PLAYBOT: Escapist theatre – literally
Famed Edmonton magic-user Ron Pearson was behind all those weird Fringe sideshows: Spider Lady, Cobra Girl, and the terrifying Headless Terror! Now he’s been trying his sleight-of-hand at play-writing, the latest of which is called Minerva – Queen of the Handcuffs. The world premiere runs Jan. 15-27 at the Roxy on Gateway. Based on the […]
PLAYBOT: Sweat hits Alberta nail on the head
So now we wonder when seeing a yellow vest: “Is that a protester or just a construction guy?” Terribly confusing. It sucks that an allegedly unsavoury political group has co-opted such a common article of safety clothing designed for visibility, but what are you going to do? Judge all yellow vests accordingly? Switch to hot […]
The Illusionists razzle dazzle Edmonton
The art of illusion is probably as old as civilization itself. Once the province of wizards and enchanters, it became a popular entertainment in the hands of Thurston and Houdini in the early years of the 20th Century – known now as “The Golden Age of Magic.” As our culture and society advances, seeing something […]
EDMONTON THEATRE 2018: The Colin MacLean Awards
If the Alberta economy is in tatters, it would be hard to tell from the number of plays and musicals to grace our stages this year. Theatre budgets may be suffering and costs ballooning, but we fortunate Edmonton theatre-goers have enjoyed a mountain range of productions. Like our Rockies, some were high, others not so […]
Gush for Singin’ in the Rain!
The answer is a triumphant, “Yes!” Yes, Sherwood Park’s Festival Players’ Christmas gift to Edmonton, Singin’ in the Rain: The Musical, does manage to create a quite dazzling job of the joyous deluge in which Gene Kelly danced the title tune in the 1952 MGM musical. For one thing – there’s real rain. It comes […]
THEATRE: Oh! Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches
Anyone who doubts our desire to be entertained this Christmas only needs to check out the listings in the paper. However, in this whirlwind of off-the-rack predigested Christmas fodder offered, could I suggest an ornament for your season? It’s a play called Oh! Christmas Tree, part of Theatre Network’s Roxy Performance Series in a co-production […]
PLAYBOT: Singin’ in the Freezin’ Rain
The appearance of the dependable musical warhorse Singin’ in the Rain at Festival Place Dec. 15-30 is disturbing for a couple of reasons. They’ve been running Stanley Kubrick’s ultra-violent masterpiece A Clockwork Orange on TV lately, and there’s an edgy scene during which the title song Singin’ in the Rain plays. The music is now […]
The Great Gatsby probes empty American Dream
As you enter the Walterdale Theatre these nights, there’s a party going on. There’s music, the clink of glasses and the babble of happy voices. You have stepped into the middle of one of Jay Gatsby’s infamous parties. There’s merriment everywhere – the ladies in their fringed Charleston dresses and the men gussied up in […]
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 […]
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, […]
