THEATRE REVIEW: Private Lives pithy without the stiffy
The Citadel Theatre’s version of Private Lives by Noel Coward should be prescribed by doctors to treat depression. To quote a gentleman sitting three rows back from me on opening night, “Wow, there is nothing quite like a good laugh.” My sentiments exactly. Having being written in 1930 and last produced in Edmonton in 1986, […]
THEATRE: Actor pretends to be a bastard in Private Lives
When I was very young, I wanted to be a fire truck. So, naturally, I pretended to be one. I didn’t realize it then, but I was acting. Acting is a solitary exercise. There are other actors on stage with you, and an audience watching, of course, but you’re on your own – pretending. Noel […]
TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS: Toys, candy, family, four ghosts
If you haven’t found the true meaning of Christmas by now, you’re probably not going to find it in a Christmas show – but that doesn’t stop them from trying. Edmonton sees the same set of Christmas shows every year, year after year, in one similar form or another, and people keep flocking to them […]
SCARY TIMES: 13 Halloween events for grown-ups who don’t want to grow up
It’s no mystery why Halloween has been completely co-opted and dominated by grown-ups – it’s because many modern grown-ups have failed to grow up. Joe Flaherty – SCTV’s Count Floyd, so he ought to know about this sort of thing – complained that many of the adult students in his improv classes back East were […]
EDMONTON COMEDY FESTIVAL: How funny is Jim Cuddy?
Jim Cuddy says he honestly has no idea why he was asked to be the host of the opening night at the Edmonton Comedy Festival, “Jim Cuddy’s Comedy Rodeo,” Wednesday at the Citadel Theatre (with Louis Ramey, Kevin McGrath, Trent McClelland, Atomic Improv, Lars Callieou and Sean Lecomber). Damn it, Jim, he’s a musician, not […]
A FEW GOOD MEN: The movie?! You can’t handle the movie!
“You want the truth?! You can’t handle the truth!” Imagine having that damned line of dialogue hanging over your head when you’re trying to do a serious stage version of “A Few Good Men.” Hell of a distraction. The line – uttered by the crusty Colonel Nathan R. Jessep in the famous courtroom blowout in […]
CONCERTS: Theory of a Big Wreck, Jordan Knight, Royal Wood
On their own, big bars. Together, the big hall. In the grand rock ‘n’ roll tradition of teaming up two slightly disparate modern rock bands to bolster their combined audience, Big Wreck and Theory of a Deadman are joining forces for a winter tour set to swing through town in December. The bands will play […]
Funny business afoot as Rapid Fire Theatre moves to the Citadel
The old idea that the Citadel Theatre is the Edmonton version of Broadway, this ivory tower that’s both artistically and financially above all other local theatre companies is about to get turned on its head. Rapid Fire Theatre is moving in. These guys are loud, known to cuss, usually hilarious, and they don’t even know […]
STERLING AWARDS: No hard feelings from shut out Lemoine
It’s certainly nothing to stop the presses over – or whatever has replaced presses – to report that the Citadel Theatre once again cleaned up at the annual Sterling Awards, held Monday night. Edmonton’s most popular theatre took away seven of the awards (named after the late Edmonton theatre impresario Elizabeth Sterling Haynes), including outstanding […]
REVIEW: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a love most supreme
It must have been vexing for the groundlings who first witnessed A Midsummer Night’s Dream and its plots, tri-pronged: One, planned nuptials and entanglements of desire; two, a fantasia in the forest; three, rehearsals for a play, doomed to go wrong. A plethora of anachronisms, a herd of non-sequiturs made this play a task to […]
Heavy issues at Edmonton Jewish Film Festival: Lest we forget
This town sure has a lot of film festivals. Hot on the heels of the Global Visions Docs and the Oscar shorts series from the Edmonton International Film Fest folks, noted local filmmaker Josh Miller is once again leading the charge as the Edmonton Jewish Film Festival kicks off Sunday at the Citadel Theatre’s Ziedler […]
