The Abominable Showman, September 9, 2012

The Opéra de Marseilles production of Trovatore coming to COC (photo credit: Chistian Dresse)

Opera Nation
Canadian opera companies stick to crowd-pleasing Italian masterpieces to anchor their 2012-2013 seasons
By Richard Burnett

The upcoming 2012-2013 opera season across Canada continues to rely on old Italian classics by such tried-and-true composers as Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.

Vancouver Opera's upcoming 53rd season will include Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème (October 20 - 28), Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (December 1 - 9), VO's First Nations-inspired production of W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute (March 9 - 17, 2013) and the Canadian première of Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul (May 4 - 11, 2013). 

Of note, Christopher Gaze will play Major-General Stanley and Judith Forst will sing Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Christopher Gaze on The Pirates of Penzance – one of the funniest and cleverest comic operas ever written – and to present the remarkable Judith Forst in her debut as Ruth,” says VO’s general director James W. Wright.

Tour Whore, September 9, 2012

Gifting (or: The road to goodwill is paved with sweets and pastries.)
by Cameryn Moore

There is a delicate gift economy out here on tour, circulating a steady stream of largesse among the performers and the volunteers and the staff and the technicians and the patrons. There are no rules, it’s not predictable in the slightest, and yet it’s there.

Obviously some gifts are traditional, simple etiquette of long-standing usage: do something nice for your billet, give your technician booze. The form of the gift is not of the essence, just the gesture. So, for example, when I have been broke—which has been most of this year’s tour—I have simply cooked extra dinner one night and shared with my host. It really is the thought that counts.

(Booze for the tech is somewhere between a gift and a bribe, actually. Or a gift and deliberately sought-after goodwill, in the same way that my signature peanut-butter fudge gets made and circulated at least one day during most Fringes, or that my monkey bread makes an appearance at a special pre- or early Fringe brunch. The road to goodwill is paved with sweets and pastries.)

Review: (Vancouver) Jersey Boys

(l to r) Preston Truman Boyd, John Gardiner, Joseph Leo Bwarie and Michael Lomenda 

Photo: Joan Marcus

Magical! Dazzling! ...smitten
by Jay Catterson

Oh what a night! Jersey Boys, the hit musical based on the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, finally arrived in Vancouver six years after conquering Broadway with four 2006 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Was it worth the wait? Definitely. And I was smitten.

The Jersey Boys Canadian tour, presented by Toronto-based Dancap Productions in association with Dodger Theatricals, brings all the glitz and polish of the Broadway show with an amazingly solid cast. And of course, the cast standouts are the guys who make up the Four Seasons on stage. Vocally polished and dapper, the Boys deliver spine-tingling showstopper after showstopper with panache. Nick Cosgrove is the perfect package as Valli; armed with good looks, he nails those astronomical falsetto notes whilst delivering a humble, genuine take on Valli's character as a loyal, yet emotionally conflicted man. Preston Truman Boyd combines a charmingly youthful naiveté with a crafty businessman's logic as Bob Gaudio, the boy-wonder songwriter of The Four Seasons. John Gardiner serves up a crowd-pleasingly side of Jersey crass as the troubled Tommy DeVito, and provides many of the show's dramatic moments. Finally, Michael Lomenda completes the quartet as the loveable Nick Massi. Other notable performances include Jonathan Hadley as the flamboyant record producer Bob Crewe, and strong female leads Kara Tremel and Lauren Decierdo as Valli's wife Mary Delgado and Valli's mistress Lorraine, respectively. 

Review: (Ottawa) Stones in His Pockets

Luck of the Irish

by Jim Murchison

Friday evening Ottawa's 2012/2013 season kicked off with Marie Jones award-winning play Stones in His Pockets directed by John P Kelly. As is traditional on opening night the director came out to thank the crowd for their support flanked by season coordinator David Whitely. As the two spoke it seemed to me that Kelly was particularly subdued this evening. He may be pacing himself and with good reason. He will be directing four shows this season; three at the Gladstone and another Marie Jones play at GCTC and as exciting as that may be, it is definitely daunting.

The scenic design by Merike Olo is very simple but effective. A long mural depicts the view of the Blasket Islands as seen from County Kerry on the southwest coast of Ireland where the action is set. Underneath the mural is a row of shoes stretching along the width of the stage that gives us the hint that the two actors have many shoes to fill. The only other set piece is a steamer trunk that holds costume pieces and serves a multifunctional role as a podium, bar counter or casket as needed.

Theatre For Thought, September 8, 2012

COLORS OF THE FUTURE
joel fishbane

Many young artists have made bold pacts after a night of too many beers, but every now and then the promises remain even in the harsh light of day. Such was the case for the founders of Metachroma Theatre, Montreal’s newest independent theatre company. Comprised of some of Montreal’s most talented actors – Tamara Brown, Lucinda Davis, Mike Payette to name a few – the company was created to promote a singular mandate:  to produce theatre that normalizes the presence of cultural minorities on stage. 

“This is an idea that we have all had in our heads for a long time,” said Julie Tamiko Manning, a Company member who's playing several roles both onstage and off. A third-generation Japanese-Canadian, Manning can relate to the idea that sparked the Company’s creation: How come we never see minorities on the stage unless it’s a culturally specific show?

CharPo's Real Theatre! September 7, 2012

Review: (Montreal) Grain(s)

Guy Thauvette (photo credit: Maxime Coté)

Grain(s) is Verbatim (through filters)
by Nanette Soucy

As no one can live without it, everybody gets to be an expert about food. Whether you’re choosing all kale and brown rice all the time, or larding up your trucker’s breakfast three times a day, with the variety available to the average North-American, the media obsession with dieting and obesity - by sheer necessity we have to form an opinion about what we put in our mouths.

The environment of Porte Parole’s Grain(s) is unusual. There are cameras and cables and shelving and neon lights and things growing. Upon entry, there are smiling people in lab coats mingling around, alternately engaging in deep discussion with the audience and reassuring its terrified looking members. As the show begins, members of the audience are interviewed and projected on a screen above. The polled audience has well thought-out opinions on GMOs, which is, by some cultural osmosis, actually informed by the story of Percy Schmeiser and Monsanto that they’re about to hear verbatim. Not from the mouths of those involved directly, but through filter upon filter of translation, accents, and interpretations.