Live and in person at Young Peoples’ Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Running until Dec. 30, 2024

www.youngpeoplestheatre.org

Book by David Greig

Music by Marc Shaiman

Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl

Songs from the motion picture by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

Directed by Thom Allison

Musical director, Jeannie Wyse

Choreographer, Allison Plamondon

Set by Brandon Kleiman

Costumes by Ming Wong

Lighting by Jareth Li

Sound by Brian Kenny

Projections by Laura Warren

Joy with a pinch of bitter sweet. Goodness, kindness and humanity are championed along with imagination.

The Story. Willie Wonka, a reclusive eccentric candy-maker has decided he has to pass on his candy factory to the next generation, so he leaves his factory in disguise to find that perfect person. He opens a candy store in the ‘outside world’ full of his many and various creations.

One day Charlie Bucket comes into the store, curious about the candies. Charlie comes from a terribly poor family. The few pennies he has are used to buy food for his single mother and both pairs of grandparents. The food is usually best-for-the-trashcan-vegetables that he buys from Mrs. Green, a greengrocer.

Willie Wonka has created a contest. Inside five of his famous Wonka Bars is a gold ticket that entitles the person finding it to a tour of his chocolate factory. Willie Wonka urges Charlie to buy one. Charlie says he will, on his birthday. Four of the five tickets are already found by obnoxious, greedy, selfish children. One remains to be discovered. Will Charlie get lucky and find it?

The Production. Director Thom Allison continues to go from strength to strength. His direction of La Cages aux Folles this past season at the Stratford Festival is an example of a vivid imagination and a huge beating heart (I regret that time again got away from me and I have not reviewed it yet—it closes after being extended Nov. 17). In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Thom Allison and his design team have envisioned a world of vivid colours, patterns, designs and characters. Brandon Kleiman’s set has created a psychedelic world, set in Toronto (the CN Tower is front and center)  of shimmer, neon colour, and eye-popping stimulus. Ming Wong’s creative, witty costumes add to that whimsy, especially the polka dotted Ooma Lumpas, a group who dispense with annoying children. And Laura Warren’s arresting projections complete the picture. Allison Plamondon’s choreography provides a regular swirl of activity.

Thom Allison has found the perfect Willie Wonka in Michael Therriault. Michael Therriault is agile, energetic, committed and watchful as Willie Wonka. His singing of “Wonka’s Welcome Song” (The Candyman) sets up the audience for what is to come—easily digestible tunes with some barbed lyrics thanks to the music of Marc Shaiman and the lyrics of Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. It would be helpful if the volume of the orchestra was dialed down a bit so we could hear the singers sing the lyrics clearly.

Breton Lalama as Charlie is a wide-eyed, kind soul. He is always curious, enthusiastic about his discoveries, resourceful and self-less. Charlie is a young man who always thinks of others. While the other kid-characters think only of themselves, are selfish, greedy and malicious, Charlie imagines treats that others would like. He thinks of the perfect candy for his mother and then a different one for each grandparent. It’s Charlie’s imagination that also sets him apart, his need to fill a blank page with ideas.

There is a scene when Charlie (Breton Lalama) shows compassion and understanding in that selfish world of spoiled children and Therriault looks at him, standing some distance away, and there is such quiet joy in Willie’s reaction, you knew that Willie found his perfect successor.   

While the musical captures that larger than life fantasy world of the movie, director Thom Allison establishes and centers the beating heart of the work by adding touches that speak volumes about how Charlie Bucket and his family love each other. Mrs. Bucket (a gracious Zorana Sadiq) is always embracing him, encouraging him. When Mrs. Bucket has to go to her night job, she leaves by touching each of the grandparents who are sleeping. It’s a small gesture, but a gesture of love.

There is a lot of talent on the stage. Nick Boegel is a sullen, dangerous Mike Teavee; David Lopez brings out the goofiness of Augustus Gloop; Caitlyn Macinnis is demanding and petulant as Veruca Salt (I love that Roald Dahl has named her after a wart); and Ruth Acheampong plays the gum-chewing, self-absorbed Violet Beauregarde. Jacob Macinnis plays Mrs. Gloop with joy, yodeling and a soprano voice, and then there are the other characters Jacob Macinnis plays with distinction, detail and wit.  

Comment. Roald Dahl, who wrote the children’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” on which the film and this musical are based, is no stranger to the darker side of childhood. There is always some sinister presence in his children’s books. In Matilda, about a curious little girl who loves to read, all the adults, except one, are horrible. Her parents are despicable and there is a vindictive bully of a teacher who bedevils Matilda. Only a kind teacher cares for her. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it’s the children who are horrible: greedy, selfish, self-absorbed and sociopathic. The parents don’t know how to handle them and let them have their way. If there is a happy ending, it’s very hard won. And his adult short stories are downright malevolent. It’s fascinating journeying through Roald Dahl’s world of children’s books and then adult books.

For all of Willy Wonka’s reclusiveness, he knew his way around childhood and how to spot a mean kid and the one who could be a kindred spirit.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a whirlwind of fun; a show with a sweet message and just enough tartness to make you sit up and notice.

Young People’s Theatre presents:

Plays until Dec. 30, 2024

Running time: 75 minutes (no intermission)

www.youngpeople’stheatre.org

{ 0 comments }

I’m doing four lectures on the Roots of Toronto Theatre at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre beginning Nov. 25 and every Monday after that until Dec. 16.

Details below. Please register. It will be fun and informative to know where our theatre companies etc. began.

