Tag: Live Theatre

2015, 2023

Hamilton Live at the Princess of Wales Theatre, March 1, 2023

We had tickets to go see Hamilton in April or May 2020 (if I’m not mistaken). Obviously, we didn’t get to go. So nearly 3 years later, 8 years after the hype machine began, we finally saw it. I mention the hype machine only because I don’t know how much of my experience of this …

2022

The Cold War Part 1 (part of The Village of Small Huts) Live at Video Cabaret on May 13, 2022

This was my third Village of Small Huts/Video Cabaret experience and it was a reminder of how distinct their performances are and how much underknown I think the whole thing is. As a reminder: Video Cabaret is a theatre troupe that incorporates audio and visual elements into their productions. The Village of Small Huts is …

2019, Music

Turandot live at the Four Seasons Centre October 27, 2019

I’ve seen a number of operas in my life, but I’ve listened to far more on CD or digitally. This is the first time, that I can recall that I have seen an opera I’ve listened to much ahead of time or at least, one I’ve listened to as many times as Turandot. So this …

2018, Music

Hadrian by Rufus Wainright Live at the Four Seasons Centre, October 17, 2018

This was the second ever performance of Rufus Wainwright’s second opera, Hadrian, which tells the story of Emperor Hadrian’s final day of his life, as he mourns his dead male lover. I should say at the outset that this is only the third 21st century opera I’ve ever seen, most of the operas I know …

2018, Music, Theatre

The Nightingale and Other Short Fables live at the Four Seasons Centre, May 13, 2018

Back in 2008 or 2009 or so, the Canadian Opera Company put on a radically different performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “3 act” opera The Nightingale, buttressed by additional pieces in order to actually make the runtime somewhat comparable to a normal opera. (The Nightingale runs less than an hour.) I don’t know who initially curated the selections …

1988, 2017, Theatre

Confederation Part II: Canadian Pacific Scandal and The Saskatchewan Rebellion (part of The History of the Village of Small Huts) Live at Soulpepper Thursday July 27

We liked Part I of this section of The History of the Village of Small Huts so much that we went back for more.

2017, Theatre

Confederation Part I: Confederation and Riel (part of The History of the Village of Small Huts) Live at Soulpepper Tuesday July 11, 2017

This production is the second staging of a 1988 set of two 1-act plays which are part of the 21 1-act play cycle, The History of the Village of Small Huts, performed by Video Cabaret, a troupe that uses tableau and total darkness to give essentially soundbite snippets of Canadian history. I can honestly say …

1907, 2012, 2016

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder live at the Princess of Wales Theatre June 15, 2016

Unbeknownst to me, this is based on the same novel as one of my favourite comedies of all time, Kind Hearts and Coronets. I have not seen that movie in sometime, though the plot (and the gimmick) was still quite familiar.

1888, 2005, 2015, Theatre

Julie by Philippe Boesmans and Luc Bondy, Live at the St. Lawrence Centre, November 19, 2015

This is a 2005 chamber opera based on the 1888 play Miss Julie by August Strindberg. I have never read Strindberg, and I don’t know if I’ve read much naturalist literature or drama, so this was a new experience for me.

1961, 2015, Theatre

The Physicists (1961) by Friedrich Durrenmatt, adapted by Michael Healy, live at the Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford, July 25, 2015

This is a play about the social responsibility of scientists posing as a murder mystery-cum comedy, set in an insane asylum. The play uses comedy and the teensiest bit of mystery to dilute it’s otherwise very heavy-handed message. The play itself is so prescient (and so relevant to our time) that I am shocked I …

2015, Music

Cannibal the Musical at the Panasonic Theatre, February 21, 2015

For anyone who has seen The Book of Mormon, the musical comedy has kind of been killed. Everything pales in comparison to it. I loved Evil Dead the Musical when I first saw it. Then, when I listened to the soundtrack later, after I had seen The Book of Mormon and purchased its soundtrack, I …

Theatre, TV

The Kids in the Hall Live at Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, December 6, 2013

I approached last night with a mixture of over-excitement and trepidation. The Kids in the Hall was the first thing I ever saw that said to me “it’s okay to be weird, in fact you can wear that as a badge.” I was a little young when I first caught glimpses of the show on …