Review (Toronto/Theatre) Company

                                                           (photo by Riyad Mustapha)

The People Aren’t Always Right, But It Is Still Good.

Despite a few bumps, Theatre20’s Company manages to find new meaning in an old story

by Stuart Munro

@StuartMunroTO

Directed by Gary Griffin for Theatre 20, Toronto’s (thankfully still kicking) new musical theatre company, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s classic musical Company follows Bobby, his three girlfriends, and his five couples of friends who all seem to be asking the same question: “Why aren’t you married, Robert?” The show won a handful of Tony Awards in 1970, and cemented Sondheim as a household name in American Musical Theatre.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first, because there isn’t much of it. The production has had a series of setbacks, including the loss of director Griffin two weeks into rehearsal due to injury (and commitments in Stratford). Directorial duties were taken over by Theatre 20 founder Adam Brazier. Whether because of this, or because it was on purpose, the pacing for the entire first act is too fast. Too often I found myself struggling to keep up with lyrics, actors seemed out of breath keeping up with the choreography, and too many important scenes couldn’t take the time to breathe that they needed. Admittedly, nothing was going horribly wrong, but nothing was going brilliantly well either – the solid writing was mostly keeping the boat floating. (And there was also a nice trope with Bobby and a camera that got lost after the second scene.) Certain things worked well in this first half. Brent Carver proved just what a national treasure he still is with his interpretation of “Sorry-Grateful” (in fact, I think he may be the man the song was waiting for to make it a real moment in the show). While, in general, Griffin’s naturalistic approach with the actors worked well, there were a few (David Keely, Nora McLellan and Nia Vardalos in particular) who had just a little too much of the musical theatre shtick about them. As Bobby, Dan Chameroy seemed to be doing the part well, but nothing about it was extraordinary.  The natural acoustic of the Berkeley Theatre, without microphones,  made some performers difficult to hear, and while the ensemble always sounded wonderful, they always seemed to be singing as loudly as possible. It wasn’t a bad sound, but a little more colour would’ve been nice.

However all this turned around during the final scene of Act I in which Carly Street delivered a true star turn with her rendition of “Getting Married Today.” Her mastery of the patter lyrics combined with a clearly thought-out character made this moment unforgettable. Her interaction with Jeff Lillico in the dialogue immediately following found that perfect balance between comedy and pathos, drama and desire that this show so badly needs to work. From the brilliant opening of Act II, solidly supported by Marc Kimelman’s wonderful choreography, the rest of the evening flowed wonderfully smoothly. I was very impressed with Marisa McIntyre’s quite different take on the usually-flighty April, and Louise Pitre’s Joanne was the perfect combination of sass, snark and joy. Not only is her “The Ladies Who Lunch” destined to be remembered for years to come, but her final conversation with our protagonist sets his character on a wonderful journey for “Being Alive.” One I didn’t expect.

You see, the last few times I’ve watched Company on video (whether it be the Raúl Esparza or Neil Patrick Harris version) I’ve gotten angry with it. Who was Bobby to tell me that the only way for me to “be alive” was to have “somebody to hold me too close, someone to hurt me too deep”?  I was beginning to wonder if the sentiment of the show was too far removed from the here and now to really resonate.

Full disclosure here – I’m a fella in my early-thirties, purposely single, who has spent the better part of the last four years eschewing relationships to pursue some academic goals, which have taken most of my time and energy. It may have cost me some friendships – it has certainly cost me some relationships. And by the time I decided I was probably going to pursue grad school outside of the country (which is now becoming a reality), the idea of a relationship seemed like the last thing I needed. And that was fine by me. So I figured me and Bobby might not have much in common anymore.

Imagine my surprise, then, to find in Dan Chameroy a Bobby I can absolutely relate with. Who’s willfully spent most of his life on the outside looking in, who’s tired of it, but who doesn’t equate being single with being alone. I imagine this Bobby going out into the world, on his own, but for once fully engaged with it and the people around him.

And maybe that how Bobby’s been seen for many people for many years. But for me, it was entirely new and refreshing. And that’s what’s so wonderful about good art – it defies simplicity and welcomes multiple interpretations. By no means is this Company groundbreaking, but it’s a solid and fresh approach to a well-worn classic. I’m so thrilled that my last review for CharPo was such a fresh look at a piece I know so well.

June 21 - July 13

Read Sunday Feature Louise Pitre on Company

Read Sunday Feature Adam Brazier artistic director of  Theatre 20

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) Alice Through the Looking Glass

(photo by Cylla von Tiedemann)

Everything Is Backwards! (Just As It Should Be!)
Lewis Carroll’s Looking Glass World comes to life in Stratford
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Bubbles! Bicycles! Jellybeans from the sky! MORE bubbles! Stratford’s new production of Alice Through the Looking Glass has all of this, and then some. This version of Lewis Carroll’s famous book, adapted by Canadian playwright James Reaney, was commissioned by the festival in 1994 and revived two years later. Like its predecessor, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass can suffer from an episodic structure which makes it difficult to adapt to the stage. But Reaney has handled this fact very well with his version, and as directed by Jillian Keiley (Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre), Through the Looking Glass is a wild and zany romp which easily kept the entire audience, young and old, happily entertained.

Review: (Stratford / Theatre) Mother Courage

(photo by David Hou)

The Art of Alienation
By pushing us away, Mother Courage draws us in
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

This review contains spoilers.

Written in 1939 (but not published until 1950 after several revisions), Bertolt Brecht’s seminal play, Mother Courage and Her Children, is considered by many to be the greatest anti-war play of all time, and possibly the greatest play of the 20th century. At its core, like so many of Brecht’s other works, is the idea of Verfremdungseffect, or “alientation.” Realism is eschewed, and the audience is constantly reminded that what they are seeing is, in fact, a play. The goal is to distance the audience from the characters in an effort to create a more rational, rather than emotional, response to the proceedings. Whether the Stratford Festival’s new production succeeds in this will be up to the individual watching. For my part, I was overwhelmed and appropriately unsettled. Mother Courage is, I imagine, a play I’ll be thinking about for some time.

Review: (Stratford / Theatre) Man of La Mancha

(photo by Michael Cooper)

Caught In The Lies We Tell
Stratford’s Man of  La Mancha suffers from something of an identity crisis
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

There was a definite shift about two-thirds of the way through act one of Stratford’s new production of Man of la Mancha, which opened last night at the Avon Theatre. Up to that point, I’d had a very hard time understanding exactly what sort of show I was watching. The script and score seemed to suggest a more introspective drama, but the direction and performances were pushing heavily on the light and comic. The two weren’t meshing very well, and I couldn’t help but feel something more poignant was being sacrificed the harder the company pushed for the jokes. But almost as soon as Matt Armet lovingly crooned out the first verse of “Little Bird, Little Bird,” the tone began to change, and by the time Don Quixote had been dubbed the “Knight of the Woeful Countenance,” the change was (happily) permanent.

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 / Dance) SKIN / Quicksand

L to R Roney Lewis, Sze Yang Ade Lam, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Paul Charbonneau and Matthew Montgomery (photo by Andrew Ribner)

The SKIN We’re In
Hari Krishnan’s double header asks the tough questions about who we are and where we come from
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Opening last night at Buddies in Bad Times, Hari Krishnan’s double header of SKIN & Quicksand is a powerful examination of lust, love, and cultural appropriation in a global community. Krishnan’s stunning choreography combined with Niraj Chag’s wonderful music and sound design combine to create a thought-provoking and highly engaging evening.

SKIN, the first half of the evening, is divided into three smaller sections – “Apollo,” “Narcissus,” and “Eros.” Far from being three independent works, each section follows on the other, with the titular narcissist of the second part being the voyeur of the NSA tryst in the first, while all three point us (literally) to the married couple of “Eros.” Choreographer Krishnan quickly establishes a clear physical vocabulary in “Apollo” that highlights the power struggle between the newly-met lovers (Paul Charbonneau and Roney Lewis), using distinct shapes and gestures created by their hands and fingers. As each man struggles for dominance, their hands are always fighting each other – never in synch. This provided a remarkable contrast to the “married-in-real-life couple” of “Eros” (Jelani and Sze-Yang Ade-Lam). Ostensibly little more than two persons engaged in an act of passionate kissing, “Eros” finds simple beauty in the intricate motions of the couple’s hands, which always acted in harmony with each other. Only “Narcissus,” impressively performed by Gerry King, seemed out of place in this trio of numbers.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) The Sound of Music

(photo by Seanna Kennedy)

How do You Solve a Problem Like This?
The LOT’s new Sound of Music feels like climbing uphill
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Staircases on mountains. Grapevining nuns. The Lower Ossington’s new production of  Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music certainly is an interesting take on a well-loved classic.

Let me start off by saying something controversial – The Sound of Music is not a very good show. When it opened on Broadway in 1959, its simple, perhaps overly-sweet story was met with mixed reviews. Even my mother found it too sentimental when she saw it in London in the 1960s. It’s because of the successful 1965 film version that The Sound of Music has entered our public consciousness as one of the Great Musicals of Our Time. Had the movie not been toned down the way it had, I’m not sure this would have been the case. As a result, any new production must contend with the less-than-perfect book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and attempt to find the real heart of the story buried beneath all those layers of sentimentality.

Sadly, The Lower Ossington Theatre hasn’t accomplished this. It hasn’t even tried. Their newest production, currently running at the Randolph Theatre, is so confused and overworked that no sense of story comes through at all.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Marry Me a Little

Adrian Marchuck, Elodie Gillett  (Photo by Cylla von Tiedemannn)

Ah, But Underneath . . .
Sondheim reviewsical plumbs the depths of relationships and love
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Sometimes even when everything is perfect in love, nothing is actually going right. Such is the case with our young couple in Tarragon’s Marry me a Little. This review musical, like Putting it Together and Side by Side by Sondheim before it, uses lesser known songs by master composer Stephen Sondheim (in this case, mostly songs that were cut from shows early in his career) to tell an original story – a young composer and a young performer meet, fall in love, and fall apart.

OK. So the plot may not be all that original, but in the hands of more-than-capable director, Adam Brazier, and performers Elodie Gillett and Adrian Marchuk, this piece soars off the stage. As the young writer, Mr. Marchuk is full of passion and life. His powerful voice easily fills the intimate Tarragon Mainspace, and his comic timing is absolutely to die for. But this is nothing compared to the raw emotion he exhibits at the show’s finale. As the young performer, Ms. Gillett is nearly as strong. While her voice is a tad too thin to hold its own against Marchuk’s, she more than makes up for this with her natural ease on stage – she’s funny, warm and charming, and it’s easy to see why these two would fall in love. 

Review: (Toronto) Alice in Wonderland: A Tale with No Porpoise

A Production With No Purpose
No Porpoise Productions: A rough start for a new company
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

No Porpoise Productions’ first offering to Toronto audiences is a new adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland. The company’s mandate is simple – to make silly and ridiculous theatre that is also good theatre. But despite the valiant efforts of a talented cast, all of whom are playing half a dozen roles, this Alice in Wonderland: A Tale with No Porpoise quickly descends from the sublimely absurd to the ridiculously inept.

Things start off well enough. As the narrator, playwright Katie Leamen provides an appropriately English setting of the scene which is comically interrupted by a cast member informing her that “it’s only a ninety-minute show. If they want it word for word, they can read the book.” Some clever staging for Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole left me feeling confident that the direction would be innovative enough to fill the large black-box space.

Sadly, this was not the case.