Setting the Scene: The Roots of Toronto Theatre
Guest speaker: theatre critic Lynn Slotkin
Uncover the vibrant and diverse roots of the Toronto theatre scene! Learn about touring productions to established venues like The Royal Alexandra, Elgin/Wintergarden and O’Keefe Centre, the 1960s explosion of groundbreaking companies Toronto Free Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Tarragon and Factory, and independents who gave voices to specific communities like Nightwood and Obsidian Theatres, Buddies in Bad Times, and Native Earth Performing Arts. What were some seminal Canadian plays? How are these companies today? Join us in-person, on Zoom simulcast, or register to receive the recordings!
Mondays: November 25; December 2, 9 & 16
1:00-2:30pm
Miles Nadal JCC
Series: $50; drop-in: $16

Register here. For registration assistance, please call 416-924-6211 x0 or email help@mnjcc.org

https://app.amilia.com/store/en/miles-nadal-jcc/shop/programs/103384?subCategoryIds=5317945 this registration link is for both in person and virtual options.

{ 0 comments }

Time got away from me (alas a regular occurrence) and I’m posting these late.

Grand Theatre, London, Ont.

Closed Nov. 2, 2024

As You Like It

By William Shakespeare

Directed and adapted by Daryl Cloran

Choreographer, Jonathan Hawley Purvis

Set by Pam Johnson

Costumes by Carmen Alatorre

Lighting by Hina Nishioka

Sound by Owen Hutchinson

Cast: Henry Beasley

Tyler Check

Nadien Chu

Jennifer Copping

Daniela Fernandez

Jeff Irving

Alexandra Lainfiesta

Anton Lipovetsky

Matthew MacDonald-Bain

Jenny McKillop

June Mirochnick

Naomi Ngebulana

Troy O’Donnell

Jan Alexandra Smith

Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs

Leon Willey

Jacob Woike

Director/adaptor Daryl Cloran has created a lively, joyful, tune-filled production of Shakespeare’s comedy of love and familial friction. It’s an inspired move to include songs of the Beatles to add to the mood, attitude and story. The songs are listed in order of performance but the surprise and humour are how a song augments a scene or expands a character. The cast sings the songs and they are a talented group. 

There is a carnival atmosphere at the beginning of the production with Touchstone (Leon Willey) acting as a lively master of ceremonies, rousing the audience, joking with them and getting them primed for the comedy of the show.

A large boxing/wrestling ring dominates stage. Charles the wrestler (Jacob Woike) is taking on all challengers. Orlando (a boyish, lanky Jeff Irving) is the least likely opponent. He seems slightly built next to the beefed-up Charles. The “choreography” of the wrestling is terrific. It’s realistic, athletic and often breathtaking in its intricacy.

The play is mainly the developing love between Orlando (Jeff Irving) and Rosalind (Daniela Fernandez). Both handle the language beautifully. As Rosalind, Daniela Fernandez is confident, feisty and presents a woman in control, who has had to fend for herself. Jeff Irving plays Orlando as a young man who is in love with Rosalind but conflicted about how to go about wooing her should have the chance.

Jan Alexandra Smith is the most lively Jacques I’ve ever seen, although she handles the language with ease.  Nadien Chu as both Dame Frances and Dame Senior (a change of gender for this production) differentiates both parts with creativity and verve. Wonderful work here.

I loved the carnival atmosphere of the whole production. Adding the music of the Beatles is an inspired move. The Beatles also adds to the buoyancy of the production.  

I also have to say, that if you stumble on pronouncing “Haudenosaunee” and other Indigenous names and make a joke of it in the Land Acknowledgement, as Leon Willey did as Touchstone, then apologize or don’t do the Land Acknowledgement. Not nice.

The production closed Nov. 2, 2024.

Interior Design

At Tarragon Theatre, Extraspace, Toronto, Ont.

Extended to Nov. 17, 2024.

Written by Rosa Laborde

Directed by Kat Sandler

Set and costumes designed by Shannon Lea Doyle

Lighting by Imogen Wilson

Sound by Maddie Bautista

Cast: Sara Farb

Rong Fu

Anita Majumdar

Meghan Swaby

Who can explain why people are friends? Who can explain why conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were fast friends since they were worlds apart in their politics and attitudes? And while the four women in Interior Design, Rosa Laborde’s latest play at the Tarragon Theatre, have been friends for more than 30 years, you have to wonder why, since their personalities are so different, if not challenging.

Sophie (Sara Farb) is a life coach who is recently divorced and lives in a new condo with her kids. Olivia (Rong Fu) is a documentary film maker who seems cranky all he time. Cecilia (Anita Majumdar) is a woman with ever changing jobs/hobbies/projects. Presently she sells beauty products and her friends are perfect customers and perhaps a bit miffed at being used. Maya (Meghan Swaby) is a marketer/publicist.

There is a gathering of the four of them in Sophie’s condo. Olivia is the first to get there. We learn the reason is an intervention and Olivia thinks it’s for Cecilia. Finally, the group will tell Cecilia to back off with her foisting her products on them. In fact the intervention is for Olivia because she’s negative, depressing and they feel something is not right. The friends meet to work this out.

Rosa Laborde is a fine playwright. Her dialogue is bright, smart and sings. Her writing shows a strong sense of character and in these four women we have four distinct  people. Sophie is world-weary, perhaps from establishing her new home with her kids after her divorce. Maya loves the camaraderie of the group and is eager to please. Olivia is a challenge with her negativity and despair. And Cecilia is so pre-occupied with every new hobby, project she seems blinkered. They are all tech savvy, and wired to every kind of group chat.

Interior Design is wonderfully directed by Kat Sandler, herself a gifted playwright who knows the ins and outs of a laugh line and a dart to the heart. The cast is terrific and knows how to throw a ‘look’ or reaction that adds buoyancy to any joke. And while it’s certainly heartening that the friends are from different ethnicities, it’s not made into something notable in the dialogue. It’s just a natural thing that these four women met as young girls in school and stayed together. The interesting thing about these women is that Rosa Laborde has written them with their annoying traits writ large. So I wonder why they are friends at all? Perhaps more explanation is needed round them out and explain what bumps they all endured along the way in order to make the play stronger.

