From Dead Unicorn Ink, the group that brought zombified puppets to the 2011 Ottawa Fringe, comes Chesterfield. The winners of the 2011 Outstanding Design and 2012 Fan Favourite Ottawa Fringe awards are a safe bet for a good time. While the normal $10 ticket price isn’t exactly onerous, Dead Unicorn Ink is sweetening the deal [...]

For the last four years Apt613 has run the Fully Fringed initiative, where an intrepid team tries to review every single Fringe play within 24 hours of opening night. This year we sent two of our Fully Fringed veterans, Barbara Popel and Brian M. Carroll, to see how they fringe in la belle province. Check [...]

Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are just like Woody and Diane, sort of

The God that Comes is a delightful cocktail of cabaret, Greek tragedy, avant-garde theatre, one-man show, musical, queer theatre, and rock concert. This show will undoubtedly draw two types of audiences: the theatre fan and the Hawksley Workman fan. Neither will be disappointed. Adapted from The Bacchae by Christian Barry and Hawksley Workman, the play is a decidedly [...]

Last week, details emerged for this year’s Fringe Festival, and what a festival it promises to be. This year, Ottawa’s biggest theatre festival will get even bigger, sporting 54 productions over its ten day run. Beginning on June 20th, fringe-goers will be treated to some of the most eclectic theatre out there, and for only ten bucks [...]

Hard to believe that June is once again upon us.  This means one thing, festival season is mere weeks away.  Before I get too far into this week’s Sound Check I want to apologize to everyone expecting weekly posts.  I’m in the midst of a move and will have more time to write once it’s [...]

Martin Patriquin on what Montreal’s crumbling, uninspired bridge could be

This week, thousands of children are getting the opportunity to explore their creative side at the Ottawa International Children’s Festival. We may not have that many readers in the 12 and under crowd (email and correct me if I’m wrong, kids), but there was one show in the festival program that struck us as pretty cool [...]

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made a career out of jaw-dropping satire that explodes beyond the boundaries of “taste” offering a wildly comedic take on the stranger qualities of human behaviour. Organized religion, particularly the American founded C…

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

Stopheart / Factory Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $22-$42
Amy Lee Lavoie burst onto the scene from the National Theatre School with Rabbit Rabbit, which was a smash hit in Montreal in 2009. Her second full-length play, Stopheart, considers the psychology of small-town living. Set in a Northern Ontario crossroads called South Porcupine, Elian and his best friend July confront death, love, and everything in between the only way they know how, together.

The Golden Mean / Bluma Appel Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $24-$99
Choreographer Marie Chouinard wowed audiences with 2011′s bold and daring Orpheus and Eurydice. She returns to Canadian Stage with The Golden Mean, a dance that’s part poetry, part journey. With a title that references the ratio describing both balance and beauty in the cosmos, expect design and aesthetic to complement an inventive series of steps from the choreographer.

John and Beatrice / Theatre Passe Muraille / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $20
In this modern take on a classic fairytale, playwright Carole Fréchette explores the more nuanced qualities of romantic relationships, what true love really means, and how expectations trip us up along the way. When John sees a poster announcing the affections of a well-to-do heiress are up for grabs to the most appropriate suitor, he climbs 33 flights to meet Beatrice and win her hand.

I Will Not Hatch! / Berkeley Street Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $15
If you aren’t exactly a fan of flying you might want to avoid I Will Not Hatch! presented by the Steady State Theatre Project. The premise sees nine passengers on an ill-fated flight where oxygen bags may soon be released. If one of the characters cannot save the gang in time, a descent from thirty thousand seems imminent. The play is written and directed by Maya Rabinovitch.

The Mousetrap / Lower Ossington Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $49
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has the distinction of being the longest running play ever, having opened in the West End of London in 1952 and never having closed. Astonishingly, the play recently celebrated its 25,000th show. The well-made murder mystery with a twist ending will play at the Lower Ossington Theatre for a much shorter time.

Photo from the Golden Mean

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604. I am proud to once again be the Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (the Jessies) and as such, I will be featuring a local theatre company every Thursday. The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards are an annual awards ceremony and party produced by the Jessie Richardson [...]

The post Theatre Thursday: Twenty Something Theatre appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604. The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Dreamgirls from May 9th to July 7th, 2013 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Karen Holness, Aurianna Angelique, and Starr Domingue. Photo by David Cooper. Full of onstage joy and backstage drama, the musical Dreamgirls tells the rags-to-riches tale of a 1960s girl [...]

The post Dreamgirls at The Arts Club appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

The Book of Mormon / Princess of Wales / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $59-$100+
The smash hit musical Book of Mormon finally opens in Toronto to an eager audience of fans looking to take in the satiric religious fare from the revered comic duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It follows two Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda to help those struggling to find the light. The show amassed nine Tony awards and wide-sweeping critical acclaim on its way to becoming one of those special musicals that only comes along once a decade or so. The production is already sold out at Mirvish, but there is a lottery for extra tickets.

