Each week, we take a look at what's going on in Toronto's theatre scene and tell you which shows we think are worth checking out.
Each week, we take a look at what's going on in Toronto's theatre scene and tell you which shows we think are worth checking out.
Last night at the beautiful Winter Garden Theatre, the winners of the 28th Annual Dora Awards were announced in a ceremony hosted by the hilarious Rick Miller (of MacHomer and Bigger Than Jesus fame). The Doras are basically Canada's version of the Tonies, except you can't watch them on TV and see Molly Ringwald and John Stamos jazz-hand their way through a radical new interpretation of Hello, Dolly! As one might expect, the whole affair is generally more sedate and even less people care about the results. But we do! It's also somewhat validating to see shows that Toronto reviewed positively get the respect they deserve (and occasionally shocking to see the same respect lavished on things we thought were crap). Now, there were a lot of awards being handed out last night, so let's be a jerk and ignore the hard work of all the behind-the-scenes people and focus on the flashier trophies.
When theatre "It Boy" Daniel MacIvor wrote Marion Bridge, a play which is finally getting its Toronto premiere after being performed out East, in New York City and being adapted into a film, he figured it would never be performed in the city. A big contrast to his edgy one-man shows, Marion Bridge is a family drama about three sisters reconnecting at their mother's deathbed that MacIvor supposedly wrote because he wanted to do something his mom would be able to enjoy. The play was supposed to be a rural drama meant for a rural audience, but The Company Theatre, lead by Artistic Director Allan Hawco, decided that if it was good enough for NYC, it was good enough for Toronto and got MacIvor to direct their production of his play.