Review: (Toronto) #WeddingMusical (Fringe)

Ah! The Potential!
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

Bad Dress Productions has returned to the Toronto Fringe with their original musical #WeddingMusical (you pronounce the hashtag, but we all know that anyways, right?). It’s got a lot of potential to be a Fringe gem – a live orchestra, powerful voices, and a neato book.

Unfortunately, on opening night, most of this potential was lost. The production was plagued by a number of technical issues, all related to audio. Every instrument is amplified, some to the point of obliterating the other instruments (I’m looking at you on the bass). The performers are amplified as well, but not above the music. I missed the entire opening number – it was a lot of thumping bass, and a bit of shoo-wop from the performers. After that, mics remained on when actors were off stage, mics were picking up breathing, feedback was painful in the first half of the show, and to cap it all off, there were some serious intonation issues, both with singers and instruments – perhaps due to a lack of monitors for the performers?

Review: (Toronto) The Urinal Dialogues (Fringe)

Follow the yellow drip road, they say.
Or don’t.
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

Within the first ten minutes of this hour-long play, I was ready to walk out. The Urinal Dialogues bills itself as inspired by The Vagina Monologues. Well, search me as to how. It bills itself as sometimes funny, sometimes poignant. I’ll give them amusing – I think I heard a chuckle or two, but poignant? Nope.

Review: (Stratford / Theatre) A Midsummer Night's Dream

(photo by Michael Cooper)

The Success of Love – Jack Shall Have Jill, Jill shall Have Jill, Jack Shall Have Jack
Stratford’s opening week ends on a supremely high note
by Dave Ross and Stuart Munro
@dmjross
@StuartMunroTO

Stratford brought their opening week to an absolutely amazing close with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare’s work has been interpreted and adapted and staged in all sorts of creative and different ways, with many of these efforts placing this story in contemporary times and locales. This year, Stratford has hit the nail on the head – hard and true – with their bold adaptation of this approachable story.

DAVE ROSS: There are simply not words to express how much I enjoyed this production. I loved it – loved loved loved it. From the moment I stepped into the Festival Theatre and had my first glimpse of the design, I knew I was in for something special. Director Chis Abraham has taken the narrative and added a frame to it – as the audience, we’re attending the wedding of two young men in a summer garden as dusk falls. As part of the celebrations, the guests put on an impromptu performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which proceeds just about as well as one would think under those circumstances – the entire production has a lovingly homegrown feel to it with a sort of polished amateur quality. I loved that Abraham respects the text, but treats it in a contemporary, irreverent manner. I loved the design by Julie Fox, which is fully immersive in creating the festive backyard garden. The soundscape  by designer Thomas Ryder Payne is perfect. All these aspects create an astounding homespun feeling to the production. Actors rarely leave the stage, instead sitting about the steps of the thrust enjoy beverages and the play unfolding before them. There is a fluidity between the guests and their roles as fairies that is just magical. 

Review: (Stratford / Theatre) King John

(photo by Don Dixon)

At Hand is War-Like John
The rarely performed King John is poised to become the triumphant dark horse of the season
by Stuart Munro and Dave Ross
@StuartMunroTO
@dmjross

Though King John enjoyed wild popularity in the 19th century, it has been rarely performed in the 20th and 21st – the Stratford Festival, for its part, has produced the play four times in the 60 years of the festival. The announcement of this new production, number five, was met with confusion by some – why on earth would the festival want to stage this dusty old piece many of us had never heard of? Our questions were answered with one of the most graceful productions ever to land itself on the Tom Patterson stage.

Review: (Stratford) Crazy For You

(photo by Cylla von Tiedemann)

Who Could Ask For Anything More?! 
Stratford has a surefire crowd-pleaser on their hands
by Stuart Munro and Dave Ross
@StuartMunroTO
@dmjross

The week of Stratford openings continued last night with The Gershwins and Ken Ludwig’s Crazy For You. Often styled “the new Gershwin musical comedy,” Crazy For You is loosely based on the 1930 Gershwin show Girl Crazy. But rather than merely updating the original, Ludwig has crafted a new and clever story with multiple subplots and some of the funniest one-liners to be uttered on stage. This new Stratford Festival production hits all the right notes, giving the audience a thrilling evening, and more than enough reason to stand and cheer.

