Understudies... they get the job done! Clue at the Citadel Theatre and a return visit to Hamilton with Broadway Across Canada!

I had a terrific two-city theatre weekend! After seeing Hamilton in Edmonton earlier this month, I tried for and won lucky lottery tickets to see the show again in Calgary. This meant a quick road trip down south with Gibson on Saturday to catch the evening show and a quicker return home because I had plans to see Clue with my Mom at the Citadel theatre in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon! Road routes were carefully planned because of the Pope's visit and it's many road closures. My article title refers to Understudies and both these experiences speak to the power and incredible skill of understudies. 

First, Hamilton! It was so nice to see the show again and seeing it from the front row was amazing. It was such a treat to see the show up close. Gibson (due to his music background) was thrilled to be able to watch the conductor at certain points in the show. I loved the show when I saw it first but this second viewing proved to me that it is the kind of show you can see multiple times and still be engaged and thrilled. We were also pleased to see two different performers in key roles. Between the two shows we saw different Aaron Burrs (Donald Webber Jr. and Ellis C. Dawson III) and Angelica Schuylers (Marja Harmon and Charlotte Mary Wen). These four performers were all excellent and between Gibson and I we each had different favourites (I won't say who liked who better) but above-all we felt that it was so awesome to see the show with different casts, particularly casts of this caliber, as it made us engage with the show differently and appreciate it even more. I truly appreciate that with a show like this, which is so specific, that the actors were allowed to bring themselves into the roles and not merely recreate the well-known performances of the originators. Regardless, it makes me confident that you will see a terrific show regardless of who in this company is onstage on any given night. 

After arriving home on Sunday morning at 11:55 a.m. I quickly changed and picked up my Mom to take her to Clue at the Citadel Theatre. In the pre-show announcement we were informed that the actor playing Mr. Green was unable to perform and that the Assistant Director Corben Kushneryk would be filling in and that he might have to use a script on occasion. Well, it was a riot! It took me a few minute to get into it (probably because of the driving) but once all the players were assembled it took off with a bang! The show was well cast and director Nancy McAlear did a fabulous job keeping the hi-jinks high! The Set (Designer Scott Reid) is an amazing puzzle box and I was delighted by it! I have to mention the outstanding job done by Kushneryk! It's hard to believe that he was just filling in as he was incredible in a very physical role! It was clear to see during the bows that the rest of the audience agreed! It was also delightful to see John Ullyatt as Wadsworth as his was also a tremendously funny and physical role. But really the whole cast worked together so well - with precision looks and choreography. They were a well-oiled machine and it was so fun to laugh so much! I highly recommend checking out this show!

Clue runs at the Citadel in the Shoctor Theatre until August 7th. Tickets range from $30.00 to $123.00 and are available here.

Theatre Exceeding Expectations - Hamilton and The Realistic Joneses

This past week I saw two excellent theatrical productions, both of which I was looking forward to for very different reasons, and both of which exceeded my expectations wonderfully! 

Like many of you, I saw Hamilton this weekend as part of the Broadway Across Canada tour. Over the past few years I had become quite familiar with the soundtrack (like most musical theatre nerds) and had watched the recording of the Broadway show on Disney+ but was so happy to finally see it live in a theatre. It definitely exceeded my expectations. You are never quite sure of that, but it was marvelously delivered. I know that friends of mine who saw it in the first week mentioned some sound glitches, but they clearly got that all worked out by the time I saw it on Sunday afternoon. I laughed, I resisted singing along (so as to not annoy those sitting around me), I leaned in and I cried. The crying caught me off guard but that is the magic of live theatre - it moves you in ways that a recording will never do. 

I was so happy to have taken my music-nerd son and one of his friends. They both knew the show well from the soundtrack and his delight and surprise at seeing the show was terrific to witness. He grabbed me at one point early on, with an excited, "Mom, I've never heard the scene change transition music before!"  If you are thinking that the Disney+ version was enough, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. While that is one of the best recordings of a live show I have seen, for me, it was definitely worth it to be in the room where it really happens! 

