PLAYBILL: Ever been to sea?
If it weren’t for a certain Victorian-era creative team’s fascination with all things nautical, musical theatre as we know it today might be far different. Imagine if H.M.S. Pinafore had been set in the Canadian prairies: Ranch boss’s daughter falls in love with a lowly ranchhand, cue “Come away with me on my tractor, Buttercup.” […]
PLAYBILL: Whose Worst Year Ever?
One wonders how much of himself – or current politics – Trevor Schmidt will bring to his role of a grumpy 12-year-old girl in Worst Year Ever. The Northern Light Theatre artistic director will play “Charlotte” in what we must presume is an autobiographical tale by playwright Charlotte Miller (who’s given Schmidt “permission” to do […]
Russian opera hacked in superb Onegin
Back in February of 2014, two gleeful Vancouver musical buffs, Veda Hille and Amiel Gladstone, presented A Craigslist Cantata in The Club at the Citadel. It was a sprightly song-and-dance look at some of the weird items presented for sale on the internet bazaar. It was a hit here, as it was elsewhere across the […]
PLAYBILL: Onegin, twogin, threegin
It’s nice to imagine that the great classical composers could jump into a time machine to see their work made into “rock operas” hundreds of years later – and that they’d like it. Hey, if there’d been rock ‘n’ roll back then, they would’ve rocked – or so rockers like to think. Moot point, as […]
REVIEW: The Humans a chilling family affair
American playwright Stephen Karam wanted to write a horror story. Given the unsettling atmosphere of the run-down New York tenement where he sets his new play, The Humans, at the Citadel Theatre until Jan. 27 for the Canadian premiere, and the sudden unexplained noise that rocks the apartment, the lights that suddenly go out and […]
PLAYBILL: The Humans hits a nerve
Oy, vey – we’ve only just recovered from another awfully awkward holiday family dinner – and now Citadel Theatre hits us with a nightmare scenario of yet another awfully awkward holiday family dinner for its first play of 2018. Fresh from New York, The Humans is a black comedy that takes place entirely in a […]
Colin MacLean: Best theatre of 2017
This was the year of Kate Ryan – she probably sprang from her show-biz mother’s loins singing show tunes and grew up as a child of the theatre. She’s the artistic director of the Plain Jane Theatre Company, and this year branched out in a series of outstanding productions. The spring began with Ah, Romance […]
PLAYBILL: The 12 Plays of Christmas
OK, so now we’re in the mood for some sweet holiday entertainment fruitcake. Twelve sleeps till Christmas, which is the number of days in the 12 Days of Same – and the proper amount of time left to catch some of the best Christmas theatre in town. If you play your cards right, you could […]
PLAYBILL: You will be visited by 4 ghosts
Scrooge … Scrooge … SCROOGE, wake up! It’s me, your former partner, Jacob Marley. Why I’ve turned into a ghost whose only gig is to warn to you not to be so greedy is beyond me. “Don’t end up like me,” I’m supposed to say. But I was a generous guy! People liked me! Didn’t […]
PLAYBILL: In with Gretzky, out with DISNEY!
Northlands Coliseum will be hosting its last show ever this weekend. After that, what? They’re tearing it down to build a domed waterpark? Not super clear on that. Anyway, capping 43 years of memories, where once Gretzky skated will now be the icy stage for Mickey and Minnie Mouse and all their friends – stars […]
PLAYBILL: Havana cigar for company birth
A new Edmonton theatre company has crawled out of its cocoon – though it’s pretty much been here the whole time. Say hello to The Varscona Theatre Ensemble – with longtime local actor Jeff Haslam at the executive producer’s wheel. This is a new brand for what he and in fact most of the people […]
Hadestown one HELL of a musical
The first thing you see when you enter the theatre is a vast empty space with a huge bleached tree reaching out with leafless arms. Winter’s coming. It’s a powerful invitation and a warning of the wonders and dangers that are to come in the new musical Hadestown. It’s a simple enough start to a […]
