"9 to 5" brought to you, inescapably, by Dolly Parton

9 to 5 is a rousing new musical, an adaptation of the 1980 film and the recipient of multiple Tony nominations last year. The Dancap production, which premiered last night and runs until July 10th at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, features a truly remarkable cast in full energetic array against sets and costumes every bit as bright as their plastered smiles and the relentlessly uptempo score.

Dreaming Downtown

My love for Urban Bard Productions has been well documented on this site. So, naturally, I was incredibly excited to see what director Scott Moyle has come up with for the uber popular and oft-insane comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The first thing to note when going to see Urban Bard's Dream is that you have to walk through Dundee Place at 1 Adelaide St. E to get there. This is not something my friends or I knew, so we almost missed the show looking for signs pointing us to the courtyard. But once we found it, what was waiting for us was a fairly typical if slightly unpolished (and sometimes silly) Urban Bard production.

My Theatre's Guide to Shows

It's hard to stay on top of the hundreds of theatre companies in and around Toronto. Add in the Shaw and Stratford festivals and there's so much going on on any given day that it's impossible not to miss something. So, to help you out, we at My Theatre have made you a comprehensive (and remarkably time-consuming) guide to Toronto's best companies (and a couple round Ontario too). From June 2011 to February 2012, we've got you covered with this colour-coded guide to all things theatrical. Be sure to check the legend at the bottom for clarification on what's what. Click on the images for a clearer view. 

Can’t Wait Productions presents its first piece, "Oleanna"

by Brian Balduzzi

I love new theatre companies, their first productions always pulse with a brilliant first-time energy. Can’t Wait Productions’ Oleanna by David Mamet opened with this same raw verve. Upon arriving at the First Church Somerville venue, the audience was ushered not into a proper theatre but into a small office with the name John displayed charmingly on the door, as though we were intruding right onto the character's territory. Though the audience was seated uncomfortably on cramped folding chairs in the tiny room, the set was innovative and the use of the office really clever. Dull lighting and expertly placed set dressings set the mood perfectly, including details like the display of The Privilege of Education, an integral book to the plot. The delayed performance time and questionable soundtrack put me off immediately, but director Tasia Jones' passionate opening remarks more than made up for any wasted time. As the play began, the two-person cast carried that passion through their performances, but they never quite rose to their director's level.

The Boston Conservatory Workshops "Factory Girls"

The Boston Conservatory Theater Ensemble has never failed to impress me, and its recent workshop production of Factory Girls proved no exception. The level of effortless performance delivered time and again by their students always seems to come as a surprise. Guided by an excellent faculty who recognizes the importance of the theatrical process, the Masters candidates at the Boston Conservatory always come through with a successful product. Factory Girls seemed like a logical choice for a strong class of women working towards their M.M (Masters of Music); with roles that ranged from demure to brazen, the female ensemble was tasked with the daunting challenge of representing the dreams, background and real lives of the girls who worked the Lowell Mills.

Based on "The Lowell Offering" and "The Voices of Industry" (periodicals written by women working in these local mills in the early 1840s), The Factory Girls tells the fictionalized story of one representative textile mill- an homage to the real women who lived the compelling tale. Composer/playwrights Creighton Irons and Sean Mahoney use the powerful pop/rock score as a vehicle to showcase the hope and angst of their characters. With a limited book, the lyrics propel the story forward.

...la ronde...

The Red Light District's most recent production appeared daring. Staged at Toronto's notorious Club Wicked, it featured a brave ensemble caught in various compromising positions as they navigated what was supposed to be a boundary pushing mashup of turn of the century Vienna and modern Toronto nightlife. Going in, I knew I'd be very out of place at Club Wicked, and squeamish about the many many many different ways I knew director Ted Witzel had invented to simulate onstage sex. But I was also familiar with Witzel's work and knew that he'd never once staged anything that even remotely interested me on paper or failed to enthrall me in person. The company also featured a couple of last year's My Theatre Award nominees (Eve Wylden and Michael David Blostein). So I steeled myself for the awkwardness I'd have to bear in order to enjoy the depth that the RLD always brings to their work.