I did try to win more tickets via the online lottery so that I could get to see it again, but to no avail. I'm entered in the lottery for some of the Calgary dates so perhaps there will be a road trip in my future!

Hamilton runs to Sunday, July 10th at the Jubilee Auditorium. However, after that the tour moves on to Calgary so if you are also up to a road trip, I think it will definitely be worth it! Tickets range from $59 to $194. I encourage you all to enter the lottery for Calgary tickets via the Hamilton app. I know several people who lucked out in Edmonton and saw the show from from amazing seats! 

The other show I saw this week was very different, but also extremely satisfying. I took in The Realistic Joneses at Walterdale Theatre last night and it was simply terrific. I'd been looking forward to seeing this show since the moment it was announced. I had seen a production of the play a few years ago and was delighted by the very quirky script which at the time I called "unexpectedly and unpredictably funny". I wondered if I would have the same reaction having seen an excellent production of it before and I am very glad to say that I did. A different, but equally skilled cast, captured the four very real characters that make up the neighboring Joneses. The humour is handled with subtlety and surprise and for much of the first act I found myself laughing, caught off-guard by the dry wit. Director John Anderson and his cast of four (Zack Siezmagraff, Colleen Allen, Christoff Lundgren, and Brooke Hodgson) have created a real world tilted askew by illness and bravery, and infused with humour and hope. 

The Realistic Joneses runs at Walterdale Theatre until July 16th. Tickets are $25 and are available here. There are also some special nights with deals at the door - Tonight (Thursday, July 7) is 2 for 1 Night (bring a friend!) and Wednesday, July 13th is a Pay-What-You-Will Night. 

Photo Credit (The Realistic Joneses): Scott Henderson, Henderson Images

Starting the New Year with a Little Magic! The Illusionists with Broadway Across Canada!

How to kick off 2019 in a big way? Attend the Broadway Across Canada production of The Illusionists on New Year's Day like I did! Well, it's here until January 6th, so you can still start the year off in a really magical way!

I took Gibson as he has always been intrigued by magic (we often watch Penn & Teller's Fool Us) and there were so many times during the show where we would turn to each other and say "HOW?!?!?". There are five illuisonists and the show moves briskly from one outstanding trick to the next. two of the performers, Colin Cloud (The Mentalist) and Andrew Trent (The Futurist), have a bit of the stand up comedian in them so there is also quite a bit of laughter. Trent was particularly fun with the close-up magic (it's all filmed and projected so you can see it very clearly) and Cloud's Sherlock Holmes mind-reading tricks blew my mind! Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil) was more of a physical extremes guy, escaping from a straight jacket at great peril and lying on a bed of nails (pardon, nail), leading up to a very cool crossbow trick. The young audience member next to me, kept saying, "He's not going to do it
AGAIN?!" and seemed quite worried about the safety of everyone involved. An Ha Lim (The Manipulator) does things with cards that will blow your mind - his card 'dance' was Gibson's favourite act in the show. Darcy Oake (The Grand Illusionist) comes with Canadian cred and I think his understated style really underscored the amazing tricks that he was pulling off.

It was a great night and Gibson and I have talked so much about it, that Mark is looking into getting a ticket for himself for Friday night. I am pretty sure Gibson would go with him again, even having seen the show once!

The Illusionists runs to January 6th at the Jubilee Auditorium.
Click here for tickets.

BEAUTIFUL: The Carole King Musical (Broadway Across Canada) at the Jubilee Auditorium: It will move you with it's heart and iconic music!

I'm always a little nervous about Jukebox shows, but Beautiful, currently playing until November 11th with Broadway Across Canada, manages to weave the iconic music of Carole King wonderfully with the first part of her life and career. Sarah Bockel, as King, is terrific. She embodies the sound and look of King without caricature, and manages to convincingly shift through the stages of her life from a 16 year-old aspiring songwriter, to young mother, to the vocal powerhouse who creates and performs Tapestry. Although the entire cast is great, it's Bockel that the audience rose to their feet for. The role is bigger than life, much like King herself.