Review: (Toronto) Once On This Island

Photo by Joanna Akyol

Why They Tell the Story
Ten years on, Acting Up Stage shows it’s here to stay
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Now in its tenth season presenting musicals to Toronto audiences, Acting Up Stage has become a leading player in the city’s cultural fabric, delivering shows that provoke and challenge assumptions and expectations. This holds true for its newest production, Ahrens and Flaherty’s 1990 piece Once On This Island, co-presented with Obsidian Theatre Company, Toronto’s leading Black Theatre company. Now almost 25 years old, the music of this sung-through one-act musical holds up incredibly well, and its message is as relevant today as it was when first produced. Despite a few bumps along the way, this new production is a powerful look at love, race and loss.

Review: (Toronto) The Little Mermaid

Ross Petty (photo by Rachel McCaig)

Holy Carp!
Petty’s Panto is Poised to Please Even the Most Picky of Patrons
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Hello friends! The holidays are once again upon us, and that can only mean one thing – it’s time for Ross Petty’s 18th Annual Pantomime! I don’t mind telling you this is one of my favourite holiday traditions here in Toronto, and right from the brilliant opening number (about copyright law and the wonders of public domain. Seriously . . .) to the inspired finale (what does the fox say?!), this year’s production of The Little Mermaid had me cheering the heroes, booing the villains, and howling in my seat!

Helping to lead this year’s production to success is Stratford alum Chilina Kennedy as Angel, the titular Little Mermaid. Thanks to Reid Janisse’s clever book, this mermaid is no flighty princess (unlike a certain princess currently at another theatre a few doors north of the Elgin). Rather, she’s a self-assured, strong woman who has no interest in the world above her. Her primary concern? To help clean up her home, Toronto Harbour, from all the mess those pesky humans have thrown into it over the years. Ms Kennedy’s forthright manner and killer voice easily put her in control of any situation.

Review: (Stratford) The Merchant of Venice

Scott Wentworth (photo by David Hou)

Then must the Jew be merciful?
Stratford’s Merchant of Venice tries too hard to deal with an unforgiving play
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

I’m finishing my series of opening nights at Stratford with the Festival’s new production of The Merchant of Venice. The second offering this season from Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, Merchant is another of those well known plays with which I wasn’t too familiar. And while there are several strong moments, this production ultimately falls a little flat.

A large part of the problem is the play itself. Classically thought of as a comedy, Merchant’s anti-Semitism has become more complicated over the centuries, turning it into one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays.” To overcome this, directors often bend over backwards in an attempt to transform Shylock from the comic villain he was written as to a sympathetic, misunderstood antagonist. This results, however, in a woefully unbalanced plot and two separate storylines that are absolutely out of synch with one another – the comic love stories of Bassanio and Portia, Lorenzo and Jessica, and Gratiano and Nerissa; and the more intense story of Shylock demanding his pound of flesh from the eponymous merchant, Antonio.

Review: (Stratford) Othello

Graham Abbey (l), Dion Johnstone (photo by Michael Cooper)

Heavy Act With Heavy Heart
Stratford’s Othello brims with intensity and passion
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

There’s a certain amount of excitement involved in seeing a well-known play for the first time. I’ve been vaguely familiar with the plot of Othello for years now, but had never had the opportunity to actually see it until last night’s opening at Stratford’s Avon Theatre. I couldn’t have picked a better production. This Othello is intense and heart breaking, and is sure to become a hit of the season.

Othello is the story of a Moorish Venetian army general and his beautiful new wife, Desdemona. Othello’s ensign, Iago, enraged at being passed over for a promotion, plots to bring down his commander by planting the seed of an idea of an infidelity involving Desdemona and Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant, in Othello’s head. The result is disastrous for all involved.

Review: (Stratford) The Thrill

Lucy Peacock (photo by Don Dixon)

We Are Not Dead Yet
The Thrill stumbles along its way to poignancy
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Who has the right to live, and who has the right to die? More importantly – who has the right to choose? These are the challenging and difficult questions raised by Judith Thompson’s new play, The Thrill, making its world première at the Stratford Festival this year.

