Kicking off my Ontario Theatre Journey with &Juliet!

 A couple of years ago, something happened that prevented my taking a trip to New York. I call it The Great Pause. Then a few years later things changed globally that made me want to stick to Canada for awhile, and actually made me wanted to support the artistic work we were doing in Canada first and foremost. I had been doing a lot of that already with the blog, definitely trying to support local Edmonton theatre artists, but when I was thinking about what I wanted to do this summer, I decided that instead of a trip to New York for Broadway, I would head to Ontario for some Toronto, Stratford and Shaw! I also really wanted to see the Stratford Festival's Something Rotten and had been unable to go in 2024 due to a family trip but now it was back! Huzzah! 

Photo Credit: Dahlia Katz

Anyhow, my first stop was Toronto where I took in one of the final performances of the Mirvish production of & Juliet! My sister had seen the show previously (twice because she loved it so much!) and she highly recommended it. I knew little beyond the premise and that the music was going to be highly recognizable (much in the way of Mamma Mia!). I had an absolute blast! The show is so much fun and I am a bit of a Shakespeare fan so I was totally in there for anything referential and there was quite a bit. I did not know beforehand but apparently the cast was all-Canadian and this show definitely speaks to the talent we have in Canada! Leading the cast as Juliet was Vanessa Sears. She was just incredible. She blew me out of the water every time she sang, but she was also a fine actor - able to be both funny and serious - and a terrific dancer. I was also delightfully surprised to see George Krissa as Shakespeare. I was working at the Citadel in Edmonton when he played the Sterling Award-winning role of Tony in West Side Story, and he was so good then and such a nice person! In this show he is so funny and I just loved hearing him sing again! The whole cast is terrific, but I wanted to shout out Julia McLellan as Anne (Shakespeare's wife) who gets the whole show running and keeps it on track. Amazing voice and what a fabulous and gorgeous comedian! The production is so perfect - from the costumes, to the set, to the music and the choreography. What a fun ride and the perfect way to kick off my Ontario Theatre Journey!

The show is closed now, but I encourage you to see it if it comes your way in a tour. You WILL want to sing a long because you will know all the songs. I think you will enjoy the twists and turns and also the fact the book was clearly written for today's audiences. 

Just a quick post from the road!

Made it safely to Toronto last night after an uneventful plane ride, which my brother-in-law assured me are the best kinds of plane rides! A nice supper and commencement of the visiting with my sister started immediately! It is wet here - raining a lot - and I discovered that I packed optimistically with only one pair of long pants.  Everything else is capris or skirts.  So I will head out to Yonge-Eglinton Centre tomorrow to look for warmer clothes and more socks. I fully intended to be in sandals the whole time! Ha ha ha!

Anyhow, I had a great pedicure this morning while Annemarie was at work and then we met up with friends for supper.  I connected with my university roommate Jackie and met Annemarie's friend Sarah and Sarah's mother Jan.  It was a great, if quick, visit with Jackie who looks as though she has not aged a day since university. She is an actress and has just started rehearsing for her upcoming Fringe show, Mo and Jess Kill Susie.  I wish I were here in July to see it!

After dinner Annemarie, Sarah, Jan and I headed to the Soulpepper to see The National Theatre of the World Improv show Script Tease.  It's a long form improv show where they get two pages of a script from a playwright sight unseen, start the play and then finish it. Before they start they chat with the audience and get details that they weave in with the narrative.  It was exceptional! So much fun and such a high level of performance.  The improv was smart and clever and both improvisers were so connected.  Afterwards they had a talk back with the improvisors, Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus, and the playwright, Guillermo Verdecchia. A very cool evening! I recommend checking it out as every night is different with different plays from seven playwrights.

Tomorrow - Stratford and Tommy! So excited!

Closing Night... and On to the Next Thing... But First... A Wee Break!

We closed the show last night.  It was a great show with a fabulous audience and like most closing nights it had that feeling in the air of something extra special.  Overall, it was a great experience for me as a director.  I had a couple issues with actors not trusting my vision, but it all came together. I think when people have been allowed to do whatever they feel like in the past, they have a hard time cultivating discipline when asked to.  Sometimes it takes longer for people to trust the Director and you do what you can to earn it, but you can't always compel it to happen.  All I can do is work hard and work in excellence and let my work speak for my skills. I know that the show was very good and underneath the laughter causing moments there was a real truth, so that made me very happy, and it made many people cry. An added bonus was meeting new wonderful people who I will hopefully get to work with again and working with some favorites from the past.  It's always good when you surround yourself with great people. I take a break from musicals for a little while as I move on to other projects, but I do have my ear to the ground for a good option or two that I can coerce the Magnificent Sally Hunt to work with me on!  If the Fabulous Jake Hastey joins us, I certainly won't argue against that! We ended the show in fine form, strike was remarkably fast, and then wrapped it up with a party around the campfire!  It was nice to socialize and relax and enjoy each other's company.

I do have another project on the horizon.  I will be directing Death Comes to Auntie Norma at the Edmonton Fringe this summer.  I now have to knuckle down and construct a schedule for that. I also have to do the books for From Cradle to Stage at Walterdale.  I did feel a weight lift off my shoulders when I woke up this morning, but now, thinking about the things I stall have to do, I am starting to feel it again!  Oh well, I have to get the books done today or tomorrow and same with the schedule, because on Wednesday I am off to Toronto to visit my sister!  It is a much needed trip away and it will be nice to go and not be responsible for anything!

Home for a Rest...

Okay, so I am back home and I am tired already. This is not the fault of the trip itself, but rather the return to laundry, messy kitchen, laundry, tight schedule, writing a paper (at midnight), doing payroll (at 11 p.m.), having to get up to hand the paper in, kids fighting (they were up late, too) and having lines to learn. I would love to come home to a kitchen as clean as the one I left (or cleaner, that would be awesome) but I don't think that will ever happen. I would love to not have all the laundry to deal with. Maybe some day.

I did have a great time in Toronto. It started off quite fast paced with lunch, a movie, dinner and a pub on Saturday. Then dim sum, a play, and dinner on the Sunday. We slowed down for Monday and Tuesday and fit in a mani and pedi and another movie but mostly visiting. That's what it was really for. I did want to get to a play and managed to get to the Tarragon for Daniel McIvor's new work, Communion, a great 3-hander for women of a certain age (well 2 of them, anyhow). I preferred seeing that because that is very much where my head is at with regards to theatre right now. For movies we saw Hot Tub Time Machine (a delightfully good cheesy movie) and Repo Men (extremely high budget for fake blood - but good - filmed in Toronto). It was nice to go and not have to worry about a sitter...

All in all, it was a good visit. Annie and I talked ourselves out and that was good. I got away and breathed in different air and walked a tonne and that was good. I drank some wine and laughed loudly in conversation and in watching a film and that was good.

Back from the Far East...

Okay, so I only got as far as Toronto, but in the big scheme of things it was very East of here! I had a lovely visit with my sister and brother-in-law and my good friend Tina (from high school and before). I got to tak ethe time for a manicure and a pedicure and my hands and feet are grateful. I also saw 2 movies, one was even a recent release (The Other Boleyn Girl and Michael Clayton). We went for drinks at the Hyatt ($15 martinis --> tres fun!) and saw the sketch comedy show at Second City (tickets were kindly provided by Dave and Janine who also performed in the Improv section of the evening). It was great to be out in Toronto after so long. Once the kids came a long my travelling was greatly decreased. I also got out to Oakville to see Tina's home and see her boys and husband. Hard to believe they are so big (well, so old - they take after Tina in the stature department). The only damper was the weather, but February anywhere in Canada is pretty unpredictable so what can you do?