The music is all recognizable, although you may not have been aware that King wrote them (mostly with her ex-husband Gerry Goffin), and the show cleverly creates tension by showing the competition between rival songwriters (and friends) Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (played with great humour and intelligence by Jacob Heimer and Alison Whitehurst). The result is a score with dimension and a very cool peek inside the hit-maker factory world of the 1950s-60s. You can see how the competitive environment produced all those iconic songs.

The music and songwriting world is fun, but it's King's personal life that gives the show its heart. Bockel and Dylan S. Wallach (who plays Goffin) have real chemistry as songwriting partners and as a romantic couple, which makes their eventual break-up even more sad. It's how King grows out of that break-up to write and perform some of her most well-known songs and embrace her place on the stage that makes the show a real journey. She was an unconventional superstar, but her talent is undeniable.  Bockel's rendition of (You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman clearly demonstrates she's up to the challenge.


See the show - it's funny, and the music will make you laugh and cry and smile. I wanted to sing along and to be honest I've been singing the songs since I left the theatre!

Beautiful runs until November 11th.
Click here for more information or for tickets.

p.s. Gilmore Girls fans will appreciate the musical Easter Egg in the score...

Broadway Across Canada presents The Book of Mormon... So much laughing!

This week, Broadway Across Canada brought back The Book of Mormon to the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. I was lucky enough to see it when it was here playing to Sold Out houses a few years ago, and the packed theatre on Wednesday night indicates that it is still a very popular choice! The laughs from the audience and the rapid standing ovation were also great indicators of a terrific night out!

I think I enjoyed seeing the show even more this time. On first glance, The Book of Mormon requires a couple of cautions. There is explicit language and many of the things discussed are quite shocking, but it did come from the South Park guys, so I think that in itself tells you that it's going to go to places you have to be prepared for.

The production itself was outstanding. Led by Kevin Clay (Elder Price) and Conner Peirson (Elder Cunningham), the entire cast was buoyant and dynamic and 100% committed to the demands of the show. The vocals are on point and the dancing was terrific. I was so entertained by the choreography (Casey Nicholaw). It's not often I want a long dance break, but I did with this show! Clay and Peirson are perfectly cast as Price and Cunningham. Clay embodies the 'perfect Mormon' and his version of I Believe just soars. Peirson's elastic physicality and vocal gymnastics kept me in stitches. Kayla Pecchioni as Nabulungi, has a beautiful voice and she brought true honesty and innocence to the role. I don't think the show works without having that truthfulness (the audience has to care about her disappointment), so it was lovely to see.

After the show, my son and I had a very engaging discussion about what it's really all about. Yes, it's very funny and inappropriate, but it's important to remember that many of the things that it talks about are really happening in the world. And although it seems to be making fun of Mormons, it's really a comment on all North Americans and first world citizens. We are very spoiled compared to most of the rest of the world and I think everyone should be leaving the show thinking about that, after all, as the show says, it's a metaphor...

The Book of Mormon runs to September 23.
Click here for tickets.

The Epic Appeal of Les Miserables (Broadway Across Canada)!

One thing that I am really enjoying lately is being able to share my love of musical theatre with my 13 year old son. I am thankful to Hamilton and the many years of piano lessons we’ve invested in, as I think the combination has really been the catalyst for his appreciation. This week I was able to share my all-time favourite musical, Les Miserables, with him and it was a wonderful night out!

This week, we saw Les Mis as part of the Broadway Across Canada tour at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. It’s a wonderful production using projections and trucks to create a myriad of locations. The lighting, if occasionally dimmer than I would like, is striking. The stage pictures - from the prison ship, to the Thenardier’s Inn, to the barricade, to the sewers - are stunning and atmospheric.

                

But it’s Les Mis, isn’t it, so it’s really all about Jean Valjean’s journey and the music. From those first few iconic chords I was in the world. Nick Cartell as Valjean has a beautiful voice, and his performance holds up through the decades of Valjean’s life. His Bring Him Home was gorgeous and layered and uncluttered – a simple prayer that grows and changes with the intensity of his need.

