MISCHIEF - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT TARRAGON THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

Lisa Nasson’s play Mischief, now playing at the Tarragon Theatre, was rightly anticipated and held a lot of promise. It is about the fate of Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw people and their objections to the story and statue of Governor Edward Cornwallis. He was governor of nova Scotia  from 1749 to 1752 and is credited with being the founder of Halifax and a heroic figure whose achievements were celebrated with the erection of a bronze, Roman-style heroic statue in the center of Halifax in 1931.

The indigenous Mi’kmaw have a different narrative about their fate as a conquered people whose land war wrested by British imperialism and their subsequent mistreatment.

Mischief provides a story telling the indigenous side of their objections and protests at the presence of the Cornwallis statue in the guise of a heroic figure without much reference to imperialism, colonialism and gross mistreatment of the natives.

All of that is welcome and badly needed but unfortunately the play does an uneven and at times unsatisfactory job of presenting it. The program described Mischief as a gentle comedy from Mi’kmaw writer Lisa Nasson that celebrates the power of community. Brooke, played by Nasson, is a young lady who runs a small convenience store and sells a lot of cigarettes to non-indigenous people. They are represented by Fisherman Fred (Devin MacKinnon). He is loud, demanding and probably considers Brooke just an easy to pick up, native.

Nicole Joy-Fraser, Jeremy Proulx, and Lisa Nasson. Photo: Jae Yang

Brooke’s Uncle Chris (Jeremy Proulx) owns the store and he tries to take her out for ice cream and one’s not quite sure about what this loud-mouth is up to. He has a relationship with the depression-prone Tammy (Trina Moyan) and shows decency towards her. The play also has Emily (Nicole Joy-Fraser), a 288-year-old Ghost who appears several times wearing bizarre clothes. She startles Brooke who exclaims “Jesus Christ” and Emily corrects her that she is not Jesus Christ. A funny reply. 

Brooke attends a rally carrying a sign reading “Edward Cornwallis Makes me Nausheous” [sic] and she tosses a bomb. She runs away and a Good Guy (Devin MacKinnon) approaches her in the woods where she is hiding. Mischief, usually extended to Mischief to Public Property, is a criminal offence and you can take the rest of the plot from there.

Unfortunately, the play and the performances proved a disappointment. The dialogue was frequently awkward, repetitive and ineffective in propelling the plot. The actors sounded awkward and uneasy with the repartee and listening to them was uneasy for the audience as well.

The old Ghost was supposed to provide a connection with the past, I suppose, but repeating “I am not Jesus” several times wore the joke thin. Other examples of unsatisfactory, repetitive dialogue abound and had the same effect.

Andy Moro is the Set, Costume and Projection Designer. The set consists of five arches that may be whale bones. Projected videos are used so extensively they provide a side show. They cover the entire stage and start with a view of a starry sky on top and views of fish on one side and a large bird hovering above on the left side. This illustrates the metaphor of the Mi’kmaws being the fish that are eaten by the imperialist bird. But the projections cover much more. When the Ghost talks about the brain, we see projections of what looks like  a brain. When Brooke drives to the protest, we see a lengthy video of a highway with a speeding car and views of the scenery on each side. It is a long video being shown long after we get the message. We also see Brooke lighting the fuse of a bomb or is it a firework?

The set for the sparsely-stocked Chris’s Convenience is brightly lit and pleasant. The change to the darker scenes with the Ghost and the projected videos are frequent and one may say overdone. Brooke’s drive to the protest seems to take as long as if it were in real time.

Director Mike Payette, designer Andy Moro, writer Lisa Nasson and the cast deliver an uneven production on many levels. The positive aspect of bringing to our attention a significant if little-known history outside of Nova Scotia of the “heroic” Edward Cornwallis is welcome. The play could use the help of a dramaturge and then another production.                                       
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MISCHIEF by Lisa Nasson, a Tarragon Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts and Neptune Theatre co-production continues until  February 8, 2026, at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario.  www.tarragontheatre.com

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

A DOLL’S HOUSE - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT BLUMA APPEL THEATRE

 Reviewed by James Karas

Henrik Ibsen great play, A Doll’s House is approaching its 150^th  anniversary since its publication in 1879. It sent shockwaves far beyond the theatre with its plot of a woman leaving her husband and children to face a world where women had almost no rights. The play holds its power and the current stunning production by Canadian Stage reminds us of its greatness.