Salome / COC – Four Seasons / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $45-$100+
Atom Egoyan directs Salome at the Canadian Opera Company, which was adapted from an Oscar Wilde play by Richard Strauss. The opera’s overt eroticism was a bold departure from conventional form when it premiered in 1905, but it was nevertheless successful. Egoyan’s direction draws the best out of Wilde’s original interpretation of the biblical story and Strauss’ compositions, all the while giving Salome more agency.

The Playwright Project – Sam Shepard / Various Venues / 8:00pm / $15
A collection of theatre companies spread throughout seven different neighbourhoods in the city produce the work of Sam Shepard, one of our most celebrated contemporary playwrights. This inspired rotation of plays, from a number of the same companies who participated in The Tennessee Project, presents a cross section of Shepard’s one acts. Plays include, Angel City, Saving Fats, Geography of a Horse Dreamer, Fool for Love, Cowboy Mouth, When the World Was Green, and The Unseen Hand.

Life x 3 / Unit 102 Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $20-$25
When a work colleague and his wife show up a day early for a dinner party, the hosting couple scrambles to pull together a respectable little shindig. As one can expect, it all goes downhill in the three versions of the evening dramatized in Life x 3. Playwright Yasmina Reza (Art, God of Carnage) is a master at infusing contemporary, living room banter with dark and suggestive undertones.

The Biographer/ Videofag / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $15-$23
Playwright Daniel Karasik and director Alan Dilworth offer a mysterious and poetic story about a father at an abandoned seaside carnival looking for his daughter who has disappeared. Karasik (The Crossing Guard & In Full Light, Haunted) is a CBC Literary Award winner and is an up and coming young voice on the scene. His newest play considers the ways in which we attempt to redeem ourselves in the face of guilt and grief.

It has been almost ten years since one of the world’s worst natural disasters, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004 which claimed over 250,000 lives. Playwright David Yee walks towards the shore and looks deep into the tragedy to find lost s…

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604. I am proud to once again be the Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (the Jessies) and as such, I will be featuring a local theatre company every Thursday. The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards are an annual awards ceremony and party produced by the Jessie Richardson [...]

The post Theatre Thursday: Boca del Lupo appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

Falsettos / Daniels Spectrum / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $39-$55
Acting Up Stage Company …

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604. I am proud to once again be the Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (the Jessies) and as such, I will be featuring a local theatre company every Thursday. The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards are an annual awards ceremony and party produced by the Jessie Richardson [...]

The post Theatre Thursday: Pacific Theatre appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604. Royal City Musical Theatre presents Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Celebrate the 70th anniversary of this show, hailed as the musical of musicals and filled with familiar tunes, until April 27th at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster. Over 44 cast members make up this large-scale production with Direction and [...]

The post Royal City Musical Theatre Presents: Oklahoma! appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

David Mamet’s RACE is imbued with the narrative elements we’ve come to expect from the expert playwright — precise, provocative dialogue, characters with questionable scruples, and a high-stakes, pressure-cooker, time-is-fucking-ticking scenario …

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

carried away on the crest of a wave / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $27-$53
Tarragon Theatre premieres carried away on the crest of a wave, a play set in the years following the destruction caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. David Yee, Playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre, steps into the lives of an escort in Thailand, a Catholic priest in India, and a housewife in Utah to explore the ways in which we’re all connected. The play is directed by Nina Lee Aquino and features Kawa Ada, Ash Knight, Eponine Lee, Richard Lee, John Ng, Mayko Nguyen, Richard Zeppieri.

Lucia di Lammermoor / COC – Four Seasons / 7:20pm/2:00pm / $45-$100+
Kicking off the COC’s spring season is Lucia di Lammermoor, a dark and gothic adaptation of The Bride of Lammermoor, from Sir Walter Scott. Set in the hills of Scotland, a large patch of land and a castle are at stake when a feud erupts between the Ashton and Ravenswood families. Director David Alden brings the opera to the stage and soprano Anna Christy, who is said to be quite a force, plays the title role.

Stomp / Royal Alex / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $25-$99
What’s that you say, Stomp is still banging its way around the world? Yes, the British percussion and physical theatre extravaganza, created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, continues to delight audiences with its loud and rhythmic beats. The show has enjoyed long runs in London and New York, appeared on a Sesame Street special, and most recently could be seen during the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The troupe beats up the stage at the Royal Alex for one week only.

Albertine en Cinq Temps / Berkeley Street Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $28-$57
Michel Tremblay’s Albertine in Five Times is a Canadian classic. The playwright has expertly pieced together a portrait of a woman at five stages of her life. The resulting narrative ruminates on the memories, struggles, and adaptations which, like a spine, give structure to one’s individual journey. Théâtre français de Toronto presents the play at the Berkeley Street Theatre with surtitles at most shows.

Young Frankenstein / Al Green Theatre / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $27-$32
On the heels of the wildly successful staging of The Producers, Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein received a so-so musical treatment in 2007 that followed closely to the film. Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of the famous Dr., inherits the family castle in Transylvania. After meeting the dwelling’s loyal inhabitants —
Frau Blucher, Igor, and Inga — Frederick cannot help but carry the torch and revisit the experiments from past days.

Photo from Lucia di Lammermoor