                

There are strong performances from all of the leads, Mary Kate Moore is a lovely and fragile Fantine; Josh Davis as the relentless Javert earns his ending; The Thénardiers (Allison Guinn and J. Anthony Crane) are perfectly crass and mercenary; and Enjolras (Matt Shingledecker) is a passionate leader of the students. Marius (Joshua Grosso) was a personal favourite of mine. His performance is engaging and charming when we first meet him falling in love with Cosette (Jillian Butler) and joking around with Eponine (Emily Bautista), and his rendition of Empty Chairs and Empty Tables is heartbreaking. The three young lovers create a beautiful triangle, each with excellent vocal instruments well-suited to their roles, and the ability to tell the story in song.

                

Overall, the production manages to tell the story in a way that would please those of us who remember the original production from the 1980s and those that discovered it with the recent movie adaptation. For me, it hit all the required notes to appease my expectations, and for Gibson it created a new fan. He quickly uploaded the soundtrack at intermission, so impressed by the music. His favourites were the Thénardiers for the humour, but he also noted, “it was sad, really sad, but the music was also really, really good.”

                

If there is one criticism, it’s that some of the quicker vocal sections are a bit too fast, with words clipped, making those unfamiliar with the score challenged to understand exactly what was being sung. I had to do some quick explaining to Gib so that he knew what was going on, but even in that he said that he could follow the story enough and he was glad to have a conversation about it afterwards.

Les Miserables runs until July 8, 2018 at the Jubilee Auditoriam.

Click here for tickets.

Terrific Night of All Your Favourites in Motown The Musical!

Last night we took in Motown The Musical presented by Broadway Across Canada at the Jubilee Auditorium and it was simply terrific! Okay, I'm a major Motown fan, so I was thrilled by the song list, but I also only enjoy it when it's well done and in this show everything was simply perfect! When you are presenting so many iconic songs and artists it can be a challenge because everyone has expectations, but this production certainly rose to that challenge and met it handily!

Motown The Musical is a jukebox show, using the story of Berry Gordy Jr.'s life and decision to "be the best Berry Gordy Jr. he could be" by creating the iconic music sound that came to be known as Motown. The shows uses a framing device of a 25th Anniversary Television special where all the artists he worked with have come back to perform but there is some question as to whether Gordy (played by Kenneth Mosley, who has a phenomenal voice and impressive stage presence) will show up. To explain why he might not, the show whisks us back in time to his beginnings and through the course of his life up to the moment of the TV show. The scenes are quick and loose, but this provides opportunity for us to meet and hear many of the now legendary artists he worked with and whose careers he arguably managed to success.

Along the way we meet Gordy's right hand man Smokey Robinson, played with charm and high energy by Justin Reynolds. Matt Manuel makes for a charismatic and combative Marvin Gaye who challenges Gordy and who wants to bring more politics into his music. We also meet a young Michael Jackson, played alternately by Kai Calhoun and Chase Phillips, who has the moves and the voice that foreshadow his future as pop-royalty. Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Mary Wells, The Commodores, Martha and the Vandellas... they are all there, and they all do a fabulous job recreating the moves and sound of the era. I was so very impressed by the sound. The balance of all those harmonies was spot-on!

We also get a glimpse into the romance between Gordy and Diana Ross (Trenyce). This relationship gets the most stage time and we get a first hand look at the molding of Ross by Gordy from Supreme, to front woman, to solo artist and to movie star. Trenyce does a beautiful job of channeling the diva both in her scenes and her songs, without stooping to caricature. The best book scenes are the ones between Mosley and Trenyce, and she truly captures Diana Ross in both sound and gesture.