Propeller's oldschool/newschool Shakespeare

Propeller Shakespeare Company, performing through June 19th at the Huntington Theatre in Boston, is a damn cool company. This UK group's respect for the text, their return to basic themes and their bold all-male casting make them somewhat traditional in their approach to Shakespeare. But then there's masks and shiny suits and sombreros and heads floating in jars and a supremely physical, modern sensibility to their productions. Their current stagings of Comedy of Errors and Richard III are bursting with bold choices- they're daring and strange, sometimes haunting, sometimes silly, sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered to make a tough scene finally work. But amidst innovation and insanity, there's a real anchoring in the history of the text that makes Propeller a fascinating mix of the old and the new.

Hedda Gabler (sort of)

Boston University had a lot of faith in Ellie Heyman's surrealist interpretation of Hedda Gabler, mounting it on the BU main stage instead of in a standard CFA space like any other masters thesis project. As such, Ibsen's remarkable text about a caged, trapped woman appeared on an enormous proscenium, played out to hundreds of seats. Everything became big- the performances, the sound design, the direction, even the costumes. Big. When the only thing that should be big about Hedda Gabler is Hedda's presence in her limited space. A hugely ambitious production, CFA's Hedda Gabler was an interesting interpretation of something, but it wasn't Hedda Gabler.

The Learned Ladies

This spring I had the privileged of seeing many of Boston University's School of Theatre productions. If you read this blog regularly you'll have read my accounts of the all-female Julius Caesar, the award-winning original play Fallujah, the student/professional collaboration Walking the Volcano and the fascinating thesis projects from the senior Theatre Arts majors. Still to come is a review of one of the CFA season's biggest ventures: Hedda Gabler at the Huntington Theatre.

In general, the work coming out of CFA is remarkable- notably and appropriately stronger than the work of BU's extra-curricular theatre ensembles. These are the kids who are doing it, throwing themselves head first into the painful, thankless and draining life of a theatre professional. And none of them seems to mind that reality one little bit, because they clearly love the work. Nothing made this clearer than my favourite CFA production of the year, the clever, vibrant and satirically wonderful romp that was Moliere's Learned Ladies.

STAMP- Judas Iscariot & HAMLT/AGMMMNN 2.wtvr

In the early weeks of May, as school came to an end for Boston University's senior Theatre Arts majors, the performance spaces at the College of Fine Arts were filled with thesis projects. This year's STAMP (senior theatre arts thesis productions) entries included Steven Adly Guirgis' raucous Judas Iscariot, Phillip Berman's The Last Confession of the Virgin Maria and a double bill set of adaptations called HMLT/AGMMNN 2.wtvr. The line for the final show of Virgin Maria was out the door so I unfortunately missed out on that one, but read on for my thoughts on the other two projects:

Playwrights to Watch

A couple weeks ago, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presented their Ground Floor New Play Series. I had the pleasure of seeing 3 of the 4 readings in the series, work from Boston University’s MFA candidates. Unfortunately, I missed out on Reginald Edmund’s South Bridge on the second night, but the three readings I did see left me anticipating the day when I could see them fully staged and earning tons of acclaim.

Here's more on these promising new playwrights and their latest work: 

A Superb Weekend of BU Theatre

The weekend of  April 21-23rd was a phenomenal weekend of theatre in the BU community. I was lucky enough to see 3 excellent shows in two days on Thursday and Friday, all very different. Here's a quick rundown of the awesome:

ASP Ends a Brilliant Season on an Iffy Note

I love The Actors' Shakespeare Project, I really do, but this will prove a very short review because I far from loved their Antony & Cleopatra (playing until May 21st at The Modern Theatre). I could write for hours about Adrianne Krtansky's clunky direction, the snail-like pacing and strange focus. I could complain loudly about Anna-Alisa Belous' cheap Halloween store costuming, the set that appeared to be made out of mattresses or Jeff Adelberg's predictable and unbalanced lighting design. I can take a moment to mention the complete lack of chemistry between the title characters (James Andreassi and Paula Plum), the silly staging of the asp deaths and the strange witch-lady Cleopatra scenes. I could have a fit over the immature take on Octavia (Giselle Ty).

But instead I'll say that Mara Sidmore was a lovely Charmian and Richard Snee delivered a nicely conflicted Enobarbus whose comic timing saved much of the first half. Johnnie McQuarley also fared decently well, though he was over-worked in his multiple roles.

