OUR LITTLE SECRET – REVIEW OF 2026 CAA THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

Our Little Secret described as a “A True New Musical” is a one-man show by Noam Tomaschoff who also wrote the play. The “secret” is not little and it is disclosed within minutes of the start of the performance. It tells the true story of Noam Tolmachoff who discovered as an adult that his loving parents had not told him who his biological father was.

His mother’s husband and  the man who raised him as his father is a loving and accomplished man and his mother, an obstetrician, could not have a baby. They decided to go for artificial insemination and the result was Noam. That was his parents’ secret and they did not want anyone to know about. Until, that is, Noam had a DNA analysis done that revealed some unsettling information. It showed that he had 62% Irish, 28% Italian and zero Jewish background. His “father” is Jewish and therefore not his father. His mother is of Italian background. Oops!

Noam is in on the secret and he tells everyone that he was conceived using the sperm of an anonymous donor.

But there is lots more in the DNA report. It disclosed that Noam has about thirty half-siblings and gets in touch with some of them and is able to get information about his biological father and the story is so interesting that he with his high school friends Russell Citron (listed as creator in the program) and the musician Ryan Peters create the musical  Our Little Secret.

They did a marvelous job and Noam’s performance is splendid. He represents himself of course but also takes on the roles of his parents and about a dozen other characters. The script is engaging, funny, moving and highly entertaining. It is written mostly in rhyming couplets and Noam sings most of the lines accompanied by a small band on the stage. Much of the music is recitative with considerable variations and Noam does well with the mostly limited vocal demands but he also shows that he can handle vocal flourishes.

Noam Tomaschoff in Our Little Secret. Photo by Amanda Chieco

The plot revolves around Noam and his parents trying to come to grips with “the little secret” and Noam finding out about his biological father’s life and adventures. He was an aircraft pilot and he donated sperm to help people. I am not sure if he donated it directly and liberally to women or gave it to the sperm bank for money. Tomaschoff smartly avoids taking us down the path of philandering or other theories about the conduct of his real dad who dies before he can track him down.

Noam keeps asking and wondering why he was not told but it was a secret that his parents did not want known by everyone especially in view of the Jewish tradition of the man having to produce an heir. I may guess that most couples would not want people to know about how their children were conceived.

Our Little Secret is a genial play that tells a touching story, well-told and superbly performed. Tomaschoff and his friends have been able to create an eighty-minute musical, intelligently and theatrically, from something that did not seem to have enough substance to succeed. With intelligence, talent and sound theatrical sense they have succeeded beautifully.

Kudos to director Adam Pascal for setting the pace for a single performer and varying it to avoid monotony. Steve Sidwell orchestrated the music and Nick Burgess is the Music Director. All contributing to a simple idea becoming a splendid night at the theatre. 

(I write in the present tense because Noam’s parents are very much alive and they attended the opening night of their son’s show and were acknowledged warmly by the audience).  
_____________________________
Our Little Secret  by Noam Tomaschoff (book) created by Russell Citron with music by Ryan Peters opened on November 4 and continues until November 22, 2026, at the CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge St, Toronto ON, M4Y 1Z9  www.mirvish.com/

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

MONKS - REVIEW OF 2026 TARRAGON THEATRE EXTRA SPACE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

As you walk into the Tarragon Theater’s Extra Space you see a seriously cowled monk and hear even more serious church music. The play you are about to see is titled Monks and neither the monk nor the music should surprise you. That is until the performance starts and the two monks finish with you as an audience member.

The two monks (Veronica Hortiguela and Annie Lujan) tell us that they are alone in a monastery in Spain and get visitors, (the audience, of course), only once every five years. One of the monks sports a mustache and the other one comes out of a barrel after the performance begins. They have a donkey that grazes in the meadow and enviably does nothing but we will not meet him until later.

This is a play, a performance really, that depends almost entirely on the involvement of the audience, the enthusiastic participation of the spectators in the performance and the ability of the monks to evoke hilarity. There is no apparent plot but there is plenty of audience involvement and hilarity encouraged by the audience.

I am not giving enough details. The monks run around the stage and go up the steps into the audience. They ask us if we respect Satan and the audience responds with a resounding Yes. They give us lentils to share and we toss them towards them. Everything is done for the sole purpose of evoking howls of laughter. Everything does.

Annie Lujan and Veronica Hortiguela.  Photo by Jae Yang

They start spraying members of the audience with small water sprayers. Some members of the audience are armed with sprayers and they join in getting people wet. Are they plants or were they given the sprayers on arrival? I don’t know and I don’t care. 

