Search: MY NIGHT WITH REG

Live and in person at various locations of the Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto, Ont. On until July 14, 2024.

www.fringetoronto.com

Pretty Beast

Written and performed by Kazu Kusano

Directed by Jane Morris

Growing up in Japan, Kazu Kusano had a lot going against her. She had a schizophrenic mother who hated to be touched, which meant Kazu was not held or hugged, ever, by her mother. Kazu Kusano had an alcoholic father. She lived in a sexist society. And she wanted to be a stand-up comedienne. So Kazu moved to the United States; learned English and began telling jokes in clubs in Los Angeles.

She does not shy away from facing cultural cliches about being a Japanese woman. At an audition she was asked “to be more Japanese, like a Geisha”, and laugh demurely with her hand in front of her mouth. Kazu sent that up with some colourful language and blunt imagery. She talks about being looked after by a plain-speaking grandmother, who put her to bed with an inappropriate bedtime story and usually some blunt advice.

Kazu Kusano is irreverent, self-deprecating and very funny in her perceptions of the world.  

Plays at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace:

July 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. 13.

Check times at www.fringetoronto.com

Dead Right

Written by Kate Barris and David Schatzky

Directed by Briane Nasimok

Set by Beckie Morris

Cast: Chris Gibbs

Janelle Hutchison

Allan Price

Kristi Woods

Helena has cancer. She tells her daughter Suzanna, which puts her in a tizzy because she just quit her job to write a play, full time. Suzanna’s psychotherapist husband, Michael wants to be supportive, but always thinks of himself and his practice first. Added to this, Helena and her husband Bud decide on a suicide pact, but then Bud might be changing his mind, or not.

The premise is full of funny possibilities. The cast is hardworking, with Janelle Hutchison as Helena realizing a lot of the humour. Perhaps the writers could give the play another look and trim 15 minutes by tighten up the scenes, after seeing what jokes are working and what isn’t.

It’s a brave and irreverent look at illness and suicide.

Plays at the Alumnae Theatre

July 7, 8, 12, 13, 14

Check times at: www.fringetoronto.com

Elephant Song

Written and directed by Kush

Set by Crescent Choudhary, Ezequiel Garcia

Lighting by Eden Philips

Cast: Arjun Kalra

Chirag Motwani

Japneet Kaur

Musicians: Utsav Alok, Dhruv Sodha

“B leads a barren life working as a government clerk in Mumbai. In his quarters, one lonesome night, he sees a white elephant that takes him on a journey in which he begins to question the biases, beliefs and ignorance of the world around him. Sounds of traditional Indian instruments (the sitar) song, and the inspiration of poems of Kabir, permeate the atmosphere.”

Kush’s writing is lush, poetic, esoteric and even mystical. Arjun Kalra’s performance as B is haunted, thoughtful and always compelling.

The script mixes the English dialogue with dialogue in Hindi. The translation of what is being said or sung in Hindi is clearly projected on the back wall of the Backspace so that those not knowledgeable about the language are never left in the dark. Every part of this production was created with care and thought.

Plays at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace

July 8, 9, 10, 11, 13.

Check times at: www.fringetoronto.com

Daniel in Love (For One Night Only)

Written and performed by Daniel Tompkins

Directed by Ryan Bjornson

It takes guts to publicly reveal your faults, errors and demons, and Daniel Tompkins has the guts of a bandit. His show begins with a fanfare of the buoyant overture of Sweet Charity. In keeping with that dazzle Daniel Tompkins enters the space wearing a sparkly jacket, and exuding a lively attitude ready to do his standup comedy routine. It turns out to be rather lackluster in jokes that seem tired or forced. Daniel Tompkins finally comes clean. He says that that persona is a mask, a shield he puts on to please people—to present himself as he thinks they see him, rude, smarmy, and irreverent. He then takes off the jacket and hangs it up and presents himself to us as he is.

It’s easy to see why humour is so important to him. His mother was a teenager when she became pregnant by her boyfriend. He abandoned her. Her parents sent her to Ireland at three months to hide their embarrassment. She returned when she gave birth. The Grandfather shunned him as well until a kind uncle shamed the Grandfather by noting Daniel was a beautiful baby. That changed his mind.

Daniel Tompkins takes us on a journey of his own discovery. He says he’s a gay man who likes to date women. One of those women could see him as he really was, saw his good points and the disappointments. He felt that theatre and performing was what he wanted to do, and how he had to contend with the cruel and supportive comments from teachers. He carried on, but drank a lot to mask the disappointment. When he was at an important event that could have shown him in a good light, he drank so much he ruined every possibility. He finally saw the light and stopped drinking then. His journey since has been full of revelation and poetry that gets him through.

Daniel in Love (For One Night Only)—the title become clear—is a moving journey of a man who has been through uncertainty, depression, insecurity, alcohol and finally love, in order to find his true self. It takes guts to tell this story and Daniel Tompkins is bringing with it.

Playing at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace

Playing: July 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14.

For playing times: www.fringetoronto.com

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Live and in person at Memorial Hall, Blyth Festival, Blyth, Ont. Playing until Aug. 3, 2024.

www.blythfestival.com

Written by Gil Garratt

Directed by James MacDonald

Set and lighting by Beth Kates

Costumes by Jennifer Triemstra-Johnston

Sound by Troy Slocum

Cast: Goldie Garratt

Caroline Gillis

Amy Keating

Cameron Laurie

J.D. Nicholsen

A tender family love-story with heart-ache mixed, with dollops of Elvis for quirkiness. It could use another pass of reflection and revision.

From the Blyth website (sort of): “It’s 2019 in Clinton, ON. Newly retired and ready for adventure, Gord (J.D. Nicholsen) and Orillia (Caroline Gillis) have been Elvis fans since they were teenagers. In twenty-five years, they’ve never missed their annual pilgrimage to the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Having sold their business, they’re now ready to embrace nothing but Presley and the CPP. But when their only grandchild Dylan (Goldie Garratt) arrives on the doorstep at 1 am and they can’t find their daughter, Lauren (Amy Keating), everyone’s future plans are upended in ways no one dreamed.

A love-me-tender family drama about the King and kincare.”