Like most jukebox shows, most of the scenes are quick sketches, giving us the feeling of what happened, but the quickness interspersed with the performances of the songs and their shifting tone manages to paint a picture of how Motown helped to contribute to the advancement of civil rights. There's a big shift both musically and culturally from My Guy to Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology), and yes, this is a musical, but it tells you something when you are confronted with the fact that just a few decades ago artists of colour wouldn't even get played on certain radio stations. I'm pretty sure if I turned on the radio right now there's a good chance I would be hearing Rihanna or Bruno Mars. I'm glad for that.

Anyhow, if you want a terrific night of music - fast paced, with excellent dancing, and charismatic performers, this is definitely a show to see, particularly if you love that Motown sound! There is something special about seeing a show where you know all the songs. I expect to feel the same way when I see Mamma Mia! next week at the Citadel, but that collective connection to the pop-culture really allows you to step right in and just enjoy the experience.

Motown The Musical runs to February 18th at the Jubilee Auditorium.
Click here for more information and tickets.

Oh, What a Night! Jersey Boys is Outstanding!

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's only one show left on Sunday, November 12th. So call fast if you want to check it out!

Click here for more information.

A few good shows in the road ahead...

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 really like the show.

Next week I am also taking in John Ware: Reimagined presented by Workshop West Playwright's Theatre. It's a new work, which always appeals to my playwright heart, and about a real Albertan historical figure and it promises to shed light on parts of our history many of us might not know much about.

After the Opening Night of Hadestown on Thursday, I will end the week with Jabberwocky at Theatre Network. It's the World Premiere of a new work by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. I've previously seen Ignorance and Famous Puppet Death Scenes and really like their work, so I am looking forward to seeing a new work from them.

Other than that, I am trying to figure out how I can squeeze in Little Women: The Musical by Foote in the Door Productions. I'm hoping to shuffle a few meetings to make that work as there are a lot of great people working on that show. Hopefully I can get things sorted out fast because I understand they are selling really well and I might be out of luck for tickets if I don't figure it out quickly!

Anyhow, it's a good problem to have... so much theatre to see!

Dirty Dancing... For those who loved the movie...

I'm never sure what to expect for those stage shows that are constructed from popular movies so I generally just go in to them hoping for a good time.  I did have a good time at Dirty Dancing, recently presented by Broadway Across Canada at the Jubilee Auditorium, but I think that is primarily because I am a child of the 80's.  I don't mean that I was born in the 80's, I mean that I was a teenager/young adult then and as a result I probably have seen the movie Dirty Dancing upwards of 10 times.  The stage show really tried to capture the movie - particularly the iconic moments.  It does that well.  The dance montages, the classic lines ("I carried a watermelon." and "Nobody puts Baby in the corner.") and of course The Lift and Final Dance - those were all there.  But there were a lot of unremembered moments from the movie, probably more than the stage show needed.  When moving mediums I think they needed to consider that a play/musical is just different and you can cut scenes and focus the journey. What plays out in a film doesn't always work onstage. And the music issue.... Well, all the songs are there (most of them) but they are more like a soundtrack or score, not really connected to the narrative.  None of the characters actually sing as characters wanting or needing things so one wonders if its purpose was just to recreate the movie onstage, why not just re-watch the movie?

I don't want to say it wasn't fun - it was, and I laughed and clapped at the moments that I remembered because they got a lot of them right. Christopher Tierney and Gillian Abbott are perfect for Johnny and Baby and I thought they had good chemistry. There are some flatter performances in the ensemble, but the dancing is wonderful and they were all selling it and were very generous.  It's just... It's just that it wasn't necessary and a great script for a film doesn't always work onstage.

Once - Better after I saw it Twice...

Last night I took in Once at the the Jubilee as part of the Broadway Across Canada tour.  I had seen it earlier this summer in Toronto and although I liked it, I saw it at the end of a very, very long day and it was just okay. I was very glad to see it again last night as the experience was a lot different. Perhaps I was more refreshed and less tired and that helped. Perhaps my seats were better. Perhaps the connection of this cast was just a little but stronger.  Perhaps, having seen it *once* already I was able to relax into it better. In any case, I really liked it last night. It doesn't follow a traditional musical theatre format. I remember that catching me off-guard the last time. All the actors onstage not only sing and act, but they also provide the instrumentation for the show.  That is one talented cast up there onstage. Some play guitars, the piano, some the violin, there's a bass, a drum kit, a mandolin, banjo, and accordion. Most of the time they are both singing and playing and sometimes they are also dancing, as well. More than triple-threat.