Inspired by the life and work of disability rights activist, Harriet Johnson, The Thrill follows the last few months in the life of Elora (Lucy Peacock), herself a disability rights lawyer and activist; and of Julian (Nigel Bennett), a right-to-die educator and best-selling author. The two meet, and the result is different than anything one might expect.

Stuart Munro Letters From London: Merrily We Roll Along, Timber!

Letters from London #3
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Can you believe I’m back in my Cathedral town again?! This time not for work, but for a choir tour which (sadly) signals that my time in England is coming to an end. But before it does, I have more shows to tell you all about! In this letter, Merrily we Roll Along and Timber!

I first saw Sondheim’s oft-underappreciated masterpiece, Merrily we Roll Along at my local university with my sister when I was 15 or so. I don’t know why exactly, but we both became obsessed with the show and listened to its score over and over again, learning it inside and out. In the 17 years since, I haven’t had the chance to see it anywhere, and I was beginning to think I might never get to.

So imagine my surprise when I arrived in London to find that the Menier Chocolate Factory had transferred its well-loved new production to the West End, and that my flatmate had just gotten an email offering discounted seats for a few nights one week. I convinced her to take advantage of the offer, and before long I was hearing those familiar trumpet blasts from the overture, live for the first time in over a decade.

Stuart Munro's Letters From London, #2 - 9 To 5, Le Gateau Chocolat

In which 9 to 5: The Musical and Le Gateau Chocolat are discussed
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Hello again friends! It’s hard to believe that my two weeks of research work have come to a close! I’m speeding back to London (high-speed commuter rail! Bliss!) and thought I’d take the time to write another letter home. Last time, I wrote about how to properly move a story from screen to stage with Billy Elliot and Once. This week, a lesson in how not to do it, provided by the disaster that is 9 to 5: The Musical.

I saw 9 to 5 in its original (and very brief) Broadway run back in 2009, and I didn’t care for it. Yes it had some good performances from Stephanie J. Block and Megan Hilty, and yes it had an amazing set and some great choreography. But poor Allison Janney was constantly vocally overshadowed by her two co-stars (I mean, really, was that fair to her?) and the entire thing was hampered by a clunky book and a mostly forgettable score by Dolly Parton. But I thought to myself, hey, it’s making its way to the West End (I saw it out of town on tour). The show’s probably had a serious re-think, right?

Wrong.

Letters From London: Stuart Munro on Billy Elliot and Once

Tade Biesinger (Billy Elliot) photo by Alastair Muir

Letters from London #1
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO

Hello friends! It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in England for three weeks now and that the holiday part of my working holiday has come to an end. To sum things up – I came over at the end of June for a friend’s wedding and have been sightseeing between London and Paris since then. Now I’m off on a train to one of the country’s most historic cathedrals to begin two weeks of research work with a professor from York University in Toronto. With a little luck, this will seem like a vacation too!

Despite how quickly the time has flown by, I have managed to see three shows so far in London (Billy Elliot, Once, and Le Gateau Chocolat), with at least six more planned for the weeks to come. I’ll write about the last show a little later on. For now, I want to talk a little about Billy and Once, and how remarkably similar and different they are.

Both shows are based on films of the same name, and both enjoyed considerable success in their initial releases. 2000’s Billy Elliot made the leap to the West End in 2005 and has been playing to near-full houses there for the last eight years. Sadly, this longevity was not duplicated in New York or Toronto in recent years (despite ten Tony awards and strong productions in both cities). Once, released in cinemas in 2007, made the transition to Broadway last year (where it won eight Tonys) and opened in London this past spring. Billy Elliot the film has long been a favourite of mine – growing up as a young male dancer, I had a certain amount of empathy with the title character, though my experience with dance was never so hostile as that. Once on screen, however, left me a bit flat. The film was sombre and maudlin, and I didn’t really see the point in watching a story about two desperately sad people who, at the end of it all, were still desperately sad.