Finster Finds

Until I heard of the play I hadn't heard of John Ware. I knew a bit about Amber Valley and have some of knowledge about some of the history of Black Canadians mostly because of my work and my personal interests. A couple of seasons ago we produced a piece called Blak ! by Krystal Dos Santos at the Citadel and in preparing for that I went on all sorts of little research tangents across the internet.We're so lucky to have access to so much information literally at our fingertips... John Ware Reimagined  by Cheryl Foggo is actually more than one play... at least that's how I felt when I left. I thought there was one play, about John and Mildred Ware and how they met and fell in love and lived, and another about Joni, who was seeking to find herself in the history of Alberta and her frustration with feeling like she was both invisible and other. It was also a musical (which caught me off guard only in that I wasn't expecting that). I left these two plays with quite a ...

... and waking up with the songs in my brain... Gotta get back to see it again...

There's no Alice in Jabberwocky but there are A LOT of white rabbits! Jabberwocky is the latest show created by the Calgary-based Old Trout Puppet Workshop currently being presented at Theatre Network. It has all the hallmarks of the other shows I have seen from them ( Ignorance, Famous Puppet Death Scenes ) - the quirkiness, the off-centre humour, a bit of darkness, lots of twisted whimsy, and above-all the ridiculously well-done and out-of-the-box props, sets, and puppets. It's a story far removed from the original Jabberwock , so don't go expecting Alice, but there is an incorporation of some familiar iconography and they certainly make use of the text of the poem itself. You can see the inspiration. The story is more about life and the pursuit of happiness and purpose. I'm not one for giving a synopsis, so it's best to just go and check it out. I promise you won't get lost and there will be lots of humorous surprises along the way. If you've seen ...

If there's one show to see this season...  I know. You hear that about a lot of shows. But seriously... this is the one. Personally I hope you see 10, or 15, or 20 shows, but if you only have room for one it should be Hadestown . It's not even so you can have the bragging rights about being one of the first to see it before it moves on to it's next incarnation (hint, hint... think NYC). It's because it's so very good.  It's the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set to music by the incomparable  Anaïs Mitchell   and directed by Broadway's Rachel Chavkin . What they have created is something  welcoming and engaging, making you feel as though you are sitting in a small bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, not a 670+ seat theatre. And although it's wonderfully intimate it is, at the same time, dramatically epic.  Tonight was the second time I saw the show, having seen it on last Sunday evening. With all the hype I was not content to wait for Opening Night...

Friday night I finally got to see Jersey Boys! I'd been hearing about it for a few years and had been unable to go the last time it came through because of scheduling issues, so I was really happy to get a chance to see it this time around. The cast was incredible - the singing perfect, the dancing so clean and tight, the acting just the right mix of humour and realism. I'd never really thought of myself as a Four Seasons fan but as the songs rolled out I realized how many of their songs I knew and loved. I was particularly blown away by Jonny Wexler, who as Frankie Valli sings some incredible high notes and makes them soar, and Tommaso Antico, who as Bob Gaudio has a sensitivity and presence that always felt honest even in the huge theatre. Corey Greenan as Tony DeVito added the intensity and antagonism needed to make the journey of the show feel worth it, and Chris Stevens as Nick Massi injected a good deal of humour in a delightfully deadpan manner. I think there'...

It's a good problem to have - good for me, good for the city - a whole bunch of theatre to see! This Friday I will finally get to see Jersey Boys with Broadway Across Canada. I've heard the show is awesome so I am looking forward to it. I have prepared myself to hear a lot of swearing and some great music! I'm also very, very, very excited about Hadestown which starts this weekend at the Citadel. We've been working so hard on it, and hearing snippets of the live music and imagining what the mind-blowing cast we have will do with it ( several are Broadway Alums and the ones I have seen previously in Canada are seriously amazing performers ). Every day I peek in the theatre and the set looks incredible and I just can't wait. I'll be there on Opening but I am thinking I might not wait until then so I'm looking to see if I can go on Saturday or Sunday night. I will likely take Gibson as our current joint-obsession with Hamilton tells me he will probably r...

I'd heard about Constellations by Nick Payne a few years ago. It's concept was intriguing, multiple iterations of the same scenes, with slight changes to reflect the multiplicity of possibilities. I'm am avid Science Fiction reader, so the idea is one I have seen explored before in books and film, and I liked the idea of exploring that on stage. So when Shadow Theatre announced that it was part of their season, I was happy to get the chance to see it. My sister, who lives in Toronto, saw it at Canadian Stage last year, but wanted to discuss it with me only after I had a chance to see it ( so now we are due for a phone chat... ). In the wishing for one more multi-verse, I wish I had seen the version she saw too! I think this is the kind of play that would only be enriched by seeing multiple productions... Anyhow, it's a boy meets girl story, about Marianne the Physicist (Liana Shannon) and Roland the Bee-keeper (Mat Busby). They meet, they flirt, they meet again, th...