Sister Sister takes sibling rivalry to torturous new level
Northern Light Theatre is often way out there on the edge. Under the adventurous guidance of its artistic director Trevor Schmidt, it has become Edmonton’s most challenging theatre company – constantly probing human relationships and demanding intelligence, commitment and an open mind. It hasn’t always worked, but mostly it has – winning awards and giving […]
Million Dollar Quartet comes to life
Jukebox Musicals have been all the rage on Broadway. Examples include Buddy (Holly), Jersey Boys (about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) and the godmother of them all, Mamma Mia (ABBA). Included in that list is the current attraction at the Citadel Theatre, Million Dollar Quartet. This production is simply superb. It was assembled by […]
10 out of 12 not a 5 out of 5
Toward the end of the neorealism wave in Italy in the late 1940s the auteurs of the time turned out a series of films about the ennui and boredom of the upper classes. The idea was to make the films long and boring so you wouldn’t just see the privileged tedium on the screen. You’d […]
Bittergirl triumphs over heartbreak
The hilarious musical Bittergirl comes to the Citadel Theatre after generating years of audience laughter in its various forms – but there are deeper, timeless issues here. The original play was the brainchild of three women, Annabel Fitzsimmons, Mary Francis Moore and Alison Lawrence, who had been dumped by their respective boyfriends (and husband). Rather […]
Witness to a Conga a dramatic dance
Teatro La Quindicina programs its season to run counter to the rest of the theatrical pack. And so this week, as others begin their seasons, Teatro has chosen to close off their first year in their spiffy new Varscona theatre with an old favourite from the canon of writer-director Stewart Lemoine, Witness to a Conga. […]
Curious Incident a chilling transport to autistic mind
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a multi-level theatrical adventure that insists on you becoming part of the experience. Opening the Citadel’s season on the Shoctor Stage until Oct. 9, the play is based on Mark Haddon’s bestseller about an autistic teen, and transposed into theatrical terms by playwright Simon Stephens. […]
Book of Mormon rings doorbell of your heart
They’re back – ringing doorbells and promoting The Word according to Joseph Smith. A pair of mismatched Mormon missionaries donned the official uniform of white shirt and black tie on Broadway five years ago in Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez’s smash hit musical The Book of Mormon. Parker and Stone are famous for […]
Simon and Garfunkel Story stuck in the pleasant
Tom and Jerry will be holding forth on the stage of the Mayfield Dinner Theatre for the next seven weeks – at least that’s the name childhood friends Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel gave themselves back in 1957 when they were breaking into the music business by trying to sound like the Everly Brothers. It […]
FRINGE: 4 comedies
Laughter is the grease that keeps the Fringe rolling along. From sophisticated British burlesques to the pie-in-the-face American vaudeville farce, the comedy listing in the Fringe program is longer than any other – some 65 shows promise to get you laughing. Here are four wide-ranging productions that you might consider. There is a lively stand-up […]
FRINGE: 4 swell musicals
The Fringe is oft a bouquet of music, a transport of melody or even a delirious grab bag of song and dance. Let’s start with the delirious. There was once an East German girly/boy named Hansel who longed to be a singer in a rock band. He also wanted to be a girl but the […]
FRINGE: 5 shows by Masters
They are the Masters of the Fringe. They stand, like the Colossus of old, towering over our annual theatrical binge, carrying a record of past hits. These are the names to check first because they are the ones who quickly sell out. Such is Stewart Lemoine. He wrote his first play, All These Heels for […]
NEWSIES: Weak story, amazing dance
NEWSIES has certainly had a checkered career. It began its life as a Disney live action film in 1992 and immediately laid an egg, ranking as one of the lowest grossing films ever released by the company. But in its eternal attempts to mine its film canon after the astonishing stage success of Beauty and […]