Review: (Stratford / Theatre) King Lear

(photo: David Hou)

Old Before it is Wise
Stratford’s Lear is somehow less than the sum of its parts
by Dave Ross and Stuart Munro
@dmjross
@StuartMunroTO

The Stratford Festival’s 62nd season opened last night with a new production of King Lear. Starring Colm Feore, and directed by festival Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino. This Lear boasts some stellar performances and wonderful design elements. Yet despite this, something fell flat.

Dave Ross: There are many pieces to King Lear – betrayal, rivalry, madness – but none of them seem to ever really come together. It lacks a cohesiveness of narrative, feeling instead like a number of different stories moving in parallel and with only glancing blows as they rub up against once another. I can’t fault the performers though – this was a solid cast across the board.

Stuart Munro: I have to agree. This is one of the strongest ensemble casts I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a long time. Everyone had a moment to shine – no one made me wish they’d been cast differently. The descent of Feore’s Lear into madness was clearly crafted and heartbreaking, and Scott Wentworth’s Gloucester was equally as captivating and moving. My difficulty came from my lack of familiarity with the play itself. There are so many threads in Lear that, if you’re not prepared for them, will slip away before you’ve had a chance to grasp them. This becomes a problem in the production’s second half when the plots and intrigues are changing almost as fast as they’re being revealed. I simply couldn’t keep up with the brisk pacing.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Snow Bride

“Going to the chapel and we’re… gonna get married…”
Snow Bride examines addiction like a relationship
by Dave Ross

David James Brock’s new play Snow Bride opened at The Box last night, a tiny little theatre space (I hesitate to say theatre, and I’ll explain why in a bit). Wandering down the alley, through the loading dock, up the rusty fire stairs and through the rabbit warren of scarred doors I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. I ended up pleasantly surprised.

Snow Bride is a one-woman show. Helena (Katie Hood) examines her past relationships on the eve of her wedding to Robert. She’s clearly gone to some effort to tidy up, and planned an evening of fun – “be ready to party!” exclaims her invitation. But no one comes. No one save her most powerful relationship partner – cocaine. As she examines her dating history, her relationship with the drug is further explored, unpacking piece by piece what cocaine addiction has done to her life. I won’t go into more plot detail, as it bears witnessing itself.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Belleville

Allan Hawco, Christine Home (photo - rotated - by Guntar Kravis)

Obscurity of meaning
Pscyhological thriller strives for cohesion
by Dave Ross

“City of lovers… city of lights? Is it both?” This quote from Belleville, a Company Theatre production in association with Canadian Stage, summarizes a feeling of confusion and uncertainty that runs throughout this play. Directed by Jason Byrne, with leads Allan Hawco and Christine Horne, this play contains a level of psychological darkness that was quite surprising but at times seems to struggle in its attempt to deliver a message.

Review: (Toronto) Tribes

Joseph Ziegler and Nancy Palk in Tribes. Photo by David Hou.

Communicating your identity

Language and self at core of Tribes

by Dave Ross

Expression - how do you express yourself? What is your language? What is your community? Does your language define your community? Does your community define your language? These are some of the questions wracking my mind as I departed Tribes at the Berkeley Street Theatre last night. 

Presented by Canadian Stage, Tribes is a collaborative theatre work with Theatrefront Production and Theatre Aquarius, directed by Daryl Cloran. This work is not delicate - the boundaries between community and language are probed, challenged, crossed - and relationships are damaged as a result. Playwright Nina Raine has managed to portray some difficult questions regarding identity and community for the hearing impaired, and express parts of the hearing impaired community that I expect many who can hear don’t know about. In this play, we journey with Billy (Stephen Drabicki) as he meets and develops a relationship with Sylvia (Holly Lewis). Billy was born deaf, and is an accomplished lip-reader, but does not know how to sign. Sylvia is going deaf, but can sign eloquently. These two hearing-impaired characters clash with Billy’s family - none of whom have ever learned to sign. 

Review: (Toronto) London Road

Steve Ross and Damien Atkins (photo by David Hou)

Extreme complexity is the key
London Road an unexpected piece
by Dave Ross

The story of a community rocked by the serial killing of five prostitutes seems odd fodder for a musical, but a musical it is. And a rather pretty one at that. Canadian Stage has created a new production for London Road’s North American premiere, after a successful 2011 run at the National Theatre in the UK. 

This production is one that confounds. The story is deftly handled by playwright Alecky Blythe, with music by Adam Cork. This isn’t the story of the murders, but the story of the residents of London Road, where serial killer Steve Wright lived during his crime spree. We never meet Wright, nor his victims. The script orbits around the events taking place leading up to Wright’s arrest and beyond, through the lens of the other victims of London Road, victims just by dint of living there. In writing the play, Blythe interviewed the residents, and then transferred their words verbatim into a script. Cork then listened to these same recordings and wrote music to match, a challenge considering the necessary preservation of the rhythm of the speakers on the tapes, and the desire to preserve the timbre and pitch of the speakers as well. 

Review: (Toronto) The Christmas Story

Bring your Christmas cheer (and a blanket)
by Dave Ross

Every December for the past 76 years, the Church of the Holy Trinity has embarked on an ambitious Christmas pageant, sharing the story of Christmas with tens of thousands of audience members. On opening weekend, there were members of the audience that had been attending every year for 60 years. It is a Christmas tradition in the hearts of many Torontonians. 

Review: (Toronto) Winners and Losers

Marcus Youssef and James Long (Photo by Simon Hayter)

A dialogue we want to have, but frequently don’t…
Winners and Losers a contemplative work
by Dave Ross

It’s taken me a couple of days to think about, chew on it, and roll this play around in my mind. On one hand: we have this work by two noted playwrights and performers (Marcus Youssef and James Long); performing an autobiographical piece that works with thoughts many of us have in our friendships; directed by Chris Abraham, the recent recipient of the Siminovitch Prize. This is a trio of men who punch far above their weight, and succeed in doing so. On the other hand, we have a script that while autobiographical, seems to lack cohesion in places. It makes for a challenging think.

Review: (Toronto) You Can Sleep When You're Dead

Lea Russell (photo by Samantha Hurley)

No rest for the wicked-ish
by Dave Ross

“A beating heart is snatched from a person’s chest… a man in the kitchen tries to save his life from a cook’s savage hankering...a priest initiates an exorcism for the good still left in the demon’s host.” These are some of the events promised you in the Campbell House Museum this Hallowe’en, as Theatre Lab mounts their interactive theatre experience You Can Sleep When You’re Dead.

Review: (Toronto) Venus in Fur

Rick Miller, Carly Street (photo by David Hou)

All hail Aphrodite!
…Venus in Fur is sublime
by Dave Ross

What is S&M? I’m fairly certain the average person on the street has heard of it, but can they define it? I expect not. My own definition is loose – I understand that S&M exists in the tension between dominance and submission. It isn’t necessarily sexual, but isn’t entirely non-sexual either. Does it involve leather? Perhaps. Does it involve pain? Not always. S&M exists in one of those murky areas, a kink for many, a mainstay for some. It is nearly impossible to nail down, but is defined by the tensions that exist between two polar opposites. 

Review: (Shaw) Arcadia

Kate Besworth and Gray Powell (photo by David Cooper)

Chaos theory, Newtonian physics, and Lord Byron
Tom Stoppard’s play gifts us with knowledge and humour
by Dave Ross

Arcadia opened last night at the Studio Theatre at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake with great expectations. Sitting in my seat before the show, the audience was chatting amongst themselves about Tom Stoppard’s play, and about what they were expecting. No one was disappointed – Arcadia is a barn-burner. 

I will not single out any performers here, as the entire cast has given so much to each character. Set in 1809-1812 and the present day, in the same location in both timelines, it could be very easy for characters (particularly in the earlier time frame) to become poncey caricatures, but the performers have ensured this does not happen. These dual time frames are integrated so tightly, but kept distinct, with only one actor having a role in both periods, and even then, it is only briefly. This prevents any overlap between performances, and was a wise decision on Stoppard’s part.

Review: (Shaw) Lady Windermere's Fan

Marla McLean (photo by Emily Cooper)

Oscar Wilde and Katy Perry lie in the gutter...
But look up at the stars
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

Lady Windermere’s Fan was written by Oscar Wilde, and followed the publication of A Picture of Dorian Grey. It is a biting commentary on the good and bad in both men and women, and fittingly, this production at the Shaw Festival contains both the good and the bad. 

First, the good – the performances in this show are, unsurprisingly, excellent. Marla McLean as Lady Windermere does wonderfully portraying a tortured, tried young society woman. Guy Bannerman has a small role as Parker, the Windermeres’ butler, and is stodgy and nosey to the delight of the audience (and annoyance of the Windermeres). Kyle Blair’s Mr. Cecil Graham is perfectly, irritatingly foppish. Indeed, the cast have all mastered the art of tittering, gossipy society folk. Worth special mention is Tara Rosling as Mrs Erlynne. Her performance is refined, and in places deliciously executed. Her stage presence is undeniable. 

Review: (Shaw Festival) The Light in the Piazza

l-r Juan Chioran and Jeff Irving (photo by Emily Cooper)

Florence arrives in Niagara on the Lake

and brings lovely voices with it.

by Dave Ross

@dmjross

Musicals are one of those strange art forms. When someone raises them in conversation, most minds leap to the ‘big’ musicals – Phantom of the Opera, CATS, Les Miserables, etc. From this stems a typical love/hate reaction, usually assuming that these musicals represent the only form of musical that exists. This is so far from the truth on many levels, and something that I too was reminded of when the lights came up on Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s The Light in the Piazza at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake. The musical is small, delicate, intimate, and emotionally exhausting. In a word – excellent.

The Light in the Piazza tells the story of Clara (Jacqueline Thair) and her mother Margaret (Patty Jamieson). They travel to Florence together, and Clara attracts the eye of Fabrizio (Jeff Irving), and the two become completely besotted. However, there is something about Clara that makes her different from other girls, and Margaret struggles with how to tell Fabrizio’s family. The tension between her conscience and Clara and Fabrizio’s love creates the story, leaving us to wonder if it is better to have loved and lost…

Review: (Toronto) Great Expectations

Kate Trotter (photo by Cylla von Tiedemann)

Expect the best from Soulpepper
A summer must-see
by Dave Ross

As the house lights dimmed and a single figure stepped onto the stage at Soulpepper last night, I was hurriedly composing myself, having arrived just minutes before. An unrelated family emergency had delayed me, parking had been difficult to find, expensive when I did find it, and I arrived at the theatre with just enough time to rapidly skim the program and get the cast of characters in my mind. I sat there in the gathering darkness, took a deep breath, and turned on the “critic” portion of my brain… “here we go” I thought.

Review: (Toronto) The Retirement Plan (Fringe)

Age, Death, the Whole Damn Thing
A real-life couple face the issues
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

What would you do to ensure a comfortable retirement? What price would you pay? Would you agree to a fixed end-date to a comfortable retirement, or live on in financial uncertainty, possibly even outliving your finances? This is the question asked in the gem, written by Robin Pond with direction by Brian Kennington. 

Review: (Toronto) Assassinating Thomson (Fringe)

How Art is Made
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

I’ve been seeing a run of comedy at the Fringe Festival so far this year, and I was starting to feel a need to find something to sink my teeth into. Lucky for me, Assassinating Thomson, while amusing, also gives the audience a great deal to consider during this 75-minute production.

Bruce Horak wrote his play in conjunction with Monster Theatre, and it is fascinating to hear him talk about his painting, the difference between art and painting, and how art is constructed, where it is seen, where it comes from. Horak’s own life story comes into play, as we must consider his viewpoint—as a legally blind person with only 10% of normal vision—and how he sees his art.