That' s it, that's all I liked.

A terrible production for a company that can do and has done much much better. Best not to dwell.

IDS does Eurydice

I went to see Eurydice with a friend who has never seen a show by the Independent Drama Society. The show was set to begin at 8pm. It took him until 7:58 to declare "I'm in love with this company". My fandom for IDS has been growing exponentially with every production they've done, but, as my friend so conveniently put into words, they've never been quite so lovable as in the moments that precede their current production of Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice (playing at the Boston Center for the Arts until April 30th)

Preview & Support Urban Bard's New Season

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The Tale of Sweeney Todd

BU On Broadway's Sweeney Todd premiered last night and will continue all weekend in the Tsai Performance Centre at 8pm. The production was a breath of fresh air in BU theatre as it united some of the school's absolute brightest talents against the backdrop of a challenging and entertaining piece from Stephen Sondheim.

Directors Jillian Angelone and Brian DeVito brought a superb mix of expertise to the table in their first directing effort with OB.

Guest Review: "The Underpants"

by Borah Coburn

Flat Earth Theatre’s production of The Underpants (by Steve Martin) was a pretty enjoyable way to spend an evening. It was an interesting ride: sometimes I was totally enamored with the actors, and sometimes I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the technical aspects of the show and select performances, but the script saved the day.

I had never seen or read The Underpants before, and hadn’t done much research either (I know, bad reviewer, bad!) so I had only vaguest of ideas as to what I was walking into. I was delightfully surprised. The script is hysterical: some of the jokes are philosophical parodies, some are scatological, and a lot of the farce has to do with underpants (surprise, surprise), sudden entrances and exits, usually into hysterically awkward tableaus, and misunderstandings. It was a delightful script that demanded a certain pace from the production to keep the whirlwind of circumstances going.

Guest Review: "The Merchant of Venice"

by Maddi Chapin

Theater For a New Audience's The Merchant of Venice, a restaging of a New York version of Shakespeare's famously controversial "problem play", is an odd duck of a production-- a whack-a-mole of quality that pulls concepts and character arcs off stage just as they begin to fully form. The production is nowhere near a loss-- the concepts proposed are always interesting and occasionally fascinating, and the acting is solid with hints of stellarity-- but they never come together in a complete, cohesive whole.

ASP's Winter Festival- "Living in Exile"

 The final production of The Actors' Shakespeare Project's Winter Festival was Living in Exile. The production hit roadblock after roadblock on its way to the stage, including an actor's major injury, a weeklong postponement and the death of the playwright, Jon Lipsky. But when I finally got to see the show last Sunday, it was none of those things that got in its way. The play itself just wasn't as good as the two superb shows I'd seen earlier in the Winter Festival.

A modern re-telling of the Iliad, the fascinating story is presented by two actors in one confusingly dull 2 act play. The triple casting of the male lead (Achilles, Agamemnon and Patroklos) is befuddling from the get-go as his characters begin to blend into each other. But the biggest problem with the script is the way the story is told. It's at its best when the characters engage each other in a scene, but most of the play is a series of long monologues, telling us the story instead of showing it to us. The whole thing seems more like it belongs in novel form (with a proper narrative voice), instead of presented on stage.

The actors, too, created a strange dynamic in which their technical skills were obvious but they still somehow fell short. Robert Walsh, one of the ASP's resident powerhouses, was confined to a wheelchair for the entirety of the play and managed to not be hindered by it at all. The expressive actor's strong vocal and facial control really showed, but there were few moments when he made me really feel for his characters (though there were a couple- all as Patroklos). Tamara Hickey as Briseis had even less success moving me, though her strength and commitment easily proved impressive.

The play was strangely set in a living room and employed what seems to have become the ASP's go-to device of symbolic, almost Brechtian sound from visible actor/musicians offstage. In fact the night's most impressive performer was one of these musicians, Ruby Rose Fox, who voiced everything from deathly arrows to haunting soundtrack to the offstage voices. Fox was a highlight in this incarnation of a device that was significantly more effective in Cymbeline only a few weeks earlier.

Overall, Living in Exile didn't live up to any of its potential, making it easily the weakest link in an otherwise truly excellent Winter Festival.

