I have a fixation – what can I say. Grannies need toilets – and we prefer clean ones). But this time I was very disappointed.

First the facts – this production – unlike many of the Dawson presentations – features a huge cast (I counted 20 performers on stage at one time), and runs until April 27th. So you too can get tickets and be bored. And for Dawson – the tickets are pricy. $12 each is not a fortune, but it’s a waste if the production doesn’t keep you interested. My husband walked out at intermission – along with the couple sitting to our left. I stayed for the whole thing – and was glad I did – it did improve in the 2nd half.

My favorite piece – the bar room fight scene. Not completely believable – but pretty darn good I’ll tell you. They threw punches, rolled on the floor, and even got pulled apart by the other cast members. Nicely done.

I won’t bore you with the story, but I will explain what I think went wrong. Like “Trad” and “Cornered” – this is a British play – and the young actors were directed to use british accents. That’s ok – if they do it well. But I think they found getting the accents right so challenging that they forgot they had to act as well. The result – amateur acting and difficult to understand speech. How silly is that. Had they just been directed to forget about trying to be ‘british’ – their acting skills would have carried the day. Oh well.

Always looking for something good to say – I must tell you that aside from the fight scene, the musical parts were by far the highlights. The cast mostly forgot about faking the accents when singing – and the results were a great deal more pleasant to watch and a lot easier to understand.

The house was relatively full – and based on the applause, and extremely loud laughter from the gentleman to our rear – either friends or family of the players. As it was Opening Night – they served fruit, cheese, crackers and wine after the play. I’m sure they meant it to be a treat – I thought it was a way of rewarding you for sitting through the entire disaster.

Dawson – I know you know that you can do so much better.

Closer – Not for kiddies – but so very good


Saw a fantastic piece of Theatre at Mainline last night – and best of all – it’s on until the 27th of April. Plenty of time to get tickets. And you definitely want to see this one.

http://www.mainlinetheatre.ca/en/spectacles/closer

I generally enjoy the productions that happen at Mainline. Put on by tiny, yet professional companies that have a creative itch they must scratch – the plays are interesting, well rehearsed, and well produced. “Closer” (as in getting closer) is no exception. The story line – that of 4 people (2 men, 2 women) who meet, become lovers, find out information about each other that disappoints, and try again – is intensely disturbing, profoundly interestingly, well-presented and very well performed.

There’s a scene of an on-line ‘date’ that is extremely funny – particularly for the older generation (like me!). Karine Kerr – who plays the part of the stripper Alice – is strikingly beautiful, and while she never strips completely, she does strike the pose – and hold it extremely convincingly. I also found the 2 men very appealing, Alex Gravenstein is so attractively scruffy as Dr. Larry it’s hard not to want to reach out and ruffle his curly hair.

My complaints are very minor – I dearly wish that the ‘professional’ photographer had used a more appropriate camera. The one she uses is a joke – and for anyone with knowledge of photography, very distracting. No professional would use a camera like that, finding one that fit the role better surely wasn’t that hard. And I was rather alarmed at the very distinct lack of audience. I’ve never ever seen Mainline so empty – granted it was only the 2nd night, but still. This is a very good play – why weren’t there more people there to enjoy it?

And I have one caution – the topic revolves around sex – and while you don’t ‘see’ any – there are lots of pretty descriptive sections. So don’t bring your pruddish cap – come open-minded and you will truly enjoy yourself.

National Theatre school rocks Opera – Such a treat


Ok – first things first – if you want to catch this event – you must move quickly. Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief” and “Amal and the Night Visitors” are only being performed twice more this year – once on Thursday (4/18/2013) and once on Saturday (04/20/2013).

http://www.operademontreal.com/en/shows/season-2012-2013/visitors

And I checked – there are still seats available, and they are well under $50 each. Which for opera at this level of expertise is a deal. So if you like opera – go. And if you’ve never been to an opera and think it a waste – now is the chance to find out if you are right or wrong. Go.

Ok – Now the review. First off – I have to say that I have a great fondness for the National Theatre School. The physical plant is just about perfect for theatre. There are 3 performing areas that I’ve been in – the Studio, the cafe, and the Theatre. The Theatre (where the operas are performed) is a classic of the old Style, with cushy red velvet seats, enormously high ceiling, good sight lines from everywhere – and wonderful acoustics. And they have lovely bathrooms. Never underestimate the importance of a nice bathroom.

The stage is large – and the stagecraft exhibited is top-notch. One can expect to be impressed – and I’ve never been disappointed. In this case – the first opera (the Old Maid and the Thief) was original written to be performed on radio – so the director literally had the stage crew build a radio station. The actors sit on the side waiting their cues; the narrator sits in a booth high above everyone’s heads, and occasionally part of the ‘sound stage’ crew move pieces of the set to create the illusion of another space. There is a wonderful sound guy in the orchestra pit doing the sound effects – rustling paper, creating the sound of rain, opening door noises. One complaint – I do wish he’d been more visible. I had to crane my neck to see what he was doing.

