Author: Iris Winston

A writer, editor, reporter and theatre reviewer for more than 40 years, Iris Winston has won national and provincial awards for her fiction, non-fiction and reviews. A retired federal public servant, she has seven books in print and writes regularly for local, regional, national and international newspapers and magazines, including Variety and the Ottawa Citizen. Iris lives in Almonte.
Wonderful Life Back for Retelling Again

Wonderful Life Back for Retelling Again

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Photo: Maria Vartanova

It’s a Wonderful Life
By Philip Grecian
Based on the film by Frank Capra
Ottawa Little Theatre
Directed by Josh Kemp

If there is anyone out there unfamiliar with the story of how second-class angel Clarence Oddbody finally earned his wings, there are plenty of opportunities to inhale a dose of sentimental goo this Christmas season. As well as the annual TV reruns of the 1946 Frank Capra movie, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, three Ottawa theatres have chosen to mount stage versions. …

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: No-fly Zone for Car and Show

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: No-fly Zone for Car and Show

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Photo: Orpheus Musical Theatre

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Music by special arrangement with Sony/ATV Publishing
Adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams
Based on the MGM motion picture
Licensed script adapted by Ray Roderick
Directed by Jenn Donnelly

From a child’s perspective, a magical flying/floating car that saves its owners from the villains after a scary adventure into a strange land is a story worth telling.

Author Ian Fleming (creator of the James Bond 007 spy novels) wrote the tale about an old racing car for his son, Caspar, in 1964. In 1968, it was adapted into a movie, starring Dick Van Dyke, with screenplay by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes. …

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Champion production of powerful drama

Champion production of powerful drama

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Photo: Jennifer Harrison

Chasing Champions: The Sam Langford Story
By Jacob Sampson
A Ship’s Company (Parrsboro, NS) production in association with Eastern Front Theatre (Halifax) at the NAC Azrieli Studio
Directed by Ron Jenkins

Sam Langford was named to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, one year before he died. The ESPN cable television network ranked him as one of the top ten boxers of all time. …

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It’s a wonderful life: a show that increases in entertainment level as it progresses.

It’s a wonderful life: a show that increases in entertainment level as it progresses.

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It’s a Wonderful Life Adapted by Philip Grecian Based on the Frank Capra movie. Kanata Theatre Directed by Tom Kobolak

The clanging of a large bell has long been Kanata Theatre’s traditional way of signaling that the show is about to begin. The tradition continues during the company’s 50th anniversary season.

The tinkling of the small bells during the current show to announce that an angel has earned his/her wings is part of another tradition — the repeat of a version of It’s a Wonderful Life. The original 1946 movie by director Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, is available on television over the holiday season each year and one of the stage radio show adaptations — three different production are being presented in Ottawa before Christmas — is available for those who enjoy another dose of sentimentality. (For the record, the Capra movie was inspired by the Philip Van Doren Stern story The Greatest Gift.) …

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This Flight Tonight: Joni Mitchell remembered in song

This Flight Tonight: Joni Mitchell remembered in song

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Photo thanks to  Eleanor Crowder and Bear and Cie

This Flight Tonight, Songs of Joni Mitchell, Bear & Co. Directed by Eleanor Crowder

The single most impressive aspect of This Flight Tonight is the number of musical instruments that the four-member cast play with ease. Each one handles a minimum of three different instruments from piano, drums, electric or acoustic guitar to mandolin, banjo, harmonic, flute and Irish harp, as well as such rhythm emphasizers as a tambourine and maracas.

The 20+ songs selected from the more than 200 in Joni Mitchell’s huge repertoire include some of her best-known works, such as Both Sides Now, Chelsea Morning and Big Yellow Taxi, and several that pinpoint significant moments in her life, such as Blue Motel Room, or of an era, such as Woodstock. …

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C for Cliffhanger in academic murder at the O.L.T.

C for Cliffhanger in academic murder at the O.L.T.

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Image thanks to OLT

Cliffhanger   By James Yaffe Ottawa Little Theatre  Directed by Joe O’Brien

As the plot of Cliffhanger unfolds gently, it seems that playwright James Yaffe — a respected humanities professor like his protagonist — is presenting wishful thinking about the fate of an unpleasant, incompetent department head and a particularly nasty failing student.

The “Mr. Chips” type prof has plenty of time (too much) to philosophize about ethics through the 1985 comedy, which never makes it to mystery thriller status. In the current Ottawa Little Theatre production, the leisurely pace is partly attributable to the writing and partly to the directing style of Joe O’Brien. …

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The Last Spartan: Military Might or Artistic Excellence?

The Last Spartan: Military Might or Artistic Excellence?

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The Last Spartan.  Written and performed by Pierre Brault

Sleeping Dog Theatre

Pierre Brault’s signature style is to deliver a compelling one-person show in several voices. His material is invariably well researched and his switches in character always well distinguished.

In The Last Spartan, first presented to great acclaim at the Ottawa Fringe in June, he tells the story of Dorion. A disgraced Spartan, he is being given the opportunity to redeem himself by defending a playwright who dared to mock the gods and challenge Spartan values.  Redemption for Dorion is dependent on his losing the case and thereby reaffirming all that Sparta holds dear.

In Ancient Sparta, bravery and military power were consider of primary importance. To die in battle was honourable. To retreat was disgrace. Dorion had been declared a “trembler” when he was among the group who surrendered to Athens. During the four years he lived in Sparta’s rival city state, he learned to appreciate the values that predominated in Athens (the seat of democracy) where education and cultural pursuits were highly valued. …

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Fierce premise hard to buy

Fierce premise hard to buy

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Fierce  directed by George Walker.Black Sheep Theatre and Criminal Girlfriends

Two women damaged by life bond as they reveal their secrets in a therapy session fueled by drugs and alcohol.

Intense, occasionally funny, with fluid dialogue, Fierce might work were it not for the fact that one of the women is a psychiatrist. It is extremely difficult in my opinion,  to buy into the possibility that a qualified professional who has met this patient only once before would crumble so quickly.

Surely she would have mustered her defences over years of overcoming her unsavoury past, more than a decade of academic effort to become a licensed medical specialist and subsequent experience in dealing with manipulative patients?

Despite the fact that both performers deliver strong characterizations, they must surmount the challenge of the contrived situation and the fact that, even though it is turned upside down, audiences are basically eavesdropping on a warped therapy session. …

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B+ for School of Rock

B+ for School of Rock

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Photo Matthew Murphy. School of Rock Book by Julian Fellowes,  lyrics by Glenn Slater new music and orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Based on the Paramount movie. Directed by Laurence Connor, Broadway Across Canada

The great pity is that this high-energy rock musical is largely unintelligible. From flashing lights and the smoke of dry ice to booming sound, all the accoutrements of a rock concert are in place, but only rarely are the song lyrics or even the dialogue distinguishable. …

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The Last Five Years: Poignant tale of a failed marriage

The Last Five Years: Poignant tale of a failed marriage

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Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown
Originally Produced for the New York stage by Arielle Tepper and Marty Bell, Orpheus Musical Theatre Society. Directed by Kodi Cannon

From the joy of meeting to the unravelling of love and back again, The Last Five Years is a poignantly told tale of a failed marriage.

As always with broken relationships, communication breaks down. And in his semi-autobiographical chamber musical — inspired by his failed marriage — author Jason Robert Brown emphasizes the inability to connect by its unusual structure. …

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