Toronto's Billy Elliot

Truth be told right out of the gate, I don’t consider Billy Elliot a great musical. It’s a wonderful story, I’ll grant you that, but Elton John is capable of so much better than the derivative music he puts forward for this adaptation of the hit film. The choreography is lovely but the direction somewhat stale and the tongue-in-cheek juxtaposition of the pretty dancing and the macho miners more often than not undermines the serious stories (both the dancing one and the mining one- both have more gravitas than that). In the current Toronto production there are some strained accents, some shotty singing and the occasional overblown bit of acting. But there were great things too: Kate Hennig is a wonderful Mrs. Wilkinson, infusing the dance teacher with the perfect mixture of warmth and spunk; Armand Schultz is torturously engaging and empathetic as Billy’s dad and Patrick Mulvey is fiery as his brother Tony. The rest of the ensemble is remarkably strong, including the sublime Samuel Pergande in the mature balletic roles. I was particularly excited to see David Light from CBC’s Triple Sensation showing off his triple threat skills in the chorus; (also fun: So You Think You Can Dance’s famously lovable big brother Ryan Kasprzak is the dance captain).

CFA's Caesar

BU's School of Theatre took on Julius Caesar last weekend, staging the homosocial epic in the unique Studio 102 space in the College of Fine Arts with a fifteen person all-female ensemble. It was an uneven production that made good use of space (the wonderfully dressed up studio was a feast for the detail-oriented eye) and great use of its talented cast but fell short directorially.

While some of Christine Hamel's directorial decisions paid off (simple, suggestive costuming; well placed action; solid character direction), she got carried away when it came to some of her more high-minded artistic efforts. The ghost was staged with a complete lack of nuance, all drawn breath and wide eyes, never the least bit haunting. Many of the off-text moments fell the flattest, like when Titinnius declared that she would stab herself in the heart then preceded to slash her wrists (then keel over almost instantly- I'm not a science person but I'm fairly certain that's not how that works). But it wasn't until the fight sequences that I wrote off the direction completely. Whether the fault lies with Hamel or fight director Adam McLean is unclear, but the animalistic play on the murders of Caesar and Cinna the Poet read less like metaphoric interpretation and more like a scene from Mean Girls with all the irony taken out.

But there was redemption for the production, enough of it to make the show ultimately a success.

Our 2010 Performers of the Year

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As we honour our hand-picked Performers of the Year we finally close the door on 2010 and settle into 2011.  Read on for our list of the 7 theatrical MVPs of 2010. 

The 2010 My Theatre HONORARY AWARD

It's time for the 2010 My Theatre Honorary Award. This distinction, announced separately from the rest of the winners, is awarded each year to celebrate standout achievement in any given category. Winners aren't nominated in the regular My Theatre Awards. Rather, they're honored separately as the best things that happened in theatre all year (whether they be writers, directors, actors, companies, plays, etc...). This year's winner is a theatre actor who escaped our regular nominations because we never saw him perform live. Instead, My Theatre got to enjoy this phenomenal performance from the comfort of the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Boston as it was simulcast from the UK National Theatre in London.

This year's winner is...

Rory Kinnear

As much as I love Shakespeare (which is a lot, I'm not sure if you've been paying attention, but it's a lot), I've always considered Hamlet one of the world's more overrated things. It's hard for it not to be, considering it's often lauded as the single greatest thing written in the English language. But I've never quite gotten the fascination. It's long and I've always felt that it's stronger on the page than the stage, if only because I've never encountered an actor who can speak for 4 hours straight and come out of it on my good side. It's also full of allusions in need of footnotes and its title character is a whiny creature who is never quite engaging enough to justify how much of the text he's given to speak alone.

And then there was Rory Kinnear. I read a review in The Globe and Mail that said "He’s neither the craziest nor sexiest nor angriest Hamlet, but as he speaks the verse with water-clear simplicity, he might be the most believable". Kinnear isn't the "most" anything, and that's what makes him so great. So often, actors confronted with the Everest-like role participate in a Sophie's choice of adjectives: is he a soldier or a scholar? Noble or cowardly? Honorable or shady? When, in reality, all of us are all of these. Hamlet, in truth, is nothing, more or less, than a guy. And for the first time ever, Rory Kinnear had me on his side. He wasn't the anything Hamlet, he was the everything Hamlet. He was just there, living it out as if it were happening to him, no pretty gesticulations, verse hammering or cadence caroling. He said the lines exactly as someone would say whatever it was that Hamlet was saying in that moment. And somehow that little act of rebellion changed Hamlet forever for me.