The story itself is interesting - small, and personal and yet at the same time it has an epic quality to it (isn't creating art always epic?). You connect because these people could be you and you can relate to the things that push and pull them.  Who hasn't had challenges in love and career and life.  Who hasn't wanted someone when they are with someone else? I like it because it casts aside the idea that there is only one soul mate for each of us, and suggests that there are more than one and that you can't always have all that you want but sometimes you can get enough to be happy. Maybe I am taking that too far?

Anyhow, the music is wonderful and the show is compelling - it's funny and sad and beautiful.  I'm just glad that I saw Once more than once, because the second time was better!

Westside Story at the Jubilee - Oh, yeah, it's Romeo & Juliet... It doesn't end happy...

Last Saturday night we took in Westside Story at the Jubilee Auditorium as the final show in the Broadway Across Canada season.  Our usual seat mates had very recently welcomed a new baby to their home, so my brother and his fiancée joined us instead.  It was a real family affair as my mother, 2 sister-in-laws and my niece also attended that night, so we all went to Chianti's for an excellent dinner ahead of time and then settled in to our respective seats for the show.

I had never seen the show before outside snippets here and there on TV from the film version.  I had been in a musical revue a couple of decades ago where we did some numbers from the show so I was familiar with the score to some degree.  I knew the basis of the story, but was excited to see it on stage. The show was pretty good. The dancing was excellent and was the strongest part overall.  I liked how the gang fighting is expressed through dance, and they certainly had the skills to make it work. The singing was also strong.  I did have some problems understanding the lyrics.  Some had been changed to Spanish as this was the reboot version, but some of the challenge was the speed of execution and I think a deficiency in the sound balance with the mics. You'd expect better quality in that space, especially considering the ticket price.  Also, we went towards the end of the run, so they'd have had a few shows to get the mix right, but they didn't.  I did however, really like Maria (Mary Joanna Grisso) both vocally and acting-wise. Anita (Michelle Alves) was a powerhouse performer, but I had the most trouble with her mic so I felt like I wasn't getting the full performance.

My biggest criticism, however, was that it didn't always seem like they were all in the same world.  Stylistically some people felt grounded in the late 1950's, while some seemed to be a bit modern.  Also, the male gang members all seemed to meld into one beyond the leads.  It would have been nice to see some more distinct characterization.

Oh well, next year we will be seeing The Book of Mormon and Flashdance: the Musical.  It should be an interesting contrast.

The other thing that I wanted to mention was that as I was watching I started thinking about the parallels to Romeo & Juliet.  It is based on the Shakespeare play, so part of my brain went into comparison mode.  It did make me more excited to see Romeo and Juliet in April at the Citadel.  It will be cool to see them so close together and compare.

Holy Cow! That Kid Can Dance! Billy Elliot at the Jube...

On Saturday Night we saw Billy Elliot at the Jubilee as part of the Broadway Across Canada series.  Although I have seen part of the movie I was not familiar with the musical so I was in for a bit of a treat in discovery.  They have been running commercials on TV for the past month so I was familiar with a few bars of one song but not much else musically.  It was a great night of theatre.  This is a show that is really about dance and it sure did that well from all in the cast with the lead, Billy Elliot, as a phenomenal stand-out.  There are four Billys with the tour.  We saw Ben Cook. I was floored at what this kid could do.  Not only was he an amazing dancer, but he was also a wonderful actor with a lovely singing voice. It blows me away that they have four of them! That one kid could do all that so well is amazing, but to have four! Wow!  There are other talented members in the cast, both young and old.  I particularly liked Sam Poon as Michael and Janet Dickinson as Mrs. Wilkinson. Now I do admit, there is not much of the music that has stayed with me, but it was tuneful and in places quite epic but it was the dancing I was watching and it was awesome!