Also. Gord and Orillia were preparing to take a very early morning flight to Hawaii to visit the various locations of the Elvis film, “Blue Hawaii,” when they saw that their granddaughter was at the door. They naturally had to cancel their plans. Gord gets invited to the Collingwood Elvis Festival to perform his Elvis impersonation. He’s thrilled and goes into overdrive to prepare. But then he learns this is the last year of the festival.

With Dylan (a very confident, assured Goldie Garratt) staying with them, Gord and Orillia have to make plans about taking care of her and perhaps applying for guardianship. Gord needs a job to take care of the added expenses and asks Ben (Cameron Laurie), the man who bought Gord’s garage business. Ben is agreeable. Ben is also a friend of Lauren’s and we learn, liked her a lot in high school, but Lauren never returned the affection to that extent. We wonder if Ben is Dylan’s father.

Playwright Gil Garratt has created a touching ache of a play about two seniors who want to enjoy their retirement but can’t because they have to take care of their young granddaughter. Their troubled daughter is nowhere to be found, and matters are fraught.

The characters of Gord and Orillia are well drawn, and beautifully played by J.D. Nicholsen and Caroline Gillis respectively. J.D. Nicholsen brings out the lively playfulness of Gord. He’s buoyant and almost boyish about the trip to Hawaii. Later he’s excited that he can do his Elvis impression one more time at the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Gord is matter of fact, perhaps a bit oblivious to things around him, like Orillia, but he is kind and has charm, thanks to J.D. Nicholsen’s playing of him.

Caroline Gillis as Orillia, is the ‘grown-up’ here. She constantly chides Gord for his silliness, but it’s done with love. Orillia, though, seems lost, she has lost herself in tending to her daughter when Lauren was growing up. She is still at sea and facing taking care of Dylan makes her anxious that she will lose herself again.

It’s also a play of forgiveness. Lauren seems to want to make a drastic decision regarding Dylan and Gord and Orillia plead with her not to do it, for her own sake. Gil Garratt has given a hint that Lauren (Amy Keating) does care for her daughter—when the police find her and return her to her parents late one night, Lauren wants to see her daughter. Because of her strung-out state and the lateness of the hour, the parents refuse. It’s a small scene, but we get the sense Lauren cares for her child. Amy Keating as Lauren is subdued as one embarrassed about her situation would be. There is a touching scene with Ben (Cameron Laurie) as Lauren and Ben reminisce. Cameron Laurie as Ben is a caring, decent man, who obviously has feelings for Lauren.

Director James MacDonald brings out the loving relationships in the play, and illuminates the beating heart of all the characters.

I think that the play needs another re-think and re-write. We need more information about Lauren and Ben individually and together. Lauren makes some huge decisions, one of which towards the end needs to be more developed so that the conclusion is not a surprise or startling. There obviously is more to the friendship between Ben and Lauren for Ben to give her advice on what to do. That needs to be developed more as well for us to trust why he is giving her advice.

It’s a lovely play, but it could be stronger with another edit.   

The Blyth Festival Presents:

Plays until Aug. 3, 2024.

Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (1 intermission)

www.blythfestival.com

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Live and in person at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Plays until July 21, 2024.

www.mirvish.com

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Winnie Holzman

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire

Directed by Joe Mantello

Set by Eugene Lee

Costumes by Susan Hilferty

Lighting by Kenneth Posner

Sound by Tony Meola

Projections by Elaine J. McCarthy

Cast: Austen Danielle Bohmer

Aymee Garcia

Kayla Goldsberry

Blake Hammond

Erica Ito

Kingsley Leggs

Xavier McKinnon

Lauren Samuels

Wayne Schroder

Tregoney Shepherd

Mitchell Tobin

Alex Vinh

Lively, energetic, tuneful, with some strong performances. But as seems to be the norm with touring Broadway musicals, the orchestra drowns out the singers and the singers try to compensate by pushing their voices resulting in the lyrics get muddied. And the story has always been problematic.

The Story. From the Mirvish Website: “SO MUCH HAPPENED BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED IN.

WICKED, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked….The untold ‘true’ story of the Witches of Oz.”

An unhappily married woman has a one-night-stand with a ‘snake-oil-salesman’ who offers her an emerald green elixir to ‘calm her down.’ When she gives birth nine months later, she and her unsuspecting husband are horrified that the baby has emerald green skin. The child is named Elphaba. She is smart, bright and has magical powers, but nothing will get her father to love her. Elphaba is sent away to a private school where she is shunned by her classmates because of her skin colour. She is roomed with Glinda, blonde, beautiful and very popular. Glinda is not smart, wise or briming with character. She loathes Elphaba and the feeling is returned. Then a dashing, but superficial prince named Fiyero, arrives. Glinda zeroes in on him and the attention is returned. But slowly his attentions turn to Elphaba. There is also the Wizard of Oz who intrigues Elphaba because of her magic abilities. She wants to meet him and feels they would be kindred spirits. Terrible complications arise. Glinda will become ‘The Good Witch,’ and Elphaba will be known as “The Wicked Witch of the West.”

The Production and comment. Background Note. Wicked has been running on Broadway since 2003. It has garnered all sorts of Awards including Tony Awards and Grammy Awards. It has had successful runs in the West End in London and internationally. In other words, it’s a huge success.

When the orchestra strikes up, I note the word LOUD! in my programme. When the flying monkeys and other citizens of Oz scurry on bellowing that the wicked witch is dead, I write ‘ear-splitting’ in my programme. T’was ever thus with most touring Broadway musicals. The powers that be who control the sound levels feel the audience must experience an explosion of sound rather than experience a reasonable sound level that allows them to actually hear the lyrics and music clearly. This is not the fault of the theatre (and Mirvish Producitons, which is presenting this show), it’s the originating creator of sound—Tony Meola, take a bow. One complains about this recurring noise of sound that is too loud and is ignored. Perhaps the sound folks are deaf. But to continue….

Eugene Lee’s Tony Award winning set of Oz etc. is a huge neon creation of large gears and a huge clock and above the set is a forbidding red-eyed (metal?) monster of a bird-thing. The reason for the gears and monster is explained in Gregory Maguire’s book on which this musical is based, but not actually explained in Winnie Holzman’s book of the musical.

