Toronto Theatre Criticism Survey 📝
How do theatre professionals and critics/writers understand, and make use of, theatre criticism and coverage in the current moment?
You tell us: fringetoronto.com/toronto-thea...
It is pretty fun Toronto is getting 4 of the 2023 Best Musical noms this spring: &Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like It Hot, Shucked (plus A Beautiful Noise which wasn't nominated).
A promising sign out of Stratford: It looks like incoming AD Jonathan Church is following through on his desire to cast a wider net for talent across Canada, with audition stops scheduled in St. John's, Montreal, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto. (But no Ottawa?)
Critic's Pick for the blazing, all-Canadian production of & JULIET now playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre until mid-May.
Some of the most fun I've had in a theatre this year, and WOW, that cast.
Review @theglobeandmail.com:
www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/stag...
Was thrilled to talk with the great Cree and Métis actor Tantoo Cardinal, who's returning to the Toronto theatre stage this winter in Jen Silverman's play WITCH at Soulpepper.
Story out in today's @thestar.com
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
Loved the new all-Canadian @mirvish.bsky.social production of & Juliet. The full 5 stars in my newsletter.
www.goaheadsumi.com/review-and-j...
Show #2
A few weeks ago, I chatted w BRIGHT STAR/GREAT COMET actor George Krissa in @thestar.com.
I couldn’t use everything we talked about. So here he is discussing his breakthrough roles, making Hallmark Channel history and hoping to play Bobby one day in “Company.”
www.goaheadsumi.com/george-kriss...
Mark Uhre with members of the company in Something Rotten!, 2024. Photo: Ann Baggley. Something Rotten! Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick Directed and Choreographed by Donna Feore Music Direction by Laura Burton Set and Costume Design by Michael Gianfrancesco Lighting Design by Bonnie Beecher Sound Design by Haley Parcher
Antoni Cimolino announces casting for the 12 productions set to take the stage in 2026, his final season as Artistic Director.
Click here for details: www.stratfordfestival.ca/Media/NewsRe...
Wrote a little more about the Stratford Festival's new artistic director — the good, the bad and the hiring committee that included zero artists for the top job in Canadian theatre.
My column is online now:
www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...
I really enjoyed @mirvish.bsky.social TELL TALE HARBOUR. It’s much broader and jokier than COME FROM AWAY, but still has a great big heart.
Review now up at @thestar.com.
www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
Tell Tale Harbour's run in Toronto is almost sold out! This is a great sign for this amazing made-in-Canada musical
Best theatre deal in town!! Tuesday night pay-what-you-choose at Soulpepper Theatre, with two terrific productions to choose from tonight: The Welkin and King Gilgamesh.
Very much enjoyed THE VEIL and ENORMITY, GIRL, AND THE EARTHQUAKE IN HER LUNGS (phew) at Crow's and 877 Yonge, respectively.
Two stellar new plays – and each frightening in their own way.
My twofer review is online now:
www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...
Between these plays and Mirvish's The Woman in Black (which I'm also looking forward to), there's a few great choices for fans of spooky shows on stage.
Cool news out of BC: Joshua Beamish's new ballet company is set to launch next April.
More in @theglobeandmail.com:
www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre...
INTRODUCING: ON Criticism, an incubator for theatre criticism offered by Intermission Magazine, the Grand Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Talk is Free Theatre, and Tarragon Theatre.
I also loved this show, and I hope to see it get produced across Canada.
We're thrilled to be nominated for Attractions Ontario's 10th Annual Ontario’s Choice Awards!
Vote for us to win the Top Performing Arts spot. You can vote once a day until September 7, 2025: attractionsontario.ca/poll/top-per...
📷 Photo by Ann Baggley.
In the Capitol Theatre’s new musical Rez Gas, songwriter Cale Crowe spins a comic tale of uneasy homecoming
“If it works in [the rehearsal] room and all these people believe in it, then we can take on the whole world," says Crowe.
www.intermissionmagazine.ca/features/rez...
✨ Announcing our 2026 season! ✨
The culmination of a 40-year career with the Festival, including 14 seasons as Artistic Director, this will be Antoni Cimolino's farewell season, with plays united under the theme of "This Rough Magic".
The 2026 playbill across our four venues...
Woo hoo!! So thrilled that 2b theatre company RED LIKE FRUIT by Hannah Moscovitch has won a Scotsman Fringe First at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Can’t wait to join you next week!
Jeez b'y, there's only 1️⃣4️⃣ performances of TELL TALE HARBOUR left! ⏰ Git your arse over to Confederation Centre of the Arts before it's too late!
Get your feed of east coast slang, joy, and laughs in the NEW VERSION of Tell Tale Harbour, on now until Aug 29.
➡️ confederationcentre.com/tth
American friends, are you worried about how you’ll be received in Canada this summer?
Fear not! As Jesse Green writes in the New York Times, our arms are wide open for you here in Stratford.
The Ontario government is considering new rules to regulate talent agents—rules that could directly affect how performers are paid, protected, and supported. Your feedback is very important! See your recent Member email to read the consultation guide and proposal, and how to submit your comments.
How's this for a boost, Canada? From the Chicago Tribune's chief theatre critic, Chris Jones: "Canadian theater, and Canadians in general, are doing better than their neighbors to the south at focusing on the core values that hold the nation together."
Really grateful to Phil Rickaby for having me on @stageworthy.ca, where we had a wide-ranging conversation about slime tutorials, my strange journey from theatre school to my job at The Globe and, of course, Taylor Swift.
open.spotify.com/episode/3FPj...
Had never seen the stage version of STEEL MAGNOLIAS. So it was worth the trip to Port Hope to see it with a lovely cast.
www.goaheadsumi.com/review-steel...
It’s official: Soulpepper has found its next artistic director. Paolo Santalucia will begin in the role on Sept. 1.
My exclusive for @theglobeandmail.com is online now:
www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre...