A side note: I am better rested now as I caught a few more hours of sleep this afternoon to compensate for my sleepless night last night. I also spent an hour fiddling with the schedule and I feel less stressed about that.  I'm a problem solver and a people pleaser and both of those tend to make me more stressed at times as I take in the challenge of a musical.  The sheer size of the casts and structure of the shows often leads to major challenges with scheduling.  I am not sure everyone involved realizes that.

A Broadway Weekend at Home!

Since the snow came, I have taken the chicken's approach to the world and have stayed inside.  I figured out exactly when I HAD to leave the house and it doesn't happen until today at 2:45 p.m. when I go get the boys from school and take Gibson to swimming. It has been a good week for laundry and it is a good thing that Tuesday was Cheap Tuesday at Safeway so I didn't need to go out for anything. Please don't hate me...

Anyhow, tonight I venture out for the first of my two Broadway shows! I am revisiting Next to Normal at The Citadel tonight with a bunch of friends.  After seeing it two weeks ago it has haunted me.  I downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes and listened a lot to it.  I am looking forward to seeing it live again and sharing it with my friends.

Tomorrow night I will be seeing the Broadway Across Canada show Rock of Ages at the Jubilee Auditorium.  I am expecting a fun rock based show with many recognizable tunes and a lot of big eighties hair. I didn't see the movie, so this will be totally new for me in terms of story. It looks like it will be a noisy, rock concert of a show! I also get to see the friends that we go with (we buy the season's tickets and it makes for 3-4 nights out in the season with a couple we like to hang with!).

Anyhow, tonight kicks off a weekend full of musical theatre and great company - can't beat that!

A Spoonful of Sugar... My Date with Gibson and Mary Poppins!

Last night I took my youngest son to see the Broadway Across Canada Production of Mary Poppins.  It was quite delightful.  The stage show is very different from the movie (at least what I remember of it), but it captures the essence of it and this production definitely went for creating the magical.  One of the most joyful things for me about it was being there with Gibson and seeing it through his eyes. From the moment the set started moving he was whispering "How'd they do that?" and "It's like magic!". He looked for the strings in the flying parts and told me when he saw they but seemed more delighted with that than when he couldn't see them and underscored it with "It's still cool, Mom!". Watching him (and feeling him - that chair was bouncing!) dance in his seat during Step In Time was pure fun! I loved it when he recognized that it was 'lucky' when Mr. banks shook Bert's hand (a big O-shaped mouth and a grab at my arm when that happened). I highly recommend taking a child with you if you get to see this show.

I might have to go and re-watch the movie, or not... I haven't decided.  I liked the differences.  I liked how it was more about Mr. and Mrs. Banks than I remembered.  I loved the whimsy and the colour of Mary Poppins' adventures as they contrasted with the dull greys of non-adventure London.  I liked the sweet romance between Bert and Mary.  This production was smooth and hit all it's moments just right. They certainly knew what story they were telling.  I also enjoyed seeing a variety of people up on the stage.   The story may be set in a very anglo-saxon world, but it is a children's fantasy story, and I felt it was a stronger piece for the inclusion of people of different colours. I was certainly glad to hear such a strong cast belting out with fabulous voices and was thrilled by the outstanding dancing.  I am always in favour when the most talented people are on the stage in front of me!  Mary Poppins (Rachel Wallace) herself was perfect and I enjoyed her vanity and sense of fun.  We saw the understudy for Bert (Con O'Shea-Creal) but there was nothing missing there. 

It was a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Night!

* Mary Poppins marks # 29 of my 2012 Theatre Goal (only 11 to go and I still have Fringe ahead of me!).

The Deep Blue Sea...