In an interesting, if shaky, directorial product and supported by a truly underwhelming supporting cast, Rory Kinnear had me on the edge of my seat from his very first soliloquy. My love was incalculable by the time he reached his best scene with "Rogue and peasant slave" and I didn't let go until "the rest is silence". What happened in between was nothing short of mind-changing.

The 2010 My Theatre Award Winners

Any theatrical production that one of our writers saw between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2010 qualified for our first annual My Theatre Awards. Between 4 to 7 nominees were announced in each of our 15 categories. Since the nominations were announced, 24 standout performers and directors from almost every category have participated in the My Theatre Nominee interview series.

Now we honour the best of the best from this exceptional group of 84 nominees.

Thank you so much to all those who participated in our interview series and congratulations to all the winners!

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Dion Johnstone

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

When I reviewed the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's 2010 production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I cited Dion Johnstone and his costar Gareth Potter as "the inarguable top of the young-leading-man pyramid at Stratford". My Tempest review called Dion "one of the greatest talents on stage at the festival in recent years, making his way through many of the most challenging roles ever written". These aren't overstatements. Since his 2007 turn as Edmund in King Lear, Dion Johnstone has been on my radar as a Stratford favourite. His performance as Caliban last summer was extroardinary, earning him a 2010 My Theatre Award nomination for best supporting actor.

One of my favourite performers in Canada, Dion is the 24th and final member of our 2010 My Theatre Nominee interview series. The passionate and candid actor took a good deal of time out of rehearsing for Western Canada Theatre's current production of W;t to talk to me about his greatest roles, his approach to acting and how the 2011 Stratford season is shaping up. 

Read on for my full conversation with Dion:

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Matthew Yipchuck

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

The summer after he graduated high school, Matthew Yipchuck and his friend Catherine Bernardi founded their own theatre company. This past summer he directed their first full length production by an established playwright: Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. Now he's nominated for a 2010 My Theatre Award for Best Director in the independent/local division. The Glass Menagerie is also up for Best Production.

Read on for Matthew's thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Adam Lauver

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

The Independent Drama Society's production of Romeo and Juliet is nominated in every category in the Local/Independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards: Best Production, Best Director (Sarah Gazdowicz), Best Actress (Megan Cooper) and Best Actor (Adam Lauver). Of the many award nominations the production has racked up since their September run, the vast majority of them have been for Adam, whose hilarious and touching portrayal of the nurse won't soon be forgotten.

Read on for my conversation with the charming and self-effacing actor.

ASP's Winter Festival- "The Hotel Nepenthe"

I wasn't so sure I wanted to see The Hotel Nepenthe. The description in the program sounds bizarre; it sounds scary and pretentious and weird. But I have never been so happy to have spent my night at the theatre.

The Hotel Nepenthe is brilliant. Absolutely, positively, insanely (in all senses of the world) brilliant. John Kuntz is the cleverest theatre writer I've encountered in quite some time. His dialogue is sparkling, his structure inventive, his stories poignant and his characters palpable. He's saying something but he's never saying anything so clearly that it doesn't merit hours and hours of analytic discussion. There were moments so tragic I almost cried. Then there were moments (lots of them) when I laughed so hard I literally cried- I've never done that at the theatre, ever.

The entire ensemble was phenomenal. All four of them played 3-5 characters each, every single one unique, not a single one a caricature. Daniel Berger-Jones was everything from a shy younger brother to a raunchy one-night stand to a stoic but paranoid bus driver, each one detailed down to facial twitches. Marianna Bassham shone as the funniest in the cast with insane comic timing. Her pitch-perfect Rent-a-Car Girl kicked off the show hilariously and her Senator's Wife character quickly became an audience favourite. Georgia Lyman was a true chameleon, disappearing into roles as funny as anything and then tragic the next minute. Playwright John Kuntz highlighted the cast with 4 performances that were so phenomenal that all I can call them (apparently, aside from "phenomenal" is "great"). I say great because I'm simply running out of adjectives to explain how brilliant everyone in this cast was. You have to see them to believe them.

