PLAYBOT: Weird story behind The Nutcracker
Everybody knows The Nutcracker – the 100-plus-year-old ballet with music by the great Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. But what is this thing really about, anyway? In a nutshell – do you see what I did there? – someone seems to have spiked the kids’ eggnog on Christmas Eve. Either that or the story’s creator Ernst Theodor […]
Judas Priest added to Edmonton Summer of Metal
Edmonton is certainly going to fill its bucket list of classic heavy metal next summer. The latest announcement comes from Judas Priest, which is mounting an extensive North American tour behind their latest album Firepower. The band, with its original lead singer Rob Halford, will play Rogers Place on Tuesday, June 11. With fellow British […]
REVIEW: Heavy elephant drama inspired by Lucy
As Romney, the marketing consultant in Workshop West’s production of Conni Massing’s new play Matara observes, “Everyone knows you really can’t call yourself a zoo without an elephant.” By now, everyone in Edmonton should know that this probably sums up much of the attitude that keeps Lucy, our lone elephant, from being trucked to warmer […]
Office comedy sparkles with gung-ho MacEwan cast
9 to 5 was not a great movie when it was released in 1980 – but it tapped into slumbering feminist passions that were just stirring at the time. It also featured terrific performances from three powerhouse stars, Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin. It was a big hit. The inevitable Broadway musical followed […]
REVIEW: On the Verge lost in the underbrush
In the 1800s, heroic (male) explorers set out from Mother England to tame and colonize the unruly dark lands beyond the British border. What history failed to note was that Mary Baltimore, Fanny Cranberry and Alex Cafuffle decked out in proper Victorian long dresses, pith helmets and brollies, and as intrepid as any male explorers, […]
Corey Hart returns to Edmonton on arena tour
The time is ripe for a Corey Hart comeback. Enough time has passed, there’s been enough water under the burned bridge, the generational cycle has ticked over, and the man who wore his sunglasses at night has been out of the spotlight long enough that his fans truly miss him. Corey Hart! Man, that takes […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Yukon Blonde got the Knack
Contrary to popular belief, there are just two kinds of rock ‘n’ roll. One is the kind to which you bang your head up and down, as when attending a metal show. The other one causes you to bob your head from side to side with a smile on your face, like the Peanuts Gang. […]
PLAYBOT: Last call for Carol!
You will be visited by three ghosts! The first will arrive when the clock strikes one. The second … hey, what? Where are you going? Come back here! You’re not supposed to flee the visitation! … damn it, he got away … curse these chains. Aaaaand … scene! You think the Citadel Theatre would give […]
Shakey Graves returns to headline Winspear Centre
With a name like Shakey Graves, it’s no wonder he went into show business. OK, so it’s not his real name, but the story of one Alejandro Rose-Garcia is still remarkable: Just another dude from Austin, Texas with a guitar and some cool country-like songs becomes the darling of the folk fest circuit, and a […]
FALLEN ANGELS: Varscona Farceurs Scandalize Citizenry with Lascivious Hijinks
Back in the Spring of 1925, that young theatrical turk Noel Coward was at it again. He wrote four plays that year – but the one that had the bluestocking brigade most up in arms was Fallen Angels. It featured two young wives, typical Coward creations, pampered, pretty and flighty, admitting to premarital sex – […]
REVIEW: Austen powers heart-warming Christmas romance
This is the time of Jane Austen. We are told that the early 19th Century author sells more books now than she ever did. Just look at the number of stage productions and seemingly unending movies based on her slender output that continue to grace stage and screen. They’ve even turned unfinished novels into movies […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Stars to shine on Edmonton
Stars is just one of the bands associated with Broken Social Scene – but it’s one of the biggest. Playing the Myer Horowitz Theatre Monday night, Stars will be featuring music from their 2017 album, There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light. The group is led by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, both of whom […]
