Review: (Toronto) The Book of Mormon

Mark Evans (photo: Joan Marcus)

Thank you God! (Ma ha nei bu, Eebowai!)
Like a Joseph Smith torpedo from the mouth of Christ, The Book of Mormon is an explosion of all that is good in musical theatre

by Stuart Munro

@StuartMunroTO

Every now and then a show comes along you know you’ve just got to see, no matter what. So even though CharPo was not invited to The Book of Mormon’s opening night, I spent the cash and dragged myself and Dave Ross down to the Princess of Wales Theatre to find out exactly what everyone has been raving about.

It could not have been money better spent.

The Book of Mormon is every bit as infectious and joyous and silly and offensive and heartfelt as I’ve heard, and then some. Taking you across the Atlantic to the hard life of Northern Uganda the show takes an honest, if light hearted, look at what really lies behind faith, and what happens when a shaky faith is challenged. The answer, ultimately, is a belief in the truths behind the literal nonsense of the stories (“It’s called a metaphor . . .”).

Multi-Media, November 16, 2012

War Horse...everywhere

War Horse the play is NOT War Horse the book, and the Steven Spielberg movie is neither the book nor the play.

by Dave Ross 

@dmjross

On January 6, 2013, the Toronto production of War Horse will be closing, having had a run of 368 performances. This is a record setting run for any professional drama in Canadian theatrical history, and is not surprising – I had the opportunity to review it on opening night, and was absolutely “gobsmacked” when I left the theatre. It was (and still is) one of the most compelling pieces of theatre I have seen, and I delight in hearing other people talk about their experiences with the play. 

However, while leaving Toronto, War Horse will live on in numerous productions and a U.S. National Tour that embarked this summer. It will also live on as a film. War Horse is a prime example of a cross-media production. Originally a young adult novel, War Horse was written by Michael Morpurgo in 1982, and by his own admission, it didn’t perform well. It was only after the National Theatre in Britain decided to develop a story based on Morpurgo’s book that the War Horse phenomenon began. The phenomenon was such a success that Steven Spielberg decided to make a film, released in the Winter of 2011. The result is a cross-media cultural franchise that exists across three separate media platforms. 

Review: (Toronto) La Cage Aux Folles

Sieber (l) and Hamilton (photo credit: Paul Kolnik)

Sieber's Show

by Christian Baines

With all the gay-affirming, drag-embracing shows that have found success in its wake, it’s easy to overlook just how revolutionary La Cage aux Folles must have seemed when it debuted on Broadway in 1983. A musical that not only featured a gay couple as protagonists – just as America was entering a new era of conservatism and AIDS-fuelled homophobia – but dared to present the notion that families with same-sex parents might be, not just the equal of, but indeed, pretty much the same as their heterosexual counterparts.

The musical went on to sweep the 1984 Tony Awards, and has since been popularized by two Tony-winning revivals and a popular Hollywood remake of the original French play-turned-film (that’s The Birdcage, for those who’ve been living under a rock for the past decade and a half). That, along with the leaps and strides made by gay rights in the last 30 years, can make the show’s remarkably inoffensive book and broad ‘dude in a dress’ gags seem almost quaint in an age where foul-mouthed Mormons and puppet sex are considered mainstream fare. 

Review: (Toronto) Sister Act

(Photo Credit Joan Marcus)

Like the Stations of the Cross—But Without the Humour
Sister Act on stage is anything but Heavenly

by Stuart Munro

Philadelphia, PA. Christmas Eve, 1977. Deloris Van Cartier (Ta’rea Campbell) is auditioning for a chance to perform in her boyfriend Curtis’s club. At the end of her number, Curtis (Kingsley Leggs) says she’s not ready and she doesn’t understand why. I can tell you. Despite having a stellar voice and killer moves, when Ms. Campbell starts to sing, her face goes completely blank and the last thing anyone wants to do is watch her. Ten seconds after the curtain came up on her and her back-up singers, I was more interested in both of the back-up singers. This is understandably problematic, having a star who is boring to watch. But this is what we’re left with on Sister Act’s national tour, currently at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

Based on the 1992 film of the same name, Sister Act is the story of a wannabe club singer who, after seeing her gang leader boyfriend shoot a man in the head, is sent into witness protection at the local convent, the last place anyone would think to look for her. In many ways the film seems like an obvious choice for a musical adaptation; music was a large part of its plot, and its slightly over the top nature would seem well placed on the Broadway stage. Sadly, none of the memorable music from the film has been transferred to the musical, and the joy of the film has been completely lost.

There are other problems. 

