As many of you know, I have been giving out Tootsie Pops for many years to people in the theatre as a way of saying ‘thank you for making the theatre so special for me.’ Instead of doing top 10 lists of the best theatre and performances of the year, I do The Tootsie Awards that are personal, eclectic, whimsical and totally subjective.
Here are this year’s selections:
PEOPLE
The Guts of a Bandit Award
Layne Coleman
Layne Coleman earns this one for being one of the Toronto/Canada theatre’s early movers and shakers, as an actor, playwright and artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille from 1997-2007. At present he is interim artistic director of VideoCabaret where he programmed with impish delight, Alan Williams’ one man show on his acting journey, Once in a Lifetime, Sometimes Never, and Dear Robert by Jim Garrard, founder and first artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille, part of a double bill along with Special Delivery about letter writing. Alan Williams and Jim Garrard would be described by the blinkered and thoughtless among us, as “old white guys.” In fact, they are the guys on whose shoulders subsequent generations stand, who paved the way in theatre.
Layne Coleman just directed Madame Minister for Talk Is Free Theatre, in Barrie, Ont, a wild Serbian farce, in which he illuminated that whole world by having it played in the small hallway of a private home.
AND…Layne Coleman has recently published his memoir, ‘An Open-Ended Run” in which he spills his guts about grief, joy, theatre, his late wife Carol Corbeil and his gifted playwright daughter Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman. A brilliant book. All done by a man with the guts of a bandit.
How Did He Ever Learn All Those Lines Award
Mike Nadajewski
For his herculean performance of Valere in La Bête by David Hirson, at Harbourfront for Talk Is Free Theatre. Never mind the 35-minute monologue at the top of the show, this was a bravura performance of an arrogant, totally in control, hilarious, quixotic character who commanded the room at all times. Mesmerizing.
The Jon Kaplan Mensch Award
Thom Allison
Thom Allison, again this year. He imbues his productions with humanity, kindness and compassion. In La Cage Aux Folles at the Stratford Festival, he not only brought out the wild humour of the piece with a sweet irreverence, but also, he illuminated the deep feelings of love between the characters.
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Young People’s Theatre, just a simple touch of the mother to the various grandparents before she went to work for the evening, speaks volumes about the love the characters feel. All created effortlessly by Thom Allison.
Steve Ross
As a playwright, in 12 Dinners this year at Here for Now Theatre in Stratford, Ont., Steven Ross wrote about his troubled family due to his mother’s depression, with such understanding, compassion and insight it left one breathless. He did not avoid the harshness and damage done, but he handled it with the understanding of a mensch.
As an actor this year, he played Shylock in Something Rotten at the Stratford Festival and played him with a bit of naivety and the result was hilarious. But it was as Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, also at the Stratford Festival, that Steve Ross excelled. Whether Albin was performing as his drag queen character or presenting as his adoptive son’s absent mother, Steve Ross never made fun of the characters. Rather, he filled them with a graceful femininity that presented them as women with kindness, understanding, patience and love.
Jani Lauzon
Jani Lauzon has been a towering, creative presence in the theatre for decades, illuminating Indigenous stories with integrity, respect and dignity. She has both written plays and acted in them, celebrating that world and communicating its vibrancy and importance to the wider world.
Recently there was a hateful, agenda-driven essay in “The Walrus” questioning Jani Lauzon’s Indigeneity and that of her father. (One wonders, if your father told you when you were a kid that he is Metis and went to a Residential School, do you question him and ask to see proof and his status card?)
Jani Lauzon wrote a long Facebook post addressing the accusations, admitting when facts might have been incorrect and asserting the accuracy of her Indigenous heritage. She did it in a calm, thoughtful, respectful way, proving you can be the best example of an Indigenous life, lived as a mensch.
The Arkady Spivak Gifted Theatre Creator Award
Arkady Spivak (again!)
