Savannah Sipping Society is a story about four lonely women who, in the midst of their personal life crises discover the value of friendship, by mere chance. Although the theme might sound stereotypical, and its TV sitcom style offers no novelty, the play is hilariously funny and entertaining – just the thing for the end of a tiring week. …
Since its London premiere in December 1938, Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight has been staged all over the world. The narrative, which successfully wraps the fragile human psyche into a crime setting, attracts audiences and artists alike to this day.
The story is set in Victorian era London and explores an intentionally abusive relationship between Jack Manningham and his wife Bella. Jack’s goal is to gradually drive his wife insane by constantly making her doubt her memory and perception. He plays his cards well, in a startling portrayal of the form of abuse that has become synonymous with the play’s name. He is sadistically cruel to Bella, aggressively bullying her, suggesting she inherited her mother’s madness, falsely blaming her for misplacing small objects, and grows increasingly unpredictable in his mood towards her. And if this were not enough, whenever he does leave, Bella is surrounded by dimming gas lights and the sound of footsteps from the abandoned floor above. Couldn’t these just be yet another creation of her delusional mind? Then one evening, while Jack is out yet again, a stranger comes to the house and changes the chain of events, and her life. …
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. …
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. …
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. …
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
By Christopher Durang
Kanata Theatre
Directed by Jim Holmes
Take a helping of Chekhovian despair to spice the lives of three discontented siblings named after characters from the 19th-century playwright’s works. Stir in a blender and deliver a modern domestic drama with absurdist leanings.
This may not sound like the ideal starting point for a satirical comedy/serious assessment of the purpose of life, but in the hands of Christopher Durang — the incisive and controversial author of such dramas as Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You — his 2012 Tony award-winning Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is both funny and thought-provoking. …
Godspell by John-Michael Tebelak
Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
9th Hour Theatre Company
Directed by Jonathan Harris
Godspell was a major hit when it premiered 47 years ago. In 1971, writer John-Michael Tebelak — who also directed the original — delivered a rock musical of the “make love not war” era, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (whose later works included Pippin and Wicked.)
In its earliest version, Jesus was a flower child and the focus was on the parables, the teachings of Jesus and the music. The 9th Hour Theatre Company version is presented as being “adapted and reconceived for a contemporary audience.” …
The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer, a Toto Too Production. Directed by Jim McNabb and Shaun Toohey
Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart is a play fuelled by anger.
Anger at the political, medical and media establishment of the day for its reluctance to accept the reality of a mounting AIDS epidemic.
Back in 1985, Kramer made enemies on all sides with a play that is an only slightly fictionalized account of his real-life efforts in New York City to awaken the prevailing culture — including a gay, closeted mayor — to the reality of the frightening plague enveloping it. And because it takes no prisoners in its indictment, it remains perhaps the most unsettling play to emerge from the AIDS era
Kramer’s dramatic alter ego in the play is an outspoken crusader named Ned Weeks — and Shaun Toohey’s performance in this role supplies ample reason to take in TotoToo Theatre’s sometimes uneven revival of a seminal late 20th Century stage classic. …
Reviewed by Natasha Lomonossoff
Performing a story onstage which originally came from a book is always a challenge of adaptation, even more so with one the scale of Louisa May Alcott’s two-volume classic Little Women. With a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, musical theatre company Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’s (ASNY) production of Little Women-The Broadway Musical at the Centrepointe Studio Theatre, directed by Jennifer Fontaine and Jacqueline Armstrong, successfully manages to present this story in a way that is not tiring. With a skilled cast and engaging musical numbers, one becomes easily attached to the March family through all of their trials and journeys. …
Book by Allan Knee, Music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. ASNY Productions. Directed b Jennifer Fontaine and Jacqueline Armstrongy
Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical novel, Little Women, tells the story of Jo March (Alcott’s alter ego) and her three sisters Meg, Beth and Amy. Originally published in 1868, the tale has been retold in numerous formats — as a silent film, more recent movie versions, a television series, a stage play and a musical. …