See I've gone and gotten myself into a pickle now. The direction was also brilliant, the lighting design perfection and the sound extroardinary, but I'm starting to feel like you might not believe me anymore. So I'll say this- there was the occasional moment of over-the-top silliness, a broad touch here and there, a gimmick that gets played a little long. But that's all. Do I have my credibility back? Good, okay, so you can believe me when I say this: IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE HOTEL NEPENTHE YOU WILL BE SORRY! It really is one of the best things I've seen at the theatre ever. It's also an original play, so you can say you saw it before anyone else. I promise you won't regret it. I give you free reign to scream at me in the comments section if you disagree, because that's how much I want you see this show. Support original works, support small companies, but most importantly please just support awesome awesome theatre- see it!

The Hotel Nepenthe is playing until March 6th at the Storefront in Davis Square.
Visit www.actorsshakespeareproject.org for details.

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Eve Wylden

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

   

Eve Wylden is the best actress in one of my favourite Toronto theatre companies, The Red Light District. The chameleonic actress was a highlight of the RLD's innovative production of The Witch of Edmonton in the Summerworks festival, but it was her off-kilter performance as the doctor in Ted Witzel's circus-themed production of Woyzeck that earned her a Best Actress nomination in the Local/Independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards.

Read on for my full conversation with Eve:  

 

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Agatha Babbitt and Chris Hamilton

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

One of the best student productions of 2010 was BU Stage Troupe's Rabbit Hole. The remarkably mature and thoughtful production is nominated for 4 My Theatre Awards in the student division including Best Actor (Dan Stevens), Best Actress (Madeleine DiBiasi) and Best Production. The Best Director nominees Chris Hamilton and Agatha Babbitt took some time out to talk about their collaboration. 

Read on for Agatha and Chris' thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Keir Cutler

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Keir Cutler is a fixture on the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit. His one man show Teaching Shakespeare was a highlight of the summer theatre season and earned him a My Theatre Award nominated for Best Actor in the Local/Independent Division

Read on for our full interview with Keir

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Jewelle Blackman

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris was the surprise hit of the the 2010 Stratford season. Of the 4 phenomenally talented performers who held down the show, Jewelle Blackman stood out for her beautiful voice and palpable emotion, earning her a My Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Read on for my full conversation with Jewelle:  

My Theatre Nominess- Q&A with Trish Lindstrom

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Trish Lindstrom created a truly memorable Miranda last season at Stratford opposite Christopher Plummer, a role she's now nominated for as Best Supporting Actress in the My Theatre Awards. The flagship production is also nominated for Best Actor (Plummer) and Best Supporting Actor (Dion Johnstone/ Geraint Wyn Davies) in the national/professional division.

Read on for my full conversation with Trish: 

ASP's Winter Festival- "Cymbeline"

The Actors' Shakespeare Project's Winter Festival kicked off this month with Shakespeare's excellent if obscure romance Cymbeline. There are only 3 performances left (tonight- Saturday Feb 19 at 8pm; and tomorrow- Sunday Feb 20, at 2pm and 7pm) but if you get a chance, this is not a production to be missed.

The bench depth at the ASP is pretty good for a small company, something they prove once again with Cymbeline. The 7 person ensemble ranges from the unreliable but good to the consistently excellent. On the unreliable but good side is Marya Lowry who's Queen hits certain notes perfectly and strains for others (her particular brand of enunciated acting is much more at home here than in the fall's Coveted Crown). She is better as Belaria, though both roles teeter instead of landing solidly. De'Lon Grant, on the other hand, falls into this category because of the assuredness he gives a strangely disjointed performance, creating two incredibly distinct characters for Posthumus and Cloten. He is to be commended for his impressive separation of character traits, for his charming and detailed Posthumus and for the strength and energy he brings to the stage. His Cloten however, though entertaining, slips into caricature at points. He has some moments of greatness as the whiny prince, but the silliness-prone Cloten is still overshadowed by the endearing Posthumus.