The citizens of Oz sing “No One Mourns the Wicked” in the first song, which is really the end of the story (the story will then flash back to how it all started). Glinda, the Good Witch (Austen Danielle Bohmer) is in a large bubble that floats above the folks below, smiling but looking troubled as her followers/and fans sing of how they are glad of the death of the Wicked Witch. Glinda doesn’t say anything to change their minds.  As the story does unfold we learn the truth about the so called Wicked Witch (Elphaba, played wonderfully by Lauren Samuels). Joe Mantello directs with a grand vision and attention to the breathtaking pace.

On the surface Wicked looks like it’s a story of two different women who become friends. Glinda is smiley and bubbly in attitude, attractive to everybody, and thought to be the “Good Witch.” It’s not that she’s good. Rather it’s that she’s compliant, accommodating, never challenges anyone because she wants to be liked and popular.

Elphaba is generally loathed because of her emerald green skin. She’s different and different is to be shunned. Elphaba has a conscience and lives a principled life. She has ethics. She can spot phoniness a mile off and has Glinda’s number. She believes initially Glinda is vapid and without backbone. And Elphaba’s moral fiber shows when she is furious when she learns the decree that animals can no longer teach at her school. That means that her beloved Doctor Dillamond (Kingsley Leggs), a goat, cannot teach her any longer.  Elphaba is also horrified that an Ozian Official wants to keep uncooperative animals (and humans?) in cages to calm them down.

Overtime Glinda and Elphaba became friends, sort of. Perhaps Elphaba just comes to accept Glinda’s innate silliness and Glinda comes to see Elphaba’s goodness. They have a song in Act II called “For Good” in which Glinda and Elphaba sing of their friendship in the most whimsical, philosophical leanings.  

“Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.”

All I can say is “ohhhhh PULLLLLeeeeze!!” You wonder if composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman were in the same room or if they both looked at the other’s work. It’s a very clever play on the words of ‘better’ and ‘good’ but the song is dishonest because neither character changed because of knowing the other. Glinda never developed a deepened character and Elphaba never lost her moral fiber.

On a deeper level Wicked is a metaphor for the dangers of exclusion, segregation, racism, dictatorship, Fascism, and how quickly lies can spread by blinkered, lemming-like people who are so stupid they would believe anything, as they have believed the lies about Elphaba. Fiyero (a fine performance of grace and style by Xavier McKinnon) has a wonderful line in which he wonders if people can be that stupid that they would believe the lies about Elphaba—and of course they can be that stupid, just look at ‘social’ media. Fiyero is the one whose consciousness has been raised by knowing Elphaba.

Elphaba is so fed up with people thinking her evil that she decides to play that game and act it. Lauren Samuels as Elphaba sings the rousing “Defying Gravity” in which Elphaba will live by her own rules and not others. Lauren Samuels has a stunning strong voice, and her acting chops are dandy. By contrast Austen Danielle Bohmer as Glinda is tentative in her acting and unsteady in her high notes. She fares better in duets with Lauren Samuels.

When Elphaba is planning an escape she asks Glinda to promise her that she (Glinda) will not tell the citizens the truth about her (Elphaba), that she was in fact a decent person. Glinda agrees. Here is my endless concern with this work—why does Elphaba want the citizens to believe a lie and not the truth about her? It’s never explained and Glinda (of course) never asks—always wanting to be compliant and agreeable to the end. Elphaba’s planned escape will be permanent, so why the mystery about her true nature?  

Wicked is rousing, lively and tuneful. It’s based on Gregory Maguire’s clever book of the same name and has just enough seriousness and depth of the story to make it look like it’s about something important.

Mirvish Productions presents:

Plays until July 21, 2024.

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

www.mirvish.com

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Live and in person at the Coal Mine Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Playing until June 9, 2024.

www.coalminetheatre.com

By Henrik Ibsen

Adapted by Liisa Repo-Martell

Directed by Moya O’Connell

Composer, Emily Haines

Set and costumes by Joshua Quinlan

Lighting by Kaitlin Hickey

Sound by Michael Wanless

Cast: Nancy Beatty

Diana Bentley

Andrew Chown

Shawn Doyle

Leah Doz

Qasim Khan

Fiona Reid

A powerhouse cast in a contemporary adaptation which seems strangely unfinished. The production has intriguing moments but generally is obvious and lacking in subtlety.

The Story. At the best of times, Hedda Gabler is a popular play. This summer it’s doubly so: Stratford is doing its own production. It’s a powerhouse part for an actress because the part seems relentlessly driven.

Hedda Gabler was considered a catch for any man in that Norwegian town. She came from an upper-class family—her father was the highly regarded General Gabler. Many of the men Hedda seemed to keep company with were less than ideal. She was attracted to men who were dangerous and exciting. But she was also a product of her society and its attitudes towards women. Women must be respectable and scandal-free. Hedda knew that and respected it. More than anything, she feared scandal.

So Hedda Gabler married the first respectable man who showed interest, Jorgen Tesman. The problem was he was dull. He was a studious, boring historian who was in line for a promotion at the local university.  Jorgen adored Hedda and tried to give her everything she wanted.  This promotion would be very helpful for Jorgen to make money to cater to Hedda.

Hedda and Jorgen have just returned from their six-month honeymoon where Jorgen was also doing research. Hedda got the sense of what marriage to him would be on that honeymoon and she wasn’t happy. When she got home, to a house she told Jorgen she always wanted, we learn that Jorgen’s aunt is dying; that his promotion might not be assured and that an old rival, Eilert Lovborg and a former suitor to Hedda, is back on the scene. There is also Judge Brack, a rather shady but suave character who has arranged for Jorgen to buy the house. He too is interested in Hedda. To make matters even more complicated, Hedda is probably pregnant. There is a lot going on.

The Production and comment. Joshua Quinlan has designed a beautiful, spare set that establishes the size and elegance of the house that Hedda said she coveted (in fact she was toying with Jorgen). There is a piano up at the back wall, a table and two comfortable chairs are in the middle; they are on an elegant patterned rug, and up at the back behind a gauzy curtain is a large backyard.

