Courtney Castelino - Page 5

What did our critic think of ORPHEUS MUSICAL THEATRE'S NEWSIES at Meridian Theatres at Centrepoint?

What did our critic think of PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL at National Arts Centre?

We chatted about his role, movies to musical adaptations, and the challenges of touring.

What did our critic think of FOREVER YOUNG: A GHETTO STORY at Great Canadian Theatre Company?

What did our critic think of MEAN GIRLS at National Arts Centre?

Broadway Across Canada is bringing Mean Girls to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre next week. I met up virtually with English Bernhardt during their current leg of the tour in Massachusetts to chat briefly about the show.

Laurie gave us some insight on what we can expect, as well as some of the differences between bringing a theatre production and a podcast to life.

Although there may be nothing earth shattering about Anastasia, the scenery, costumes, and cast performances are all excellent reasons to see the show during its national tour stop in Ottawa.

Madeline Raube (Countess Lily) was kind enough to have a chat with us before the opening night of Anastasia at the National Arts Centre.

What did our critic think of DEAR EVAN HANSEN at National Arts Centre? The opening night performance of Dear Evan Hansen at the National Arts Centre lacked some of the buzz that was palpable at Hamilton a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps that was because of pent-up excitement for Hamilton following two years of pandemic-related delays or maybe it's because Hamilton is still widely considered one of the hottest shows around. Normally there would be a bigger gap between shows, but thanks to the pandemic, Broadway Across Canada's 2021-2022 season has been condensed into a shorter time frame (Aside: not that I'm complaining - the more shows, the better, if you ask me). The beautiful thing about Broadway shows is that no two shows are alike, and the audience can appreciate each on its own merit.

Nikhil and Pablo shared some insightful thoughts on their characters and reflections on the show’s key themes

What did our critic think of HAMILTON at Ottawa's National Arts Centre?

After two unexpected postponements driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway Across Canada is finally bringing Hamilton to Ottawa. Neil Haskell, a Hamilton veteran who is currently portraying King George III in the touring production, was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to give us some insight into being on tour post-pandemic and what it’s like to be part of such an iconic show.

Claudia Carroll's The Secrets of Primrose Square is the first show at The Gladstone since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered it and every other theatre in the city over two years ago. Her fifteenth novel, Carroll's The Secrets of Primrose Square was first published in 2018 and this marks the debut of the author as a playwright.

Heartlines, presented by TACTICS at the Great Canadian Theatre Company, is based on the true story of two artists living and creating surrealist art together at a time when neither unconventional art nor homosexuality, was widely accepted.

Broadway Across Canada's touring production of CATS was abruptly cut short in March 2020 when theatre venues were shut down because of COVID-19. It is now the first to emerge in Broadway Across Canada's 2022 season lineup.

Blissful State of Surrender is the first play by Bosnian-Canadian playwright, Sanita Fejzić. Fejzić fled the Bosnian genocide as a child and spent her formative years as a refugee in Europe before settling in Ottawa. Her experiences are reflected in her work and, given what is happening in Ukraine right now, the show feels almost too close for comfort.

Daisy tells the true story of the controversial ad campaign surrounding Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential run in 1964. The attack ad that was created to support Johnson used fear marketing, playing on people's emotions to convince them that a vote for Johnson's rival, Barry Goldwater, would send America into nuclear war.

The touring production of CATS has changed in the more than fifteen years since I first saw it, but all of the elements that make the Andrew Lloyd Webber show a classic remain intact. The set is fairly simple: a junkyard where the cats congregate to celebrate the annual Jellicle Ball, when Old Deuteronomy (Adam Richardson) will choose which cat goes to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn. There are many contenders for the coveted position. We have Jennyanydots (Dani Goldstein), the seemingly lazy Gumbie cat who sleeps all day but works hard all night, demonstrated in a wonderful tap dancing sequence replete with a roaring twenties style flapper outfit. Then, there is the Rum Tum Tugger (McGee Maddox), the narcissistic, spoiled cat with the sexy swagger, who is a favourite of the lady-cats. Grizabella (Donna Vivino), the once glamourous cat, now past her prime and ostracized by the others. Gus, the Theatre Cat (Timothy Gulan), when aided by a toothful of gin, regales the audience with stories of his career on the stage, when he acted alongside theatre greats and once even 'understudied Dick Whittington's cat'. The Magical Mister Mistoffelees (PJ DiGaetano), shows off his impressive tricks and manages to conjure Old Deuteronomy, who was been kidnapped by Macavity (Brayden Newby), the nefarious 'Napoleon of crime'. Okay, so the plot is, perhaps, a little odd and the story may be disjointed. This is only natural, considering that the musical is based on a collection of whimsical poems written by T.S. Elliot for children. I think the reason CATS remains so popular after nearly forty years is because of the level of detail given to each character, from the costumes and make-up to each cat's story as they are introduced one by one, song by song, to the audience. Even the chorus cats have their own personalities. There is truly something for everyone in this show.