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Sochi Fried

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

This fall, Sochi Fried captivated audiences as the title character in Ibsen's complex tragedy Hedda Gabler with Toronto's Alumnae Theatre Company. Her layered performance earned her a Best Actress nomination in the local/independent division of the 2010 My Theatre Awards. The production's director Jane Carnwath also earned a nomination. 

Read on for Sochi's thoughts on the role.

The UC Follies Present "The Threepenny Opera"

Last weekend I was excited to get the chance to see my first UC Follies show. The Threepenny Opera was in the lovely Hart House theatre, featured some excellent performers and had some good moments, but the overall production was shaky at best.

The unforgiving score from Kurt Weill and dark lyrics by Bertolt Brecht made the play, well, Brechtian, in the impossible-to-pull-off-not-to-mention-understand sense, an obstacle the underwhelming pit band was unable to overcome. The singers struggled too, prompting celebration whenever something sounded really great, because it didn't happen as often as you'd like.

While set designer Courtney Cathers made good use of space, director Viridi Odern used an annoyingly heavy hand, forcing low brow comedy at moments that didn't need it. Lighting and costume design by Travis LaHay and Heather Carlson respectively were decent but Shakir Haq's choreography proved too difficult for the cast (most of whom, I'd venture a guess, were not dancers), they bumbled inexpertly through the steps when most scenes would have been just fine without any dance at all.

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Sophia Walker

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

I've been following Sophia Walker's Stratford career since 2008 when she first caught my eye as Lady Capulet. Since then, she has lent her classical charm to wonderful portrayals of Lady Macduff (Macbeth), Hermia (Midsummer Night's Dream) and Juno (The Tempest) among others. In 2010, her winning performance as Julia in Dean Gabourie's excellent Two Gentlemen of Verona earned her a My Theatre Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

Read on for my full conversation with Sophia:

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Michael-David Blostein

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Toronto actor Michael-David Blostein is one of My Theatre's favourite young performers. His pitch-perfect portrayal of Sweeney Todd in Love is A Poverty You Can Sell this summer at the Toronto Fringe Festival won him a My Theatre Award nomination for Best Actor in an independent production. 

Read on for our full interview with Michael-David

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Dean Gabourie

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Dean Gabourie, the Assistant Artistic Director of The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, directed my favourite Shakespeare production of their 2010 season: Two Gentlemen of Verona. The studio theatre production is nominated for Best Actor (Gareth Potter), Best Supporting Actress (Sophia Walker), Best Director (Dean Gabourie) and Best Production in the National/Professional category. In a lengthy and candid conversation, Dean shared his history with classical theatre, the process behind casting and rehearsing Two Gents and some inside scoop on the festival.

Read on for my full interview with Dean

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Scott Moyle

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

This summer I dubbed Urban Bard "Toronto's Coolest Classical Company". Now their artistic director, Scott Moyle, joins our interview series to talk about the company, his innovative approach to found-space Shakespeare and his My Theatre Award nominated production of Two Noble Kinsmen (Best Independent/Local Production, Best Director-Scott Moyle and Best Actress- Adrianna Prosser)

Read on for Scott's full interview

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Emily Kassie

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Before graduating highschool, Emily Kassie directed one of the most challenging pieces in the modern musical theatre canon- Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Her professional-caliber production is nominated for Best Student Production and Best Actress (Kate Ryan). Emily herself is nominated for Best Director.

Read on for Emily's thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Adrianna Prosser

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Toronto actress Adrianna Prosser gave one of the summer's most memorable performances in Urban Bard's production of Shakespeare's obscure but fascinating Two Noble Kinsmen. As the tragically starry-eyed Jailer's Daughter, Prosser was easily the highlight of the clever and innovative production, which is also nominated for Best Director (Scott Moyle) and Best Local/Independent Production.

Read on for the full interview

More from IDS: Glengarry Glen Ross

The Independent Drama Society started on shaky ground. Founded by a bunch of BU grads newly ineligible for the theatre groups they'd come to love in college, IDS cobbled together its earliest productions, recruiting inexperienced players and volunteer tech teams to put on plays with few resources and small audiences. The result was some very unbalanced productions. 2009's Oresteia, for instance, sported two excellent performances from the 21-year-olds playing Orestes and Electra (Nicanor Campos and Sarah Gazdowicz) but the rest of the production left tons to be desired.

