Friday, December 30, 2011

Preview: American Idiot


Reviews are in, and American Idiot, the Green Day inspired musical, is a hit!  The Star gave the show four star, and called American Idiot, "the first great musical of the 21st century."  That is some heavy praise.  Justin and I can't wait to see it next week. The show is on now until January 15th, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.  Dancap Productions is having a fantastic season, with many of their shows receiving critical and audience acclaim.  Lets hope audiences agree on American Idiot.  


Photo courtesy of  Toronto.com, and features, from left, cast members, Scott J. Campbell, Van Hughes, and Jake Epstein.

American Idiot, book by Michael Mayer and Billie Joe Armstrong.
Music by Green Day
Lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
Directed by Michael Mayer
At the Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street
Call 416-644-3665 for ticket information.



Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Check this out...


Great article from the New York Times Theater section over the weekend about Shea's Performing Art Center in Buffalo. It was a fascinating read about what an influential stop Buffalo has become on the Broadway touring circuit.  Just as an example, The Addam's Family, which ran last week at Shea's, made close to a million dollars.  By comparison, the show hasn't made that kind of money, in a week on Broadway, since last April.  It was wonderful to see that theatre's and the audiences that love them outside of Manhattan are getting some recognition by the paper of note these days.   I highly recommend this article by Patrick Healy, "Broadway Hits Gold in Buffalo."  Check it out here.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Happy Holidays


Wishing you all much happiness and joy this Christmas.  And a Happy New Year!

Love,

Justin and Liza

Friday, December 23, 2011

Great News



One of Justin and my favourite movies is Once!  And now the film musical is headed for Broadway.  Check out this article from the NYTimes Arts Beat Blog.  The show hasn't even opened off-Broadway but it has already gotten the nod and will be headed for the Great White Way in March of 2012.  And for those of you not familiar with the movie here is the original trailer.


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Top 10 Theatre Shows of 2011 from NOW Magazine


Photo: HIS GREATNESS

Now Toronto has released their top 10 Theatre shows for 2011 and we here at EAP have to agree with almost all of their decisions. Especially HIS GREATNESS, BILLY ELLIOT and THE NORMAL HEART!

For the complete list please click the link below:

Top 10 Theatre Shows | NOW Magazine

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

American Idiot in Toronto!

We hear tickets are selling fast for the groundbreaking new musical that hits the Toronto stage a week today!

For tickets or more info please click the header!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Preview: HAIR



It was a smash hit a few years ago when it was revived in New York, and its triumph return to the Royal Alex took place this week! It has already opened to strong reviews and we are excited to see such a moving and provocative piece of theatre in town over the holiday season!

HAIR is more than just a musical: it is a social and cultural phenomenon, a jubilant assertion of life and freedom.”

So wrote critic Michael Billington in The Guardian, of the London staging of this joyous new production of the mother of all rock musicals!

It’s the ’60s; war rages in Vietnam, and a group of friends in New York’s East Village turn on, tune in and sing out in celebration of love, life and freedom. The first great rock musical, Hair has some of the most rousing and soulful songs ever written for the stage, including Let the Sun Shine In, Easy to be Hard, Good Morning Starshine, Aquarius and the infectious title song, Hair. It will more than make you want to sing along; It will make you want to go on stage and dance (and maybe you will)! You must not miss this vibrant, joyous piece of living theatre!

On until December 31st!

For tickets or more info please click the header!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Call For Submissions


It is that time of year again producers.  Time to get your proposals together for a number of Toronto theatre festivals.  The Habourfront Centre put out a call for submissions for their Fresh Ground new works series.  Prize winners can win up to $20,000 towards creating their work.  Fresh Ground submissions must be, new, collaborative, artistic creations, incorporating more than one discipline or field.  The work will be presented at the Harbourfront Centre between September 2013 and June 2014.  The deadline for submissions is January 30th.  All letters of intent must be received by 5pm on Monday January 30th to be considered.  More information about submissions is available here.

The application for the 2012 SummerWorks festival are also available now.  Check out the website here for applications.  Deadline dates for the SummerWorks festival are also up.  National Series Submissions are due January 3rd 2012.  While Local Series Submissions  are due February 1st 2012.

These are two great opportunities for local arts creators to have their work staged for local audiences.  Both the Harbourfront Centre and SummerWorks are mainstays in the Toronto theatre, dance and live performance scene.  If have have ever considered applying to have your work show here, this is the year!  Don't delay.  And message us here if you would like advice or insight into applying for either of these festival and grant programs.  We have done them a few times.  

Good Luck!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes



Wish there was a show like this for the holidays here in Toronto.  I saw this article posted on the San Francisco Facebook page yesterday.  And was so envious of all my peeps back in SF.  Hey Girls you should bring that show on the road!!!!

Preview: Matt & Ben



I think this sounds wonderfully intriguing and funny. Check it out this weekend at the Alumnae Theatre (70 Berkeley Street)!

Matt & Ben by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers is a one act play with two females playing the roles of a pre-famous Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and the hijinks that ensue when a completed screenplay for an orignal movie entitled “Good Will Hunting” falls from the sky with their names on the front cover. Is this a test? A message from God?

For tickets please click the header!

Matt & Ben
Directed by Reid Vanier
Starring Adele Dicks and Kristy LaPointe
Stage Manager: Hannah Metcalfe
December 17 &18 at Alumnae Theatre/ 2pm and 8pm.
Tickets $15

Friday, December 9, 2011

Tosca is back at the Canadian Opera Company



This clip pretty much speaks for itself.  If you are an Opera fan, or even just Opera curious and you haven't seen Tosca, then you better book tickets for The Canadian Opera Company's winter season opener.  Tosca opens January 21st and runs until February 25th, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Arts.

Adrianne Pieczonka, featured above, returns the title role.  She received rave reviews when she premiered in this role in 2008.  The Los Angeles Times called her, "radiant."  And she is sure to dazzle again.

Click here for ticket information.  And don't forget that if you are under 30 you can get Opera for the New Age tickets for $22 bucks, and you can pre-order them online.  

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Chatting with the cast of Off Broadway On Stage

Last night, I was invited to speak to some of the cast from Angelwalk Theatre's Off Broadway, On Stage.   It was an extra special night, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, as the touring cast of Memphis was also in the building and many of them were heading out to dinner at Baton Rouge.  It was a lively wait at the stage door.

But the real excitement was happening in the Studio Theatre.  I arrived a few minutes early and got to hear the cast of Off Broadway... rehearsing their closing number.  It was great to get a sneak preview.

After their final rehearsal I sat down with, (from left)  Will, Jennifer NatashaClara, and Dave.  Mike "Nug" Nahrgang, (pictured second from left) was sadly not available.  The cast spoke candidly about their, "intense," as Clara put it, rehearsal process, as well as their joy in working together with some dream musical material.

This cast of six has packed over twenty song from more than eighteen Off-Broadway productions into a brisk eighty minute show.  And all with only two weeks of rehearsals.

"The intensity of it," Dave said, came from the nature of a revue. You can't think of it as, "just a concert. We're digging into the material a lot more than in other productions. We have explored everything, dance acting... a lot of solid work."
Jennifer added that, "the songs have to stand on their own, because they aren't in the context of the original show."
 "It is all about telling the story of the song, and creating links between the pieces. Anthony, [Bastianon the show's musical director] and Denise, [Oucharek, the musical staging director ] have taken the time to find those links between the pieces," said Clara. "It is really wonderful."

There is also the heavier subject matter Off-Broadway tends to produce.  Not to mention the kick ass songs, you almost never get to sing in a show.  Will told me that he appreciated working with the deeper more complex music that Off-Broadway had to offer. "The show is eighty five minutes.  And we fit a lot in.  And because the subject matter of Off-Broadway tends to be more intense, it is really a marathon."

When I asked what the difference was doing a revue and doing a musical Natasha jumped in, "In a musical you get time to study your character, for this revue, playing many characters, you don't have that." The secret to keeping an audience engaged without characters to draw them in?   The creative construction by Anthony Bastianon,  and Dennis Oucharek.

I also got the sense from the cast that they genuinely enjoyed working together.  Clara said, "each of the cast members is so unique and different.  It has been really a great opportunity to blend new songs, meeting a great cast and working with this rich material, everyone brings something very special to the show."

And finally I asked what everyones' favourite number in the show was.  "I get to sing my favourite song, so for me that is the best," said Jennifer in reference to the well know classic from, Tick, Tick... Boom  "Come to Your Senses,"  which brought the house down just before the finale.

It was a really enjoyable evening of songs, some of which I knew and some of which I had never heard.  I particularly liked one of Clara's numbers I wasn't familiar with, " I'll Be Here" from Ordinary Days. 

If you are looking for an entertaining night out this weekend be sure and see Off Broadway On Stage.  And as "Nug," who's humorous interludes provided pleasant reprieve said, with a show like this, "you can see a night of theatre, buy the cast drinks and still pay the sitter." Click here for show and ticket information.  Off Broadway On Stage runs until the 11th of December.




Preview: CRUSH



This piece is getting some good reviews folks and there is only 4 more days left to check it out!!!

CRUSH is a story of desire, denial and violence. When Martin moves into Ronny and Sandra’s trailer park on the edge of a small Ontario city, he captivates them both. Their longing for love and need to escape collide with homophobia and desperation as the play accelerates toward its startling conclusion. CRUSH is loosely based on the true story of the Jenny Jones Show "Secret Admirer" murder, in which Scott Amedure was killed by Jonathan Schmitz after they taped an episode of the talk show together.

Optic Heart Theatre is thrilled to present CRUSH by Hume Baugh, from December 1-11 at the Factory Studio Theatre. First premiered at Summerworks in 2008, CRUSH is newly reworked and updated for its Factory debut.

Please click the header for more info and to purchase tickets!

CRUSH
Written by Hume Baugh
Directed by Mark Cassidy
Factory Theatre
Toronto, ON
On until December 11th!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Preview: PARFUMERIE at Soulpepper



Opening tomorrow evening in the Distillery District is the smash hit of 2009 from Soulpepper. Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins' winning adaptation about two clerks in a Budapest perfume shop who feud by day and unknowingly exchange anonymous love letters by night is one of the world's most beloved stories. 2010 Dora Award
(Outstanding Production).

For tickets and scheduling info please click the header!

PARFUMERIE
Written by f Miklós László
Adaptation by Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins

Directed by Morris Panych
Featuring Maev Beaty, Stacey Bulmer, Kevin Bundy, Oliver Dennis, Patricia Fagan, Jeff Lillico, Miranda Mulholland, Brenda Robins, Mike Ross, Michael Simpson, Kristina Uranowski, William Webster, Joseph Ziegler.

Young Centre for the Performing Arts,
55 Mill, Toronto, 416-866-8666
Runs to Dec 31

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Preview: Off Broadway On Stage

Angelwalk Theatre presents, Off Broadway On Stage, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.  This musical revue features selections from Off-Broadway classics like Alter Boyz, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, [title of show], and many more.  Conceived by Angelwalk creative team Brian Goldenberg, with musical arrangement by Anthony Bastianon, Off Broadway On Stage plays December 7-11. For tickets call 647.351.5055 or click here

Check out the cast here!
   647-351-5055       647-351-5055     

Monday, December 5, 2011

War Horse Toronto Rehearsals Begin!!!



What an exciting day for many local theatre artists who began work today on the upcoming production of War Horse in Toronto!

Rehearsals have officially commenced!

For info or tickets to the piece please click the header!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Preview: Memphis

Opening this week in Toronto! 

This is one of the most anticipated touring shows coming to Toronto this season. Memphis won four Tony's when it debuted on Broadway, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score, for David Bryan (originally of Bon Jovi fame,) and Joe DiPietros' catchy musical. Check out DanCap's promo video for the fantatic show Memphis, which opens in Toronto on Tuesday. 

This show has it all, great music and raucous dance numbers. It is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Click here for ticket information.  Memphis  is in town until Dec 24th.  The Christmas Eve show is at 1pm, and might make a great gift this year!


Hair - Toronto Premiere



Opening next week is the hit musical HAIR!

This holiday season is offering some major power brokers in terms of musical theatre in the city! Make sure to check them out!

For more info or for tickets please click the header.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Memphis the Musical



Arriving this week care of Dancap Productions is Memphis!

Full preview to come but please check out this clip from the Tony Awards. Incredible!

For tickets or more info please click the header!!!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

REASONS TO BE PRETTY



We are into the final 4(!) days to catch this fantastic piece of theatre!!!

For tickets please click the header!