The monastery has some rules but I am not sure what they are but one of them I think is to do nothing (their preference) and look after a donkey that grazes happily in the meadow. But the donkey finally appears – the two actors under a sheet with a donkey’s head and a donkey’s exposed derriere. Its tail falls off and one of the monks must pin its tail on the aforementioned part of its anatomy. It lasts a few minutes and I cannot do justice to the gales of laughter that it generated.

Hortiguela and Lujan are the Creators, Directors, Set, Costume, Sound and Props Designers. It is a show that depends almost entirely on audience control and reaction. The audience was  primed for laughter right from the start and their enthusiasm did not waiver for the seventy minutes’ duration. The performance does have a quietly lyrical end.

Monks was first produced at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2014 and was staged at the Theatre Centre in Toronto in March 2025. It was also seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. It is a miracle of acting, creativity, energy, laughter, audience participation and showmanship. Have I praised it enough? I intended to.
_______________
Monks by Veronica Hortiguela and Annie Julan continues until November 15, 2026, at the Tarragon Theatre's Extra Space, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario.  www.tarragontheatre.com

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

TOSCA – REVIEW OF 2026 VANCOUVER OPERA PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

Vancouver Opera opened its 67^th season with a superb production of Puccini’s Tosca. Conducted by Jacques Lacombe and directed by Brenna Corner, the artistic director of Pacific Opera Victoria. The production thrilled the audience at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre which gave it a standing ovation.

Soprano Joyce El-Khoury played the tempestuous Floria Tosca with marvelous vocal tones and florid singing when jealous and emotional expressiveness when facing extreme danger. She sings her signature aria “Vissi d'arte” movingly with her gorgeous voice and then turns into a tigress when the odious lecher Scarpia tries to rape her. My only complaint about her murder of Scarpia is that she does not stab him a few times with relish.

Tenor David Pomeroy is her lover Cavaradossi, and he sings with superb sonority and control. From his first aria “Recondita armonia” about the hidden harmony of different beauties, Floria Tosca and  an unknown beauty that he is painting in a church to his final aria “E lucevan le stelle” recalling happier times before he is executed, he sings deliberately, movingly and beautifully. An outstanding performance.

Vancouver Opera’s 2026 production of Tosca. Photos by Emily Cooper.

Gregory Dahl sings the role of the lecherous and sadistic Police Chief Baron Scarpia. He seeks political enemies like Cavaradossi with vengeful obsession, and he descend to total depravity when he tries to rape Tosca. Dahl has a commanding voice and sings splendidly. On a couple of occasions, he comes close to being overwhelmed by the orchestra which seemed surprising. The first time is in church as the chorus sings and I expected him to overwhelm them. He did not. He did not fully display his viciousness and evil when he closed in on Tosca in his office and was of course murdered.

A few quibbles. When Cavaradossi is being tortured off stage we see a projection of a silhouette of a man with his hands tied up above his head. He is being tortured. Cavaradossi is screaming in agony on the right side of the stage. The silhouette is on the left side. Why are the two not on the same side of the stage?

Tosca’s reaction when she stabs Scarpia could be more dramatic. Stab him more and express greater revenge and triumph as you intone Muori dannato! Muori! (Die! damn you! Die!) over his body. We want the odious creep to feel his punishment.

The set by Set and Projection Designer Scott Reid is sparse and efficient. The Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Act 1 is represented by large windows with a round top and a statue of the Madonna with lighting designed by Michael Walton to give the impression of a place of worship. For Scarpia’s office in the Palazzo Farnese there is a table, a desk and a couch and they are sufficient to indicate the spacious place of his work efficiently if not grandly.

The same open space minus the furniture on the ramparts of Castel Sant’Angelo serves as the place of execution by firing squad (consisting of only four soldiers) of Cavaradossi and the parapet from which Tosca jumps uttering her last triumphal victory “O Scarpia before God.”

Jacques Lacombe conducts the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Chorus and the Vancouver Opera Children’s Chorus in outstanding performances. The choruses deserve kudos for performing splendidly if rather briefly in the first act. The orchestra is marvelous throughout.

Lacombe and Corner have chosen a careful and deliberate pace for the production that delivers a marvelous night at the opera.