Nora is a happy woman. She lives in a beautiful house with her husband Torvald, two children and a maid. She loves to shop and her husband has just been promoted at the bank which translates into more money for more shopping. Hailey Gillis, dressed in a beautiful red gown, practically flies with delight.   

However, there is a lot more to Nora. She  has a chink in the armour of her bliss. Her husband was ill and the best cure was living in Italy for a year. She went to Krogstad (Jamie Robinson), a loan shark and borrowed the money from him. Her well-off father guaranteed the loan and there is a problem with that. The guarantee was signed after his death. In other words, Nora committed a serious crime. But she is very proud of saving her husband’s life. She is almost a shopaholic and her relationship with the terminally ill  Dr. Rank and her dreams of being left lots of money by him raise one’s eyebrows. She shows strength and weakness and is a complex character that Gillis brings forth in a bravura performance.  

Hailey Gillis as Nora in delirious dance. Photo Dahlia Katz

Her husband Torvald (Gray Powell) loves her, tries to control her spending and treats her with affection, calling her his songbird. He is highly moral and intends to fire Krogstad from his job at the bank for ethical reasons. The upstanding Torvald is about to be thrown into a moral dilemma of utmost difficulty when he finds out that his wife has committed the same crime as Krogstad and revelation of the former would compromise his status. Powell gives us the accepted position at the time, of the controlling position of a man and he does a superb job of acting.

Robinson’s Krogstad is painted as a scumbag as he threatens to expose Nora’s fraud but Ibsen gives him a redeeming feature that works through the revival of his old relationship with Kristine. David Collins as the old and ill Dr. Rank is good friend but we may have the right to suspect an ulterior motive in his relationship with Nora. Condlin is excellent as the desperate Kristine. All do superb work in their roles.

All the complex relationships come to a head when Torvald finds out the crime that his songbird committed to save his life. He freaks out.

The resolution of the dilemma comes from Krogstad and Kristine (Laura Condlin), Nora’s old school friend. She is a widow looking for a lifeline. She was in love with Krogstad long ago and Torvald offered her a job at the bank. Krogstad’s job.

This is a powerful production that brings the moral and personal issues raised by Ibsen into sharp focus. Amy Herzog’s new version is largely faithful to Ibsen but she has tightened the plot and we get the full dramatic effect of the play.

The set by Gillian Gallow consists of rich wine-red curtains covering the set and the stage. There are only a table and some chairs. Very apt and dramatic. The costumes are 19^th century suits and tails for the men and long dresses for the women.

Kudos to director Brendan Healy for an emotionally intense, gripping and nuanced production. We see the complexity and indeed greatness of the play (with a bow) to Amy Herzog and are treated to theatre at its best.   
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A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Amy Herzog,  presented by Canadian Stage, continues until February 1, 2026, at the Bluma Appel Theatre. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. www.canadianstage.com/

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

PU SONGLING: STRANGE TALES - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT CROW’S THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

Pu Songling: Strange Tales is a visit to an unknown world, at least for me. The play is based on the stories of Chinese writer Pu Songling (1640 - 1715) who wrote more than 500 stories. The production by Theatre Smith-Gilmour with Crow’s Theatre invites us to “enter the spellbinding world of Pu Songling, the visionary writer whose tales of the supernatural have captivated audiences for centuries.”

The play is based on eleven of Pu Songling’s tales adapted by (hold onto your seat) Michele Smith, Diana Tso, Steven Hao, Madelaine Hodges, John Ng and Dean Gilmour. In addition to them,  they give thanks to Michael Man, Lindsay Wu, Jeff Yung and Rosie Simon. That is a lot of people devising a show that lasts about one hundred and ten minutes. The result is amazing.

The play is performed by five actors and it consists of the retelling of some of Pu Songling’s tales by Dean Gilmour, Steven Hao, Madelaine Hodges, John Ng and Diana Tso. The five are talented, imaginative, vigorous, and able to represent many characters in quick succession. They scream, screech, laugh and go through gamut of theatrical positions that amaze and entertain. They represent humans (dead and alive), horses, dogs, foxes and others with virtuoso alacrity. You witness bravura acting of the highest order.  