This week will be all about Titanic. I have been to about 2/3 of the rehearsals (whenever Gibson is called) and have enjoyed seeing this show come together. It's a hybrid In-Concert production with costumes and some blocking. There will not be an actual ship on stage (Gibson was wondering about that). It's been a great experience as a mother to see him integrate with the cast and the show experience and since he is the only kid it has been so good to see the cast welcome him and engage with him. I thought I would share some of my favourite moments of the show (outside the moments when my child is in scenes as those obviously are my absolute favourites!). These favourites shift from run to run, but overall, these are the ones that stand out.

#1 - Kyle Thulien singing No Moon - His voice is lovely and so suited to this mood-filled song. Every time he starts singing it I have to stop what I am doing and watch. I love the whole song as it leads into the scenes of other passengers just prior to the crash. It reminds us how human they all were.

#2 - Gerald Mason and Pat MacKeage singing Still - I think it is because they don't want the cute 7 1/2 year old to get all the awwwww moments that these two have really committed to creating the 'most heart-wrenching moment of the show', but this piece will break hearts. The two of them are beautifully committed to the song and each other and it's a gorgeous moment on the stage.

#3 - Gary Carter, Morgan Smith and Neil Johnson singing The Blame - I love this song and these three guys are so good in the singing and the acting of the piece. It also has this Sondheim-like quality to it that I like. But the three of them balance it really well, each holding their own. It's a tough song that they totally make work.

#4 - The Third Class passengers singing Lady's Maid - There's a wonderful ensemble feel to this song as they dream about their new lives in America. Joyful and fun and sad because we know they will not all make it.

There are many other wonderful moments, these are just what stand out for me today - it changes every time I see and hear it. Gibson has totally different favourites (he loves Doing the Latest Rag). Yesterday I got to hear the whole sound as they added the orchestra and the choir and I can't wait to hear it in the Winspear on Wednesday!

We caught The Blue Man Group as part of the Broadway Across Canada this weekend. A fun show, and about what expected. I don't need to see them again, but I could go if I was in Vegas and looking for a show. I did wish I had had 2 martinis at dinner because I think that would have made it even better, but like I said, I had fun. All this theatre training made me recognize it for what it was: A Clown Show. Really, that's what they are - a modern day clown show that builds their turns around technology and percussion. It's very clean, funny, silly and very, very loud. The best bits were audience participation ones (whether individual or whole audience) and it really had a slick feel to it. Fun, light, loud and commercial.

* Blue Man Group is #13 in my 2012 theatre goal

Tale As Old As Time - A Great Night out with Friends!

On Saturday, Mark and I attended the Broadway Across Canada production of Beauty and the Beast at the Jube. We have season's tickets and we go with our good friends, Richie and Veronica, so we get to see some musical theatre and connect with our friends at least 3 times a year. I had seen 2 other productions of Beauty & the Beast previously and Mark had seen one other (not the same ones though) and we have probably seen the Disney cartoon over 25 times so we were travelling in familiar territory. I quite liked it. It was better than the 2 productions I have seen (one a community production and the other and hybrid semi-pro production) and finally I saw a production that did proper service to Be Our Guest. I felt the ending hit the right emotional notes and I even got a little teary-eyed. I did feel that there were a couple performers who would not have careers if it weren't for the technological support of the microphones just because their voices lacked real power, but they were miked so it was covered. Mark said he preferred the production he saw previously (The Citadel's from a few years ago) but that he enjoyed the night. The evening, however, was great fun. So nice to go for dinner with friends and see a fun show and then go for dessert after the show. We felt like grown-ups.

Oh, and this is the first of my intended 40 theatrical or arts events of the year!

Grease is the Word

We went to the Broadway Across Canada production of Grease at the Jubilee tonight. It was fun. Very surreal, however, because the chronology was so different from the movie and I know the movie so well. Once I settled in and just accepted it as going to be different I had a lot of fun. Some major issues with mic balance (which shouldn't happen for that much money!) but we had a good time. We go with Richie and Vero and it is nice to have those pre-established 'dates' so we get to see them. I have plans to bring Vero lunch and hang with her and the baby, but we have to pick a date! Anyhow, it was a nice night out. We went for supper and the show and it was all good.