As the audience files into the theatre, director Moya O’Connell has Berta the maid (Nancy Beatty) fuss with the many flowers that have been delivered to the house to celebrate the return of the ‘happy’ couple. Berta has put the flowers in vases, at least four, but doesn’t know where to put the vases. She hesitates to put them on the piano. So she arranges them all on the table in the main room. This bit of business nicely establishes Berta’s concern that she will not measure up to the standards of the imperious Hedda Gabler. Berta has always worked for the undemanding Tesman family of Jorgen and his two elderly aunts. Now she will work for Jorgen and his demanding bride.

When the production ‘begins’, the lights go up on ‘something’ in front of the piano. In fact it’s the bare back of a woman whose dress is undone. She sits on the piano bench with her head on the keys. She lifts her head and begins to play a mournful but beautiful piece of music (kudos to composer Emily Haines). It’s the middle of the night. This woman can’t sleep. We can assume it’s Hedda Gabler (Diana Bentley) and she is not happy. Again, director Moya O’Connell beautifully establishes Hedda’s ennui at her situation.

That ennui is palpable when Diana Bentley appears as Hedda in the morning.  She is beautiful and impatient. Hedda if almost quivering with impatience and frustration at having to contend with her dim husband Jorgen (Qasim Khan), his aunt Julia (Fiona Reid) who has come to visit, Thea Elvsted (Leah Doz) whom Hedda terrorized when they went to school together, and Judge Brack (Shawn Doyle). Brack offers Hedda some relief from these tiresome people. He is a kindred spirit, with whom she can joke about the others. She visibly relaxes in his presence. They share knowing looks and jokes.  

While Hedda hated scandal, she loved hearing about them and sordid events and so Judge Brack, with his colourful but sort of respectable background, was a perfect friend, as long as he didn’t get too friendly. But Judge Brack wanted to get close to Hedda and her husband, forming something like a triangle. Then Eilert Lovborg  (Andrew Chown) came back into her life. He had been trying to live a respectable life, acting as a tutor to two children. In the process he had an affair with the step-mother of the children. That was Thea Elvsted. She left her husband and his children to follow Eilert to this town.

Hedda is stifling. She’s married to a bore. She is pregnant and that is trapping her in another way. Judge Brack is posing an untenable connection. Hedda’s world is closing in on her. She is frantic to cope until she sees only one way out. I don’t think this is a spoiler alert, since the play has been performed since its debut in 1891 in Germany.

The cast is very strong, led by Diana Bentley giving a terrific, imperious performance as Hedda Gabler. Qasim Khan as Jorgen Tesman is a satisfied man. He has married the most unattainable woman in the town; he is in line for a promotion which will ease the worry of the debt he has incurred trying to please Hedda. And his beloved aunt Julia has given him his old slippers. He is buoyant with joy. Simple things please him. He is dim to every one of Hedda’s little slights. His glasses intrigued me. Jorgen wears wire-tipped glasses that he often takes off to wipe his eyes for effect, or to take them off to stare at a person to make a point, again for effect. Indeed, he took those glasses off to hold them so often, I wondered why he wore them at all. Hmmm.

As Judge Brack, Shawn Doyle is dapper, smooth, charming and dangerous. He and Hedda have a past. She is attracted to dangerous, unsuitable men. Brack served a purpose to amuse her until she found respectability with Jorgen. But Brack knows he has a hold on Hedda and he intends to tighten his grip.

Leah Doz is a highly charged Thea Elvsted. And joining her is the equally impressive Andrew Chown as Eilert Lovborg. These two characters are hanging on by a thread. They are trying to reform and cope. Wonderful work from Leah Doz and Andrew Chown.

Hedda Gabler is directed by Moya O’Connell, who herself is a very fine actress. She played Hedda Gabler in 2012 in a stunning production at the Shaw Festival. She is now adding directing to her many talents. Moya O’Connell has a good feel for staging and a clear idea of the world of the play. And one cuts some slack when O’Connell is beginning work as a new director in the theatre. But I couldn’t ignore the sense that the production seems tentative, unsteady. The pace sometimes is laggy. And dare I say it, it lacks subtlety. Moya O’Connell goes for the obvious in her direction.  Ordinarily there is a sexual innuendo between Hedda and Judge Brack. Here the sexuality is overt. When Brack first visits Hedda Shawn Doyle as Brack sits with his legs wide apart, one foot raised on something, widening the position, when talking to her. This removes a subtle inuendo that is hinted at. Here there is no mystery. Sex is what Brack is conveying. It’s more like, wham, bang, thank you ma’am that is too abrupt.

And the ending in Moya O’Connell’s production is absolutely bizarre. At the end, Hedda does something drastic to end her sense of being trapped. The ending is abrupt with little dialogue.  But then Hedda seems to resurrect herself to perform a frantic, crazed dance upstage with her back to us, her arms flailing and her hair flying. What does that mean, that Hedda will be eternally damned to hell and will not find peace in her drastic end? Bizarre. Moya O’Connell is smart, it’s just that I could not make head no tail of that ending.

This text of Hedda Gabler is adapted by Liisa Repo-Martell. She’s a wonderful actress in her own right who has gone into writing and adapting as an expansion of her art. Liisa Repo-Martell did the wonderful adaptation of Uncle Vanya that originally played at Crow’s Theatre, a year or so ago, and recently was presented in a co-production by Mirvish productions and Crow’s earlier this year.  Liisa Repo-Martell has a wonderful facility with language as is evident in Uncle Vanya. And she shows the same sensitivity in Hedda Gabler. There is a certain freshness to the adaptation in giving a sense of the claustrophobic society for women. But I couldn’t help but feel that the adaptation is unfinished. Of course, there are many adaptations of the play out in the universe, but there are aspects of the play that are similar in each adaptation. With this version they seemed to be cut completely. The ending in particular is abrupt without Hedda offering teasing lines along the way—that she is resolved and will fling knowing lines to those who will remain. I thought that this abrupt ending so strange, if not jarring.

So while there are things to admire in this production of Hedda Gabler, on the whole, I found it a disappointment, sadly.

Coal Mine Theatre presents:

Playing until June 9, 2024.