Scene from Pu Songling. Photo: Johnny Hockin

According to the program, the play is based on the following eleven tales: Past Lives of Mr. Liu, The Corpse, Sharp Sword, Southern Wu-tong Spirit, An Earthquake, Wailing Ghosts, Wild Dog, Temple Demon, Judge Lu, Wei Gongzi and King of the Nine Mountains. As the titles suggest, the stories and the play based on them deal with the supernatural, the miraculous, the awesome and always entertaining. The actors tell us part of the story and act or make the sound of the animal that they represent.   

The opening tale is about a woman whose daughter-in-law has died. The stage has a table with five chairs and the corpse is lying at the edge of the table. Three men seek shelter and the woman permits them to sleep beside the corpse. As they fall asleep, the corpse begins waving its arms  She throws off the paper covering her and chases the men around the stage in a scene of terror, murder and mayhem.

There is the story about the man who loves his wife but does not like the fact that in old age she is not as attractive as she was in her youth. A man promises to give his wife a new face. He takes the head of a pretty woman and transplants its face onto  the unattractive wife. Who was the owner of the pretty face and how did it get on the unattractive woman’s head?

There is pantomime, creation of numerous sounds like that of sinner who is sent back from hell to work as a horse, and then as a snake. We hear the sound of a horse neighing and the slithery snake is squeezed until it disgorges one of its victims. The sinner gets remission of his sins from the devil after receiving his due punishment.

Ting – Huan and Christine Urquhart are the Set & Costume Designers and they have the play done on a virtually empty stage except for a table and chairs. The table and the chairs are moved to suit different scenes. There are four fluorescent lights over the playing area that are used imaginatively and effectively to provide a variety of atmospheres for the real and the supernatural. Noah Feaver is the imaginative Lighting Designer.

Michele Smith of Theatre Smith-Gilmour does outstanding work in directing a brisk production with the five actors giving  outstanding performances. In a limited space and under the strictures of story-telling and enacting, she manages to create superb theatrical effects. Highest marks for success in a difficult job.
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Pu Songling: Strange Tales, a Theatre Smith-Gilmour production in Association with Crow’s Theatre, adapted by Michele Smith-Gilmour et. al. based on the tales of Pu Songling will run until February 8, 2026, at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.  http://crowstheatre.com/

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

I PURITANI – REVIEW OF 2026 LIVE FROM THE MET IN HD TRANSMISSION

Reviewed by James Karas

Vincenzo Bellini’s  I Puritani is one of the finest bel canto operas, warts and all, and the Metropolitan Opera transmitted it to theatres around the world on January 10, 2026. Musically and vocally, it is an outstanding production but the “warts” of the libretto are still there. This was the 67^th Metropolitan Opera performance of the work which gives you a good indication of its popularity. 

The last Met production was in 1976 and it was revived several times. The current staging is by Charles Edwards who brings his own ideas. He tinkers with the plot that involves the beautiful Elvira (Lisette Oropesa) who is in love with Lord Arturo during the English Civil War of the 1640’s. She is a Puritan (The Roundheads) and he is a Royalist (The Cavaliers). During the overture, Edwards shows Elvira painting Arturo’s portrait and falling in love with him. It is 1641 and the Civil War has not started yet but it is brewing. Edwards gives us a timeline on the screen to make sense of the libretto.

In the meantime, Puritan Riccardo (Ricardo José Rivera) has fallen in love with Elvira and her father wants her to marry him. Luckily her uncle Giorgio (Christian Van Horn) has convinced him to let her marry Arturo.

Lisette Oropesa as Elvira and Lawrence Brownlee as Arturo 

in Bellini's "I Puritani." Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera

In the meantime, or eight years later, we meet Enrichetta (Eve Gigliotti) flitting on and off the stage. Arturo arrives at the camp of the enemies, for his wedding to Elvira and recognizes Enrichetta as the wife of the beheaded King Charles I. She is a prisoner of the Roundheads and he decides to save her from certain death by disguising her as Elvira and leaving the latter at the altar. 

If you sense noticeable creaking, it is not the floorboards; it is the plot. In any event Elvira goes mad, the Roundheads win, Arturo returns, Elvira regains her sanity and they all live happily evert after. You do not see I Puritani for the plot details but for the gorgeous music, astounding bel canto singing, superb sets and lighting that more than make up for the unsatisfactory libretto by Carlo Pepoli, based on the play Têtes Rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine.

You see the opera to hear the extraordinary voice of soprano Lisette Oropesa. Bellini provides melodies that demand flourishes, long lines , intricate singing that few sopranos can manage. Oropesa masters him. She is stunning throughout and especially in the Mad Scene with a full-range display of emotional depth and vocal splendor.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee has a light, flexible and terrific tenor voice that can reach the stratosphere but sings with unmatched beauty in his arias and ensemble pieces. His Arturo is heroic, decent, in love and always vocally marvelous as he holds the long phrases, soars where necessary and is simply an aural delight.

Baritone Artur Ruciński was indisposed and baritone Ricardo José Rivera replaced him on a few hours’ notice in the role of the spurned lover Riccardo. He did excellent work and earned the respect, enthusiasm and enthusiastic applause of the audience. Well deserved.

Bass baritone Christian van Horn sang the role of Elivira’s uncle Giorgio. Van Horn exudes authority and compassion and can convince Elvira’s father to let her marry for love. Van Horn is a fine actor and a superb singer, able to handle his solo and ensemble singing with rare sonority and beauty.

Edwards makes Elvira a painter and there are numerous portraits on stage. The one that drew my attention was a huge portrait of King Charles I that Enrichetta dances with and twirls around her head and kisses affectionately. The latter made no sense but making Elvira an artist is a nice touch.

Edwards also designed the sets, featuring paneled risers that could be a legislature or a meeting hall. Tim Mitchell’s lighting design changes scenes and atmosphere brilliantly. Gabrielle Dalton’s costumes feature the classic black dresses, white collars and white hats for the women and similar black and white costumes for the men. There are exceptions for Arturo, Elvira and Enrichetta and, I assume, brilliant red for the victorious Oliver Cromwell who makes a short appearance.

Marco Armiliato conducted the Met Orchestra and Chorus in a superb performance. Bellini composed numerous pieces for the chorus that all added to a memorable production of an opera

Edwards and Armiliato, with the brilliant cast, brought out the best of I Puritani and watching it on a big theatre screen was highly enjoyable.

If you hear any creaking after seeing this production, you should check your floorboards.
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I Puritani by Vincenzo Bellini was transmitted Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera on January 10, 2026, at the Cineplex VIP Shops at Don Mills, 12 Marie Labatte Road, Toronto Ontario and other theatres across Canada. Encores will be shown on February 28, 2026. For more information: www.cineplex.com/events

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

THE MAGIC FLUTE - REVIEW OF 2006 MET PRODUCTION STREAMED IN 2025

Reviewed by James Karas

On December 30. 2006 The Metropolitan Opera filmed  Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute for PBS. That recording was transmitted worldwide Live in HD From the Met. But on December 20, 2025. we were supposed to get the current revival of Julie Taymor’s shortened version of the opera with Paul Aplebu, Michael Samuel and Alexander Kppeczi conducted by Steven White. The Met’s program said so. 

But the one-page program that we got at Cineplex stated that we were about to see The Magic Flute that was transmitted Live on December 20, 2006. Something went wrong but I don’t know what. The broadcast on CBC radio was of the current performance with the cast noted above.

Julie Taynor has her own take of the opera with a version thar lasts only 1 hour and 50 minutes, sung in English and geared toward entertaining children as well as adults.  A highly laudable ambition.

She uses various methods of entertaining children and I don’t know if all were successful. She takes a dark view of the opera and much of the performance is done on a black background. The Three Ladies, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Kate Lindsey and Tamara Mumford are dressed in black, with white puppet heads that are worn on their heads or held in their hands.

The Queen of the Night (Erika Miklosa) has a seriously painted face (like most of the cast) and she has huge banners waved behind her. She is a remarkable figure as is Miklosa a remarkable singer. Tenor Matthew Polenzani as Tamino and soprano Ying Huand are handsome and beautiful and we see their faces clearly. The hero and heroine sing brightly and gorgeously and we root for them. 