He is the artistic producer of Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie, Ont. and he keeps on re-inventing how and where to do theatre. He decided to do the whole 2024-25 season, including a wild festival of short plays, anywhere but in a theatre.
He organized tours last year of Talk is Free Theatre productions of:
- Tales of an Urban Indian to Suriname and Fiji
- Tales of an Urban Indian, into the Woods and What she Burned to New Zealand
- Tales of an Urban Indian and For Both Resting and Breeding to Chile
– For Both Resting and Breeding to Argentina
– La Bête played in Toronto
– Boy Falls from the Sky to Hamilton and Montreal
– Cock will tour to Japan in February 2025.
She Writes Nothing but the Truth Award
Kanika Ambrose
She has lived up to her gifts and written Truth a wonderful play based on the novel “The Gospel Truth” by Caroline Pignat. It played at Young People’s Theatre. Kanika Ambrose’s play Truth, about a slave girl named Phoebe who works on a plantation, is about resilience, tenacity and the belief in hope. It’s emotion-charged and beautifully written.
The Jaw-droppers—They Can Do Anything–Award
Allan Louis
He has played Dracula, Ira Aldridge, unassuming characters, characters with attitude, all with dignity and flair. This past summer he played Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Shaw Festival and reinvented the character. His Henry was not just socially inept, he was conflicted and caught up short by Eliza Doolittle. This was a subtle, beautifully created performance of a man reluctant to change, until he met the person who made him reconsider, in order to find ordinary happiness.
Jacob MacInnis
Jacob MacInnis has played a gender fluid character who goes from being a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly in Alice in Wonderland for Bad Hats Theatre, to playing Mrs. Gloop, a doting, sweet mother with joy, yodeling and a soprano voice in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Young People’s Theatre, to playing a man conflicted of his sexuality in The Full Monty at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, to the title role in Dion, a Rock Opera for Coal Mine Theatre, in which they were seductive, dangerous, compelling and sang with heart and distinction. Jacob MacInnis makes every part they play, memorable and compelling.
The One(s) to Watch Award
Josh Palmer and Chloe Matamoros who played Nick and Honey respectively in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee produced by zippysaidproductions at the Red Sandcastle Theatre.
Both Josh Palmer and Chloe Matamoros displayed a keen presence in these tricky parts; both brought a distinctive flair.
Josh Palmer as Nick was confident in his sexuality and suggested that might have been how the character got ahead to a certain extent. His Nick was no pushover.
Chloe Matamoros as Honey was an innocent but was watchful too and that brought a complexity to the part that was refreshing.
Tavaree Daniel-Simms and Jadyn Nasato who played Nick and Cara respectively in Four Minutes Twelve Seconds writtenby James Fritz and produced by Studio 180 Theatre.
Both young characters are caught in the middle of a social media storm involving a video of Cara having non-consensual sex with her boyfriend Jack (who we never meet). Nick is a friend of both the boyfriend and Cara—in fact Nick liked Cara first.
Jadyn Nasato as Cara is terrific. She gives a nuanced, subtle performance full of detail and richness.
As Nick, Tavaree Daniel-Simms is also impressive. One can see this character loves Cara and wants to protect her. It’s a lovely performance.
Robert Gerow
In the Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan, at Here for Now Theatre in Stratford, Robert Gerow played a mysterious stranger and a woman’s concerned son. This young actor has depth, ability and a touch of danger.
Finn Kirk
He played Ralphie in A Christmas Story, the Musical for Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton. Ralphie isa young kid who just wants a Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun for Christmas. Finn Kirk can act and sing a treat for such a young person. Charming,
PRODUCTIONS
Growing Old Gracefully Award
Age is a Feeling
At the Yonge Centre for the Performing Arts.
Written and performed by Haley McGee. About a woman through the ages, experiencing life, gaining wisdom, forming relationships, losing them. Haley McGee is wise, perceptive, very funny, moving and submerges us in the world of the play giving us oxygen and illumination as well.
Don’t Haul a Bale of Hay in Shorts Award
The Farm Show: Then & Now
At the Blyth Festival, Blyth, Ont.
Written by Theatre Passe Muraille with new additions by the company of the Blyth Festival Production, celebrating its 50th season.
This is an homage to the production that Paul Thompson and five city-slicker actors created in 1972 by going to farmland in Clinton, Ont. and learning about farming and the world of the farmer. It was also an homage to the farmer. As Miles Potter, one of the city-slickers learned, you must wear long pants to haul bales of hay or it will shred your thighs. Miles Potter wore shorts, once doing that task. It was wonderful seeing the new generation of actors paying its respects to the show and reimagining the stories, and also seeing people in the audience who had been in that first show—and missing those no longer with us. Canadian theatre history, burning bright and just as relevant.
Language Did Not Obscure the Important Message Award
Toba Tek Singh
Dramatic Jukebox presented this as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Toba Tek Singh is a stunning piece of theatre about a terrible time in history—the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and how it affected so many people with just a line drawn through a country, displacing hundreds of thousands. I so appreciated the company’s efforts to make this story clear for their audiences by improving the fonts, sharpness of focus and the increase in the commentary. I also respected their need to be true to their story and convictions by telling it mainly in Hindi and Punjabi. It was very clear. Bravo.
Make Your Own Luck Award.
Girls Unwanted
Bravo to the feisty, young company of The King Black Box Theatre who reached out to George F. Walker for a play and he not only ‘offered’ them Girls Unwanted, but he also directed it as well.
It’s about women in a half-way house trying to get by. The language is taut and raw. The emotions are high. Pure George F. Walker country. The tiny space was in a third-floor walk-up and the folks who have been supporting this edgy kind of theatre for years, made the trek to King Street in Parkdale to see it. Bracing theatre.
Is It Real Or Is It Memorex Award
Dana H.
A Crow’s Theatre Production, written by Lucas Hnath, directed by Les Waters, starring Jordan Baker.
Jordan Baker ‘played’ Dana Higginbotham, Lucas Hnath’s mother. She sat in a chair and told the audience of the five months she had been held captive by a man who kidnapped her. What she did was mouth the words to the actual recorded voice of Dana Higginbotham, complete with pauses, laughs, coughs, stammers, even the shifting in the chair and rearranging of her bracelets. It was a meticulous, nuanced, gripping performance and after a while we were certain Jordan Baker was Dana Higginbotham and she was doing the talking.
The Maturity and Grace Award
Mary’s Wedding
At the Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque, Ont.
Written by Stephen Massicotte, directed by Brett Christopher.
A memory play about the love of Charlie and Mary before and after he goes off to fight in Europe in WWI. It’s an ache of a play; funny and moving. But this production had such resonance because of the stunning acting of Maev Beaty as Mary and Wade Bogert-O’Brien as Charlie. They brought maturity and grace to their parts and the play. Sensitively directed by Brett Christopher.
The Delicate and Fierce Award
Wonderful Joe
At the Jane Mallett Theatre.
Using hand puppets and marionettes creator/performer Ronnie Burkett focuses his perception, wit and anger on a world gone mad. He touches on gender issues, pronouns, friendship, loyalty, optimism, climate change and love, generally through the eyes of Joe.
Ronnie Burkett is concerned about the sad, angry, beautiful world we live in. Nothing escapes his perceptive ire, but he handles it all with compassion and an open heart. That is especially true towards these characters who populate his play. Each of these characters is broken in some way or another but they are fixed/healed/put back together with the gold that is Wonderful Joe.
Ronnie Burkett is a treasure. Wonderful Joe is a gift.
Powerful Even In Yiddish Award.
Playing Shylock
In Playing Shylock, Saul Rubinek ruminates on acting, being Jewish, how tough it is for Jewish actors to play leading parts in Canada, and certainly at Stratford. He notes that no Jewish actor has ever played Shylock at our Stratford—actually Paul Soles did in 2001 replacing Al Waxman who died during open heart surgery.
But then Rubinek does look at the question of who should play what parts? He talks about the accusation of “appropriation” when an actor plays a part different from his ethnicity/background etc. Rubinek’s answer is that all acting is appropriation. I loved that.
Saul Rubinek recites long swaths of The Merchant of Venice during the play and it’s full of vigor, anger, emotion and conviction, especially the “…if you prick us do we not bleed” speech. But it’s at the end of the production, when Saul Rubinek says the same speech in Yiddish, conjuring his Yiddish-actor-Holocaust survivor-father, that the performance is particularly chilling and insightful.
The Serbian World in a Hallway Award
Madame Minister
Produced by Talk Is Free Theatre
Based on “The Cabinet Minister’s Wife” by Branislav Nusic.
Adapted by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman.
Directed by Layne Coleman
About a social-climbing woman who feels she is owed more respect in her small Serbian town than she is given. Then she hears that her husband might be made a minister in the new government and she goes into over-drive ordering people around and acting as if she has made it. A farce that puts you in that Serbian world, performed by a gifted cast in the small hallway of a private home in Barrie, Ont. The adaptation by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman and the direction by Layne Coleman bristled with comedic invention. A treat.
Shows from away that rocked my world:
My Neighbour Totoro
At the Barbican, London, England.
Based on the Japanese animated film. About loss, longing, holding on, puppets, imagination, joy.
Operation Mincemeat
At the Fortune Theatre, London, England.
Book, Music, and lyrics by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts.
About the British secret operation to fool Hitler into thinking the invasion of Europe was coming at a certain place and it wasn’t. Men played women; women played men with swagger, arrogance and the pomposity of the upper-class twit. Everybody sang about it and it was brilliant. The programme cover is inspired.
Here There Are Blueberries
At New York Theatre Workshop, New York.
By Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich. Conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman.
This is about a book of photographs. All the photographs took place in Auschwitz. They aren’t of the misery experienced by the prisoners. They are of the joy, humour and good times experienced by the guards, administrators and support staff of the place. The ‘play’ explores who these smiling people actually are. Gripping and devastating.
The Years
At the Almeida Theatre, London, Eng.
Based on the Memoir by Annie Ernaux
Adapted and directed by Eline Arbo
About Ernaux’s life, discoveries of men, heartache, abortion, marriage and children, full of intense emotion.
A stunning piece of theatre that left people faint at the graphic nature of the effects of the abortion, and gripped because of its emotional power.
The Blood Quilt
At Lincoln Center Theater, New York.
Written by Katori Hall.
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
From the play’s description: “Four sisters gather at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia for their annual reunion. They are creating a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. But when their reunion turns into a reading of their mother’s will, everyone must grapple with a troubling inheritance. Stitched with history, ritual, laughter and tears,” truths and accusations are told as the sisters stitch the ‘blood quilt.’ The language of Katori Hall shimmers and is vivid. One character says of her sister: “You’re a whole bucked of sour.” Angry, bitter, loving and embracing the play is an explosion of emotions, performed by a stunning cast lead by their gifted director.
Cherish the Future Audience Award
Sonia and Alfred
Teatro Gioco Vita (Italy), presented at the Wee Festival, which should get its own award.
From the show information: “Alfred is a bird searching for a place to be. For refuge. He carries with him his one possession, a little red chair. None of the other birds will welcome him and tell him to go away! But one day he arrives at Sonia’s house and a beautiful friendship begins. A wonderful and moving story about finding home, belonging, friendship and family told through exquisite theatre and shadow puppetry.”
This was an exceptional and yes, exquisite piece of theatre, as were all the selections of the Wee Festival.
The Wee Festival (Lynda Hill, Artistic Director) caters to very young audiences (0-6 years old). The young audiences are treated with respect, care, consideration and kindness. They are our future audiences. We must cherish them.
Happy holidays and all good things in the future.
Lynn
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