Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Crazy For You

Posted on July 24, 2014 by barczablog

It’s summertime, when the livin’ is easy: and Gershwin might be on my mind right now. Summer  musicals are taking over the stages at summer festivals in Stratford & Niagara-on-the-Lake. Crazy For You –the show I saw today at Stratford—is … Continue reading →

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StageWorks Assassins

Posted on July 18, 2014 by barczablog

Tonight I saw opening night of StageWorks new production of Assassins, an occasion that any serious fan of the musical theatre form must celebrate.  The score by Stephen Sondheim is challenging. The material in John Weidman’s book is electrifying, and … Continue reading →

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Ten Questions for Hugh Ritchie

Posted on July 10, 2014 by barczablog

I first met Hugh Ritchie at Ryerson this winter, where we worked together on an adaptation of Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit. At one point in the show he was all pastoral Americana, singing a down-home “Little Brown Jug”, even though he … Continue reading →

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Confessions of an Operatic Mute

Posted on July 10, 2014 by barczablog

Briane Nasimok and I go way back. He rode with me in the ambulance that took me to hospital (can’t recall which one) when I fell and split my head open. By then I was of legal drinking age (which … Continue reading →

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The Tempest Replica: Icing and Cake

Posted on May 8, 2014 by barczablog

Tonight Toronto got another look at Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite’s company from out west.  While this may be new to us, it’s not really new.  Just as Dark Matters –brought to Toronto by Canadian Stage back in 2012— was already … Continue reading →

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The Miller and his Wife

Posted on March 16, 2014 by barczablog

There were two distinct parts to Puppetmongers’ shows today.   First came the magic, then the magicians –Ann and David Powell—explained their tricks. The program is among their oldest works.  The Miller was first presented in 1974 and its sequel The … Continue reading →

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Sondheim not quite by Sondheim

Posted on March 8, 2014 by barczablog

Marry Me A Little is 75 minutes or so of songs written by Stephen Sondheim.  These are songs that were cut from other shows and then assembled into a play by a bunch of other people.  It’s new at the … Continue reading →

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Unexpected WWI Cabaret

Posted on February 28, 2014 by barczablog

When I say “World War I” what pops into your head? Mustard gas? Trench warfare: a stalemate in muddy battlefields? In Flanders Fields: a desperately sad poem about honour? A war of attrition? The end of illusions about heroism and … Continue reading →

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Questions about WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath

Posted on February 23, 2014 by barczablog

WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath, presented this week at Theatre Glendon beginning Wednesday February 26, is an exercise in history & story-telling, both onstage and inter-actively through social media. What was World War I? What impact did it have, perhaps still … Continue reading →

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Ronnie Burkett—The Daisy Theatre

Posted on February 20, 2014 by barczablog

If “OuZooooonian” is Ronnie Burkett’s scary word for the dark place of judgment beyond the proscenium in Toronto there’s probably a comparable word in every other city. I am not sure which sort of virtuosity is most impressive. The brilliant … Continue reading →

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