__________________

Tosca by Giacomo Puccini opened on October 24 and will be performed until November 1, 2026, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St. Vancouver, BC.  www.Vancouveropera.ca/

James Karas is the Culture Editoe of The Greek Press, Toronto

IL TROVATORE – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION BY PACIFIC OPERA VICTORIA

 Reviewed by James Karas 

Pacific Opera Victoria has staged a highly enjoyable Il Trovatore at the handsome Royal Theatre in British Columbia’s capital. Even if you are an occasional visitor to the opera, Verdi’s operatic potboiler is a “must see.” For seasoned opera goers it is a “don’t miss” any opportunity to see it.

Pacific Opera’s production directed by its Artisitc Director Brenna Corner gives ample evidence of the opera’s appeal so don’t let any snooty critic try to convince you otherwise.

It has been said that Il Trovatore requires four of the best singers in the world for a successful production. You need a tenor for the heroic Manrico, the troubadour (sung by Marcelo Puente in this production), a soprano for the lovely and desirable Leonora (Kirsten LeBlanc), a mezzo-soprano for the witch Azucena (Simona Genga) and a baritone for the villainous Count di Luna (Grant Youngblood). Well, Pacific Opera could not bring singers who fit that description, whatever that may mean and whoever they may be. But it does have a respectable array of singers, a capable chorus and in the Victoria Symphony conducted by Giuseppe Pitetraroia, a splendid orchestra.

Kirsten LeBlanc as Leonora with the nuns in Il Trovatore

Puente is vocally passionate, heroic and, as they say, strikes a fine hero of a man as the singing knight in 15^th century Spain. His counterpart Youngblood is equally passionate and murderously jealous as di Luna because his love for Leonora is unrequited.

Leonora as the love interest of two men is central to the opera and the vocal demands on her are onerous. She is generally superb, but she does have some uneven moments when transitioning to her high notes that on occasion do not materialize. Genga has the superb role of Azucena, and she gives a convincing performance, full of ferocity and desire for revenge. She also has a tender side, but hatred and vengeance define her character and Genga’s performance.

In composing the music for Il Trovatore Verdi showed that he was a master of melodies that come pouring out for more than two hours. The passionate arias of Manrico, Di Luna and Leonora are of surpassing beauty. Solos, duets, trios and martial music for the chorus and the bravado of the combatants, and the orchestral music constitute an immense aural  wealth and a major reason for the continuing popularity of the opera.

The sprawling plot deals with civil war, fanatic love and deep-seated anger and obsessive longing for revenge. The plot is not that difficult to follow but Corner has chosen to fill any gaps in our understanding of the events by providing fillers in the surtitles. Exact dates of events are provided as if we were watching a documentary. They are all fictitious, of course, but we appreciate the details.

The set by Olivier Landreville consists of four monumental structures that are easily movable to represent a castle, or a jail or a monastery or the camp of the gypsies as required. Corner makes judicious and intelligent use of projections designed by S. Katy Tucker to illustrate the background events like the fire where the witch was burned at the stake as well as the overcast or threatening sky. Corner has her own take on the execution of Manrico, and you should see the production to witness it.

The costumes by Martin Pakledinaz resemble the attire of medieval solders and the gowns for the upper-crust ladies. All quite suitable.

There were some glitches and unevenness in the singing, but the pacing and overall execution was marvellous. A highly responsive and appreciative audience is always a nice bonus and the response in the Royal Theatre was spontaneous, warm and generous.

Giuseppe Pietraroia conducted the Victoria Symphony and the Pacific Opera Chorus in a superb performance of Verdi’s score.

Pacific Opera Victoria will produce Hansel & Gretel on February 19 to 27 and The Magic Flute on April 2 to 10 2027.

__________________

Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi was performed on October 16, 22, 18 and 24, 2026 at the Royal Theatre, Victoria B.C. For more information: www.pacificopera.ca

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

PROPHETESS - REVIEW OF 2026 TARRAGON THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas Prophetess is a fascinating and complex new play by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) that premiered at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Its central character is Margaret, the Chairwoman of English at York University who makes a powerful presence as the Queen of Etymology and a woman with a complicated past and present.

Played by Karen Robinson in a bravura performance, the stentorian Margaret gives a lecture on the etymology of the “f” word. She and the play are not shy about using the word and its cognates from Latin to today, but it behooves me to be less graphic than Margaret. In the classroom and everywhere else Margaret speaks effusively, fearlessly and keeps the class (us) under complete control.

She meets Anne (Natasha Mumba), a new instructor, on her first day at York and slaps her across the face. Did she see or imagine seeing a spider on Anne? Elizabeth (Christine Horne), the diffident Human Resources person, tries to settle the problem arising from the incident and get Margaret to apologize. Not a chance.