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

www.coalminetheatre.com

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Live and in person at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Plays until March 17, 2024.

www.mirvish.com

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin

Book by Chad Beguelin

Based on the Disney film

Directed and choregraphed by Casey Nicholaw

Scenic design by Bob Crowley

Costume designs by Gregg Barnes

Lighting design by Natasha Katz

Sound Ken Travis

Orchestrations by Danny Troob

Projection designer, Daniel Brodie

Special effects designer, Jeremy Chernick

Cast: Senzel Ahmady

Brandon Burks

Kyle Caress

Aaron Choi

Nathanael Hirst

Marcus M. Martin

Anand Nagraj

Adi Roy

J. Andrew Speas

Sorab Wadia

Plus an ensemble of 23

A familiar story from a beloved Disney film loved by kids and families that is a dandy introduction to eye-popping theatre.

The Story. Aladdin is a scrappy street-smart, poor young man who travels with a group of friends in equal dire financial straits, so they might steal a thing or two. Princess Jasmine is an independent woman, obviously rich, who wants to make up her own mind about whom to marry. Her father the Sultan says there are rules that must be obeyed—she has to marry a prince. She also wants to see what the outside world is like so she goes in disguise to the market place where she accidentally meets Aladdin and both are smitten.

There is a duplicitous courtier named Jafar who wants to trick the status quo and become the Sultan himself. And there is a Genie who is released from his small, tight lamp when Aladdin rubs it, giving Aladdin three wishes, which gets the story going.

The Production. Aladdin is a bright, buoyant, engaging musical for kids who love the animated film and their devoted parents who want to make the kids happy by taking them to see it,  sometimes in costume (the kids I mean).

The creative minds behind this are stellar: from the hummable music of Alan Menken to the lyrics of Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin, to the eye-popping bright coloured set of Bob Crowley; equally dazzling costumes by Gregg Barnes and the illumination by Natasha Katz.

Performances are broad, big and bold. Adi Roy is a charming, sweet Aladdin. He accentuates his body language with an obvious bump or push to underline a point in bold. Senzel Ahmady is confident, in control and poised as Princess Jasmine. She sings beautifully. Marcus M. Martin as the Genie gives an over-the-top performance as one would expect of a larger-than-life character who just escaped from a tight, confining lamp. Once free, the performance is giddy with joy, bursting with freed energy and anxious to enjoy the space of a large stage and everybody else get out of the way. It’s exhausting watching him—and I mean that in a good way.

Director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw keeps the quick pace going without respite it seems. His choreography is more reminiscent of Fiddler on the Roof than “Arabian Nights,” but such detail is not really important when reproducing an animated film for the stage. He makes up in theatricality: confetti canons and explosions of streamers what it lacks in nuance and detail.

As for the sound (Ken Travis), it’s like a game, isn’t it? The sound folks of these touring (American??) shows think the music should be so amplified that your ears hurt. Why? The problem of course is that often one can’t even make out the melody, let alone the lyrics of the songs. And in the case of Aladdin that blaring sound is present from the downbeat.

It’s not all touring musicals that are guilty of this excess—bless you Six where one can hear every word and discern the music; ditto Hadestown. But so many touring shows are guilty of this. Do these sound people feel they are presenting a concert and the sound should be blaring? Why? It’s a musical, in an enclosed theatre. Don’t they understand the distortion? Is it fun for them to ignore complaints about the loudness? It’s not the presenting theatre’s fault; they are only presenting the show as prescribed. Still, the game—one complains about the sound and the folks responsible ignore it.

Moving on…

Comment. I thought it sweet that many young girls came dressed up as a princess. One wonders where were the boys dressed up as Aladdin or the Genie or even Jafar the evil courtier. In any case, Aladdin is a good way to introduce young kids to the theatre and nurture the future generation of theatre-goers.   

Presented by Mirvish Productions.

Plays until March 17, 2024.

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

www.mirvish.com

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Live and in person at the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Created by Quote Unquote Collective commissioned by BroadStage, Santa Monica, in association with Nightwood Theatre, Why Not Theatre and the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, presented by Canadian Stage.  Playing until February 25, 2024.

www.canadianstage.com

Book by Amy Nostbakken and Nora Sadava

Music and lyrics by Amy Nostbakken

Story by Akosua Amo-Adem

Vicky Araico

Seiko Nakazawa

Amy Nostbakken

Norah Sadava

Stephanie Sourial

Jokes by Mónica Garrido Huerta

Director, Amy Nostbakken

Choreographer, Orian Michaeli

Music director, Alex Samaras

Set by Lorenzo Savoini and Michelle Tracey

Costumes by Christine Ting-Huan Urquhart

Lighting by Andre du Toit

Addition sound design and sound consultant, Matt Smith

Projection designer, potatoCakes_digital

Cast: Joema Frith

Mónica Garrido Huerta

Germaine Konji

Norah Sadava

Alex Samaras

Fiona Sauder

Takako Segawa

Anika Venkatesh

Although earnest and well-intentioned, Universal Child Care is a relentless bombardment of data and lamenting stories passing themselves off as a concert and/or a theatrical event and it’s neither.

Amy Nosbakken and Norah Sadava who comprise Quote Unquote Collective, are certainly gifted theatre creators as exemplified by their award-winning play Mouthpiece about coping with death, finding one’s voice and dealing with who you are. It played internationally and was celebrated everywhere it played.

What then to make of Universal Child Care? Amy Nosbakken and Norah Sadava have created a show that shines a light on how four of the richest countries in the world–Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States and Canada–deal with health care. In all cases it’s dire.

In Japan Takako Segawa plays a dancer who is married and therefore is not eligible for child care. She ponders divorce but needs to dance to feed her art but it doesn’t pay enough for child care. A vicious circle.

In the UK a lesbian couple (musicians/singers) have a child and want another one but can’t afford to live in London if that happens. They would have to move and that does not guarantee child care. A vicious circle.

In the US a loving couple have a baby and the husband works two jobs and it’s not enough money to pay for child care. A vicious circle.

In Canada a woman is on maternity leave, her husband works, and she finds out that the person taking over her maternity leave will be doing her job permanently. She has lost her job. There is either not enough money for child care or there is no space in a day care facility for another child and the wait time for a space is years. A vicious circle.