Tarragon Theatre presents:

Extended to Nov. 17, 2024.

Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

www.tarragontheatre.com

Acis and Galatea

Opera Atelier Presents:

The Elgin Theatre, Toronto, Ont.

Played Oct. 24-27, 2024.

I saw the last performance. The place was packed.

By G.F. Handel

Conducted by Christopher Bagan

Directed by Marshall Pynkoski

Choreographed by Jeannette LaJeunnesse Zingg

Set and costumes by Gerard Gauci

Lighting by Kimberly Purtell

Cast: Meghan Lindsay

Blaise Rantoanina

Antonin Rondepierre

Douglas Williams

Plus Artists of Atelier Ballet, Tafelmusic and The Nathaniel Dett Chorale

The shepherd Acis (Antonin Rondepierre) is in love with the goddess Galatea (Meghan Lindsay). It’s an unlikely union but in mythology and art anything is possible. As with all Opera Atelier productions, the look of it is sumptuous and exquisite. From the lush set design of Gerard Gauci to his elegant costumes, there is a richness and sophistication to the whole endeavor. The piece is beautifully choreographed by Jeannette LaJeunnesse Zingg with poses and dance being true to the Baroque era. Ms Zingg consulted paintings and references to those times to be as true to the form as possible. Marshall Pynkoski has directed this with his usual attention to detail. One moment in particular captured the rapture and intoxication of love between Acis and Galatea. They had just kissed passionately and longingly. They separated from the embrace and Acis (Antonin Rondepierre) leaned against the wall, his head flipped back on it, and then he slowly slid down the wall to sit on the ground, exhausted. Galatea (Meghan Lindsay) was as overcome as she sat and slumped on a ledge. Wonderful!

As usual I will not comment on the music, singing or dance because that is not my vocabulary. Seeing these productions is always an education in exquisite art and the focus, integrity and devotion needed to produce it.

Opera Atelier presented:

THE LATE MR. FEYDEAU!

A very short run that closed Oct. 27, 2024.

Théâtre français de Toronto Presented, at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Upstairs, Toronto, Ont.

Closed Nov. 3, 2024.

Written and directed by Sébastien Bertrand

Set and lighting by Glenn Davidson

Costumes by Michelle Tracey

Soundscape and composition by Keith Thomas

Cast: Mathieu Bourassa

Stephanie Broschart

Mickael Girouard

Patricia Marceau

Francois Macdonald

Adam Paolozza

Sébastien Bertrand has written a lively, fresh take on the farcical world of a Georges Feydeau vaudeville. It’s set in a sanitorium where Georges Feydeau is suffering from delirium. He also thinks he is dying so he is contemplating that. He is surrounded by people either posing as someone else or are who they say they are, and that’s astonishing too. There is a martini-drinking woman who may or may not be Mme. Currie; a very efficient man who may be a doctor or not; a harried man who is a doctor, and his fretting partner; there is a petulant ex-wife. Emotions run high. Humour does to. The nature of comedy and the world is given a quizzical look. The cast was fine. The set by Glenn Davidson of Feydeau’s room, elegant, beautiful, and calming in 1921, is just exquisite.

Bravo to Théâtre français de Toronto for the special glasses in which you can read the English translation on the lenses, rather than having to trust the surtitles to be properly readable. Wonderful experience.  

Production closed Nov. 3.

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Presented by David and Hannah Mirvish with Disney Theatrical Group. Playing until April 27, 2025 so far.

www.mirvish.com

Zama Magudulela as Rafiki: photo by Matthew Murphy

Music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice

Additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, Hans Zimmer

Book by Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi

Adapted from the screenplay by Irene Mecchi & Jonathan Roberts & Linda Woolverton

Directed by Julie Taymor

Choreographed by Garth Fagan

Music supervisor, Clement Ishmael

Music director, Sean Mayes

Scenic design by Richard Hudson

Costume design by Julie Taymor

Lighting design by Donald Holder

Mask and puppet design by Julie Taymor and Michael Curry

Sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy

Cast: Salvatore Antonio

Jewelle Blackman

Lisa Michelle Cornelius

Joema Frith

Simon Gallant

Will Jeffs

Nendia Lewars

Zama Magudulela

Ira Nabong

Erick D. Patrick

Trevor Patt

Camille Eanga-Selenge

Brian Sills

David D’Lancy Wilson’

Thrilling. Breathtaking in its invention, creativity and artfulness. Theatrically dazzling. Its heart beats loudly.

The Story. This Disney musical is of course based on the Disney animated film about a young lion cub named Simba who learns the hard way how to be king of his kingdom. First, he has to deal with the death of his father Mufasa because he is convinced he is responsible and so he runs away. Then there is Simba’s power hungry, evil uncle Scar, not to mention a pack of hideously laughing hyenas that keep rearing their ugly heads. Simba eventually must face his demons and fight for what is rightfully his and save his community.

The Production. I envy any kid or adult who is seeing this magical show for the first time. This will hook them for a life of going to the theatre. Director Julie Taymor’s direction, staging, her vivid imagery, creative costume design, and evocative puppetry and mask work (with Michael Curry), are eye-popping.

