COSI FAN TUTTE – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTIONS BY THE MET AND COC

 Reviewed by James Karas

On October 3, 2026, the Metropolitan Opera of New York launched its 20^th season of Live in HD transmissions to movie theatres around the world with a production of Cosi Fan Tutte. On the same day the Canadian Opera Company premiered this year’s production of the same opera in a revival of Atom Egoyan’s 2019 reading. That left me with no choice but to see both productions on the same day. The Cosi from the Met is a revival of Phelim McDermott’s 2018 production.

MET PRODUCTION LIVE FROM NEW YORK

McDermott produced a highly imaginative Cosi by setting it on Coney Island, New York, in the 1950’s.

Coney Island is famous for its beaches and amusement parks and it is as much a legend as it is a real destination for people seeking a place in the sun and the pleasures of a circus. McDermott  makes full use of the reputation of Coney Isand and marries it to Mozart’s opera lovers.

During the overture a large box is opened and colourful people emerge from it. Little people, big people, people carrying signs, characters in gaudy costumes, in fact a whole circus jumps out. That is not all.  There is a snake charmer with a real boa constrictor, a fire eater, two sword swallowers, a fortune teller, a contortionist and other acts that may have slipped my mind. They all actually perform and the set resembles very much the fairground of a beach town where  circus performers play an important part.

McDermott grafts the opera onto this setting quite expertly and my complaint is that the circus performers were so good that I tended to be drawn into their activities instead of watching the actual opera performance.

In addition to the Coney Island set, we see the interior and exterior of the Skyline Hotel. Tom Pye’s set design is very versatile and, for example,  the panel showing an interior is turned around and we get an exterior. Very good stuff.

Federica Lombardi as Fiordiligi. Photo © Marty Sohl | Met Opera 

Don Alfonso (Gerald Finley) is sitting at a café with two smartly dressed naval officers, Ferrando (Duke Kim) and Guglielmo (Andrey Zhilikhovsky). The men protest that their fiancées, Fiordiligi (Federica Lombardi) and Dorabella (Samantha Hankey) are beautiful and virtuous and faithful sisters until death. Alfonso replies “BS” in polite Italian and he bets that all women are like that. The naval officers will go away and be replaced by two Albanians (never mind how – this is opera) and attempt to seduce the girls. Now you know what will happen in the next two and a half hours of sumptuous music, beautiful songs leading to the inevitable.

The cynical Alfonso is sung by British baritone Gerald Finley who does superb vocal work and plots the assault on the two ladies with the help of the maid Despina sung by Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez. At 53, she still does an energetic and funny Despina and she has two other roles. She sings and overacts hilariously as Dr. Magnetico who comes to cure the men from the poison that they are supposed to have taken. Near the end she appears as a Notary to wed the two couples and she is hilarious again. Despina is a juicy role and Martinez does fine work.

The ardent lovers as naval officers or Albanians are Moldovan baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Guglielmo and American tenor Duke Kim as Ferrando. They are lovable, passionate. ridiculous and funny as they are rebuffed by their targets. Remember Guglielmo is engaged to Fiordiligi but when he changes identity he pursues Dorabella and vice versa.  

Sara Erde as Revival Director brings Phelim McDermott’s production to full and varied life in all its bravura and wild imagination. Nimrod David Pfeffer conducts the Met Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a lively and wonderful performance

THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY AND ATOM EGOYAN

Several hours after seeing the Met’s production. I saw the COC’s revival of Atom Egoyan’s production. The two productions give us Mozart’s fabulous music, arias, ensembles and humour. But they are worlds apart.

The first thing you see on the stage when you take your seat in The Four Seasons Centre is Frida Kahlo’s Two Fridas. What does that painting have to do with Mozart’s great comic opera? What is Egoyan telling us?

Egoyan and Set and Costume Designer Debra Hanson set the opera in a private school where the four lovers are students and Don Alfonso is a professor. The set has a large and prominent display case at the back, several tables on stage and a lectern. Fiordiligi and Dorabella wear white blazers and short skirts looking like attractive students. There are paintings of butterflies all over and we see people with huge nets trying to catch live butterflies. I am not sure what the school teaches.  

Egoyan wants us to laugh and he adds comic touches including giving the less serious sister Dorabella (mezzo soprano Martina Myskohlid) a penchant for fainting or just falling. Despina (soprano Tracy Dalh) is a spitfire of energy and vocal atrocities as the doctor and the notary and a comic character in general. Well delivered comedy from both.

Scene from the Canadian Opera Company’s Così fan tutte. 
Photo: Michael Cooper

But the comic is blended with the serious where the two sisters who are passionately in love, Fiordiligi (Lauren Fagan) with Guglielmo (baritone Joel Allison) and Dorabella with Ferrando (tenor Laurence Kilsby), face the moral dilemma of being unfaithful to them. Their lovers disguised as Albanians mount serious assaults on their fidelity including feigning illness and possible death. Dorabella’s fidelity crumbles but Fiordiligi holds on longer until she too succumbs.   

Guglielmo’s and Ferrando’s faith in the steadfastness of their lovers is put to the test by a wager with the old bachelor Don Alfonso (Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch).

The music, the arias, from solo to duets, quartets, quintets, sextets  and choruses are of surpassing beauty and they are performed gorgeously. The performances are not all equally successful but I do not want to be churlish about a performance that I thoroughly enjoyed. The Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Johannes Debus was superb,

Kudos to Atom Egoyan for the outstanding work in staging this opera. But what is Kahlo’s The Two Fridas looking at us during the second act in the place of the display case?

The painting shows two different Fridas. One shows her dressed in a traditional costume and the other in a modern dress. We see the heart of Frida in both portraits. In the modern dress side, the heart is cut and torn and we see a vein going to her lap where it is cut and bleeding on her dress. In the traditional portrait her heart is intact but a vein connects both portraits.

What is Egoyan telling us? I am stumped. Are the two Fridas a portrait of Fiordiligi and Dorabella? And how does Cosi Fan Tutte end? In the beginning Fiordiligi loves Guglielmo and Dorabella love Ferrando. During the opera they succumb to the lover of her sister. In the end do they go to their original fiancées or to the other one, the Albanian? That is the ambiguous end of the opera and Egoyan may be giving us a modern teaser lest we jump too easily to the “wrong” conclusion.

Think about it.
_____________________
Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte was transmitted Live in HD on October 3, 2026 at various Cineplex theatres across Canada.  For more information and reprises go to: www.cineplex.com/events   

Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart opened on October 3 and will be performed a total of seven times until October 18, 2026, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. www.coc.ca

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

THE KARATE KID - The Musical – REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT THE PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

The Karate Kid - The Musical is an adaptation of the 1984 movie The Karate Kid. The film was so successful that it spawned half a dozen other productions and I suppose it was a matter of time before it made it to the stage. Robert Mark Kamen wrote the script for the movie and the stage adaptation with Drew Gasperini composing the music and writing the lyrics.

As the title states, this is a martial arts show combined with a love story and a story of friendship. Seventeen-year-old Daniel LaRusso (Gino Ochello) moves to Los Angeles from New Jersey with his mother Lucille (Jodie Jacobs.  In school he meets Ali (Abigail Amin) and they are attracted to each other. The building where he lives has a crotchety handyman, Mr. Miyagi (Adrian Pang) who has a dry sense of humour, knows karate and becomes a faithful friend of Daniel.

At school Daniel meets Johnny Lawrence (Joe Simmons) and his klatch of thugs who harass and assault him. Johnny is a former boyfriend of Ali and the tension and violence between him and Daniel will not be resolved until the end of the show. 

We go to a karate school whose motto is Strike first, Strike hard, Show no mercy. You do not just beat your opponent; you humiliate him. This place is awash in testosterone  but they do participate in several musical numbers accompanied by martial music and machismo. As you may have guessed, Daniel will take karate lessons, sound advice from Mr. Miyagi, support from Ali and finally face Johnny in a karate tournament. Hold your breath for the ending.

Gino Ochello (Daniel-LaRusso) and Adrian Pang (Mr Miyagi) 
in The Karate Kid - The Musical. Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan.

The music and singing display some Okinawan chords but the rest is singing prose to percussion accompaniment and a variety of tunes with some approaching a melody. Jodie Jacobs shows true singing talent and the rest hold their own on a variety of recitatives without huge vocal demands. The story is more important.

Adrian Pang gives a superb performance as Mr. Miyagi. He provides most of the humour in the musical and his character resonates with us as a true friend of Daniel. Ochello plays the confused and victimized Daniel who is unhappy with his mother, awkward and oafish with Ali but a good friend of Mr. Miyagi. He grows up during the play in an excellent performance.

Abigail Amin makes a pretty and supportive Ali despite his acting like an idiot. We like her especially when she shows gumption and slugs the asinine Johnny. Jacobs has her hands full with work and does not know all that Daniel is up to.  But she is a dutiful mother and we like her and give kudos to Jacobs.

Johnny and company act like thugs and give the impression that police and law enforcement do not exist in Los Angels. They give Daniel a thrashing and send him off with a black eye with no immediate consequences like being arrested by the police. We understand that, because it would be bad for the musical if justice could intervene.

The most interesting part of the musical is the portrayal of karate. What I thought was a sport of gentlemen for self-defense is shown as a violent and vindictive martial art that almost or is actually promoting the killing of your opponent. I assume that means only if it is placed in the wrong hands.

An example of “the wrong hands” may be John Kreese (Matt Mills) the karate trainer who has a take no-prisoners attitude to the sport and he gives the impression that if you kill your opponent, you have done a superb job.

With karate as the primary motif of the musical, the dancing consists of numerous karate moves and poses in slow motion or quickly in many variations. Choreographers Keone and Mari Madrid do exemplary work.

Director Amon Miyamoto does good work in pacing and getting good performances from a large cast.

The musical was well received (Oct. 1) and got a standing ovation. The music was often loud but not deafening and the lights and sounds were active as may be expected from a boisterous musical.

________________

The Karate Kid - The Musical by Robert Mark Kamen (book) and Drew Gasperini (music and lyrics)  continues until November 1, 2026, at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

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

HELLS’ KITCHEN - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT THE CAA ED MIRVISH THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

Hell’s Kitchen is a lights and sound musical extravaganza that was greeted enthusiastically by the audience at the CAA Ed Mirvish Thatre. It is based on the story of Ali, a rebellious but talented 17-year-old girl from a dysfunctional family in a neighbourhood on the west side of Manhattan in New York City

Ali (Maya Drake) lives in the Manhattan Plaza complex with her over-protective mother, Jersey (Kennedy Caughell). Ali meets Knuck (Jonavery Worrell), a bucket drummer and tries to establish a relationship with him. Her mother disapproves, calls the police and puts an end to it. But Ali also meets Miss Liza Jane (Roz White), a humane and talented pianist in Ellington, the building’s music room who befriends her and influences her musical talents.

The tension between Ali and Jersey increases especially when the mother finds out that Ali and Knuck had sex and he finds out that she is only seventeen years old. In a last-ditch effort to connect with Ali, Jersey calls on her estranged husband Davis (Desmond Sean Ellington), a pianist, of whom she is contemptuous for his unreliability and dishonesty.

Events take their course. Knuck leaves New York, Miss Liza Jane dies and Davis fails to appear for dinner with Ali and Jersey. But the two women have found a type of reconciliation, not perfect but workable and Ali wants to continue with her music.

There are several other characters that make up the community of Manhattan Plaza including a Dance Ensemble that is ever ready to perform vibrant and superb dance routines at the drop of a pin as they say. The variety and splendid routines are chorography by Camille A. Brown.

The company of the North American Tour
Photo: Marc J Franklin

The music and songs have great variety and extraordinary momentum and popular appeal. From the opening numbers to the glorious “Empire State of Mind” the soloists and ensemble perform with vigor and intensity accompanied by a kaleidoscopic display of lighting effects that kept the audience in virtual

rapture especially in the second half.

Unfortunately, I could not enjoy the volume at which all is done. We expect a musical to wow or try to wow the audience, but I can’t fathom sounds that are almost ear-splitting. The band, especially the percussion, played with unceasing enthusiasm and similar volume. With that in the background, the singers had to sing at the top of their lungs that at times sounded almost like a shriek. Is it necessary or is that style of vocalizing de rigueur with the young? When Kennedy Caughell reached her highest notes and broke into almost falsetto range, the audience applauded wildly. I felt as if there was a competition between singers and musicians as to who can be louder.

Hell’s Kitchen marks Maya Drake’s debut in a major role and she deserves and got a standing ovation. As the rebellious teenager, she showed spunk and as a performer she displayed vocal and acting ability. She had to deal with an over-protective mother (in her view), find out that she has an unreliable father and luck into a talented pianist, wonderful teacher and decent human being in Miss Liza Jane. Those are the qualities that Roz White brings to the character that she plays superbly.

Caughell’s Jersey is a good mother who has her hands full with Ali who goes out with an older man, Knuck, and she calls the police on him. He is with an underage girl. That does not help her relationship with her daughter but to their credit they reach a compromise. Caughell has a big fine voice but at times she came in second to the volume fight with the band.

Desmond Sean Ellington as Davis plays the piano, acts and sings well, but his character lacks the fibre to be a good husband or father. Worrell’s Knuck is a decent human being who gets a rough ride from the police and is basically chased out of town. He is done well by Worrell and may be yet another example of someone whose fate is decided by the color of his skin rather than the content of his character.

Director Michael Greif handles the myriad demands of a big musical with expertise and earns the standing ovation at the end.

______________________

Hell’s Kitchen  by Alicia Keys (music and lyrics) and Kristoffer Diaz (book) continues until October 25, 2026,  at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

James Karas is the Cullture editoer of The Greek Press, Toronto

LA TRAVIATA – REVIEW OF CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY 2026 PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

The Canadian Opera Company is reviving its 2015 production of La Traviata for the second time. The redoubtable production by Arin Arbus was last revived in 2022 and Mo Zhou is the current revival director.

There are two casts for the major roles and by happenstance I saw the performance with the alternate cast on September 26. They will sing two more performances on October 2 and 9.

Canadian soprano Andriana Chuchman leads the cast as the courtesan Violetta who finds love and happiness briefly with Alfredo Germont. She gives a superb performance as someone who goes from a self-confident and independent woman (“Sempre libera”) to one who is deeply in love and gives up all to live in the country with her lover. All crumbled when Alfredo’s father appeared and begged her to abandon Alfredo to save his daughter’s marriage. Having a courtesan in the family is bad news for the Germonts in rural France in the 19^th century.

As if that were not bad enough, Violetta is suffering from tuberculosis and in the final act she dies from it after a brief reconciliation with Alfredo. Chuchman takes us through all those stages in her life with vocal splendor and emotional conviction. She expresses joy in the drinking song “Libiamo” with Alfredo and the chorus, strength and compassion in her scene with Germont. At the end of Act II, after being humiliated and flung to the floor, she comes to herself at the conclusion of “Di sprezzo degno se stesso” where Alfredo is roundly condemned for his conduct, Violetta sings “Alfredo, how should you understand all the love that's in my heart?” Her voice trembles with emotion and beauty. 

A scene from the Canadian Opera Company’s production of 
La Traviata, 2026 © Michael Cooper

In the final scene where she dies, the weak Violetta sings with extraordinary pathos, hope and happiness to come with Alfredo. She sings her final aria “Se una pudica vergine” wishing that Alfredo will find love with another woman. She dies with the word “gioia” on her lips. Chuchman performance is a joy to watch and hear.

Tenor Luke Norwell sings a good Alfredo but he did not display many vocal flourishes.  He did a fine job with “Oh mio rimorso!” where he promises to expiate his disgraceful conduct towards Violetta. In the final act he and Violetta were splendid.

Reginald Smith, Jr. sang the role of Germont, Alfredo’s father. He has a rumbling baritone voice that may do well in some roles but in La Traviata he needs to appeal to Violetta’s decency when he pleads for her to give up her lover. He has to do the same with Alfredo with the gorgeous aria “Di provenza il mar il suol” to convince him to return home to Provence and give up Violetta. He must make deeply emotional appeals and unfortunately Smith’s vocal talents fell short of emotional conviction and intensity. He sounded aggressive when he approached Violetta and he may be better able to do roles that require belligerence or antagonism.

La Traviata requires three sets and designer Riccardo Hernandez provides them as needed. In the first act we have the parry at Violetta’s posh mansion with tables for dining and men in tuxes and the women in beautiful gowns courtesy of Costume Designer Cait O’Connor. The second act in Violetta’s country home  shows large panels of rural life that look just fine but with only a couch and a desk in them we get the message that they are financially broke. Her bedroom in the final act is baren with a bed and a chair.

Director Arin Arbus has produced a solid, traditional Traviata that still looks great more than ten years later. The Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus were conducted by Paolo Carignani in a superb production of one of the most popular operas in the repertoire.   

_____________________________

La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi opened on September  18 and will be performed a total of ten times until October 17, 2026, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. www.coc.ca

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

MEASURE FOR MEASURE - REVIEW OF 2026 CROW’S THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Crow’s Theatre has achieved what at first blush would appear as a quixotic and guaranteed to fail production. They have produced Shakespeare’ Measure for Measure in an adaptation by Christopher Manousos with five actors playing all parts. And they are supposed to be reading parts of the play for a radio audience. No costumes, no sets, just superb directing and acting. The result is outstanding theatre.

The five actors are supposedly reading the play for a radio program and an announcer provides some explanations about the plot including telling us which act and scene number we are hearing. They are only “reading” parts of the play but we get a very good summary of the plot and the drama and humour of Shakespeare’s “problem play” feels as if we are watching a major production.

That is the play, you will recall, where the city of Vienna has been plunged into lawlessness and serious immorality. Its ruler Duke Vincentio cannot control the situation and he has decided to appoint his puritanical and strict law-and order deputy Angelo to crack the whip of morality and lawfulness. The Duke will stay in the city incognito, disguised as a monk.

Angelo decides to close all brothels including the one operated by Pompey and the wonderfully named Mistress Overdone. In the meantime, a gentleman called Claudio has been arrested for getting his fiancée Juliet pregnant and is condemned to death. His sister, the lovely Isabella, a novice nun, begs Angelo to pardon her brother. He stands his high moral ground until he notices  how attractive Isabella is and his ethical severity gives way to his sexual desires. He is willing to pardon Claudio if Isabella surrenders her virginity to him.

                                            Beck Lloyd & Danté Prince in Measure for Measure | Photo by Kendra Epik

The plot gets complicated as the disguised Duke tries to find a solution to Isabella’s virtue, Claudio’s fate and Angelo’s lust. Angelo was engaged to Mariana. What if Isabella pretends to go to bed with Angelo but in the dark and her place is taken by Mariana? Brilliant. And it works. There are other characters, low lives and upper crust but in the end, there are five couples on stage about to get married. Quickly: The Duke and  Isabella, Angelo and Mariana, Pompey and Mistress Overdone, and Claudio and Juliet.

I have not named all the characters or incidents in the play but they add up to a large handful. The five actors are in a radio station and are pretending to read the play and act out some of the scenes. Despite the quick changes in characters, the actors are effective and superb. They can step on a stage with costumes with other actors, of course, and deliver an outstanding production of Measure for Measure.

The actors played many roles and I gave up trying to note or remember who played what character. The program is no help except to indicate that Beck Lloyd played Isabella. She played many other roles. Together with Katherine Gauthier, they played all the women and even some men. How much trouble would it have been to list the characters that each actor played? The program lists them as follows. Jamie Cavanagh = The Best Friend. Gauthier = The Film Star. Sebastien Heins = The Director. Dante Pince = The Sound Guy.

There was some interaction among the actors in the radio studio including Lloyd and Gauthier engaging in a passionate kiss after finishing their work as the cast of Measure for Measure.

The set consists of a couple of tables with microphone and cables. Riel Reddick-Stevens is the Sound Designer and composer. Chris Malkowski is the Lighting Designer. Andrew Broderick is the Costume Designer making them look as if the actors went to the radio station to read a play.

Credit belongs to Manousos who does stupendous work in adapting Shakespeare’s play for a radio broadcast and then managing the five actors in presenting the play on the radio and of course doing it with all the complexities of having them play different roles sometimes in quick succession, a masterly job all around. A brilliant production on many levels.

________________

Measure for Measure  by William Shaekespeare adapted and directed by Christopher Manousos  will run until October 11, 2026, at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.  http://crowstheatre.com/

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

THE MAIDS - REVIEW OF 2026 TALK IS FREE THEATRE PRODUCTION IN BARRIE

Reviewed by James Karas

The Maids by Jean Genet is an extraordinary play that combines intense drama and in its own way a critique of a social order where women are subjugated and mistreated as maids to a nasty and wealthy woman. The production by Talk is Free Theare in a small office in Barrie with about 15 people in the audience displays astounding acting accompanied by audience immersion.

The basic plot is simple even if one has never seen the play. Two sisters are the maids of a wealthy woman. They engage in role-playing with each pretending to be their employer, Madame, and plot to kill her.

Before the performance begins, people in the front row of a total of two are asked to participate in the performance. I was given a flower and later a black gown was placed on me. My wife was given a flashlight and later told to turn it on and aim it at one of the actors. She was also provided with a candle. Other people in the front row were employed similarly.

An actor walked into the playing area and advised us that Jean-Paul Sartre in an introduction to the play wrote that Genet hated women and he wanted the roles of the maids to be performed by men. In this production they are played by Billy Lake as Claire and Aidan deSalaiz as Solange. Madame is played by Shannon Taylor, the actor who introduced the play.

The play was loosely based on the murder of a woman and her adult daughter by their maids, two sisters, in France in 1933. The Maids was first produced in Paris in 1947 as Les Bonnes.

Shannon Taylor, Aidan deSalaiz and Billy Lake in The Maids

Two men walked on stage in Barrie and they are told to take their clothes off and dress as maids. They strip to their underwear and dress as traditional maids, black dress, white aprons. The performance of the play then begins. 

In the opening scene Solange plays Madame and Claire is the maid. Madame is imperious, demanding and obnoxious, Claire is subservient to the point of kissing her shoes and is forced to look at herself in the reflection of her shoes. Of course, we know that Madame is one of the maids who are acting out their roles as maids and their frustrations and emotional turmoils.

Claire as Madame orders Solange to put out her jewelry and she shines her shoes with her saliva. There are are dozens of expensive gowns and other items of clothing on the stage and some will be used by the maids and Madame as extravagant displays of wealth and contempt. Madame/Claire insults and belittles Solange with delicious cruelty. The wall between the maids acting as Madame and becoming Madame is shattered and we are not always sure if they are acting or being Madame. The playacting when Madame is out has a dark purpose. The maids are plotting to kill Madame but they never quite  get to it.  

There is another character in the play that is often mentioned but never seen. He is Monsieur, Madame’s lover. She is considered a widow and Monsieur was sent to prison based on forged letters sent to the police by the maids. Monsieur leaves a message on the phone that he is out on bail and wants to see Madame. The maids panic because the forgery may be discovered. They make a plot to poison Madame by serving her poisoned tea. That plot fails because Madame refuses to drink the tea as she rushes out to see her lover. Will Madame eventually drink the tea and, if not, what will happen? You may well ask.  

There is sexual tension throughout the play even between the sisters as they act out their roles or talk about Monsieur and his jumping into the house. The playacting becomes so intense that the sisters need to remind themselves that they are in fact pretending to be Madame. They say that they disgust each other and argue about how to get rid of Madame. There is psychological warfare as well as a murder plot and a desire to get out from a life of servitude.

The acting by the two men has an intensity that is unforgettable. Shannon Taylor does fine work as the beautiful and bitchy Madame.

The production in a small office is designed by Jake Friesen. A bed with high-class bedding and a dresser with mirror is all you need plus a large collection of fancy dresses on the side. Aaron Collier is the composer and Sound Designer and Bob Stamp is the Lighting Consultant.

Jillian Keiley does outstanding work in directing such a powerful, splendid production under almost impossible conditions. Which makes one wonder, why is Talk is Free Theatre not provided with better facilities in Barrie and in Toronto to stage its productions?  Their last production that I saw, Blackbird, was in a small room at the back of a church in Toronto. It was magnificent.
_______________________________
The Maids by Jean Genet translated by Bernard Frechtman continues until October 3, 2026 at the Barrie by the Bay Commercial Complex, 80 Bradford Street, Barrie, Ontario. www.tift.ca

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

SPRING AWAKENING – REVIEW OF 2026 SOULPEPPER THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) was a prolific playwright but his work is rarely produced now and the only production of his plays that I have seen was the 1986 staging of Spring Awakening at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto. In 2006 that play was turned into a highly successful musical by Steven Sater (book and lyrics) and Duncan Sheik (music) that has been produced around the world. It was performed at the Canon Theatre (as it was known) in Toronto in 2009.

The current staging by Soulpepper at the Young Centre is an adaptation of the play by Paolo Santalucia who also directs the production. It is not an easy play to adapt or to produce. It is a sprawling work with numerous scenes, a busload of characters and references to German education and life in the 1890’s that are incomprehensible without footnotes. Santalucia has eliminated many characters and tightened the drama and humour but it is still a sprawling play, not easy to do. There are 15 actors doing 21 roles.

The play is about the sexual awakening of teenagers in a late 19^th century German town. The adults are creepy or stupid or at the very least caught up in a morality that does not permit a 15-year old to know how children are conceived (deep love of your husband) and  how they are born (the stork brings them).

Santalucia’s adaptation opens with a Latin class where Professor Knochenbruch (Diego Matamoros), thrashing stick in hand, abuses half a dozen students in Latin. He is mean-spirited, dictatorial and sadistic. Diego Matamoros, in a fine performance, gives a frightful image of the teacher. The image of the school system and its victims gets worse, if that is possible, when we meet the Headmaster in a splendid representation of meanness, close-mindedness and arrogance by Daren A. Herbert.

Scene from Spring Awakening. Photo: Dahlia Katz 

But that is a small part of the play. The relationship among the students is the central theme of the play. At age 15 they are in the throes of hormonal growth (a bit belated, I thought). Wendla Bergman (Olivia Neary-Hatton) demands that her mother give her some information about conception and birth Her mother (Liisa Repo-Martell) gives her the then  current lies.

The boys are having wet dreams and are struggling with their attraction to sex that is occurring to them in dreams or masturbation. Melchior (Jake Bunyan) writes an essay about sex and he is attracted to Wendla. They meet and however awkwardly, perhaps not totally consensually have sex and she becomes pregnant. She is not aware of it and is refusing to admit that she is pregnant. That can only happen with your husband and love. The troubled Wendla, performed superbly by Olivia Neary-Hatton is subjected to medical abuse and finally to amateur and fatal abortion.

Melchior is sent to reformatory school for writing about sex and he finds out about Wendla’s fate when he sees her tombstone.

Moritz (Jake Cohen) is a deeply troubled youth who fails an exam and wants to leave for America. He cannot find a way out of his problems and despite the efforts of the decent Ilse (Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu) he chooses to end his life. These are highly dramatic scenes that require and get superb acting.

There are more incidents. Hansy (Noah Beemer) and Ernst (Justin Eddy) discover their homosexual attraction to each other and kiss passionately. Martha (Jasmine Case) is sexually abused by her father.

These are events in a play that the author called “a sunny image of life in every scene of which I tried to exploit an unburdened humor for all it was worth.” There is indeed humour amidst the awful events mentioned above and there is vigorous physical activity and some including fights, some sado-masochistic thrashing and running across the stage.

The set by Shannon Lea Doyle is fluid and easily changeable. It must show a classroom, a cemetery, interiors and exterior scenes and all are handled adroitly.

Santalucia deserves high marks for his adaptation of a difficult play and bringing it to us in a superb production. The numerous scenes and many characters are handled with intelligence and finesse and the result is an excellent production.
__________________
Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind in an adaptation by Paolo Santalucia opened on September 17 and will run until October 18, 2026, at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Tank House Lane, Toronto, Ontario. www.soulpepper.ca.

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