The despairing stories of the various couples are depressing. For 90 minutes we are bombarded with statistics and data projected onto the screened walls of the two levelled structure of the set, each painting a darker story than the last. In one case we are told 16% of the people on maternity leave will lose their jobs; 4% will file an appeal. Are we to assume that 16% of the people on maternity leave that lose their jobs work for unethical bosses with little regard for the law? Is that wishful thinking? Little information is offered.

Lorenzo Savoini and Michelle Tracey have designed this two leveled structure that is divided into four sections, each section representing a couple’s dwelling. There are no stairs joining the two levels. One wonders how the hard-working actors manage to go from the stage to the upper level of the set. The actors scurry up and down that structure by ladders affixed to the outside walls of the structure. It seems a perverse way of providing an actor with a 90 minute-workout as well as a performance, but I digress.

A stream of information of the cost of child care and other expenses in the US is projected so fast on the set one can’t register it properly. Fiona Sauder playing one of the UK couple sings a dense rap song so deliberately quickly, itemizing the many and various problems of child care, one had trouble processing the torrent of information. Is that the point?

The US character played by Joema Frith recites a poem to parenthood that is poignant, moving, beautifully spoken with passion and it was electrifying—at last—something one could consider, ponder properly and appreciate. But then the character receives a letter (about a job???) that again is projected in a scroll on the uneven walls of the set that the result is unreadable. Is that the point, that we are not supposed to know what the letter said—at least from my seat? Frustrating.  

Amy Nostbakken has directed this show that involves songs (which she wrote), choreography (Orian Michaeli), a cast that sings background sounds when others characters are talking, and generally a sense that it’s all a deliberate swirl of activity to create the breathless sense of losing one’s grip. Really?

The always compelling Germaine Konji begins the show by re-enacting giving birth in the most compelling scene of pain, screaming and doubled-over agony only to have relief when she ‘delivers’ a glowing orb of light that is gently passed from character to character, scene to scene (clever).

Mónica Garrido Huerta plays an undocumented immigrant who does stand-up and acts as the emcee of the evening, delivering jokes that are not funny and generally don’t land because they are overplayed.

One can be caught up in the manipulative emotion of these characters and their situations, but that does not translate into a viable theatrical endeavor. Aside from being a polemic about the failed social services in four rich countries, what is the point of this sprawling, unfocused bombardment of facts and data? It’s not a concert of compelling songs or a play with dramatic tension. Frustrating.

Comment. The irony has not escaped me that Universal Child Care is playing at a 144 seat subsidized theatre in which the top ticket price is $99 and the cheapest seat is $29 in the last row of the balcony, and is being seen by an audience in which child care is not an issue. It’s heartening to know that the companies that are co-producing the production (Nightwood Theatre, Why Not Theatre, the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund and Canadian Stage) are providing child care for the cast while they rehearsed and perform the show. Now if they can also offer the same child care to the audience who needs it, they might attract the next generation of theatre goers.

Created by Quote Unquote Collective commissioned by BroadStage, Santa Monica, in association with Nightwood Theatre, Why Not Theatre and the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, presented by Canadian Stage.  

Plays until Feb. 25, 2024

Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

www.canadianstage.com

NOTE: Respectful comments are accepted on this site as long as they are accompanied by a verifiable name and a verifiable e-mail address. Posts that are slanderous, libelous or personally derogatory will not be approved.

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Live and in person at Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Playing until Dec. 30, 2023.

www.youngpeoplestheatre.org

Adapted by Joe Landry

Based on the story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern

From the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Jo Swerling

Directed by Herbie Barnes

Set and Costumes by Shannon Lea Doyle

Lighting by Shawn Henry

Sound and Foley Consultant, John Gzowski

Cast: Caitlyn MacInnis

Amy Matysio

Shaquille Pottinger

Anand Rajaram

Cliff Saunders

Inventive and joyful.

It’s a Wonderful Life, a Live Radio Play of course is a change of pace from a regular play, but this is no less moving, joyful or celebratory.

The story of George Bailey is the basis of the radio play but how it’s told in front of the theatre audience is what is so magical and interesting. We see this hard-working, energetic cast read the script at microphones, while other cast members make the sound effects needed to create the world of the play. A door closes in a door frame upstage to suggest a person is coming through a door-well and arrives at a destination. A bowl hauled out of a pail of water causes a sound effect to suggest a character is drowning. There are things located around the set that provide sound effects of a person walking, followed by the door closing, followed by other sound effects. Kudos to John Gzowski for the sound and foley work.

Director, Herbie Barnes has directed his cast to be nimble, quick, agile, energetic and very inventive with voices, characterization and body language (even though this is radio) to realize their many and various characters. It’s the kind of activity that shows the theatre audience how radio and even theatre might be made. The audience sees the tricks of making sounds using props and stuff that makes noise.

The story of George Bailey (Shaquille Pottinger) is there front and center. We see George as a young kid who saves his young brother from drowning. George grows up and wants to go to college but there isn’t enough money so he goes to work at a savings and loan company. He works for a mean, stingy man but George’s humanity and kindness towards his fellow citizens is clear. He is always helping others. He rises up in the company. There are bumps along the way—the bank might fail. People need money so George helps out with his own savings.

A parallel story is Clarence (Cliff Saunders) who is an angel waiting for his wings. To earn his wings he has to save George who has fallen on hard times and wants to end it all. Clarence shows George what life would be like without him on earth. Startling. Then George is shown a miracle he didn’t expect. Clarence gets his wings and George gets back his zest for life.

The performances are deliberately broad to accommodate the radio audience at the time. So, Shaquille Pottinger as George is exuberant and sweet. Cliff Saunders playing many parts is almost manic and therefore funny as he segues from character to character. Anand Rajaram also plays many parts including George’s father, which he does in a Jimmy Stewart accent and voice—harkening back to the film in which Jimmy Stewart starred. Rajaram is an explosion of invention playing many and various characters with style and verve. Caitlyn MacInnis and Amy Matysio play the female characters with distinction and detail.  