The first 10 minutes of the show are particularly striking in establishing the tone and intension for the rest of the musical.  The curtain rises slowly at sunrise. Rafiki (Zama Magudulela) the Xhosa speaking mystical female elder mandrill (female in the musical for more balance, as opposed to male in the film) gives the thrilling clarion call for the animals and birds of Pride Rock to gather. Those strong notes of attention from Zama Magudulela as Rafiki just grab one’s heart and squeezes it. This leads into the song “The Circle of Life.” The gathering is to celebrate the birth of Simba (Ira Nabong), the son of Mufasa (David D’Lancy Wilson) and Sarabi (a regal Lisa Michelle Cornelius). The animals and birds are depicted by the most evocative puppets and costumes. That and the combination of the music and lyrics by Elton John, Tim Rice, Lebo M., Mark Mancini, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer make that vision just irresistible.

The yellow and orange backdrop of the sky shimmers and slowly rises revealing the sun. The head of a giraffe peaks out from the wings stage left to see what’s going on. And then the giraffe enters, tall, graceful, majestic, commanding and a puppet. Finding the person ‘in’ the puppet working the legs makes the discovery more dramatic. The antelope follow, then birds circling above. Your imagination is swimming with the sight of so much wildlife. And then director Julie Taymor goes for the gusto—a huge elephant lumbers down the house left aisle with other wildlife on the far-right aisle as they climb onto the stage. Knowing the timing of when to raise a backdrop, coupled with the appearance of the animals and how to distinguish their movements and then to use the aisles for a complete effect, displays a stunning sense of theatricality and musicality.

Mufasa is played by David D’Lancy Wilson, who gives a commanding performance of a leader who does not need to bellow. This Mufasa calmly tries to be the example of a king that his son needs to follow. Mufasa tries to teach Simba that he must be fair to all the animals and birds. He must be measured in his dealings and brave and trusted in his behaviour.  Simba—a wonderful, impish Ira Nabong—is headstrong and impetuous. Mufasa tries to staunch that.

Scar (played wonderfully by Salvatore Antonio, as smooth talking and seductive) is Mufasa’s jealous, vindictive, evil-minded brother. He feels he should be the heir to Mufasa’s ‘throne’ and not Simba. And aligns himself with the hyenas, the enemy of the lions and uses every underhanded means possible to take control and make the jungle great again.

There is comic relief from Timon the meerkat played with enthusiasm by Brian Sills and the sweet but flatulent Pumbaa, the warthog, played by Trevor Patt. Their rendition of the buoyant “Hakuna Matata,” has the audience swaying to the music.

The whole production is a feast for the eyes and ears. The singing is resounding, although at times it was hard to hear the lyrics clearly because the intensity of the orchestra drowned out the singers too often.

Comment. Our present world has informed The Lion King.  The message of the show–that good triumphs over evil—is terrific. It’s been a rule of literature, theatre, the arts and life since forever. But after Tuesday, Nov. 5 2024, that message seems almost old fashioned, quaint. Waiting for Simba to return…..

David and Hannah Mirvish in association with Disney Theatrical Group present:

Playing until at least April 27, 2025.

Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (1 intermission)

www.mirvish.com

{ 0 comments }

Lynn:

A brief update for your blog:

On October 21^st at the CAEA National AGM, members passed, by a ratio of almost 2:1 in favour, Terry Tweed and Barbara Gordon’s members’ motion that CAEA should apologize to me and compensate me for my legal expenses incurred after having been forced to seek Justice in QC Superior Court.  

I subsequently sent an email to President Scott Bellis indicating the motion could provide a basis for us to reach a settlement and suggested we meet apart from any lawyers. My lawyer has estimated that CAEA lawyers’ fees defending against my Statement Of Claim could go as high as $40,000, to say nothing of the additional significant damages should the court find in favour of my claim. I am trying to save our membership further needless legal expenses.

On Oct 30th Scott informed me, via email, that Council had had a lengthy discussion at its meeting of Oct 29^th but not come to any conclusion on whether to respect the National AGM members’ motion. There was, according to, Scott, a “hung jury.” He will schedule extra time at the next Council meeting on November 25^th for the question to be revived. 

A couple of observations from members during the National AGM zoom meeting indicate some aspects of the issue seem to have been misunderstood. –Never, during the more than three years this issue has needlessly dragged on, have I ever named, nor even had any issue with, any of the original complainants. They were entirely entitled to their opinions, and entirely entitled to take their opinions to Council. My issue is with CAEA Council. The QC Judge correctly determined that the Disciplinary Panel had falsely attributed conclusions to the independent investigator that he never made, nor was even tasked to make. In his final analysis after reading the 183 pages of statements collected by the independent investigator, the QC Judge determined the Disciplinary Panel had no concrete evidence on which to find me guilty of breaking any of our Bylaws. And that any reasonable person cannot but come away with,  “…a staggering impression of the disparity between the gravity of the (Disciplinary Panel) conclusion (to suspend me) and the shallowness of its basis.” In an astonishingly forthright and, for CAEA, extremely embarrassing decision, he quashed the Disciplinary Panel’s determination thereby unequivocally exonerating me.  CAEA, before suspending me, had never permitted me to see the (lack of) evidence against me, had never granted the right to defend myself in person, and had never granted me the right to appeal the original erroneous Disciplinary Panel determination. My only recourse in seeking Justice was to take the matter to QC Superior Court. Yes, this made it a matter of public record, but I had no other choice. It was the actions and non-actions of CAEA Council itself that resulted in the matter going public and the anonymity of the individuals involved being threatened. Two months into the Judicial Review process, and long before it went to trial and became a matter of public record, and before any significant court costs had been incurred, I even reached out and offered to settle the process. CAEA never bothered to discuss the offer. 

If anyone on Council had taken to heart their serious duty of representing my side of the situation, they could have scanned the investigator’s 183 pages compilation of statements, and been able to see, as the judge did, that the DP had no factual basis on which to come to its determination against me. They would have seen that “rolling your eyes or sighing” is not a justification for suspending a member. 

Elections are currently underway for the new CAEA Council. As part of the election process, meetings are being held across the country to give regional candidates a chance to present themselves. At the November 4^th CAEA BC all-candidates zoom meeting, Scott Bellis, the CAEA President, was asked by one member if he was going to respect the members’ motion passed at the NAGM. Another member spoke up in Scott’s defence arguing that the voices at the NAGM of Terry Tweed, Barbara Gordon, David Ferry, Jeff Braunstein, Fiona Reid, Kyra Harper and myself should be devalued because we are on the wrong side of the what the member called the “age divide”. Wow! Discrimination on the basis of age is, I believe, contrary to our Canadian Bill of Human Rights. Ironic that this member’s documented attempt to persuade fellow CAEA members to ignore the opinions of some of us on the wrong side of the “age divide”, actually breaks CAEA Bylaws in a way that “rolling one’s eyes or sighing” never did. 

The BC All-candidates meeting was taped and can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbo9QJNP038

The question to Scott with subsequent discussion starts at 41:45. 

If you are a member of CAEA and believe that Council should live up to its own Constitution and, “assist members in pursuing their lawful rights and remedies.”, get in touch with your regional councillor before the November 25^thmeeting of our national council and express your opinion. 

Thanks again Lynn for taking an interest in this important issue. 

guy sprung

{ 1 comment }

Live and in person at the Harold Green Jewish Theatre, The Greenwin Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre, North York, Ont. Run: Nov. 2-10, 2024

www.hgjewishtheatre.com

Written by Lindsay Joelle

Directed by Brendan McMurtry-Howlett

Set by Brandon Kleiman

Costumes by Alex Amini

Lighting by Christian Horoszczak

Sound by Andy Trithardt

Cast: David Patrick Flemming

Liam Marshall

Tom Shoshani

Shaina Silver-Baird

A fascinating look into the secular and orthodox worlds of two Jewish friends.  

TRAYF: adj. Yiddish. Not in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. From the Hebrew “Terefah,” meaning torn.

From the play’s website: “Zalmy lives a double life. By day, he drives  a Chabad “Mitzvah Tank” through 1990s New York City, performing good deeds with his best friend Shmuel. By night, he sneaks out of his orthodox community to roller-skate and listen to rock and roll.  But when a curious outsider offers him unfettered access to the secular world, is it worth jeopardizing everything he’s ever known?”

Both Zalmy (Tom Shoshani) and Shmuel (Liam Marshall) are 19 years old and devout orthodox Jewish students. As they drive around Manhattan they eat red licorice (Zalmy recites a prayer before he eats a piece); talk about the Mitzvah (good deeds) they are doing for the Rabbi; and wonder about their world.  Shmuel wonders about the girl that will be chosen for him as a wife and will they be compatible. Zalmy is very curious about the secular world—a world that is forbidden to him.

When Jonathan (David Patrick Flemming enters their world, things change. Jonathan is fascinated with the Orthodox Jewish world but his mother is not Jewish, so he’s not Jewish. But he studies with Zalmy about the intricacies of Orthodox Jewish life, like putting on tefillin. He’s studying to convert. In exchange he gives Zalmy mixed tapes of music, some of which is of Elton John. Zalmy is ecstatic. Zalmy is getting closer to Jonathan and slowly moves away from Shmuel as a friend. 

Liam Marshall as Shmuel and Tom Shoshani as Zalmy give lively performances of these teens. They are curious; daring in the case of Zalmy who is so intrigued by the secular world and the wonders it holds for him; and tentative in the case of Schmuel wondering what life holds for him. David Patrick Flemming as Jonathan is also curious, but not in the desperate way that Zalmy is because Zalmy is cut off from any other life by rules and restrictions. Only when he sneaks out of the house does he experience a new freedom. Shaina Silver-Baird is Leah, Johnathan’s confident Jewish girlfriend. She takes no prisoners and wonders what has happened to her boyfriend, who used to be such fun. Brendan McMurtry-Howlett directs with confidence and lets the quieter moments breathe.

Playwright Lindsay Joelle has written a fascinating play about two worlds for these Jewish characters: the closed world of the Orthodox Jew, in which even wearing jeans is forbidden (and what a luxury it is for Zalmy to find out what that feels like; and the dazzling secular world of freedom with few restrictions. It was fascinating seeing how her characters interacted and changed when the secular met the Orthodox. But I couldn’t help feel that the play needed fleshing out, as if the challenges were introduced, but not a satisfactory conclusion.

The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Presents:

Nov. 2-10, 2024.

I saw it Nov. 9.

Running time: 75 minutes (no intermission)

www.hgjewishtheatre.com

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at the Coal Mine Theatre, Woodbine and Danforth, Toronto, Ont. Playing until Dec. 1, 2024.

www.coalminetheatre.com

Written by Samuel D. Hunter

Directed by Ted Dykstra

Set and lighting by Nick Blais

Costumes by Des’ree Gray

Sound and composer, Aaron Jensen

Cast: Mazin Elsadig

Noah Reid

A beautifully written play about male friendship and fierce love of their children, in a heart-squeezing production that is wonderfully acted and directed.

The Story.  No, this isn’t an esoteric religious tract. One would think so with a title like that. But it’s not.

A Case for the Existence of God is a play about a friendship between two unlikely men, both doting single fathers who adore their very young daughters—the daughters are about 18 months old.

Ryan works in a yogurt factory. Keith is a mortgage broker. Ryan has come to Keith for a loan. Ryan wants to buy a plot of land that his family once owned. He plans to build a house there. He feels that if he has that land he can give his daughter a good life. He also says that if he had money, then it would justify his existence. Ryan is going through a divorce. He’s going through a hard time. He shares custody of his daughter with his wife.

