The Last Five Years

Hot Reject Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

You know the “showtune sound?” Of course you do! The Little Mermaid oozes with it, same with The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. As soon as you hear a song from a showtune, you know immediately it spent some time on Broadway, or way, way, way off Broadway! If nothing else, they’re catchy, and often, I find myself humming them. When someone asks, “what are you singing?” You’re almost embarrassed to say, “Under the Sea!”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t until five songs into it before I felt the showtime vibe. Is that good? I don’t know–just different. Some of the tunes were catchy, but some were just ok—not hum worthy for sure. One of the singers was markedly better than the other, but both seemed to lose their key at one time or another. On occasion, they “reached” for that extra octave, and they probably shouldn’t have. I loved the quartet in the background and sometimes, it was fun just to watch them play.

At 90 minutes, I found it a tad long. There were a couple of songs that didn’t fit into the flow and seemed out of place. It would be a much tighter effort at 60 minutes.

The house erupted with a standing “o” after the show. I felt somewhat like a cad being the only one not standing but apologetically, it is not standing material. It’s good, even very good, but not outstanding. I have a feeling that there were a lot of friends and family in the audience propelling the enthusiasm.

Ray Yuen

Sapphire Butterfly Blue

MTYP’s Summer Studio—MTYP – Mainstage

This was an EXCELLENT show. This show touched my heart and I shed a tear or two. The Salem Witch Trials started with a group of 13-14 year olds spreading false rumours that ended up in women in the village being hung for being a witch. How the elders of the town fell for this is incomprehensible. One line stuck with me, “I was only a witch when they said that I was.”

For the show being the first one, I can only imagine the performers grow and perform. The performers played each role perfectly with stunning emotions.

You will shed a tear. GO!!

Tracy Hall-Adam

World’s Fair 1876: The Centennial Exposition

JHG Creative—The Gargoyle Theatre

This musical was BRILLIANT. Set at the first centennial of America, we find ourselves at a conference of sorts, surrounded by notable inventors as they attempt to win the president’s favour in support of their creation. It reminded me a lot of Hamilton in so far as the clever and witty songwriting and storytelling. It is a (mostly) historically accurate story, rich with poignant social commentary. There is something so appealing about history being presented in such a fun and engaging way. I thought the songwriting and the script was so inspired, and I strongly feel like it’s shows like this are the reason I love musical theatre. It offers a perspective of hope about the world felt so many years ago, which serves to show how much has (or hasn’t) changed at all in the time elapsed since. It’s informative, thoroughly entertaining, hilarious, and an absolute delight. Definitely make the time to check this one out!

Calantha Jensen

Lessons They Won’t Let Us Teach in School

Joseph Herd Productions—The Gargoyle Theatre

I was very excited to see what kind of wisdom was about to be divulged in this show from the title alone, and they delivered! Performed by two brothers who both teach in Winnipeg high schools, we are guided through a series of lessons that are truths with a controversial enough nature that it took this particular space for them to be able to talk about them. Cleverly written and extremely funny, we get some valuable insight into the experience of being a teacher and what education is truly about. For anyone who has ever been a student and for any teachers or members of the school system, this show has valuable lessons for us all and is a brilliant piece of theatre. A definite MUST SEE.

Calantha Jensen

Dog Gone

FAR FETCHED PRODUCTIONS—Planetarium

I am a sucker for puns, so when I saw the company name “Far Fetched Productions” in the program, I added it to my list of shows to see. Irene Sankoff plays a woman who is at a low point in her life and is at a crossroads. To top it all off she has lost her dog in an unfamiliar place. While she waits to see if her pooch is at Animal Control we get the back stories of what has been going on in her life, her past failures in caring for things, and the story of how she got her furry friend. It is an emotional journey that works on multiple levels with some comedic moments to lighten the mood. Well done.

Murray Hunter

The Life Henri

Still Your Friend—Planetarium

Adam Bailey is back with another masterfully told story to tickle your fancy. Join Adam as he takes you through the bizarre and larger than life tale of the painter Henri Rousseau. Bailey is like that one friend at a party who starts talking about something they just did a deep dive on Reddit about, but is so entertaining you haven’t realized you finished your drink halfway through the story. Surprisingly insightful and charming this was a great gem at the Fringe.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Sad Girl Songs: A Comedy Show

Gwen Coburn—John Hirsch Mainstage

The songs aren’t sad, the majority are witty and extremely edgy. She opened with a song about how anyone operating a clit should know what it is. It’s the girl that’s sad. As are all aware women who have had to deal with abusive men.

Sad, exhausted, confused and damaged. It takes real finesse to handle tragic subjects with humour and intelligence. While interweaving the story of her sexual and emotional manipulation by a mentor at her workplace, she manages to gift us with an interactive and very worthwhile performance. She makes great use of the huge screen at this enormous venue with her version of Ted Talks- Sad Talks.

This show is not depressing. It’s astute and realistic; showing how far both sexes still have to progress for equality. And that survival and joy after are possible. Thank you Gwendolyn Coburn!

Lisa Campbell

How to Live Forever

Hypothetical Projects—Stephen Juba Park

When a friend’s mom is dying, a group of friends come together to make sense of it all and comfort each other. This touching play was sincere and relatable. The characters were well written and made you feel apart of their friend group. I definitely misted up at a few of the more serious moments. Very well acted and wonderfully written. If you have experienced or are going through loss, this might be a tough one to watch. At several points I was happy I didn’t bring my fiancé along as he wouldn’t have made it through the show. Being that it’s in an outdoor venue the background was certainly distracting and it was at times difficult to hear because of wind, cars, or music playing from others. Very moving and touching.

Kaitlyn Kriss

A One Man Batman Parody

Rod Peter Jr—Tom Hendry Warehouse

For anyone with nostalgia for Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, Rod Peter Jr’s. reenactment of the films paired with interludes from his childhood promise an entertaining performance. The show is lacking a bit of polish from last years staging, most notably in the intro cinematic referencing the length of the pandemic, and my earlier critique of the reenactments lacking proper context to fully convey what happened in the films to any audience member who wasn’t already familiar with their plot still remains. However, the strong video explanation of some of his more specific jokes paired with good comedic timing and deeply personal stories definitely give someone without that knowledge something to follow. Definitely a must see for fans of the films, as a love letter to them, and accepting the things you love.

Josh Fidelak

Women

The Sexy Snakes—The Gargoyle Theatre

This show was fantastic! Any fans of the original story Little Women will see the tale told in a fresh new way. For those who haven’t, I think it would read as a satirical story of women navigating the world and their lives in ways that we can find relatable in present day.

Told in a montage style featuring the most memorable moments, paired with well placed and comedic selections of current pop songs adds a sense of modernity to a tale set in a different time. It is witty, hilarious, somewhat cynical yet with very poignant commentary and parody of the original story. I was laughing almost the entire time and feel inspired to reread/rewatch the original to further appreciate this production. I enjoyed it very much.

Calantha Jensen