THE CRUCIBLE: It’s the Greatest Witch Hunt in History!
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a partly-fictionalized allegory based on the 1692 witch trials in colonial Salem, Massachusetts. The subject of the play is the paranoia and persecution that came out of the so-called “Witch Hunts” undertaken by the American House of Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. They were trying to unearth Communists that […]
REVIEW: Evil Clowns Slaughter Shakespeare in Disturbing New Play
The audacious new production from Theatre Network will have you helpless with laughter – as long you don’t mind humour that is outrageous, dark and discomforting. It’s called The Society for the Destitute Presents Titus Buffonius – and it’s a clown show. There are no red noses or seltzer bottles. It’s bloody, bawdy and grotesquely […]
Gender Wars Reach Fever Pitch in Hilarious Happy Birthday Baby J
Here’s a play for those of us who are endeavouring to come to grips with the increasing complexities of living in a gender-diverse society where sexuality is expressed in a very fluid and ever-changing manner. Even the lexicon of describing this rainbow-coloured world is full of traps for those who may have missed the subtleties […]
REVIEW: Emotional Impact of Disability Probed in Pulitzer-Winning Play
Cost of Living is about society’s marginalized people isolated by poverty or disability. It features four excellent performers who fashion fully-functioning characters out of subjects that are anything but functional. The play deeply probes the problems of living with disability, and the loss and the sacrifice that entails. It minutely examines the lives of people […]
REVIEW: Everybody Loves Robbie a Heartfelt Heartbreaking Musical Comedy
In the first moments of Northern Lights Theatre’s Everybody Loves Robbie, two young people are dancing up a frenzied give-her-all bubble gum roughhouse. The two are obviously lost in delirium – and each other. A few minutes later she pauses and asks plaintively, “Don’t you just love it when you’re making out and your partner […]
BEST OF EDMONTON THEATRE 2019: A Good Year
There were north of 15 live productions on Edmonton stages in November 2019 alone. A highly unscientific survey of local Artistic Directors suggests that Edmonton audiences are ignoring our seemingly endless economic difficulties, and continuing to support live theatre. In short, it’s been a good year. Here are some of the highlights: Best Production: Drama […]
REVIEW: Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
It was cool in New York on March 13th back in 1943. Over at the St. James Theater, a musical from the new writing team of Rogers and Hammerstein called Oklahoma! was opening. Right off the head, a laconic cowboy named Curly saunters to the front of the stage, plants his feet and sings, “There’s […]
Did Citadel Theatre Ruin A Christmas Carol in Bold New Production? Colin Says No
Last year, after a successful run of 19 seasons, the Citadel Theatre sent off its justly esteemed production of A Christmas Carol (originally written by Edmonton’s own Tom Wood, who was the first Scrooge) – to the special corner of Elysium that preserves the Ghost of Christmas Past. But this isn’t the end of Dickens […]
REVIEW: Walterdale’s Altar Boyz Pokes Fun at Boy Bands, Christianity
Was a gaping hole left in your soul when the Backstreet Boys went Main Street? Has the demise of N’Sync left you syncless? Well, don’t give up, boy band aficionados – hope is on its way. Apparently the unheralded Christian pop band Altar Boyz has been working its way across the North American bingo hall […]
REVIEW: Experimental Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again hits the feminist nerve
Alice Birch’s Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again is an angry and passionate scream railing against the rape culture and violence toward women in general. The word “feminism” is not mentioned once in the (intermissionless) 90 minutes but it hangs over the production like the sword over Damocles’ head. Birch’s voice is ferocious and unrelenting in […]
Bold new play turns The Simpsons on its head to create futuristic religion
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play is a dark comedy written by Anne Washburn. It’s based on Cape Feare on The Simpsons (Season 5 Episode 2), which is a take-off of the 1961 Robert Mitchum thriller. In this one, Sideshow Bob tries to kill Bart on a houseboat. Mr. Burns is not just a satire of […]
REVIEW: Waitress a sweet, satisfying confection
To everyone’s surprise, the modest but charming little 2007 movie rom-com Waitress turned out to be a sleeper hit. It told the story of a small-town waitress (and terrific baker) named Jenna who yearns to enter a pie-baking contest to win prize money so she can escape an unhappy life. The film gave TV star […]
