Toronto Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 10

BWW Review: HANSEL AND GRETEL loses sight of its talented cast in an over-the-top, overwhelming production
by Isabella Perrone - February 10, 2020

The Canadian Opera Company's HANSEL AND GRETEL, directed by Joel Ivany, is a spectacularly detailed production; unfortunately, the sheer amount of things happening at every moment overwhelms the gorgeous music and talented cast....

BWW Review: THIS WAS THE WORLD at Tarragon Theatre
by Louis Train - February 07, 2020

In the opening scene of THIS WAS THE WORLD, on now at Tarragon Theatre, a law professor (R.H. Thomson) meets with his supervisor (Kim Nelson) to discuss a problematic statement he made in class. a?oeI apologised immediatelya??, he insists, but the fact that he's reclining with his feet up on his bri...

BWW Review: CAROLINE, OR CHANGE at the Winter Garden Theatre
by Louis Train - February 05, 2020

The theatre shook with applause for Jully Black last night as she opened the musical CAROLINE, OR CHANGE at the Winter Garden Theatre. She was one of many in the cast to give powerhouse performances in a dramatically and musically challenging show....

BWW Review: THE SECOND CITY TOTALLY LIKES YOU Is A Cute, Crush-Worthy Take On Love And Relationships
by Isabella Perrone - February 04, 2020

It might not be the most gut-busting show from the company, but The Second City's new romance-themed show is still a fun, funny, and healthier alternative to stuffing your face with chocolates this Valentines Day....

BWW Review: JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts
by Louis Train - February 01, 2020

Lucius is an exuberant, charismatic serial killer who claims to have found God while incarcerated. His exact religious philosophy is unclear - he preaches justice but cannot account for his own atrocities.  Angel was arrested for shooting the leader of a dangerous religious cult. He doesn't think...

BWW Review: MARJORIE PRIME at The Coal Mine Theatre
by Louis Train - January 30, 2020

MARJORIE PRIME is set some 30 years in the future, after scientists have invented Primes, charmingly lifelike holographic representations of dead people you can buy to keep you company after a loss. Say your husband's passed away - I'm so sorry, but look! here he is, or something that looks and talk...

BWW Review: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE goes full circus in the Canadian Opera Company's electrifying, funny production
by Isabella Perrone - January 26, 2020

The Canadian Opera Company's remount of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, last performed in 2015, is a visually striking and pitch-perfect adaptation of one of opera's most well-known works. With staging by Spanish theatre troupe Els Comediants, director Joan Font beautifully blends 19th century sensibilities,...

BWW Review: SUITCASE / ADRENALINE at Theatre Passe Muraille
by Louis Train - January 23, 2020

Theatre Passe Muraille kicks off 2020 with an Arabic-language double-bill. Is it novelty or innovation? A bit of both, I think....

BWW Review: The highs and lows of leadership are laid bare in MOTHER'S DAUGHTER
by Isabella Perrone - January 19, 2020

England's first female regent is often forgotten and relatively unknown, but in Soulpepper's remount of MOTHER'S DAUGHTER, Queen Mary gets her moment in the sun - whether she wants it or not....

BWW Review: LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is a Bright Testimony to the Power of Women and Importance of Self-Love
by Isabella Perrone - January 19, 2020

There's never been a shortage of movies-turned-stage musicals, but where many achieve to go beyond their inspirations, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is a show that stays true to what makes the cult-classic film so beloved a?' and in doing so, is just as relevant and timely in 2020 as the movie was in 2...

BWW Review: Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Present SWEAT at the Berkeley Street Theatre
by Louis Train - January 18, 2020

SWEAT is a work of social realism, that controversial genre of fiction, film, and drama that tries to be romance and documentary all in one. It casts light on an often ignored part of American society, that is, those disenchanted workers - and ex-workers - whose dreams have been disrupted by some th...

BWW Review: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Is Here With A Striking Cast And Glittering Production
by Isabella Perrone - January 13, 2020

It's one of the most well-known musicals, but THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues to surprise, featuring a stellar cast, design, and dozens of special effects that all add up to a massive spectacle of a show....

BWW Review: EVERY SILVER LINING at Factory Theatre
by Louis Train - January 12, 2020

EVERY SILVER LINING is about being a teenager, and cancer. Clara (Allison Wither, who also composed the music and wrote the lyrics) is a teenager. She reads books, goes swimming, and ignores her friends. Her brother, Andrew (Daniel Karp) is dying of leukemia....

BWW Review: THE SOLITUDES is a Personal Look Into Women's Lives and Bloodlines That Struggles to Find a Narrative
by Isabella Perrone - January 12, 2020

Aluna Theatre and Nightwood Theatre's production of THE SOLITUDES, directed by Bea Pizano, is an interesting glimpse into the lives of eight very different women's lives, histories, and bloodlines. Despite strong creative elements and performances, the dozens of ideas that are brought up rarely conn...

BWW Review: Sex, Power, and Wit in SEXUAL MISCONDUCT OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES at Tarragon Theatre
by Louis Train - January 10, 2020

As in the best novels by Philip Roth, playwright Hannah Moscovitch delights in convincing us that her character's predatory behaviour is a minor flaw, not that bad in context, and that he's not that much worse, really than anyone else. Annie is intelligent, independent, has some sexual experience; i...

BWW Review: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM at St Lawrence Centre
by Louis Train - December 19, 2019

Jess is torn between her obligations to her family and her dream of being a soccer star. Everyone tells her she has what it takes to make it big - except her parents, who remind her that her commitment, first and foremost, should be to her family. I won't tell you how BEND ITa?? ends, suffice to say...

BWW Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL serves up smiles and a whole lotta heart in its Toronto premiere
by Isabella Perrone - December 18, 2019

Who lives in a pineapple on a big stage? THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, presented by TO Live and NETworks Presentations, seems more than ready to make its Toronto premiere with a perfectly-cast ensemble, imaginative sets and costumes, and enough optimism to rival the yellow sponge himself....

BWW Review: COME FROM AWAY Is As Heartfelt And Timely As Ever Before
by Isabella Perrone - December 16, 2019

Following a transfer to the Elgin Theatre that lasted most of 2019, COME FROM AWAY has returned to its original Toronto home, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, in full form. Under director Christopher Ashley, writers and composers' Irene Sankoff and David Hein story of what happened in the town of Gander...

BWW Review: IKUMAGIALIIT Celebrates Self-Exploration And Strength In The Face Of Fear 
by Isabella Perrone - December 16, 2019

Presented as part of Harbourfront Centre's The Festival of Cool: Arctic, IKUMAGIALIIT (Inuktitut for a?oethose that need firea??) is an experiential journey presented by a four woman performance art band, who collectively go by the name Ikumagialiit. Made up of Christine Tootoo, Cris Derksen, Laakku...

BWW Review: Toronto International Ballet Theatre's THE NUTCRACKER Proves That What Glitters Can Be Golden
by Isabella Perrone - December 15, 2019

In the Toronto International Ballet Theatre and Bolshoi Ballet's (TIBT) production of THE NUTCRACKER, choreographer and artistic director Tatiana Stepanova takes a traditional approach to the beloved story that proves it doesn't need a modern-day refresh to appeal to a modern audience. From the glit...

BWW Review: CASH ME IF YOU CAN at Berkeley Street Theatre
by Louis Train - December 14, 2019

Patrick Combs was knee-deep in credit card debt when he got a piece of junk mail that caught his eye - a phony cheque for nearly $100,000. He knew the bank would never cash it, but he had nothing better to do, so he popped it into an ATM and - lo and behold, it cleared. Now Patrick Combs, slacker wa...

BWW Review: SCHÜTZ'S CHRISTMAS STORY Breathes Life into Baroque Music for the Holidays
by Isabella Perrone - December 14, 2019

Within the Trinity-St. Paul Centre's high ceilings and warm wooden walls, audiences can experience a telling of the nativity unlike anything created today. SCH?oeTZ'S CHRISTMAS STORY, produced by The Toronto Consort, is a seasonal program centred on Schütz's works, featuring a few other German compo...

BWW Review: TORONTO, I LOVE YOU at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre
by Louis Train - December 13, 2019

TORONTO, I LOVE YOU has been playing on and off for a while now but, like the 6ix itself, the story is always changing. At the start of each show, the cast takes a few suggestions (Koreatown! The Alexandria Park pool!) so every night the action ends up somewhere different....

BWW Review: Immersive Production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL Highlights the Best Parts of Dickens' Beloved Tale
by Isabella Perrone - December 10, 2019

It's a story with dozens of iterations and adaptations, but a few small adjustments to this beloved Christmas tale make all the difference in Soup Can Theatre and The Three Ships Collective's A CHRISTMAS CAROL....

BWW Review: LIL RED ROBIN HOOD Is A Fun-Filled Romp Packed With Important Messages And Lessons
by Isabella Perrone - December 09, 2019

What happens when a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood gets pulled back in time, dropped in a forest, and comes face-to-face with Maid Marion, Robin Hood, and an evil sheriff? A lot. And it all happens hilariously, with full musical numbers, in Ross Petty's LIL RED ROBIN HOOD....