October Theatre Offerings - It's going to get busy!!!

Here's what's starting onstage in Edmonton in October. 


Silent Sky - Walterdale Theatre - October 2-12

The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, Silent Sky explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications. Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and the Earth.


Open Invitation - Saint Maggie Productions - October 2-12

Becky is an exhausted mom and her husband Sebastian is a man trapped in a soul killing day job. It’s date night and they are going to attend a “snobby” dinner party at the home of one of Becky’s old show-choir friends. Some of the guests she’s known for 20 years, some she hasn’t seen since high school. Sebastian doesn’t want to go and is convinced that the dinner’s hosts are Swingers and just looking for a “hook-up”…and he’s going to prove it. Becky thinks he’s nuts and so they place a bet and hilarity ensues with each trying to win what it is they think they want most from the other.

High Tea - Firefly Theatre & Circus - October 6

Ever wondered what a true “High” Tea would look like? Join the company of Firefly Theatre and Circus as they dangle overhead serving steeps, champagne and sweets! An afternoon of multi-sensory delights, HIGH TEA guests will sip quality teas, nibble on scones and sweets, and enjoy traditional cucumber sandwiches — all while being entertained by Firefly’s talented servers as they dangle from the rafters.

Dead Centre of Town XII - Catch the Keys - October 10 - November 1

Some people lived here. Many people died here. Not everyone moved on…and those left behind are desperate to tell you their story. Edmonton’s only live-action thriller inspired by true history possesses Mellon Farm for an intimate and immersive theatrical retelling of some of Edmonton’s long-buried secrets. Secrets that can’t stay buried forever. Catch the Keys Productions presents Dead Centre of Town XII October 10 – November 1, 2019. Dead Centre of Town is NOT a haunted house, but it will haunt you long after you leave the Park.

Simone et le whole shebang - L'Uni Theatre - October 16-26

Simone has just been placed in a long-term care facility in Fort McMurray by her daughter Simone-Alice, who has been living in the city for the past 6 years. A québécoise actress in her sixties suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Simone’s deteriorating condition has made her unable to care for herself. Jessy, an old acadian cowboy who dreamt of being a country singer, is in the same care facility. Though he still has his quick wit and his colourful vocabulary, he’s lost his mobility, his heart and his will to live. Both are haunted by what they’ve become. Somewhere between their egos and their fears, Simone, Jessy, and Simone-Alice must face their disappointing realities.

Fight Night - The Citadel Theatre - October 17-27

FIVE CONTENDERS.  FIVE ROUNDS. YOUR VOTE. Fight Night is an interactive production that examines how and why we make judgments about others, while asking whether the current political system really represents our choices.  

Baroness Bianka's Bloodsongs - Northern Light Theatre - October 18 - November 2

BARONESS BIANKA’S BLOODSONGS tackles the issue of addiction head-on through the revelations of a quirky Bulgarian Baroness who has unquenchable, unspeakable yearnings. A black comedy with a blood-red heart, the show explores life with an unusual addiction and the battle to overcome it. A wicked one woman cabaret about a spooky character with a fetish for blood.

Rigoletto - Edmonton Opera - October 19-25

As the infamous court jester, Rigoletto earns a living by making fun of people’s misery. So when his enemies seek revenge, they take the one thing Rigoletto values most: his daughter Gilda. What follows is a harrowing tale of greed, corruption, and violence that ultimately turns Rigoletto’s own fate into a cruel joke.

The Roomate - Shadow Theatre - October 23 - November 10

Sharon is a recent divorcee in her mid-fifties, and needs a roommate to share her unassuming Iowa home. Robyn, also in her fifties, needs a place to hide and a chance to start over. As she uncovers Robyn's secrets Sharon discovers in herself a depp seated desire to transform her own life. A dark comedy about what it takes to re-route your life - and what happens when the wheels come off. 