The singers were young, enthusiastic, and clearly in love with their ability to sing. Nothing is more likely to please me that a group of young people putting their heart and soul into the music. And sing like the world was ending they did. Just delightful. I won’t ruin the story for you – but I repeat – go. Definitely worth it.

The second Menotti opera (“Amal and the Night Visitors”) is so well-known, there’s nothing in the story to be ruined in the telling. But it is the parts of Amal and his mother that make or break this opera – and Frederique Drolet and Emma Char absolutely rock their parts. Both are young women – the shorter one (Frederique) does Amal – and almost convinces you that she is a he. Close – so close (but not quite). The part requires a wide-eyed innocence and joy that if done well, takes the audience into Amal’s world of big stars, fascinating animals, and wondrous events. And they do well. The final scene, when Amal’s mother is watching her son grow up and disappear out of her life is heart-rending – in a good way – Her pain is the pain of every parent. Joy that they are making their own way in the world, heartbreak that the cuddle at night is no longer going to happen.

And here’s the best news – these 2 incredibly talented young Canadians are doing it again – as Hansel and Gretel for next year’s Opera de Montreal season. Can’t wait to hear them a year from now – just to see how much they will have matured.

Have I convinced you to go yet? If not – why not? It’s not that expensive, it’s good solid opera with approachable story lines that make sense, it is young people friendly (my 12-year-old grand-daughter loved it) – and you don’t have to wait till the fat lady sings to know it’s over.

Go.

Mahalia Jackson Musical – Just Great – Seriously Great


Mahlia Jacson Musical – Segal Centre – Renee Lee Shines in this Gospel Feel good

I totally enjoy watching and listening to Renee Lee. There is something about her willingness to put it all out there that is completely appealing to me. She is a delight. We should be proud that she calls Montreal – home.

I’ve seen her several times over the years, although I did not have the luck to see her in Lady Day. So when I knew she was doing Mahlia Jackson – I was totally going to go. For the Segal Centre – the stage set was relatively bare. A ‘mock’ stained glass window in center stage, that became the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the March, some chairs and tables that stood in for her various homes. Even the supporting parts were minimized – one man to play all the men in her life, one woman to brilliantly play all the women in her life. The big spurge – and to my mind the least capable singers on the stage – were the Gospel Chorus.

My biggest negative about this otherwise top-notch production was the sound. A musical is all about sound – and because we were seated slightly to the left of center stage, the sound seemed to come from behind us when Renee used her microphone. This is quite disturbing, as you can well imagine. A bit like a badly synced movie – the mouth moves, but the sound is delayed. Since hearing Renee sing was probably the number one reason for us all to be in the audience – having sound this dis-jointed was a serious problem.

But Renee’s rendition of Summer Time convinced me that she can overcome anything.

A quick comment on the supporting performers – with the exception of the gospel choir (who really needed to have had more coffee before they walked on stage), they were quite good. The ‘male’ (the always great Tristin D. Lalla) gets to do Martin Luther King’s – “I have a dream” speech, while the scolding female parts were played with a great deal of conviction by a newcomer to me – Adrienne Mei Irving. Since her name is shared with that of my daughter – I’m sure I’m going to remember her in the future.

Bottom line – the Mahalia Jackson Musical is a great vehicle for Renee Lee. I’m really glad I got to see it – and when (not if) it returns – I hope you do too. And Segal – if you read this – FIX THE SOUND SYSTEM.

Just not great – Centaur Theatre does Leonard Cohen – oh dear!


Last night I spent almost 2 hours alternating between – “wow, that’s cool” and “Boring.. Totally boring”

The cause of my bipolar response – Centaur Theatre’s production of “Dance me to the on/off of Love” There were moments of brilliance interspersed with long periods of pointless but beautiful movement which left me wondering what was the point.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Leonard Cohen’s music and poetry. He is capable of flights of ideas that leave his listeners stunned in the wake. But this piece of theatre didn’t build up Leonard’s music and song – it deconstructed it. Tore it apart to create some interesting visual effects, but left me feeling sorry I’d spent the money and time to be there.

First though, let me describe the piece. Set on a completely dark stage, most effects are done by playing with lights and about 30 skulls. Musicians double as the singers, or singers double as musicians, it’s hard to tell because sometimes the music is deliberately performed off-key and breathless. My favorite pieces, and remember that in between I often dozed off (not good, Centaur – not good) were Sisters of Mercy, I’m your Man (performed with stick whips – very neat), Ring The Bell, and ‘the encore’ piece – “Coming Home”. Bottom line – Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris (Mainline) or the Mahalia Jackson Musical with Renee Lee at the Segal Centre are much better bets. There is juist too much filler between the good parts in this peace for me to recommend you going to see it.

A slight disclaimer – the theatre was about 1/2 full – which isn’t good. But of the people there – plenty really seemed to enjoy the piece, including yelling out “Bravo” and giving the performers a standing ovation. Go figure. I guess that’s what makes horse races.