 A scene from Mozart's "The Magic Flute." Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera 

of the 2025 production and not the one under review.

Rene Pape is outfitted like a pagoda or some grand structure but he sings a marvelous Sarastro. Monostatos wears lots of colourful makeup, sports a big, hooked nose and is appropriately nasty but Greg Fedderly is very effective as the would-be sexual predator against our Pamina. Nathan Gunn as Papageno, is fleet of foot and superb of voice as the cowardly bird catcher. The stage is full of papier mache birds, flying bears and thunder and lightning to keep everything moving and everyone entertained and we hope that includes the youngsters.

The production is sung in English which does not mean that everything was comprehensible but I think it was appropriate. Youngsters do not need subtitles in their first or one of their first exposures to opera.

Taymor, in addition to directing, also designed the costumes and, with Michael Curry, she designed the puppets. In other words, this is a Julie Taymor production through and through.

The late James Levine conducted the Met Orchestra in the broadcast of the 2006 production which launched the rightly heralded Live in HD transmissions. It was interesting to see it in the 40th year of opera in a local movie theatre but seeing the current revival live would have been even more interesting.
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The 2006 recording of The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder was transmitted from the Metropolitan Opera on December 20, 2025, at the Cineplex VIP, Shops at Don Mills, 12 Marie Labatte Road, Toronto Ontario M3C 0H9 and other theatres. For more information including encores see: www.cineplex.com/events

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

ROGERS V. ROGERS - REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT CROW’S THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

Rogers v. Rogers would be the title (or the style of cause, in legalese) of a lawsuit between two people with the same name. When I saw the title of Michael Healy’s play, I thought we would be treated to courtroom drama among members of the super-rich  at Rogers Communications. The play is based on Alexandra Posadzki’s book Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada’s Telecom Empire and that is a good clue to the scope of the feuds involved.

Whatever the title, the play is not about courtroom battles. The play is about clashes of egos, family warfare and boardroom battles. And it is much more than that in its complexity and scope to the extent that it is not always easy to follow. Few people across Canada have not heard of Rogers and its millions of customers know it more intimately than they may want, try phoning them for service.

The play is performed by one actor, Tom Rooney, who plays more than a dozen parts. He gives a bravura performance with quick, simple changes of costume and change in speech habit when acting as Edward Rogers, one of the main characters in the saga. Edward is the son of the founder of the company, Ted Rogers, who grew the company into a conglomerate worth billions. Ted  did not think very highly of Edward and he did not consider him leadership material.

Tom Rooney in Rogers v. Rogers. Photo: Dahlia Katz

The play opens with a frightful dissertation by Matthew Boswell of the Competition Bureau. He asks if we know anything about the Bureau and we don’t. he informs us that Rogers has applied for approval of its purchase of Shaw Communications, a competitor and one of only four telecommunications company in Canada. If approved, it would reduce competition severely and leave only three companies in control of mobile phones and internet and whatever else those companies control. Boswell goes much further in his description of Canadian monopolies by other corporations like the supermarket chains. It is happening, we know truly little about it and the Competition Bureau is doing almost nothing about it. At least that is the message I got from Boswell’s speech and I assume it is factual.

Competition control in Canada is a joke. Companies own dozens of brands that they sell to us under the impression that they are doing their best to charge us competitive prices. They are not. He gives an example of the $4 tomato. You can go to any store or chain and find that they all charge the same amount. There were three independent funeral homes in a town. A large company bought all three, retained the appearance of three independent businesses and sent prices through the roof in all three.

The fight in the Rogers empire is among Edward, his mother and his sisters over control of the company. It is high finance and even higher corporate wars for the management of the business. Edward uses his power to dismiss the President and CEO and appoint his man. His mother and sisters disapprove. He fires the directors that have removed him as chairman  and appoints his own people. He regains his position. This in fact was a courtroom fight and Edward is the Chairman of the Board now and appoints  his choice of President and CEO of Rogers.