Young People’s Theatre Artistic Director, Herbie Barnes told the opening night audience that he programmed It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play because it was a show for the whole family to see together and then discuss afterwards. What magic for kids to see how a sound is made, from a door slamming, to water splashing, to a fluttering of hanging metal that makes a tinkling sound. Wonderful.

Herbie Barnes also wrote a programme note that is so worth repeating and so I will:

“As we programmed our 2023.24 season—over a year ago—we had to try to foresee what might be of most importance for young people. Immediately post-pandemic (last season) we focused on bringing back joy.

When we selected It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play as our holiday offering, we had already noticed something else—the struggle that so many faced in re-learning how to share space with one another. Altercations on our transit systems, in our classrooms and on our streets started to appear in headlines.

Our time of isolation made us forget that we are a community and that we need each other to exist. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is a shining example of that simple fact. George Bailey spends his whole life giving to his neighbours. And in this play, his community is finally able to return that generosity.”

Beautiful.

Young People’s Theatre presents:

Plays until Dec. 30, 2023.

Running time: 80 minutes, approx.

www.youngpeoplestheatre.org

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I had a great time recently giving a talk to the Arts and Letters Club Members about how the world and our theatre is going to Hell in a handbasket.

I blame it on the pandemic.

For two years or so everything was shut down. We were isolated from our friends and family. We yearned to be out and socialize but couldn’t. Initially because we were fragile we reached out to our neighbours or they reached out to us, to offer to shop or do errands for those less fortunate. That lasted a short while.

We were wary of people on the streets; to wear a mask or not to wear a mask became almost a political statement. In a short time, we went from being kind and considerate to being prickly and territorial. If someone accidentally knocked into us on the street the reaction was anger not consideration.  Belligerence and lost temper seemed the norm.

Those smart theatre makers with ingenuity made up for the lack of in person performances with filmed/zoomed/or streamed productions. I saw wonderful stuff around the world, across Canada and especially in Toronto and reviewed it. I actually loved being at home. I was out every night so often when the theatre was live, that I just loved being home for a change.  

The pandemic is over, sort of, and theatres are now open and my theatre going has resumed with a vengeance.  The same can’t be said about theatre attendance. Except in a few cases, it’s down.  Getting the audience back has been difficult. People are timid about coming back to the theatre, even if we are wearing masks. They either don’t want to be in crowds or they find they can live without paying high prices for tickets.

The Media is Decimated

What used to be a robust media that reviewed theatre as a matter of course, is now decimated. We have four daily newspapers that all used to review theatre. Now only the Globe and Mail has a full-time theatre critic—J. Kelly Nestruck—in all of Canada.

The Toronto Star uses freelancers to cover theatre productions and not regularly at that. That means there is no consistent critical theatre voice there.

We used to have the reliable NOW Magazine that covered everything. It’s gone and Glenn Sumi, NOW’s intrepid theatre/film critic seems to be doing triple duty reviewing for his own blog, “So Sumi” and freelancing at the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.

My York University four-year honours BA in Fine Arts Degree specializing in History, Theory and Criticism of Theatre is no longer offered. Why would it be?  There are no theatre critics jobs.

Critics or Cheerleaders

Apparently, theatre reviews are still considered important because so many bloggers are writing them. I certainly think theatre criticism is important. I’ve given short workshops on the basics of reviewing. Theatre is thousands of years old. You can’t teach even the basics of theatre criticism in a short workshop  but you try.

And there is a sweeping variation between those  who are “true critics” who have been trained in reviewing with rigor (Glenn Sumi, Drew Rowsome, Istvan Dugalin, Paula Citron, Christopher Hoile, me).

And “cheerleaders” who gush about everything without variation, nuance or background in the artform of theatre criticism/theatre. They want to be up close and personal with the people they review. There goes the idea  of arm’s length distance between reviewer and those we review. The idea of objectivity. I think “distance” is the best practice, otherwise the review could be written by the artist’s mother.

Censorship & Lecturing.

Theatre reviews seem to be a hot topic. In the last few years some theatre makers tried to decide who could review their shows and who couldn’t, sometimes on the basis of skin colour. I believe that’s called racism if not censorship.  Not a good idea.

Others wanted to give lectures on their culture to explain their process/ideas/story/ceremony etc. Well-intentioned but highly inappropriate and it betrays a lack of knowledge of what a review actually is or who it’s for etc.

I’ll write more later on this thorny subject of theatre reviews and criticism.

Education or Daycare

Troubling changes are also happening at theatre schools and elsewhere in the theatre.

At theatre schools students are voicing their opposition over curriculum, questioning why they have to study the plays of “dead white men” such as Shakespeare or the classics. I heard from one instructor that at a rehearsal for a production the student didn’t like the line and wanted to change it. The director tried to explain that the character said the line and it was appropriate for the character. The student was determined.  The playwright was Morris Panych and I doubt he would stand for a change.  We are now changing lines in plays so as not to hurt the feelings of students etc. So, we have situations where students want to change words because they are offended, never mind that it’s appropriate for the character.

This isn’t theatre education. This is enabling daycare for theatre wannabees.

One wonders, where will these theatre students get the life lessons to understand and to delve into the hard lives of troubled characters if their feelings are so fragile they are rendered inert?

How will they find the moral fiber to discover the difficult character if they can’t/won’t stand up to scrutiny? Will they even get jobs or will this handholding continue?  I don’t think so.

Shaw Festival-Cult of Sensitivity

And then we hear about the debacle at The Shaw Festival last year about the concert version of Assassins  by Stephen Sondheim. This had been in the works for a few years and then COVID delayed the production. Then there was a director change. And finally the show continued with rehearsals. But an actor refused to sing the ‘N’ word because he found it offensive. It’s supposed to be offensive. It’s sung in a song by a racist. The actor is not racist. The character is.

That seems to be the next big hurdle in the theatre, trying to convince actors that their character does not necessarily hold attitudes and ideas similar to them as people.  As I heard once last year in an announcement before a show, at the Shaw Festival funnily enough: “We, the actors have faith that the audience can tell the difference between the character and the person saying the words.” Loved that.