Keith has given Ryan the loan papers and tries to explain them, but Ryan is struggling to understand the terms and language etc. Keith appears successful; he has a college education, a responsible job but also has his issues. He’s a Black gay man who has tried to adopt a child but has had difficulty. So, he put himself forward as a foster parent for this young toddler. He is responsible, dotting and attentive to his daughter. But he has learned recently that while the birth mother of the little girl is unfit to raise her, the mother’s aunt has come forward after almost two years to try and adopt the little girl herself. Needless to say, Keith is fretting about this, but doesn’t want reveal this to Ryan.

There is a tentative connection between the two men because they met in their daughters’ daycare. By rights, Ryan is not eligible for the loan—he has no collateral. But Keith feels a kinship with Ryan and so works hard to find any angle to get him the loan.

One of the most devastating lines of the play is when Ryan says that they have a shared sadness.  It takes your breath away, because it’s true.

The Production. Nick Blais has designed a stylish office for Keith. There are two black swivel chairs with Keith’s being the more substantial with a high back. The black desk is narrow. There is one plant and around the border of the office are black boulders. Is this supposed to suggest a ‘man-cave’? And interesting thought.

Des’ree Gray has designed the costumes: a crisp shirt, tie and pants for Keith and worn t-shirt, pants and work boots for Ryan. Ryan also wears a baseball cap. The clothes accent their social/economic divide. The play unfolds after several office meetings between Ryan (Noah Reid) and Keith (Mazin Elsadig).

With just a change in the light (again, Nick Blais) the scene changes and we know that time has passed. The body movement of both characters snaps to a different position so we know the scene has changed. Noah Reid as Ryan might take his baseball cap off to suggest the change, or put the hat on backwards for the same reason. Mazin Elsadig as Keith shifts to another position in his chair all at the same time. Director Ted Dykstra has carefully choreographed these scene changes with economy. His direction is also so nuanced that it rivets you to the action.

We get the sense that the friendship is deepening when one of the scenes takes place at night Ryan at Keith’s house watching tv and having drinks. Ryan falls asleep in the chair and Keith calls out to Ryan asleep in the chair but Ryan is too deep in sleep to rouse. Keith nods off too.

But then there is the little cry of Keith’s daughter through the machine that is on the table that will pick up any noise in the baby’s room. And like a shot both men are startled awake. I loved that both men are so a tuned to the sound of a baby crying that it would rouse them out of the deepest sleep.

The acting between Noah Reid as Ryan and Mazin Elsadig as Keith is exquisite and detailed. Both listen to the other.  Both react with truth. The characters listen so hard to each other than they can sense when something is wrong. A character might lash out, and it’s discovered that it’s mis-placed anger, and that makes a scene richer when one character is so attuned to another.

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter is so nuanced and subtle in his writing. He has created believable men. You get the sense of what it must have been like for Keith, this gay Black man to be a gay Black kid in his small-town high school in which he is aware of slights, both real and imagined. And he has carried that into adulthood. It doesn’t go away like magic with maturity.

And we get a sense of Ryan’s disappointment as an adult because he was a kind of popular star in high school, who never lived up to the promise. I think of the other disappointed guys of promise: Biff in Death of a Salesman, the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie all looking for validation. Ryan has always been dirt poor, lonely, perhaps unloved since his parents were addicts and his father died young.  And yet both men see the good in the other. Both men bolster the other, even though it starts out uneven in power—one man wants a loan and the other has the power to get it for him. The friendship evens the relationship. And the bond over their daughters, the fierce love they have for their child, grips them.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a play about male bonding of two such strong but fragile characters. Sex never enters into it, not even in jock talk. And the fact that there is no hint of anything sexual makes the play remarkable. They don’t become lovers with Ryan all of a sudden realizing he’s gay. This is not a play about macho guys bonding trying to one up the other.

No. This is a play about a gay Black man and a straight white man who become true, deep friends. This is a play about two men going through rough times and supporting each other because of it. They are kind, they listen to each other, they see the good in the other—there are bumps along the way. But I was stunned at the sensitive, elegant writing that dug deep into the feelings. How rare is that, that we are dealing with caring men who take their care of their daughters and spread it to the friendship with each other?

Comment. As for the title, A Case for the Existence of God, it seems like a non-sequitur but on closer reflection I think the whole play is proof. There are also events that happen that I can’t reveal because that would give away some of the surprises, but various things happen that prove the title. Samuel D. Hunter is one gifted writer and A Case for the Existence of Godis one example why.

Coal Mine Theatre Presents:

Plays until Dec. 1, 2024.

Running time: 80 minutes (no intermission)

www.coalminetheatre.com

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ont. a Soulpepper Theatre and Nightwood Theatre co-production in association with Necessary Angel and Talk is Free Theatre.  Playing until November 10, 2024.

www.soulpepper.ca

Written by Heidi Schreck

Additional writing support (Canadian adaptation), Damien Atkins, Gabriella King, Amy Rutherford.

Directed by Weyni Mengesha

Costume designer, Ellie Koffman

Lighting designer, Kimberly Purtell

Sound and composer, Richard Feren

Cast: Damien Atkins

Gabriella King

Amy Rutherford

The component of Heidi Shreck’s play that deals with the US Constitution is fascinating, well drawn and thought out. It is beautifully presented by Amy Rutherford. But including a segment that deals with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms just because this play is being performed in Canada, is insulting.  

The Story. When American playwright Heidi Schreck was a 15-year-old high school student in 1989, she participated in various debates about the Constitution of the United States. She gave speeches on what the Constitution meant to her. That involvement earned Heidi the tuition for her time in university. She was keenly versed in the Preamble to the Constitution, the seven articles and the 27 amendments and it all comes through in this bracing, personal rendering of the ins and out of the U.S. Constitution.

