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 […]
PLAYBILL: Time travel terror
The trouble with Christmas spirit is that it only seems to come at Christmastime. For many people it’s just an expensive annual festival of indulgence in favourite sins – sloth, gluttony and lust, not necessarily in that order – in the company of loved ones, if you’re lucky enough to have any. You help the […]
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: 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 […]
REVIEW: Spotty sprawling spy spoof sparkles
Our Man in Havana announces the creation of a new Edmonton theatre company, The Varscona Theatre Ensemble. It’s actually an umbrella organization under which a number of Edmonton troupes will operate. Running through Dec. 2, this show is produced by Bright Young Things – a company known for its brilliant succession of Fringe shows. The […]
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 […]
PLAYBILL: John Ware comes to life
Not much is known about the life of John Ware – which of course means it’s open season for curious biographical playwrights. As long as their poetic license is up to date with not too many demerits. The record of Calgarian playwright Cheryl Foggo appears to be clean, and her celebrated play John Ware Reimagined […]
Constellations a moving multiverse rom-com
The multiverse is a scientific theory that suggests the possibility of not just one universe – but many. They all exist at the same time. So if you’re reading a review about a play at this moment – in another universe you are running a marathon, or lying on a beach in Bali. These universes […]
PLAYBILL: Mom tells her side of the story
We’ve read the Book of Job, perused the respective Gospels of Matthew, Luke, Peter, John, Paul, George and Ringo. But where is the woman’s voice in all this? What did Mother Mary have to say? She was there for the whole thing, after all. Cue The Testament of Mary, the stage adaptation of the Colm […]
PLAYBILL: I Am Because You Are
Never let it be said that the Citadel Theatre is an ivory tower that never takes chances. Those two “nevers” just cancel each other right out in the hands of their bold new artistic director Daryl Cloran. In the second play of his first Citadel season in Edmonton, he has wrangled an ambitious new play […]
PLAYBILL: Fortuitous Endings just the beginning
You know that point near the end of a relationship when you start lying to your friends? Ha, ha! Yeah, we always yell at each other like that. Everything is JUST FINE. It can get a bit awkward. The title of the season opener for the provocatively-named local “Toy Guns Dance Theatre” is too long […]
PLAYBILL: Shockers Delight! revives, renews
When you’ve written dozens of plays over 35 years like Stewart Lemoine, you’re entitled to a few reruns – but, like Star Trek, occasionally you want to get some fresh faces into the story. Shocker’s Delight! was a hit when it was first produced in 1993, and will now enjoy its third remounting at the […]