We perceive that Margaret for all her powerful personality and academic superiority may have problems that go beyond the immediately apparent. We meet Henry (Rick Roberts), her husband, in the opening scene and start scratching our head about him. There is mention of a son, Edward, who died in childhood.

Anne was invited by Margaret to go for dinner but after the slap was not expected to show up. She did. Elizabeth also shows up, uninvited, with her husband Richard and a large bouquet of flowers. The situation becomes tense and then Margaret explodes into an emotional outburst, striking everything with the flowers and losing consciousness. Elizabeth’s husband looks exactly like Henry and we know he is not what he seems to be and the same may apply to Richard.

Karen Robinson & Natasha Mumba (Photo by Jae Yang)

The fine acting is praiseworthy and I want to give kudos to the actors aside from Robinson whom I have already lauded. Roberts is timid and hesitant both as Henry and as Richard. We are not sure about him or his existence as a human being. Is he the figment of someone’s imagination? A ghost? Well done by Roberts. Horne as Elizabeth and Mumba as Anne are caught in a situation with a woman who comes on like a bulldozer and they try to hold on to their position with fine acting.

The set by Jawon Kang represents a well-appointed room with books and tables and it serves as Margaret’s home and the University classroom.

The program tells us that the play is “Inspired by Shakespeare’s History Plays…. Prophetess excavates etymology to ask: What does it mean to curse or bless oneself?’ etymology fascinates me but I had no idea it has archeological facets that can be excavated. The lecture on etymology in the play is fascinating but the question of what it means to  curse or bless myself did not occur to me.

What interested me most is the idea that the play is inspired by Shakespeare’s History Plays. We have Henry IV, (2 parts), Henry V, Henry VI (3 parts) and Richard III. That is seven plays covering a swath of English history.

The heroine of Prophetess is called Margaret Anjou and there is Margaret of Anjou in the History Plays. She appears in Henry VI and Richard III and is nicknamed the Warrior Queen. Elizabeth’s husband is called Dicky but we can call him Richard and relate him to the rudely Richard III. The Prophetess Margaret’s husband is named Henry and we have lots of choices for him from Henry IV to Henry V to Henry VI. There is also Lady Anne, Duchess of Gloucester in Richard III. I lack the leap of imagination from Prophetess to the History Plays to find a connecting string and wish that  Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) had provided some hints about the possible disparate connections

Prophetess has many virtues as a play but it has some creaks as well that need some attention. With the superb performances of the cast and Mike Payette’s sure-handed direction it makes for fine theatre. But I notice that Payette acted as dramaturg as well and there is room for improvement in that regard.  
_________________
Prophetess by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) continues until October 29, 2026, at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario.  www.tarragontheatre.com 

James Karas is the Culture editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

WINE IN THE WILDERNESS – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT BERKELEY ST. THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

Wine in the Wilderness is an intelligent and nuanced play by Alice Childress (1916-1994) that takes place in Harlem, New York during a riot in the summer of 1964. Canadian Stage gives this 1969 play a redoubtable production directed by Jordan Laffrenier with an exceptional cast.

Bill (Mazin Elsadig) is a painter in Harlem working on a triptych, three panels hinged together representing the life of Blacks. His friend Oldtimer (Andrew Moodie) barges into his apartment carrying goods that he stole during the riot. Bill’s friend Sonny-Man (Jamar Adams-Thompson) arrives with his wife Cynthia (L.A. Sweeney). They are accompanied by a woman called Tommy (Virgilia Griffith) who is the catalyst for the examination of the lives of Blacks in general. All of them are Black.  

Our attention is focused on Griffith’s Tommy. She is a poorly educated factory worker whose house was burned during the riot. The violent events taking place outside form the backdrop of the play. Tommy was brought to Bill’s apartment to be a model for the third triptych, a portrait of the downtrodden, the ugly side of the life of Blacks. She believed that Bill would paint a flattering picture of her, even the Queen of the Universe. She is shocked and furious and strikes back at their hypocrisy and middle-class blindness. She calls them “niggers” with relentless vigour and forces these educated people to open their eyes to their perception of blacks now and in history. Griffiths gives a sympathetic and powerful performance.

Scene from Wine in the Wilderness. Photo: Dahlia Katz

Moodie’s character Oldtimer is a pathetic alcoholic but he is a decent person and provides most of the humour of the play. He stands apart from the rest and is a survivor and Moodie gives a stellar performance.