Orpheus Musical Theatre's production of Rock of Ages is designed to get you in the rock 'n roll mood from the get-go, starting with the voice-over introduction warning the audience to prepare to have their 'faces melted'. The show has its very own narrator, Lonny (Brennan Richardson), whose energy and charisma is palpable. Lonny introduces the two main characters, Sherrie (Rana Laviolette) and Drew (Connor McMahon) and we are presented with their backstories so we get to know them better. Sherrie, originally from small-town Kansas, has come to L.A. with her heart full of hopes and dreams of making it big as an actress. Drew works as a bar back at the Bourbon Room, a famous watering hole known for its live music scene. Drew, himself, is an aspiring musician and prefers to be known by his stage name, Wolfgang Von Colt. Within moments of her arrival on the Sunset Strip, Sherrie is mugged. Drew sees the incident and invites Sherrie into the Bourbon Room. He manages to sweet-talk the Bourbon Room's owner, Dennis Dupree (Malcolm Scott), into giving Sherrie a waitressing job, even though the Bourbon has recently fallen on tough times (the view Dennis is treated to as Sherrie bends over to pick up a penny may have also been a contributing factor). While romance begins to blossom between Drew and Sherrie, we discover that a foreign property developer, Hertz Klineman (Wayne McNamara) and his son, Franz (Paddy Allen-McCarthy), have bribed L.A.'s mayor (Neil Cachero) in order to demolish the Sunset Strip and make way for a new development. Meanwhile, Dennis and Lonny try to drum up business by arranging for the great Stacee Jaxx (D.J. Eyamie) to have his final performance with Arsenal at the Bourbon Room, where the band got its start. After sparks sputter out between Sherrie and Drew, Sherrie and Stacee have a quickie in the men's washroom and Drew quits his job to take an offer he can't refuse. Sherrie ends up getting fired and goes to work at the Venus Club, owned by Justice 'Call me Mama' Charlier (Jerusha Lewis). Regina Koontz (Christa Cullain), the mayor's former assistant and now chief protester of the development project, tries to appeal to Franz' sensitive nature to circumvent the demolition. Lonny and Dennis come to a revelation. Incredibly, all these plot lines ultimately converge in bizarre ways and all's well that ends well (except, perhaps, for Stacee and the llama). The cast performances were a bit uneven, which was most apparent during some of the melodies for which the show is famous. More than one singer had trouble focusing on their individual parts to let the melodies harmonize, opting instead to try to sing over the others. This had the unfortunate effect of interrupting the flow of the intersecting melodies. Lewis and Eyamie were two notable exceptions but, regrettably, had smaller roles. Richardson also gave a strong performance as Lonny and was able to effectively hold the story together as the narrator. The choreography (Andy Allen-McCarthy) was superbly executed. The ensemble numbers were tight and a pleasure to watch. Taeyun Moon (Ensemble) and Katie Shapiro (Waitress #1, Ensemble) gave particularly strong performances. Lighting was generally effective; however, spotlights were used as a focal point in a number of scenes resulting in the actors' faces being obscured, as the spotlights only highlighted them from the waist down (at least from my vantage point). The costumes (Susan Cole) and stage direction (Andréa Black) were both well done - in particular, with the reveal of Franz and Regina's 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' outfits. The best songs were the big, showy, numbers with lots of ensemble chorus, such as 'Cum On Feel the Noize / Just Like Livin' in Paradise/ Nothing But a Good Time', 'We Built This City/Too Much Time on My Hands', 'Here I Go Again', and 'Don't Stop Believing'. Despite some flaws, the show is lots of fun and jam-packed full of songs that most people know and can sing along to. The audience clearly loved it; clapping in time to the music and laughing out loud at many of Lonny's antics. Rock of Ages is recommended for anyone nostalgic for 80s rock music and a fun storyline. This show would also make a fantastic date night. Some strong language and sexually suggestive scenes may make it best to let your littlest rockers sit this one out. Rock of Ages is at Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe until March 15, 2020. For more information or to buy tickets, go to https://www.orpheus-theatre.ca/rock-of-ages.