ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical – REVIEW OF 2025 CANADIAN STAGE PRODUCTION AT THE WINTER GARDEN THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

If you go to The Winter Garden Theatre to see ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical  by Matt Murray, be mindful of who you are going with. If you have or can find one or two, say, ten-year olds, your enjoyment of the show will increase exponentially. Otherwise, you will enjoy it anyway.

I am talking about the panto produced by Canadian Stage that has taken over the Ross Petty tradition and it is a ball of laughter. You may have guessed that this Robin Hood has almost nothing to do with, well, the Errol Flynn movie. This Robin Hood is a woman (Julia Pulo) and her enemy is the dastardly Prince John (Damien Atkins).

Robin and company are concerned citizens and want to save the small merchants that giant retailer Glamazon headed by Prince John wants to destroy by taking away all their business as well as the manufacturers’. Robin is a small business owner making hoodies  and she wants to stop Prince John and his board of directors of idiots from doing that. They want to take 90% of Robin’s profits from hoodies, destroy the Forest of High Park and build a factory over Casa Loma. Prince John is stealing all the gold coins and using them to develop a laser tree-destroying machine. He must be stopped.

Robin and her team of Friar Tuck (Eddie Glen) Little John (Julius Sermonia), the untrustworthy Marion (Praneet Akilla) and a few ensemble members face the enemy with songs, shenanigans, hilarious comedy and serious support from the audience. This is where who you go with counts. My associates helping Robin and me watching the show were nine-year-old Rose and eleven-year-old Evan. 

Scene from ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical. Photo: Dahlia Katz

Like all stern audience members, they laughed, applauded, stamped their feet and booed with relish the evil Prince John. They gave the performance a critical review. They loved it but did admit that there were jokes that they did not get. The line about lying to us about the completion of the Eglinton Rapid Transit did not register with them but the adults screamed with laughter. Donald, Elon and some others of their ilk were also  mentioned but they did not register with the important part of the audience.

But they liked the banners that came down reminding them to boo and they appreciated that the performance was “interactive” (their word) especially when they were asked to sing along with everyone.

The songs were lively and enjoyable. “Best Day of My Life” is lively, “Money (That’s What I want)” is the obvious anthem of the greedy Prince John, “Listen to Your Heart” is good advice, “Hold On” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” express the spirit of the determination of the good guys and the whole audience.

The show has at least two scene stealers and hilarious performers. Atkins as Prince John, dressed in black as becomes a villain, was hilarious. He goaded the youngsters into booing him (they did) and his appearance never failed to provoke the audience and of course produce laughter.

Equally funny but on the side of good guys was the cross-dressed Daniel Williston as Sparkle Bum. Dressed in a gaudy, over-sized, sparkling gown, he was a master of physical comedy, voice changes and an unerring ability to evoke laughter. He made everyone roar with laughter.

Julia Pulo’s Robin Hood had issues with  her employees and the show had a lesson in human relations for the audience. Aside from that Pulo was an agile, lithe leader who saved her business and the small merchants from Bezos, I mean Prince John.

This show’s Marion is not Olivia de Havilland but a man who eventually redeems himself after an act of treachery. I don’t know if he marries Robin. I give credit to the ensemble who sang, danced, moved and managed to keep young and grownups laughing.

There are some excellent vocal performances on top of the hilarity but most of us were too busy laughing, enjoying the reactions of the young crowd and booing to fully appreciate that talent on the stage.

Brandon Kleiman has designed colourful and exuberant sets to go along with Ming Wong’s bright and vibrant costumes. Mary Francis Moore directs, brings the whole show together and makes sure we are thoroughly entertained.
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ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical  by Matt Murray, produced by Canadian Stage opened on November 29 and will run until January 4, 2026,  at The Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St. Toronto. https://www.canadianstage.com/

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto