Finster Finds

Photo Credit: Lindsey Tran, @understudystudio_ I ticked off one of my bucket list shows this past week! I'm a self-avowed Sondheim lover and thanks to Grant MacEwan University's production of Sunday in the Park with George , I finally got to see a show that has long been on my list. I'm so glad I caught it (it closes today so you might not be able to if you are just reading this now). The music is very-Sondheim and I caught bits that reminded me of Into the Wood s and Company , and it is not easy, but this cast did it very well. Lead by Eli Yaschuk as George (George Seurat, the French painter) and Rain Matkin as Dot (his fictionalized model and lover), the young cast of students in the BFA program deliver the show with commitment, enthusiasm and skill. Yaschuk and Matkin are both terrific, anchoring the show musically and emotionally. I hope we see more of them on our city's stages in year to come. And the entire cast delivered my favourite song, Sunday , beautifully.

If you’re looking for a show on in Edmonton this week and next, I highly recommend  Robot Girls  presented by  Shadow Theatre at the Varscona. It’s a brand new work by Trevor Schmidt about about a school science club at an all-girls junior high school. The four actors (played by Larissah Lashley, Hayley Moorhouse, Abigail McDougall and Jayce McKenzie) are letter perfect as grade 7, 8 and 9 students who endeavor to build a robot in their club to go to an international science competition. Their teacher advisor is missing in action, so it’s all up to them to figure out how to get the work done. As a junior high school science teacher myself, I was both tickled and impressed by the portrayals. McKenzie is simply hysterical as the grade 7 club member Vanessa. She's filled to the brim with a golden retriever puppy energy that feels all too real. Moorhouse, on the other end of the age spectrum, plays the senior member of the club, grade 9 Bloody Mary, with just the right amount of distai

There were quite a few hints about what might be included in Northern Light Theatre's upcoming season rolling our in advance of their Season Launch last Monday.  Quotes from thrillers and murder mystery authors had me preparing for a spooky and scary line-up. I'm always down for what Northern Light Theatre is offering. They consistently choose the unusual and challenging and deliver with complete design concepts. Unlike other theatres in town, you are more likely to see something that surprises you and makes you think about something you haven't before.  The new season, titled Making A Monster, presents three plays featuring characters possessing qualities of modern monsters in our midst! " This season, NLT wants to examine the human capacity to be monstrous to other human beings ", says Artistic Director Trevor Schmidt . " We want to ask ourselves and our audience what keeps us from behaving cruelly- and we want there to be discussion. Nobody is immune to