When I say “personal” I mean Heidi Schreck notes her family history and how it applies (and sometimes doesn’t) to the Constitution. Abuse factored heavily in Heidi Schreck’s family. Her great-great grandmother was a mail-order bride to the United States. She was abused/beaten by her husband, Schreck’s great-great-grandfather and she died in a mental institute of “melancholia” at age 36. Heidi Schreck’s grandmother and mother were abused by their husbands. Abortion factors in the story—Schreck had an abortion in her 20s.

With finesse and grace Heidi Schreck analyses the Constitution with regards to its dealings with women, people of colour and reproductive rights. She notes how white men made all the decisions regarding these issues and even with 27 amendments, they still don’t seem to have gotten it right.

The Production. (Background). What the Constitution Means To Me started Off-Broadway in 2017 with Heidi Schreck playing herself at both 15 and in the present day. She then took the show to Broadway in 2019. It was celebrated, nominated for various awards, won a few and for the past two years has been the most performed play in the United States.  The Soulpepper-Nightwood-Necessary Angel-Talk Is Free Theatre production of What the Constitution Means to Me at the Young Centre, is the first one to play outside the United States.  

The production takes place in a legion hall of sorts (no designer is listed) with a podium, two chairs, an American flag and a backdrop of framed pictures of men in uniform. Amy Rutherford plays Heidi Schreck as both a buoyant, smiling 15-year-old and Schreck as an adult in the present day. Amy Rutherford wears skinny jeans, a work shirt and boots. The joy of talking about the Constitution bubbles out in her performance. There is conviction and that youthful confidence as she defends her position for the debate as the 15-year-old student, and a poised calmness as an adult when she is describing the harsh realities of how women have been treated by abusive partners, especially in her family. Weyni Mengesha directs with her usual surety, sensitivity and rigor.

Damien Atkins plays a military man who keeps track of the time in the debate scenes when Heidi is 15-years-old. Interestingly there is a heightened tension when Amy Rutherford as Heidi must adhere to a strict time limit to answer complex questions. Atkins is an unsmiling, very conscientious military man in these scenes. The character takes the job very seriously.  He looks at a stopwatch and we watch him, watching it to be accurate. Ones heart is pounding.

After all the points of the play are made, in the original production and ones that have played across the United States, the last 20 minutes or so of this 100 minute show, is a debate between Heidi Schreck (or the actress playing her) and a high school student. They are debating whether or not the U.S. Constitution should be scrapped and a new one initiated. With the toss of a coin one side argues for the proposition, the other side argues against.  But not in Canada.

Because of the impending U.S. election and Canada’s future election, Weyni Mengesha thought it might be a good idea to have that last 20 minutes be a debate about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Heidi Schreck agreed. In this instance, Damien Atkins, Gabriella King and Amy Rutherford are credited with providing additional writing support for the Canadian Adaptation.

So Amy Rutherford and Gabriella King, an accomplished author and high school student from Unionville, debate whether or not to scrap the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Each side uses small recipe cards to note and express the points of their arguments. The audience makes the decision who wins and a member of the audience is chosen to voice the decision.

In fact, in this case the audience wasn’t consulted on the decision either by cheering or stamping their feet. A member of the audience—the estimable Karen Robinson at my performance—was asked to decide who won the debate. I would assume the decision changes with each performance. And while I believe that Weyni Mengesha’s decision to debate the future of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is well-intentioned, I found that decision galling, if not insulting.

Comment. It seemed we Canadians should be puffed up and chuffed at the announcement that this is the first production of this American play outside of the United States and they have chosen Canada to play it. (sigh). How ever did we cope with the other American shows that have come north without fanfare? How did we cope in 1971 when the American musical 1776 (about the end of the war of Independence when Declaration of Independence is signed) played the Royal Alexandra Theatre for the summer, without need of explanation or nuance of how lucky we were that it played here?

And rather than give equal time to investigate our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms we are given short shrift. As if we are an afterthought, an irrelevance. As usual. And while it would be a no-brainer, that after investigating our Charter for its pros and cons, the debate would be what country had the better “Constitution”, the United States or Canada?

But of course, that’s not the play that Heidi Schreck wrote. Neither is the play at the Young Centre.  I loved the 90 minutes that actually dealt with Heidi Schreck’s play, What The Constitution Means To Me. I found the 20 short minutes devoted to the debate of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms an insult, an embarrassment and galling.

A Soulpepper Theatre and Nightwood Theatre co-production in association with Necessary Angel and Talk is Free Theatre.

Plays until Nov. 10, 2024.

Running time: billed as 90 minutes but is really 100 minutes.  (no intermission)

www.soulpepper.ca

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Playing until Dec. 8, 2024.

www.canadianstage.com

Written by Mark Leiren-Young

Directed by Martin Kinch

Set and costumes by Shawn Kerwin

Sound by Olivia Wheeler

Lighting by Steven Hawkins

Cast: Saul Rubinek

Smart, bracing, perceptive, timely and wonderfully acted and directed.

The Story. Playing Shylock by Mark Leiren-Young is a really challenging, bracing play. In this time of divisiveness about race, religion and ethnicity this play is a hot potato. It asks really prickly questions about The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, such as: is it antisemitic? should it even be done because of the subject matter; does one cancel a production of it if there are protests? It deals also with honouring one’s father; acting; the importance of theatre and why do it at all. And it talks about the world.

The Merchant of Venice is always a provocative, timely play, and Playing Shylockinvestigates that and other pertinent questions.

