PLAYBOT: Redpatch tells untold (until now) WWI story
Edmonton First Nations actor Sheldon Elter can’t be in two plays at once – but one imagines he would’ve totally been up for Redpatch. He’s already starring in The Comedy Company (see below), another play about World War I. Coincidence? Not this time, Jasper. Remembrance Day is coming up. At the Citadel Theatre Nov. 1-11, […]
PLAYBOT: Love means never having to say you’re sorry
Opera buffs claim La Traviata was an inspiration for several Hollywood movies – highbrow stuff like Moulin Rouge or Pretty Woman. But there is another … Giuseppe Verdi’s famous opera bears a striking similarity to Love Story, the 1970 romantic drama starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw. Does anyone remember this? It was the highest […]
PLAYBOT: Theatre season off to morbid start
Vern Thiessen is a busy man. His play about Shakespeare’s dead wife Shakespeare’s Will just finished its run – in a graveyard! – and now the esteemed local playwright will star in his own play Lenin’s Embalmers, a Studio Theatre production Oct. 11-20 at the Timms Centre for the Arts. He plays Lenin. Current state: […]
REVIEW: Once, twice, three times we love you!
“Let me entertain you!” sings Baby Rose in Gypsy, giving voice to what might be called the mantra of the American musical. Once, the new musical currently gracing the Shoctor Stage of the Citadel Theatre, demonstrates with a cunning combination of simplicity, heart and charm that a great musical doesn’t have to pound you into […]
PLAYBOT: Shakespeare women tell their side of story
Out, damned spot! Five, six, seven, eight … Could you imagine the “Women of Shakespeare” dancing in skimpy attire in a modern burlesque show? And now, four hundred years later, you can – with the return of Shakespeare’s Sirens: A Burlesque Revue, at Fort Edmonton Park’s Capitol Theatre Sept. 28-29. All your favourites will be […]
PLAYBOT: Once upon a romance
He’s a street musician who’s starting to have doubts about his chosen career path. She’s a beautiful young passer-by who becomes his muse. What could possibly go wrong? Why, nothing, of course – aside from life and, possibly, love. In this multiple-Tony winning musical at the Citadel Theatre Sept. 22-Oct. 14, Julien Arnold and Ruth […]
PLAYBOT: It’s Shakespeare time!
One point in favour of teaching Shakespeare in schools and putting on Shakespeare festivals every summer – if we’re still arguing about this – is that almost everyone knows Shakespeare. Sure, he came from a distinctly white male European point of view, but his stories persist to this day because, well, they’re good. Think of […]
PLAYBOT: Refugees find love in Canada
Canada has always welcomed refugees – and the nation is better for it. The new people just have to get used to the frightful weather. Before the poor Syrians, there were Jews fleeing persecution in Romania 100 years ago. Some of them settled in Canada – and so here is the tale in a concert-theatre […]
New incarnation of Robin Hood ‘engaging and spectacular’
Wrapping up a superlative season at the Citadel, Artistic Director Daryl Cloran decided to go out on a high. Like, really high. Three stories high. Back at the beginning of the year, as new Artistic Director, he was getting to know various players on our theatrical scene. One he contacted was Mieko Ouchi – the […]
PLAYBILL: Shumka keeps it real
The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers have turned down an offer to participate in an all-Shumka parody of West Side Story to tell the tale of Edmonton’s two sides – North Side Story. We were told Shumka’s core subscribers probably wouldn’t go for it (based on a comic by Chad Huculak). Just as well. Keep it real. […]
PLAYBILL: Robin Hood flower
In a world premiere mix-up of the classic tale, Robin Hood is a woman, the story is by the acclaimed Edmonton playwright Mieko Ouchi, there’s music by the great Canadian songsmith Hawksley Workman, and the performers are doing aerial acrobatics. Also, Citadel Theatre artistic director Daryl Cloran is directing the show himself. It’s hard to […]
PLAYBILL: Can’t go wrong with Elvis
One of the things the Mayfield Dinner Theatre does very well is the dependable “jukebox musical.” This is due mainly to artistic director Van Wilmott – a hardcore music and gear geek, songwriter, performer, arranger and producer who’s been active in Edmonton’s music scene for at least 40 years, many of them working hard at […]