The Ballad of Peachtree Rose - WWPT - October 30- November 10

Max works for one of Canada's most notorious criminal organizations; Peach is a street kid trying to make a buck. A chance encounter entangles their lives indefinitely. From one of Canada’s best emerging writers comes a thriller that forces audiences to ask: “What is Justice?”

Les Feluettes (Lillies) at Edmonton Opera... Stories we still need to tell...

Tuesday Night I saw Les Feluettes (Lillies) at Edmonton Opera. It was such a beautiful production. I'm usually aprehensive with opera, but 10 minutes in I was hooked. The acting was so strong and the cast a true single organism. I wasn't sure what i would think about a show entirely composed of men, but it was the only way it would make sense to tell this story. Plus the singing was gorgeous, both the solo voices and the choral pieces. Kudos to the entire cast and creative team. It was also told respectfully and honestly and artfully. It hit all the markers. 

I cried a little - during the scene in the picture, not because the scene was sad, but because it was so beautiful and because it hit me that it is sad that we are still in a place that we need to tell these stories. For most of the world I live in, Love is Love is Love is Love, but there are many places in the world, in our country, in our communities, where that is still not the case. So even though this story takes place in 1912 and 1952, to some degree this story could be happening today and that made me cry. Won't it be wonderful when we don't need to tell these stories anymore? 

There's only one more opportunity to see the show - Friday, October 27th. Click here for tickets. 




Photo Credit: Nanc Price

Checklist... What I saw just before I was out of town...

Hey, so I was away for the last week of February.  Immediately before that, I saw a few shows but had no time to write about them before I left, so I thought I would do a quick re-cap.  All of them have closed, but that doesn't mean you can't check out the next show from these companies!

The Early Bloomer by Jana O'Connor presented by Concrete Theatre
I didn't bring my sons to this, because I thought it was for little, little kids but I wish I had.  This was truly a show that could have the moniker 'suitable for ALL ages'.  The story deals with a group of young buds in a garden who are all worried about how they are growing - too fast, too slow, not the right away.  It's applicable to the little ones because of the wonderful physical comedy and silliness, but it's also really timely for those pre-pubescent and those in the thick of it.  The line about their stems getting fuzz would have made my boys hysterical! And for adults, particularly those with children, it was bang-on! The cast of four, Jenny McKillop, Mark Sinongco, Patricia Cerra and Troy O'Donnell, were terrific - funny, physical and totally committed!

La Voix Humaines presented by L'Uni Theatre and Carmen presented by Edmonton Opera
I saw two operas this month and both were in french. Both centered around emotional irrational woman, however in very different ways. I was blown away by the solo performance of Whitney Leigh Sloan in La Voix Humaine - challenging music and singing and SOLO singing for 75 minutes - never mind that it was an extremely emotional journey to sustain supported only by an unheard voice on the end of a phone. With Carmen, I commented on FB that I figured it was the source for the phrase, "Bitches be crazy!" because she definitely was. Great singing all around, fabulous sets and costumes and it was so wonderful to hear so many songs I was familiar with actually in context of the story. My favourite onstage was Lida Szkwarek as Micaela - there's definitely a huge talent there and man-oh-man, what a voice! I'm definitely enjoying seeing shows in French.  I still have to use the surtitles to get everything, but it was fun discovering that I understand more than I think I will! I guess I learned something in my grade 6-12 french classes!

I'm busy this week and next with the crop of indie theatre that is on and going to both high school and junior high open houses... stay tuned for notes about those shows!

Time for a Haircut?! The Barber of Seville - Edmonton Opera

Last week I took in The Barber of Seville at the Edmonton Opera.  It was a bright and energetic production with a cool concept, replanting the story in a 1940's Hollywood Movie Studio Backlot. The costumes, set and make-up was bang-on for transporting us to the world of the play and the titular Figaro (Phillip Addis) seemed perfectly situated in this new location.  Afterall, you need someone to look after all the actor's hair needs on a movie set! Addis was a fireball with great comedic skills to compliment his singing skills. When he's onstage your eyes are always drawn to him.  He's most fun when he and Almaviva (James McLennan) are playing off each other, but it's also fun to watch him get in the mix with all the characters.  As Rosina (Sylvia Szadovszki) is lovely and her voice is bright and sunshiny.  Szadovski is delightfully bratty and she plays the diva film star with a sense of fun. This is the bugs bunny opera.  The music will be familiar to most and they have done a fabulous job with the world, with everyone onstage embracing the swing of the 1940's and the hustle-bustle of the movie set.  There are even some cool magic tricks as Figaro employs his hair-styling art - it's those little details that make this so much fun!

There are only two more chances to catch it - Tonight and Thursday.  It's at the Jubilee Auditorium and tickets are available here. They've got great options for a whole range of budgets, so check it out.  Chances are you will find a seat that suits you. 

A Great Way to Wrap up Fifty Years - Madama Butterfly at the Edmonton Opera

Last Thursday I was very lucky to take in the Media Dress for Madama Butterfly with the Edmonton Opera at the Jubilee Auditorium.  I say very lucky because it was truly a wonderful show. I am never sure about how I will connect to Opera because I do not know it  or understand it as well as I do musical theatre, but this one really pulled me in.  The piece rests heavily on the shoulders of Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) played by Anne Sophie Deprels and she is simply marvelous.  Her voice is gorgeous, she looks perfect and she IS Butterfly.  It was truly some of the finest acting I have ever seen in an opera.  Always present and clear in her choices and truly mesmerizing. One of the biggest challenges for any actor is to stay present during long periods of silence, but Duprels manages this exquisitely as she waits for the return of Pinkerton (Luciano Ganci).  It's a long scored section with vocals from an off-stage ensemble (Coro a bocca chiusa - Humming Chorus), but Duprels holds us in her hand as she goes from hope to distress to resignation.  I think I was even holding my breath for part of it.

The whole cast is brilliantly committed to supporting her.  Ganci brings a likability to the crass Pinkerton.  You can see why she would fall for him, despite his shallowness.  He has charisma and a gorgeous voice and commits fully to the slightly abhorrent character.  Margaret Thompson, as Suzuki, gives a layered performance that is thoughtful and Il cannone del porto! ("The cannon at the harbor!" - The Flower Duet) was one of my favorite scenes.  The two women's voices merge so beautifully.  As Sharpless, John Fanning was also very strong.  He demonstrates apology for his countryman's actions so honestly.

I was so satisfied with this show.  The entire cast seemed committed to the story and it was cohesive and tight. I was a little confused by some of the set elements as I'm not sure if the little mirrors on the front panels worked, but the cast committed to what was there and made it work. I thought a lot about Miss Saigon both during and after, since I hadn't realized that Madama Butterfly was the source material.  I think Puccinni made a stronger choice by making Pinkerton so shallow, than Schonberg and Boublil did with Chris in Miss Saigon.  It felt much more honest in that respect.



All in all a lovely night - see, I was lucky!



Madama Butterfly has two more performances on April 8th and 10th.  Tickets are available online here or you can call 780-429-1000.

Die Fledermaus is Bubbly, Frothy, Fun!

There's a whole song about drinking Champagne in Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II and like that bubbly beverage, Edmonton Opera's production is effervescent and giggle-producing. I took in the Dress Rehearsal/Student matinee on Thursday and was treated to a colourful farce complete with disguises, masks, dancing and incarceration.  It's in English, which was a treat, as I didn't have to rely on the supertitles very much and I could watch more of the show.  The music is also wonderful with lush voices provided by beautiful people!

A married woman, Rosalinde (Betty Waynne Allison), is visited by an opera-singing suitor from her past, Alfred (Adam Fisher).  Her husband Eisenstein (Gordon Gietz) is due to serve time in jail for a minor charge. So Rosalinde and Alfred plan for a tryst in Eisenstein's absence.  This also works out for their chambermaid Adele (Jaqueline Woodley) who wants the night off to go to a grand party hosted by the Prince Orlofsky (Gerald Thompson).  However, we find out the entire evening has been set up by Dr. Falke (Peter McGillivray) who Eisenstein played a joke on previously. Dr. Falke manages to get all the players to the party, each pretending to be someone that they aren't and the resulting flirting, dancing and drinking leads to more and more complications.  It's a farcical piece punctuated with bright music that bubbles.

I loved Adele's Laughing Song and the song about Champagne the most, I think because they were both familiar to me, but also because they were attacked with a real vibrancy.  The cast as a whole goes for the laughs, playing up the physical humour to support the ridiculous premise.  Gietz has one of those dreamy voices and together with Waynne Allison we hear some beautiful singing. Woodley's voice is bright and bubbly, just like the Champagne.  This is not the kind of script that requires a deep emotional commitment.  This cast attacks it with levity and a sense of fun.  Fisher's Alfred plays up a ridiculous accent with great relish and no apologies.  Thompson as Orlofsky is simply over-the-top hilarious (my jaw dropped when he started singing). In a wonderful surprise, local favorite Julian Arnold plays the jailer Frosch and his banter with the audience is a delight with topical references that drew many laughs even from the youthful audience (they even seemed to get the Rob Ford jokes).

I did, however, wish for a little more creative use of the stage, particularly in the second act.  The pictures often flattened out and I wondered why they didn't use the depth of the stage more (having seen the last few productions, I know it can be done).  Despite having such a large proscenium it felt crowded in the second act as the sizable chorus was packed into a very narrow alley.  Sometimes this led to the chorus pulling focus from the important action. I just think that changing the staging to use the depth of the stage would make more of the beautiful costumes and set and support the action more.  There were also times when I was watching a "drunken" chorus member when I should have been watching the person singing.  A better distribution of bodies and smaller choices by some of the chorus members might help minimize that.

However, this is not a show of deep thoughts and maybe I am being a little picky. It's a fun silly romp with excellent singing and beautiful costumes and it was an enjoyable afternoon.

Salome, The Fierce Awards, A Visit from my Sister, Opening Night of 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Hallowe'en and a Second and Third Helping of The Daisy Theatre... Just Another Week...

The trouble with having so much great stuff on your plate is that when you don't have much time to actually blog about it!

My incredibly busy spree started last Thursday with the Invited Dress for the Edmonton Opera's Salome.  It was a gorgeous and lush show and I loved Salome's ( Maida Hundeling) soaring high notes, although she was difficult to hear in the lower sections.  They told us that because it was dress the performers might be marking their voices, so I imagine that this did not happen during actual shows. I just wanted to hear! Compared to the last two operas I saw, this one took me a little longer to get into as I felt the opening half was a bit slow and I was a bit distracted by the disembodied voice of John the Baptist (Jakonen).  Once we met all the characters I was much more invested.  I really loved what they did with the Dance of the Seven Veils and Salome's final aria as she cradled the head of John the Baptist was quite lovely.  The world was striking itself.  I loved the fractured moon and the lighting and the use of chains as a framework/scrim was quite ingenious, and the lighting (designed by Brette Gerecke) - Oh! the lighting was gorgeous.   I feel like I am being challenged as an audience member when I see opera so I am excited for whatever comes next.

The next night I was at another Invited Dress as I took in 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Citadel.  I hade read the script because it's part of my job but it really didn't prepare me for how incredibly good the show was going to be.  I think that is because the script doesn't really have all the music in it and the two actors (Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt) are so good at both acting and playing that it took it to a whole new level. I am going back tonight with my kids and husband because I MUST share it with them.  My boys have done piano for 4 1/2 years so I think they will get a kick out of it. It's selling really well so I would advise getting tickets earlier rather than later - so totally worth it!

My sister came to visit on the weekend.  I took her to The Daisy Theatre as I thought she'd like that.  She did and I did.  It was my second time.  About 65% of the show was the same with 35% of new stuff or stuff I hadn't seen, but even the things that were familiar were fresh and alive as Ronnie Burkett certainly keeps it current and he mixes it up a bit.  I actually went for a Third helping last night as well, so I feel like I am stalking the show.  I am not sure if I will catch it again, but I kind of want to because there are characters I still haven't seen and I want to see it all!  Last night was
particularly hysterical, with a new piece that had me howling!  Only two more weeks of this show and the seating is limited because it's in The Club so I'd get on this one.  It's not one to miss!

On Monday I was at The Fierce Awards for which I was nominated.  I didn't win, but I felt like a winner because I had some great friends there with me to support me and make me feel special.  The chocolate martinis and cotton candy didn't hurt either!  It was nice to see so many talented women (and men in the Champion category) from the community being recognized. It was a night filled with cheesy jokes, belly dancing, some cool hula hoop tricks, great singing and hip hop dancing.  Most inspirational were the winner's speeches.  Some really great women got recognized!

I squeezed in a couple of Proof Rehearsals and then Hallowe'en/Opening Night hit. It was exciting to hear about the audience's reaction to 2 Pianos 4 Hands.  This show has gotten standing ovations every night so far and has been so well received that we had to add another show to accommodate the demand.  That's pretty exciting.  I took my boys a few nights later and I will be writing a separate post about that.   Suffice it to say, I was impressed, entertained and touched by the show and the performances.

A busy week!  I have more to write about since, so I will wrap this up and hope that you can check out some of the shows... there are more on the docket in town so, as I like to say on twitter, DON'T STAY HOME! SEE A SHOW!

The Best Romances are Tragic... Eugene Onegin presented by Edmonton Opera at the Jubilee

Yesterday I took in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin presented by Edmonton Opera at the Jubilee Auditorium.  It was beautiful to watch and hear. The production captured all the expectations of a Russian story.  I am currently reading Anna Karenina and in watching this opera I felt transported.  Everything looked and sounded and felt just right.  The costumes are delightful.  The opera moves from the rustic country outdoors, to a country ball and then finally to a more formal ball.  As it progresses, the costumes get more and more opulent, reminding us where we are and who these people are. I must comment on the Lighting by Designer Geoff George. It is some of the best lighting I have ever seen and I see a lot of theatre.  Act II, Scene 2 in the woods is absolutely breath-taking.  I actually gasped out the words "how gorgeous" at one point. The sets are simple but at the same time lush and atmospheric.  Kudos to the cast for managing the rake of the deck so well.  I hope they know how beautiful it looks, giving the stage the appearance of being even bigger than it already is. 

I really appreciated the incorporating of the Shumka dancers to the piece - the chorus dances too, but Director Tom Diamond and Choreographer Brian Webb have used the skills appropriately to build the sequences so that the moments of dance and celebration contrast the impending tragedy of the story arc.  Diamond's direction suited the piece well.  There is a simplicity and minimalism to some scenes that heightened the emotions and holding those against those moments where the stage is full seemed to underscore the doomed trajectory.  

The tragic love story would not be so wonderfully told if it weren't for the outstanding performances by Aleksey Bogdanov as Onegin and Dina Kuznetsova as Tatiana.  A strong and dashing figure onstage, I was reminded of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, but this is no Austen novel.  This is a Russian love story where no one gets a happy ending.  Bogdanov has a rich full voice that makes you understand why Tatiana loves him and Olga loves to flirt with him.  He plays his moments of bravado just as well as and as convincingly as those of sorrow and loss.  Kuznetsova is a performer with great depth and layers.  She  makes her transformation from shyness to passion to sadness with her whole being.  Even when she just sits, listening to Triquet (the french fop played with great humour by James McLennan),  her emotions are raw and revealed.  Her voice is gorgeous - I could listen to her sing all night long.  Andrej Dunnaev as Lenski and Maria Kateava as Olga each bring excellent characterization to their roles.  She is bright and flirtatious and charming and his anger is palpable. A smart choice was made to cast Russian singers - they are all so wonderfully connected to their text.  It is not difficult to ascertain the intrinsic emotions of any of the scenes. 

Like everything Russian, it has a feeling of being epic, even though it is just a story of 4 people who lose at love and friendship where they might have won everything if they had made different choices.  Perhaps that is why it works so well as an opera. 

Prepping for Onegin...

Tomorrow I will be seeing a Preview of Edmonton Opera's Eugene Onegin.  Since it is in Russian I will definitely want to do a little prep today.  I can follow the sur-titles, but I prefer to keep my eyes on the stage as much as possible. I did the prep work for the last opera I saw and it really paid off.  When I go to theatre, I like a little mystery so that I can be surprised and invest myself more in what's happening onstage, but with foreign language Opera it is a different thing for me.  I feel that maybe someday I will be able to go in a little more blind, but for now, I find the prep work pays off.  In addition to my research, I have been following the twitter feeds of many of the people involved and it has been fun to get caught up in their excitement.  Opera and Theatre are events and I like the build up to opening.  Twitter has been fun in that I feel involved in the journey to the stage even though I am not in the show.

So today, before I head off to my rehearsal, I will be reading the material supplied on the fabulous Edmonton Opera website, as well as a few other sources on the internet (just to be safe).  It will be interesting to go from the Operatic Onegin to the Broadway Spelling Bee, but those kind of quick shifts are what keep your brain on it's toes!

Les Contes D'Hoffman - Edmonton Opera takes us to the Circus and there is much to see and hear Under the Big Top!

It shouldn't be surprising that Circus and Opera go together so well - both are bigger than real life and dramatic.  With Edmonton Opera's Les Contes D'Hoffman (The Hoffman Tales) opening this week at The Jubilee Auditorium, the merging of the two is almost flawless.  Designed by Camellia Koo, it is visually stunning, with striped canvas in sepia tones and a colour palette and attention to detail that fuels the romantic nature of the story.  It is romantic in a nostalgic way - you almost expect to smell popcorn and cotton candy and the lighting suggests that it is filtered through imaginary dust kicked up from the floor. Although he was still tweaking them at the Preview I saw,  Lighting Designer Jason Hand created many gorgeous moments.  It's best when he plays with the shadows, like at the end of Act One when the crowd taunts Hoffman for his misplaced love and their leering shadows crawl menacingly up the sides of the striped tent.

The story is fairly straight-forward.  Hoffman, an aging circus roustabout played by David Pomeroy, is encouraged to tell the assembled circus players a story.  He starts and then gets distracted by his thoughts of love for the Prima Donna Stella and instead tells the story of the three loves of his life. Pomeroy has a gorgeous, well-dimensioned voice and he plays his role believably as he revisits each of his doomed love affairs.  With each he is committed to the passion of the love and increasingly destroyed when each fails for various reasons.

It is quite magical when we get to see what lies inside the tents of the Circus.  Huge drapes of striped canvas create the world of wonders, complete with bearded lady,  half man/half woman and a variety of other exotic creatures, one of which is Olympia (Hoffman's first love), a wind-up doll portrayed by coloratura Teiya Kasahara.  Kasahara's Oylmpia is whimsical and bird-like with a steam-punk sensibility. Her voice is beautiful and her instincts for the humour of her role are bang-on.  Next we meet the beautiful but sickly Antonia sung by Ileana Montalbetti. The staging choices of Director Joel Ivany in this act is extremely effective in creating the haunting of Antonia and Montalbetti is in fine voice and conveys her struggle for life and death particularly well. The 'magic' in this act is also wonderfully done - eliciting gasps of delight from the children in the audience. Hoffman's third love is the courtesan Giulietta (Krisztina Szabó). We are introduced to her via the barcarolle Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour - for me the most recognizable piece of music - I loved the languid quality created as the lovely ladies called the men to them. Szabó is sexy and smart as Giulietta as she manipulates Hoffman and you have no trouble beleiving he'd be seduced by her, but again this is a relationship doomed to failure.  Oh, poor Hoffman. 

 In addition to the three ladies and Hoffman I was very impressed with Daniel Okulitch who played the four villains - the uptight Lindorff who vies with Hoffman for Stella, the spider-like Coppelius who gives Olympia her eyes, the slick and mysterious (and magical) Dr. Miracle who torments Antonia, and Dappertutto a cowboy-like gambler who enlists Giulietta to betray Hoffman.  Each of the four characters were distinct and his bass is rich and wonderful to listen to. 

It's cohesive and beautiful, musically impressive and a wonderful three ring circus of a show! 

The Mikado - Great Fun, Well Sung!

I was lucky enough to catch a Dress Rehearsal of The Edmonton Opera's The Mikado this past week. I say lucky for a number of reasons. First, because I was unable to make any of the show dates due to schedule conflicts and second because it was delightful! The concept was in many ways the star of the show. Each costume was pitch perfect in the anime/hara-juku interpretation. The cast lived up to how they looked, so this was not style without substance. It was so pleasant to see and hear skilled Opera Performers who could sing well AND act and dance! Who knew?! Ko-Ko was outstanding, but from the tittering school girls of the chorus to the iPad using male chorus to Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum onto Katisha and The Mikado himself, it was all so very well done and so much fun. Hard to pick a favorite moment, but I always love "A Little List" and the careful use of topical references throughout the show was just right! A fun, fun, fun night out!

#3 in my year goal for theatre adventures.

A Plethora of Theatre Options...

The next few weeks offers up a lot of choices for the Edmonton Theatre goer. If you can't find something to see in February that you want to see then I think you'd have to literally be a rock. I have plans to go to at least 4 shows in the next few weeks and there are others that I would love to catch if I can squeeze it in.

First up - I will be seeing the show I directed for New Works and the other shows that are playing in the Festival. New Works is an annual theatre festival at the University of Alberta where University of Alberta student can submit and if selected have their work dramaturged and produced. For the most part the teams on the show are all current students or staff of the university. There are occasionally exceptions when a particular skill set is required, but usually an alumni is located to step in. There are 6 shows - 2 nights with 3 shows each night. It is a great opportunity to see new work by the next generation of Edmonton theatre artists. I have directed Bevin Dooley's work, The Playmates which features Katie Orsten, Kabriel Lilly and Jordan Sabo. We open (night B) on February 8th at 7:30 p.m. I am quite pleased with the production thus far. I think that Bevin is a gifted writer who constantly strives to make her script better. She has a strong voice and a gift for creating mood and believable, compelling dialogue. The entire festival opens on February 7th and runs to the 12th.

Really first, but listed second - I am lucky enough to be able to catch a Preview show of Edmonton Opera's The Mikado. I actually know the music for this one as I was in a modified production of The Mikado a few years a go. It's a G & S so it should be a lot of fun, AND the pictures of the costumes are amazing. They are going with an anime kind of aesthetic and it looks very cool. The Edmonton Opera always seems to have very high standards, but this will no doubt be a more accessible production for most audiences because it will be in English. I am pretty sure it is going to be a fun night!

Third, I will be attending Albertine in Five Times at Walterdale. I am a bit biased on this one because the cast contains 5 of my very good friends and although I don't know the 6th as well, I do know she is a strong actress and a lovely person. The entire cast is strong. Any one of those women could anchor a show by themselves so I will be surprised if this is anything less than wonderful. It's also a Canadian work by Michel Tremblay and I do love supporting Canadian theatre! It opens February 8th and runs to the 18th.

Fourth, I MUST SEE Wishbone Theatre's Waiting for Godot. I really like everything I have seen this company do and to get the chance to see them do Waiting for Godot just tickles me. I remember reading the play in grade 10 and thinking, "What the - ?" and then I saw it a few years later and it suddenly made sense (in the way that it doesn't...). Such a tremendous pieces of work and looking at the assembled cast and production team I think I will be in for a good night of theatre. It's directed by the delightful Chris Bullough (who I always love onstage, and who directed the brilliant Shimmer 2 Fringes ago). I am really looking forward to it.

My next few weeks will be packed!