To appreciate Playing Shylock it’s helpful to know the story of The Merchant of Venice, and so the programme has a short synopsis to help the audience that has never seen the play. Here is my synopsis: In Shakespeare’s play, Antonio, a rich Gentile Merchant comes to Shylock, a Jew,  to make a loan of 3,000 ducats. While Antonio is a prosperous merchant, at the moment he doesn’t have the money and he’s making a loan for his friend Bassanio so he can court Portia. Antonio is an anti-semite who has never hidden his hate and contempt of Shylock as a Jew. But he’ll ignore that to make this loan. Shylock reminds Antonio of his contempt but sees a way of getting this Gentile to be beholding so agrees to the loan.

And the penalty if Antonio forfeits? Shylock says he wants “a pound of your flesh.” It’s both horrifying and funny; horrifying because it shows Shylocks loathing of Antonio; funny because of course it would never happen that Antonio would renege. But things happen to Antonio’s holdings and his prospects to repay are dashed. And something has happened in Shylock’s life that he now wants justice and his pound of flesh. Needless to say, The Merchant of Venice is fraught with thorny issues and emotional baggage.  Not to mention is it antisemitic or about antisemitism?

The Production and comment. The premise of the production of Playing Shylock is that the audience is waiting for ACT II of The Merchant of Veniceto begin. We hear several notifications that ACT II will begin in five minutes, then three minutes, then, it’s about to begin. The door to the side of the theatre opens and the actor (Saul Rubinek) playing Shylock enters to say that he’s just been informed that the production has been cancelled. He wears a yarmulka, a black suit with a prayer shawl. He notes the protests outside the theatre and for the safety of all concerned the production is cancelled. He’s appalled. This conceit puts the play by Shakespeare and our present world of protests for whatever reasons, in the same realm.

And so the world of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and the world of the actor playing Shylock in Playing Shylock, namely Saul Rubinek, collide, meld and intertwine.

Saul Rubinek is the child of Holocaust survivors. He was born in a refugee camp in Germany after the war. His father was an actor and ran a Yiddish theatre company until Hitler put a stop to that. The family immigrated to Canada when Saul Rubinek was nine months old. At his parents’ suggestion, Rubinek began taking drama classes at the Ottawa Little Theatre when he was a kid in 1960. Rubinek became an actor, moved to Toronto and was one of the founding members of Toronto Free Theatre that performed out of the Berkeley Street Theatre 50 years ago. Toronto Free Theatre segued into a company that is now known as Canadian Stage. So Rubinek was very keen to do Playing Shylock at the theatre where he got his start in 1974, and with Martin Kinch, the director he worked with often in the early Toronto Free Theatre days.

Rubinek wanted to do Playing Shylock at the Berkeley Street Theatre and certainly with Martin Kinch directing. Kinch gently guides Rubinek around the space, using the room effectively (it also helps that Rubinek is microphoned). Rubinek also paces himself (along with the guiding hand of his director) in the Merchant of Venice scenes, not expressing his anger too soon in the speeches.

In Playing Shylock, 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.

He notes that it’s a trap/problem that actors get slotted into playing roles that are close to their lives. Should only gay actors play gay parts? That’s a trap waiting to happen. I would also ask, should only Jewish actors play Shylock? In Rubinek’s case, he knew that his father would love to have played Shylock, but then he lost his livelihood because Hitler closed the Yiddish Theatre.

Needless to say, The Merchant of Venice is referenced and quoted during Playing Shylock. Saul Rubinek gives many speeches from the play using a Yiddish accent, and at the end of the play repeats the speech about revenge: “Hath not a Jew eyes…..” in Yiddish. The anger is palpable. One wonders, are we watching Saul Rubinek play Shylock or are we watching Saul Rubinek imagining how his Yiddish speaking father would play the part? Both are fascinating possibilities.  When Rubinek is saying the speeches it’s fierce, vivid, controlled, angry, and powerful.

He brings up the present-day rallying cry of cancelling a show because it’s uncomfortable, people might be offended, people protest and so matters might be dangerous. These happenings are getting dangerously common place. I think of The Runner being cancelled at The Belfry Theatre in Victoria last year and then the Push Festival cancelled it in Vancouver earlier this year because of protests of the subject matter—Jacob is an orthodox Jew in Israel and is a member of Z.A.K.A, an Israeli group of first responders who come to scenes of terrorist attacks to save the body parts, blood and bones of wounded Israelis. In scene of a terrorist attack, Jacob sees a dead soldier and close to him is an Arab woman who is wounded. Jacob tended to the woman because he ascertained the soldier was dead. He is pilloried for this humane decision by his mother, brother and fellow Z.A.K.A members. The play examines his decision. (The Runner will be part of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre 24-25 season here in Toronto.)

Saul Rubinek is no stranger to doing challenging theatre.  He is an actor who was at the cutting edge of doing uncomfortable, challenging theatre years ago at the beginning of Toronto Free Theatre, so in the most elegant ways, Rubinek skewers ideas of censorship and cancellations. He also examines doing theatre vs. doing film and television—which he has done successfully for decades in Los Angeles.

There is also a long-impassioned speech about how Shakespeare could not have written the play—it had to be Edward de Vere the 17^th Earl of Oxford. The argument comes out in a torrent as the points keep piling up as proof. Never mind that scholars have disprove the theory. It is bracing to hear Rubinek’s arguments.

I keep on saying Rubinek’s arguments—the play was written by Mark Leiren-Young and he is referencing a lot of Rubinek’s life, so it seems as if it’s autobiographical. I love the melding. I also love the many questions.

Should The Merchant of Venice be put to rest because it’s so contentious? I think the answer is obvious since Playing Shylock so heavily references The Merchant of Venice. Personally, I think The Merchant of Venice should be done every day, everywhere because it’s important,  uncomfortable and painful. It depicts our angry, blinkered, racist world and it doesn’t let us look away, thanks to Playing Shylock.

Canadian Stage Presents

Plays at the Berkeley Street Theatre until Dec. 8, 2024.

Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

www.canadianstage.com

{ 3 comments }