Review: (Toronto) Backbeat

Nick Blood (photo credit: Nobby Clark)

friends start band, band becomes successful, life starts to get real
Backbeat is and is not the Beatles
by Dave Ross


Backbeat: The Birth of the Beatles is in dire need of a new name. Admittedly, calling it Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles and the Conflict That Took Place At The Same Time The Beatles Were Born doesn’t have quite the same ring, but let’s not beat around the bush. The Beatles themselves are almost secondary characters in this show. But that’s actually ok.

This is a jukebox musical, so don’t go into this show expecting to be dazzled by something fresh and new. The songs serve as a vehicle to deliver the story, such as it is. Unfortunately, it takes a few cranks of the engine to get the vehicle going and get the story moving as well. The story does suffer pacing issues, particularly in the first act. It only becomes apparent part way through that this is the story of Stuart Sutcliffe (Nick Blood), John Lennon (Andrew Knott), and the rift that developed between them as Sutcliffe fell in love with Astrid Kirchherr (Isabella Calthorpe).  The story is a familiar one—friends start band, band becomes successful, life starts to get real, tensions are revealed, friendships fall apart, someone dies and catharsis take place. 

Interview: Patrick Kwok-Choon of War Horse

click photo to enlarge: The cast of War Horse (Patrick Kwok-Choon kneeling centre)

(photo credit: Brinkhoff / Mögenberg)

Riding the Horse to History

One of the puppeteers/actors in the country's biggest hit tells how

by Dave Ross

CHARPO: First, I’d like to say that I was at opening night this past Tuesday, and what an amazing show. I was blown away by the power of the performance, and it’s probably the best piece of theatre I’ve ever seen.

KWOK-CHOON: (Laughter) Well, thank you very much, that’s always wonderful to hear.

CHARPO: My first question for you is, what is it like to portray both a human and an animal character in this play? Is it particularly challenging or different in any way?

KWOK-CHOON: It’s amazing to be able to do both. I signed on to this production to work with the puppets. As you know, I help play baby Joey, but I also work with the muster horses during the cavalry charge. Creating an animal character is really not that different from portraying a range of human characters in a given performance. The difference is in the level of focus and detail. When working with baby Joey, there are three of us. You know the choreography and the steps, but you have to be constantly aware of the other puppeteers and of the space you’re in. The puppets take on a life of their own, but the most important thing is learning to work together as a team with the other puppeteers, breathing together and working to bring that life into the puppets. The puppeteers also rotate—sometimes I’ll play baby Joey’s head, sometimes the front legs, and sometimes the hind. 

Review: (Toronto) War Horse

Joey (Brad Cook, Bryan Hindle, Caden Douglas) and Emilie (Addison Holley). Photo by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

Stunning, Emotional, Amazing

Gobsmacked...

by Dave Ross

As I stepped out of the Princess of Wales Theatre on King Street last night, the idea of composing a review of the production I had just seen seemed an impossibility. What was there to say? I was literally gobsmacked at the theatricality of the production I’d just seen. The first thought that came to mind was that War Horse is the most powerful and compelling piece of theatre I’ve seen to date.

The story of War Horse is a simple one, adapted from the children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo. The Narracott family purchases Joey, a young foal. The youngest Narracott, Albert falls in love with Joey breaking him in and adapting him to life on a farm, and all seems well and good until the First World War intervenes. After Joey is sold to the British Army to pay off his family's debts, Albert rushes to the front line in France in an effort to find his four-legged friend. The story is a cathartic one, whose scenes of horror and despair are as moving as its sentimental and uplifting conclusion.

News: (Toronto) Mirvish announces Mormon in 2012-13 season

Montage from the London production of Wizard of Oz

headed to Toronto

In an announcement that was pleasant though hardly surprising, Mirvish launched its 2012-13 season with the news that Book of Mormon (from those South Park guys) would be arriving in Toronto in summer of 2013 as part of the smash-hit musical's first national tour.

Review: (Toronto) The Blue Dragon

(photo credit: Erick Labbé)

Ex Machinery

When the technical buries the emotional

by Beat Rice

Robert Lepage is known as one of Canada’s leading theatre artists; one who never fails to disappoint - at least visually. He continues to stun audiences with elaborate production values and creative use of new projection technologies. The Blue Dragon is a story based on a graphic novel by Lepage and Marie Michaud. It follows three characters: Pierre (played by Henri Chassé) an artist who has moved from Quebec to China and has made it is home for the last 15 years;  Xiao Ling (Tai Wei Foo), a young Chinese artist who is Pierre’s lover; and Claire, (Marie Michaud) who is a woman from Quebec who once was Pierre’s lover, and who comes to China to rekindle their friendship and also adopt a baby. 

Lepage and set designer Michel Gauthier use the space in such a way that it is like viewing a graphic novel, with scenes happening in squares and use of horizontal and vertical lines dividing the space. There was a cinematic sense to it that was very interesting. 

I am now done saying everything I liked about The Blue Dragon.