But, to Assassins, The ‘N’ word was changed  during rehearsals to accommodate the actor. No one passed this by the Stephen Sondheim people for formal permission. Eventually the Sondheim organization found out about the word change. They insisted the ‘N’ word be used as the lyric or they had to cancel the show. The artistic director of the Shaw Festival put it on the acting company to solve the problem. They were to vote confidentially on whether to cancel or not. And it had to be unanimous. The vote wasn’t unanimous. The show was cancelled. Then actors felt hurt and troubled because they were responsible for the cancellation.

Does anyone know the meaning of the word “consequences” anymore? How about, “we’ll have to find another actor for the part”. What happened to life lessons?

We seem to be developing a generation of people who want to be seen, to have space, to voice their opinions—all good—without seeming to know background, history, the consequences of their actions or on whose shoulders they stand.

Still to come: What theatre criticism and reviews are really about, who writes them and for whom; correcting misunderstandings regarding reviews etc.; the new misinterpretation of racism.

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Live and in person at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Presented by Mirvish Productions. Plays until Nov. 27, 2023.

www.mirvish.com

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Based on Harper Lee’s novel

Direct by Bartlett Sher

Original music by Adam Guettel

Scenic design by Miriam Buether

Costumes design by Ann Roth

Lighting design by Jennifer Tipton

Sound design by Scott Lehrer

Cast: Mary Badham

Ian Bedford

Anne-Marie Cusson

Christopher R. Ellis

Travis Johns

Steven Lee Johnson

Ted Koch

Mariah Lee

Justin Mark

Melanie Moore

Jeff Still

Richard Thomas

Yaegel T. Welch

Jacqueline Williams

Gregg Wood

A terrific dramatization by Aaron Sorkin of Harper Lee’s stunning novel given a respectable, if obvious, production. Richard Thomas gives a fine performance of the courtly, honourable Atticus Finch.

The Story. It’s based on the beautiful 1960 novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by southern writer, Harper Lee. The story is narrated by a young tom-boy nicknamed Scout by her family and her brother named Jem. Their father is Atticus Finch, a fair-minded lawyer and a widower. They have a housekeeper named Calpurnia. One summer in 1935 their idyllic lives change when Atticus defends a black man named Tom Robinson, accused of raping and beating up a 19-year-old neighbour, Mayelle Ewell, who is white.

During the trial Scout, Jem and a new friend, Dill Harris, sneak into the courthouse to see Atticus defend the man. The children are given a rude awakening about how black people are perceived and treated by whites at that time. They see how fair-minded and serious Atticus is. Atticus proves that Tom Robinson didn’t commit the crime and points suspicion elsewhere. The person who is suspected threatens to get even with Atticus. He almost achieves his goal too.

There is also a mysterious neighbour named Boo Radley. The children have never seen him but often talk about him and wonder what he is like. In a sense Boo Radley is another example of how people treat those who they perceive as different in some way. Something happened in Mr. Radley’s life and he has almost never stepped foot out of his house, as far as anyone can tell. Mr. Radley comes to Scout and Jem’s rescue when they are threatened one night. They learn another lesson in tolerance and understanding by that experience.

The Production. Playwright, Aaron Sorkin has shifted the order of the details in the novel: the trial of Tom Robinson comes at the end of the book, in the play, the trial is front and center, including the part that Atticus Finch (Richard Thomas) had to be convinced to take the case. He didn’t think he was a good defense lawyer, but the judge in the case, Judge Taylor (a wonderfully laid back and honourable Jeff Still) convinced him in a bit of gross lack of ‘professionalism.’ Judge Taylor is as decent as Atticus and knew that Tom Robinson needed a smart, good lawyer and made the move to ensure that Atticus took up the case.

Miriam Buether has designed an efficient set of moving parts that move on to be Atticus Finch’s house, the court room and the local jail, among others. Ann Roth has designed functional clothes dark clothes for the majority of the characters with a light tanned coloured suit for Atticus, so that he stands out.   

Bartlett Sher had staged a lot of activity at the beginning of the production. Scout (Melanie Moore) enters with conviction and purpose to begin the story. Melanie Moore as Scout is a bit forced in trying to convey she’s playing a young girl. She is followed by Jem Finch (Justin Mark) Scout’s older brother by three years. Justin Mark as Jem has that older-brother-seriousness when dealing with his young sister. Then their young friend Dill Harris (Steven Lee Johnson) arrives who is between Scout and Jem in age, enters to add other aspects of the story. Steven Lee Johnson as Dill has that lovely mix of precociousness and an eagerness to please his friends. I found Mr. Johnson the best of the three actors playing children. (Note: Truman Capote was a childhood friend of Harper Lee and is the model for Dill).  

Once the story is established set pieces are pushed on, chairs arranged, tables positioned. A lot of activity is going on. So, when Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch makes his anticipated entrance, all the activity stops and Richard Thomas makes his star-entrance along the top of the stage down stage, walking with a purpose, briefcase in hand, to expected applause. Loved that set up. I never get tired watching a smart director nudge the audience into recognizing the star and reacting appropriately.

Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch has that relaxed demeanor of a decent, honourable man. He believes in the decency and goodness of his neighbours until his Black housekeeper Calpurnia (a wonderful Jacqueline Williams who is watchful, quiet and knowing about the fact that the neighbours are far from decent) sets him straight. Atticus is respectful of all his fellow citizens. He treats Tom Robinson (a fine performance by Yaegel T. Welch) with respect and kindness. This is beautifully illuminated in Richard Thomas’ performance.  

I love Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of the novel. And there are lovely touches of business in Bartlett Sher’s direction: Scout tenderly putting her head on her father’s shoulder; Bob Ewell looking sideways menacingly at his daughter Mayelle in court to terrify her into lying about what happened to her. But overall, I think this touring production is obvious, forced in some of the acting, and almost too amplified. It’s as if the creators need to tick all the boxes and underline the points to ensure the audience hears everything, instead of trusting them to listen and pay attention to the details. The story represents a terrible miscarriage of justice, representative of a racist mindset—have faith that the audience will ‘get it’ without having to present it with broad strokes, and too slow a pace of the ending that it overplayed the poignancy.

Mirvish Productions present:

Opened: Nov. 21, 2023

Plays until Nov. 27, 2023 but returns May 28 to June 2, 2024

Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes (1 intermission)

www.mirvish.com

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