Toronto Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 8

BWW Review: CHICAGO Razzles and Dazzles at the Stratford Festival
by Lauren Gienow - June 05, 2022

Stratford Festival audiences have been waiting a while for some 'razzle dazzle' and we finally got it when, after being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020, CHICAGO had its much-anticipated opening at the Festival Theatre exactly 47 years to the day the original production opened on Broadway! This pro...

BWW Review: HAMLET at the Stratford Festival is Fresh and Brilliant and Amaka Umeh is a Star
by Lauren Gienow - June 03, 2022

The audience's enthusiasm for the much anticipated Stratford Festival production of HAMLET swas palpable. The opening applause may have been for a return to the Festival Theatre, but the thunderous ovation at the end was for this fresh and brilliant production led by the luminous Amaka Umeh....

BWW Review: R.U.R.: A TORRENT OF LIGHT at OCAD University
by Ilana Lucas - June 03, 2022

“Are we ready to play God?” is the question that pervades R.U.R.: A TORRENT OF LIGHT, Tapestry Opera’s new co-production with OCAD University. Inspired by Karel Čapek’s 1920 work, the opera updates the source material while preserving its central questions about servitude and freedom. Will robots co...

BWW Review: DAMN YANKEES is a Winner at Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - May 23, 2022

Americana and the Golden Age of the Broadway musical has happily landed at the Shaw Festival in their knock it out of the park production of DAMN YANKEES. After years without a staged musical at the Festival Theatre and repeated cancellations of it's production of GYPSY (thanks Covid!), the magic of...

BWW Review: IS GOD IS at Canadian Stage
by Samantha Wu - May 20, 2022

Canadian Stage with Obsidian Theatre Company and Necessary Angel Theatre Company present Is God Is playing at the Berkeley Street Theatre until May 22, 2022, written by Aleshea Harris and directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu. This explosive story of revenge and murder is an eye-opening and revealing expl...

BWW Review: LESSON IN FORGETTING from Pleiades Theatre Makes Much of Memory
by Ilana Lucas - May 15, 2022

What are the essential qualities that make people who they are? What are the ties that bind us together, emotionally and physically? Is memory crucial to continuing a relationship, or does love conquer all? These are some of the questions asked in LESSON IN FORGETTING, Emma Haché’s heart-wrenching p...

BWW Review: THE MAGIC FLUTE makes a triumphant return to Toronto
by Isabella Perrone - May 09, 2022

If you’ve ever wanted to experience Mozart’s work live, there’s no time like the present to do so in Toronto. The Canadian Opera Company has brought their acclaimed production of THE MAGIC FLUTE back - delayed after a few years of theatre shut-downs, but better late than never in the case of this fa...

BWW Review: CRYPTO at Bluma Appel Theatre Is Beautiful But Bleak
by Ilana Lucas - May 06, 2022

In Guillaume Côté’s CRYPTO, a man has nightly visions of a mysterious beast. Driven to distraction by his desire to discover what features in the foreground of his dreams, he eventually finds himself set free by his wife to seek the cryptozoological creature. After the man locates the mythical being...

BWW Review: LA TRAVIATA's Powerhouse Cast and Crew Provide a Timeless, Stunning Production of The Verdi Classic at the Canadian Opera Company
by Isabella Perrone - April 27, 2022

The Canadian Opera Company marked its return-to-stage after nearly two years with this all-around stunning production of one of Verdi’s most well-known works. Clocking in at just shy of three hours, the four-act opera tells the tale of Parisian courtesan Violetta (Amina Edris, making her COC debut) ...

BWW Review: Jake Epstein offers audiences a glimpse behind the curtain in BOY FALLS FROM THE SKY
by Isabella Perrone - April 25, 2022

“What do you do when life disappoints you?” is the question asked in the program of Jake Epstein’s BOY FALLS FROM THE SKY. For Epstein, his life and career have been intertwined since childhood, with his dreams of performing woven into many choices he’s made....

BWW Review: ITALIAN MIME SUICIDE at The Theatre Centre Speaks Passionately About a Silent Art
by Ilana Lucas - April 24, 2022

ITALIAN MIME SUICIDE, in a new production by Bad New Days playing at The Theatre Centre, is both more tongue-in-cheek and more serious than its name suggests. The show, written by Adam Paolozza and directed by Paolozza and Kari Pederson, was inspired by the 2003 suicide of an Italian mime who felt t...

BWW Review: TOKA Cries Out for an End to Cycles of Violence
by Ilana Lucas - April 22, 2022

Generational trauma, familial obligation, and the futile and inevitable results of “an eye for an eye” justice are given voice in Indrit Kasapi’s powerful TOKA, a Theatre Passe Muraille and lemonTree creations digital co-production currently enjoying its digital premiere....