In their second season, IDS hurled itself wholeheartedly into the grownup indie theatre scene, raising audition standards and expanding their resources. By the time The Shape of Things went up in the Factory Theatre, the company had managed to pull itself up to professional standards without losing the edgy passion of its founding principles (it had also held onto its best talents while expanding the acting pool). This fall's Romeo and Juliet made those truths all the more clear. A young but uniformly talented company pulled off a demanding production that not only embraced the company's desperate passion but actually celebrated it with a relatively low budget romp of good fun with great actors.

But it wasn't until Glengarry Glen Ross premiered this month at the BCA Plaza Black Box that I fully got the fact that IDS has arrived. I mean, it's always been here (well, since 2007 it has) but I've always thought of it as a sort of College Plus company. The company is still young, but it no longer seems tied to recent graduates the way it has been. Nowadays they're working with more money, grownup characters, more experienced actors. Glengarry's youngest actor, Adam Lauver (23) was one of Romeo and Juliet's most mature presences and here shares the stage with a company of honest-to-god adults.  I don't mean to take away from the company's other more recent productions (Proof had Mark Bourbeau as Robert and much of the point of Romeo and Juliet was its youthful cast) but the characters in Glengarry aren't, for the most part, brazen upstarts or foolish youths, they're worn down, trod upon working stiffs- a show like that isn't a job for a College Plus company. With Glengarry Glen Ross, in more ways than one, IDS seems to have grown up, or perhaps just grown into itself.

Read on for our review of the production

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Ted Witzel

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

One of Toronto's most innovative young talents, Ted Witzel joins our interview series today. The Red Light District artistic director is nominated in the independent theatre category for Best Actor in The Witch of Edmonton and Best Director for Woyzeck.

Read on for Ted's thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Kate Ryan

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Today's interview is with Kate Ryan. The Best Actress in a Student Production nominee took on the complex role Cathy in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years with Vetoed Productions last summer. The production is also nominated for Best Student Director (Emily Kassie) and Best Student Production

Read on for the full Q&A

"You Shouldn't Underestimate Lucille and Leo Frank"

Acting Up Stage Company and Studio 180 have brought something really special to Toronto this month. In the Canadian premiere of the Tony-winning musical Parade, a pared-down company of just 15 takes on the most sprawling story ever told by Jason Robert Brown, one of musical theatre's most complex and daunting composers. Whatever the Globe and Mail may say, Parade is a superb musical filled with compelling characters, wonderful music and an affecting story done justice by the complex book and lyrics. Brown's wonderful a-melodic sensibility suits Leo Frank's isolation perfectly and heartbreaking lyrics like "when she laughed you swore you'd never cry again" lend sympathy to the Southern soon-to-be antagonists. In its original multi-Tony-winning form and this revised chamber version, Parade is a musical with a beating heart and something to say, as all the best ones are.

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Sarah Gazdowicz

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Sarah Gazdowicz is the brains behind The Independent Drama Society's Romeo and Juliet, nominated for 2010 My Theatre Awards for Best Actress (Megan Cooper), Best Actor (Adam Lauver) and Best Production. Sarah herself is up for Best Director of an independent/local production.

Read on for Sarah's thoughts

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Adam Lebowitz-Lockard

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

Adam Lebowitz-Lockard, a recent BU grad and one of Stage Troupe's go-to leading men, is nominated in the student production category for Best Director. His production of The Pillowman is also nominated fro Best Production.

Read on to see what Adam had to say

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Megan Cooper

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

The Independent Drama Society's production of Romeo and Juliet is nominated for 4 My Theatre Awards this year. One of those nominees is Megan Cooper as Best Actress in an independent production for her portrayal of Juliet in the punk rock adaptation.

Read on for Megan's thoughts on the production, acting, teaching and life in general:

My Theatre Nominees- Q&A with Jesse Nerenberg

Before we announce the winners of the 2010 My Theatre Awards, we're proud to present the My Theatre Nominee Interview Series.

One of My Theatre's favourite young actors in Toronto, Jesse Nerenberg first caught our attention in a brilliant production of Bent a couple summers ago. Now he is nominated for a 2010 My Theatre Award, Best Actor in a Local Production, for the role of Alan Strang in Equus.

Read on for Jesse's insights.