Lauren Gienow - Page 7

Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS PINAFORE is gracing the Stratford Festival stage for the first time in 25 years and only the fourth time in the history of the festival. Mounted at the Avon Theatre, directed by Lezlie Wade, and choreographed by Kerry Gage, this production possesses the perfect balance of fun, ridiculousness and sentiment. The music is gorgeous, the company is brilliant and as a whole, it is simply delightful.

The Stratford Festival's production of GUYS AND DOLLS opened on Tuesday night at the Festival Theatre and it is sure to be a hit. The performances, the glorious music, the set and lighting design, and the choreography all hit the right note and allow for a fantastic production to be enjoyed by all.

On Monday night, prior to the official opening of Stratford Festival's 65th season, it was formally announced that the Festival has received a Provincial Grant of $20 million to rebuild the Tom Patterson Theatre.

The 65th season of the Stratford Festival officially opened on Monday night with a production of William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. Director, Martha Henry has assembled a fabulous group of players and they do not disappoint. Just the thought of Geraint Wyn Davies, Tom Rooney, and Brent Carver sharing comedic scenes together had me rushing to the Festival Theatre to see this play. All three are as fantastic as one could hope for, but everyone else is equally as enchanting in their roles as well.

Well, another season of GREY'S ANATOMY is in the books. Thursday's finale, written by Stacy McKee and directed by Debbie Allen, was packed with action and emotion. We said goodbye to a series regular, and got a glimpse of what will likely be the prominent storylines to start off next season. Oh ya…There was also a huge fire in the hospital.

Wow. What an episode of GREY'S ANATOMY. The penultimate episode of season 13, entitled “True Colors” went out with a literal bang and left us all waiting with baited breath to see what happens in next week's finale. The three main story-lines of the episode could have each been an episode of it's own; Owen gets life changing news about his sister Megan, Alex has found Jo's abusive husband, and Edwards finds herself and a young patient in a terrifying situation with a dangerous patient. The episode was written by William Harper and directed by Kevin McKidd.

Thursday night's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY, written by Elizabeth R. Finch and directed by Zetna Fuentes, offered viewers a tale of two tumors—two very different patient cases in which the doctors want to try to remove a tumor but the patient (or patient's parents) do not want them to…for very different reasons. As the medical cases play out, we also get an update on the Arizona/Eliza romance, and the Meredith/Riggs romance (and Maggie's stance on it). We also see Edwards finally reach her boiling point with the existential crisis she has quietly having all season. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Alex is tracking down Jo's estranged, abusive husband…so that should be interesting.

Last night's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY, entitled 'Don't Stop Me Now' did not disappoint. The Meredith/Riggs/Maggie story took a giant step forward when Maggie finally learned that Meredith and Riggs are a thing. Richard and Catherine finally buried the hatchet; Alex's patient, Veronica (who we first met earlier this season) returned to have her baby; and a super lovey dovey young couple named Mary and Dennis first disgusted us with their pet names for each other…and then really disgusted us with the worms that were breeding inside Mary. This episode brought the laughs, the tears, the unique medical storylines….And some super gross worms. What else could a GREY'S fan ask for???

This week's GREY'S ANATOMY literally took the drama to new heights with the episode “In The Air Tonight” (which has been advertised all week as #GreysOnAPlane). The bulk of this episode, directed by Chandra Wilson, takes place on a plane that hits some pretty serious turbulence mid flight. Meredith and Riggs both happen to be on the plane and are forced to jump into doctor mode when passengers experience medical emergencies. This doesn't mean that their own romantic turbulence takes the back burner however, as Meredith finally confronts her feelings and reservations about moving forward romantically with Riggs.

GREY'S ANATOMY was in top form on Thursday night. The episode was called WHAT'S INSIDE and newcomer, Nzingha Stewart, was the director. This episode had a little bit of everything…a fascinating medical case, moments of laughter, moments of tears, callbacks to some significant past storylines on the show, new friendships forming, etc. It also provided a beautiful commentary on grief and on how there is no normal way to grieve (though there are certainly some ways that are healthier than others).

Tonight's emotional hour was entitled “Be Still My Soul” and it marked lead, Ellen Pompeo's directorial debut. Two weeks ago at Paleyfest, Ms. Pompeo commented on how the story in this episode had a great deal of meaning to her and it was important that this be the one that she direct. The episode centers on Maggie's struggle to come to terms with her mother's illness and eventual death. It also explores the beautiful relationship that exists between a child (of any age) and their mother. Guest star LaTanya Richardson Jackson is fantastic as Diane Pierce and Kelly McCreary (Maggie) breaks hearts with her performance.

BWW TV had the chance to catch up with several members of the GREY'S ANATOMY cast on the Paleyfest Red Carpet and then get some scoop from the official Panel discussion. Here is a transcript of interviews with: Jerrika Hinton, Jason George, Kelly McCreary, James Pickens Jr. , Giacomo Gianniotti, Chandra Wilson, Caterina Scorsone, and Debbie Allen and some tidbits from the panel.

Saturday afternoon at the Dolby Theatre, the four CW Network Super Hero television programs were all celebrated at Paleyfest. On hand, were some executive producers and members of the casts of ARROW, THE FLASH, SUPER GIRL, and DC LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. Moderating the panel was comic book super fan, Kevin Smith.

Last night's GREY'S ANATOMY, entitled “Who Is He (and What is he to You)” and directed by Kevin McKidd, was billed as 'Japril the sequel' – a Jackson and April centric episode that finds them jetting off to Montana to perform a throat transplant. Jackson does the Voice-Over that typically goes to Meredith and the only other regular character that we see is Katherine Avery. GREY'S fans might slightly miss the regular shenanigans over at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, but regardless of how invested they are in the Jackson-April pairing, they will certainly still appreciate this episode. We finally get to meet Jackson's father…and so does Jackson!

GREY'S ANATOMY is back after a week away with an episode entitled “Civil War”. It is an apt title because things are icy to say the least. There are several civil wars of sorts happening around the hospital. Many had existed for a while now, but it appears some things are finally reaching a breaking point.

Last night's GREY'S ANATOMY was about reunions. Not necessarily happy reunions, but reunions all the same. No show on TV does 'bittersweet' better than GREY'S ANATOMY and there is a whole lot of bittersweet in this most recent episode, entitled “Back Where You Belong”. The episode was written by Jen Klein and directed by Oliver Bokelberg.

On last night's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY, what was looking to be Dr. Kepner's no-good-terrible-very-bad-day turned out to be Dr. Minnick's no-good-terrible-very-bad-day. Fittingly, the episode was titled “It Only Gets Much Worse”.

Last night's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY was all about secrets—specifically the deep dark personal secrets that are just too revealing to tell anybody. The episode was aptly titled “None of Your Business”. Several characters navigated romantic, professional and familiar relationships while keeping a secret close to the chest. By the end of the episode, most of those secrets remained unspoken. This might seem frustrating to viewers who just want our favorite characters to open up and share…but at the same time, it is pretty darn realistic.

Thursday's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY entitled “Jukebox Hero” explores how those who we may see as heroes all have their flaws if we look close enough. More on that later though…the real question is WHERE IS ALEX???!!!

GREY'S ANATOMY is back after a long winter break. The winter premiere, entitled “You Can Look (But You'd Better Not Touch)” is a 'bottle episode' meaning that it is more or less self-contained, and that we will have to wait another week to get answers to the cliffhangers we were left with in the midseason finale.