Bill the painter, Sonny-Man the writer and Cynthia the social worker have no perception or real contact or awareness of the lower-class Blacks. Bill’s triptych is a figment of his  intellectual imagination, a myth, without any connection to real people. Elsadig, Adams-Thompson and Sweeney give nuanced and intelligent performances in their respective roles and it is up to Tommy to bring them down to reality.

The play examines the life of Blacks including references to historical figures with perceptiveness and brilliance. It reaches levels of poetic lyricism that hit you in the face and scream “wake up.”

The cast of Wine in the Wildwerness. Photo: Dahlia Katz

The set by Scott Penner consists of the interior of an apartment divided in three areas. There is Bill’s  working area with easels and samples of his work, a seating area in the middle and a kitchen on the right. The place looks dishevelled because Bill is working on renovating it.

Director Laffreiner has a huge job of representing the subtleties of a complex play that appears simple on the surface. He accomplished fine pacing and obtained the fine performances that make Childress’s play a superb night at the theatre.    

_____________________________
Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress in a production by Canadian Stage, ran until October 11, 2026, at the Berkeley St. Theatre, 26 Berkeley St.  Toronto, Ont.  https://www.canadianstage.com/

James Karas is the Culture editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

TO A FLAME – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION BY 1S1 THEATRE AND NIGHTWOOD THEATRE

Reviewed by James 

To A Flame is theatre that blindsides you. Well, it did me. Three women are on stage, dressed similarly in long, blue dresses and call themselves sisters in the small Nancy and Ed Jackman Performance Centre on Yonge Street. There is a cellist on the side of the stage. We hear the sound of powerful winds and obviously foul weather outside. The women move around but we really don’t know what they are about. They are Madeleine who is Deaf, Harriet who is Black and Fanny who has  a mysterious deficiency. They all have problems but they are lively and dance around the stage as they reveal previous horrors and present fears.

They were “rescued” by “our father” who is not their biological father of course but we think that he may well have been their “savior.”  Projection designer Laura Warren provides a rich array of projections and gives us a view of the mansion in which they are living. We see the elegant exterior of the house and the large staircase and chandeliers inside. We are taken to different rooms and exposed to projections  throughput the 90-minute show. This is a Victorian era horror show. We never see "our father" but we do hear his views and the status of the women. 

The conversation among the three is carried in American Sign Language and English and we get a glimpse of their past and their status in the social ladder. They are all outcasts with Deaf people barely qualifying as human. The use of ASL gives the production an additional intensity in what is an explosive revelation of the women’s lives and their treatment at the hands of the father.

 Nickeshia Garrick, Dawn Jani Birley, and Juliana Monk

Photo by by Dahlia Katz.

The women dance, jump over furniture (there is only a table and a chair on the stage), reveal past horrors but look deceptively happy as we realize that they are in a house of horrors. They have deficiencies that the father wants to cure. Madeleine’s deafness can be cured by hearing lessons. Harriet’s deficiency is that she is black. Fanny is subjected to a gruesome operation to find out and cure her deficiency. 

The production is the premiere of Erin Shields’ new play that is subtle, imaginative and a brilliant examination of oppressed people. She has found ways of capturing our attention with a riveting plot.

The three actors give outstanding performances in English and ASL. They combine dancing, athleticism and movement individually and a unison to an extraordinary degree. This is acting at its finest. They are Jani Birley as the deaf Madelein, Nickeshia Garrick as the black Harriet and Juliana Monk as Fanny, the white woman with the mysterious deficienc 

Sound designers Deanna H. Choi and Jenna Geen provide a rich array of background sounds. Cellist Beth Silver plays pleasant or dissonant music depending on what is happening to the three women.  

This is a play with many layers packed full of intense situations of drama, fear, jocularity and dance with the extraordinary addition of communicating in ASL. They give bravura performances in a very small playing area. The use of superb lighting by Lighting designer André du Toit adds to the atmosphere of the horror story.

Josette Bushell-Mino directed & choreographed this extraordinary play, which I admit blindsided  me and that is perhaps the highest compliment one can pay to a theatrical production.

I do so.
__________________________
To A Flame by Erin Shields in a 1s1 Theatre and Nightwood Theatre co-production
in association with Modern Times Stage Company and Why Not Theatre played until October  until October 4, 2026, at the Nancy and Ed Jackman Performance Centre, 877 Yonge St. Toronto, Ontario.

James Karas is the Cukture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto