It's been a few weeks since I last wrote about our two main theatre festivals in Ontario, and with both having just about three weeks to go before the season ends, I thought I would revisit both this week and look not only at what is still playing at each, but also how each festival did this year.
Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake has a few shows continuing until near the end of the month, and all are well worth seeing if you have not already done so. The lunchtime show at the Courthouse Theatre, Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, closes tomorrow in fact, so only one more chance to catch this relative rarity. I rather enjoyed this early look into Bernstein's creative mind, giving us hints of what would come a few years down the road with such shows as On The Town and West Side Story. The music is very early Bernstein, to be sure, but you can see the early genius here, and the cast is absolutely first rate. I only gave the show two out of four stars simply due to its limited appeal and the fact it would certainly be an acquired taste; that being said, I thought it was nice the festival decided to bring the show back even for just a little while.
The big musical this season is, of course, Ragtime, and it lived up to all the pre-show hype and then some. Ragtime is a great musical, but it took the creative vision of Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell to bring all the creative forces together to make this production of the musical with a troubled history really work. If this production had opened on Broadway in 1998 I think it might have fared better than the original show that received its world premiere in Toronto two years previously. An exceptional cast and staging make this show a clear winner and worthy of a four out of four stars rating. You had best hurry to get tickets to this one, as it closes at the Festival Theatre October 14th and word has it the show will not be extended.
Two shows continue until later in the month: William Inge's powerful drama Come Back, Little Sheba continues at the Royal George Theatre until October 19th and Shaw's Misalliance closes out the Shaw season October 27th, also at the Royal George. Come Back, Little Sheba offers some of the finest performances at the Festival this season, with Corrine Koslo and Ric Reid simply outstanding in their respective roles. This was one of my favourite shows of the season and rated a perfect four out of four stars, and you really must see this show before it closes October 19th. Misalliance, directed by Eda Holmes, is a very stylish take on the classic Shaw play that is easier to handle than many of Shaw's wordier plays, and runs only two-and-a-half hours. I loved the sets and costumes for this play as well as many of the performances, in particular Tara Rosling's exotic and sexy Lina Szczepanowska. I gave it three out of four stars and it closes October 27th.
For tickets to any and all of the final shows at Shaw this season, go to www.shawfest.com.
Over at the Stratford Shakesepare Festival, they celebrated their 60th season with some hits and a couple of misses this season, with some of the big draws still playing through the month of October. At the Avon Theatre, Gilbert & Sullivan's ever-popular The Pirates of Penzance continues until October 27th. It is a fairly high-energy show, but not one of my favourites this season. I felt the show was suffering an identity crisis and was more than a little silly in spots...well, more than even a G&S show should be, really. It rated a two out of four stars for me; a fun show but better offerings even this late in the season can be had.
One of the early winners this season at the Festival Theatre was Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, continuing as well until October 27th. Director Chris Abraham had a lot of great talent to work with on this show, and top to bottom it is a solid offering. Things get off to a slow start and even Tom McCamus as blowhard Horace Vandergelder can't keep things moving on his own until his comic foil, Dolly Gallagher Levi, played by Seana McKenna comes on the scene. McKenna very nearly makes the entire show, and when the two of them are together on stage the real magic begins. One of the best shows of the season, The Matchmaker rated a solid three out of four stars.
I was very much looking forward to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing this season, primarily because former Shaw Festival Artistic Director Christopher Newton was the director here, and he did not disappoint. I talked to Christopher just last week about this show, and I was left with the impression it was not the easiest show he has ever worked on, but you would never know it from the end result. This has lots of nice little touches that all go together to create a wonderful production with a very strong cast. I liked it a lot in spite of the fact I fell ill during the show; still and all, it rated a strong three out of four stars.
The so-called family show at Stratford this season was You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the musical about the round-headed kid in the yellow shirt with the black zig-zag pattern on it, created by Charles M. Schulz about sixty years ago now. This was a gentle show designed for both kids and adults, and it has a lot of nice creative touches in it, including some nice choreography by director Donna Feore. But I felt overall it missed the mark somewhat, and rated only two out of four stars. It is not a bad show, but I felt the appeal of this one might be somewhat limited. Still, it continues at the Avon Theatre until October 28th.
Finally, the other big musical this season was the Harry Warren/Al Dubin classic 42nd Street, which continues at the Festival Theatre until October 28th. Director Gary Griffin has a fine cast to work with here, but I still felt the return of Cynthia Dale as Dorothy Brock was rather muted, as really, her immense talent is wasted in this role, I feel. Great to see Cynthia back in Stratford though, so that is a good thing. The rest of the cast is very strong, with a special mention going out to Jennifer Rider-Shaw as Peggy Sawyer, the young up-and-comer who takes over for an ailing Brock so 'the show will go on.' I gave the show three out of four stars; not the best show at Stratford this season but a crowd-pleaser all the same.
For tickets to any of the remaining shows at Stratford this season, go to www.stratfordshakespearefestival.com.
So, overall how did both festivals do this year? Almost the exact opposite of last season, in my estimation. Shaw celebrated their 50th season last year with a great production of My Fair Lady and some other shows that did well, but many were not exceptional. Stratford, on the other hand had a great season last year with hit after hit, and artistically speaking, I felt had the stronger season last year. This year, however, they had some misses along with the hits, so Shaw came away with the crown this season. I don't know if it was the pressure of living up to expectations due to the anniversaries each celebrated: Shaw last season and Stratford with their 60th this season, but Shaw just seemed to hit the mark more often than not this season. Both had great seasons overall, mind you, but Shaw just did that much better this year I found.
Speaking of Shaw, they recently announced their 2013 season and the big musical next season will be the 1950 classic Guys and Dolls, which played at Stratford several seasons back as well. Also on the playbill next season will be Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan also on the Festival Stage, and Matthew Barber's Enchanted April, adapted from the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim. Over at the Court House Theatre, Blair Williams directs Peace in our Time: A Comedy, adapted from the Shaw play Geneva by John Murrell; Jay Turvey gets to direct The Light in the Piazza, based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer; and rounding out the Courthouse lineup is a double-bill for the lunchtime show: Trifles and A Wife for a Life, by Susan Glaspell and Eugene O'Neill. At the smaller Royal George Theatre, Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara will be directed by Jackie Maxwell; Morris Panych directs W. Somerset Maugham's Our Betters; and Brian Friel's Faith Healer will be directed by Craig Hall. Finally, at the Studio Theatre, Eda Holmes directs Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. So once again next season, there will be no Shaw play on the mainstage, and in fact only one purely Shaw play on the playbill, although Peace in our Time is based on a Shaw play.
So, there you have it, my final thoughts on the 2012 seasons at Shaw and Stratford. I am already looking forward to returning to both for 2013!
October 6th, 2012.
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