BWW Review: PIPELINE Lays Bare the Effects of Institutionalized Racism on Education Systems
by Isabella Perrone - April 16, 2022

What lengths would a mother go to to save her son and his future? In PIPELINE, there doesn’t seem to be a limit....

BWW Review: ORPHAN SONG at Tarragon Theatre
by Samantha Wu - April 12, 2022

Set over 40, 000 years BCE, ORPHAN SONG follows the story of a Homo-sapiens couple struggling through the recent loss of a child. In their travels, they come across a being they've never seen before - a Neanderthal child orphaned and alone. Instinctively, they take the child under their care but lan...

BWW Review: ROOM is a Heartwarming, Heart-Wrenching Adaptation That Feels Right at Home On Stage
by Isabella Perrone - April 16, 2022

Adopted for the stage by Emma Donoghue, the writer of the novel, ROOM is a 2-act spectacle full of imaginative creative choices, heart wrenching performances, and original music....

BWW Review: MORPHS Shines Brightest In Its Simplest Moments
by Isabella Perrone - April 08, 2022

The work soared when its highly skilled dancers were given the chance to show off their control; however, the production struggled to maintain its original ideas as it moved further from dance and towards more theatrical components....

BWW Review: Daniel Brooks's OTHER PEOPLE offers a deeply introspective look into his life
by Isabella Perrone - March 26, 2022

Nothing is guaranteed in life - not our relationships, our health, the time we get, or even how we’ll be remembered once we’re gone. In Daniel Brooks’ latest work OTHER PEOPLE, he ruminates on all of the above (and more) in the context of his participation in a 10-day silent meditation retreat....

BWW Review: AS YOU LIKE IT Takes on A New Life in This Radical Retelling
by Isabella Perrone - October 04, 2021

It’s unlikely that there’s ever been a production of AS YOU LIKE IT quite like this. Presented by Crow’s Theatre, Cliff Cardinal’s adaptation is promoted as a “radical retelling”—which is an apt descriptor, as it’s as unexpected as it is engaging....

BWW Review: The Stratford Festival's FINALLY THERE'S SUN Cabaret takes Audiences on a Poignant Journey through the past 18 Months
by Lauren Gienow - September 19, 2021

The Stratford Festival’s production of the FINALLY THERE’S SUN Cabaret allows us to reflect on the challenges, triumphs, hope, and self discovery that accompanied the past year and a half. No two people had the exact same experience, but this cabaret manages to capture the commonalities between our ...

BWW Review: SERVING ELIZABETH at the Stratford Festival Offers a Fresh Take on a Familiar Story and Proves an Important Point in the Process
by Lauren Gienow - September 09, 2021

Director Kimberley Rampersad and a fine company bring Marcia Johnson's delightful and important story to life at the Stratford Festival. Fans of the Royal Family, fans of 'The Crown' and fans of good theatre will all enjoy this re-telling of a historical event from a perspective that has long been m...

BWW Review: I AM WILLIAM at the Stratford Festival is a Thoughtful, Funny, and Important Re-Telling of History
by Lauren Gienow - August 17, 2021

Every year, the Stratford Festival mounts a production geared towards young people and I was thrilled to see that despite the unique season that COVID protocols have demanded, the Festival still made this a priority. What’s more, they have made a truly interesting and fun choice in I AM WILLIAM - A ...

BWW Review: BLINDNESS at Princess Of Wales Theatre
by Louis Train - August 06, 2021

In BLINDNESS, people resort immediately to cruelty and selfishness. Not only have they lost their decency, Stephens’ script has deprived them of everything else that makes us human: culture, religion, art, and love have been stripped away from the story, leaving nothing but animalistic urges....

BWW Review: The Stratford Festival's PLAY ON! Cabaret is an Exhilarating Rock Concert with the Bard
by Lauren Gienow - August 01, 2021

The fresh new PLAY ON! Cabaret at the Stratford Festival offers an impressive celebration of what popular music pulls from Shakespeare, what Shakespeare has to say about music, and what themes are frequently explored in both. Described as a “Shakespeare-inspired Mixtape,” this 90 minute cabaret prod...

BWW Review: The Stratford Festival's THE REZ SISTERS Is a Poignant Exploration of Humanity and Grief
by Lauren Gienow - July 30, 2021

The Tomson Highway play, THE REZ SISTERS was supposed to debut on a Stratford Festival stage in the 2020 season, but of course those plans were put on hold due to the pandemic. Over a year later, the Festival made sure to include it in its unique 2021. The show opened Wednesday night under the Tom P...

BWW Review: The Stratford Festival's Production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is a Magical and Triumphant Return to Live Theatre
by Lauren Gienow - July 27, 2021

After what feels like an eternity, Shakespeare has made its triumphant return to the Stratford Festival. Peter Pasyk’s production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM opened last week and this writer had the opportunity to take in a midday production at the Tom Patterson Theatre Canopy on Sunday. With eight...