The play and Rooney’s performance are a pleasure to watch. There is humour that Rooney brings out in a masterful fashion. He can change his speech pattern, do a double take, make an error and correct himself. He is funny. As Edward Rogers, he is also self-deprecating about seeking psychiatric help and about his siblings. He gave them two billion dollars each and that silenced them.

We witness a board meeting and see the members projected on the screen. They agree, disagree and fight over control of the company. Rooney sits at a table in front of the screen and we hear various arguments. A corporate fight for control inviting arcane financial consideration and market dynamics could be deadly. But Healy’s brilliant adaptation and Rooney’s stunning performance do not miss a beat.

The set by designer Joshua Quinlan consists of a large boardroom table with 8 chairs suitable for a board meeting. The stage is bathed in red and there is a projection screen behind it.

Master director Chris Abraham handles the complex and intricate play with the added problem of having a single actor playing all the parts with his usual astuteness and delicacy.
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Rogers v. Rogers  by Michael Healy based on Alexandra Posadzki’s  Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada’s Telecom Empire will run until January 17, 2026, at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.  http://crowstheatre.com/

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

& JULIET – REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT ROYAL ALEXANDRA THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

& Juliet is a boisterous, vibrant, exuberant, highly energetic, loud and occasionally too loud musical that completely enthralled the audience at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The excitement that it infused in the audience was palpable from before the show even started to the dancing, screaming, wildly applauding and standing ovation at the end.

The logo for the show says a great deal. A large, multi-coloured heart dominated by red contains the title of the show. Gold coloured earphones are superimposed. The message is clear. We will get the life of Juliet after Romeo. William Shakespeare (George Krissa) and his wife Anne Hathaway (Julia McLellan) appear and he reminds us of the ending of his Romeo and Juliet and we learn that she did not die. Mr. and Mrs. Shakespeare bicker throughout the musical. He was married to his work, paid scant attention to Anne after he Hathaway (there is a pun there) and in his will he left her his second-best bed. Anne is a strong character, a feminist and argues with William to the audience’s huge delight.

Juliet (Vanessa Sears), her Nurse a,k.a. Angelique (Sarah Nairne) and her friends April (a disguised Anne Hathaway) and May (Matt Raffy) leave Verona and go to Paris. They are described as April, May and July-ette). In Paris Juliet finds fun and a lover, Francois, (Brandon Antonio). He “loves” her but he is also attracted to May, a transgender person. Juliet’s Nurse/Angelique falls in love with Lance (David Silvestri), the father of Francois. In this version, Romeo (David Jeffery) appears because he did not die after all and he will try to rekindle his love for Juliet. His reincarnation is part of the argument between Shakespeare and Anne. 

Vanessa Sears as Juliet and cast - Toronto Company. 

Photo Credit: Dahlia Katz

The plot has some humour but it is mostly a scaffold on which to allow the cast to sing the songs of Max Martin and Friends, as the program bills them. The feminist elements of the musical are popular but I found the musical to be a rock concert performed as described in the first sentence of this review. The cast could not go wrong with an audience that they had in the palm of their hands.

Most of the musical numbers are showstoppers and are done like concert pieces with the ensemble joining in as dancers or singers with some extraordinary long phrases and high notes that captivated and thrilled  everyone.  Krissa and the ensemble start us off with “Larger Than Life.” Shakespeare and Anne sing “I want it that Way” with the ensemble and the concert goes on with a few quiet moments (like Angelique and Lance in bed). But when Sears sings “Roar” with the ensemble she reaches operatic dimensions. And there is the powerful “It’s My Life” and the show goes on. And there is more than singing, dancing and comedy. It is showmanship of lights and glitter  that almost rarely slow down. 

They shine on the stage and the audience, and a colourful flash of lights surrounds the players and the entire theatre. The lights are accompanied by vigorous dances choreographed by Jennifer Weber. Take a bow to Scenic Designer Soutra Gilmour, Costume Designer Paloma Young, Lighting Designer Howard Hudson, Sound Designer Gareth Owen and Video Designer Andrzej Goulding. They all have one aim: spare nothing to produce an overwhelming spectacle that will not allow for a moment’s rest for more than two hours.  
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& Juliet by Max Martin and Friends (Music and Lyrics), David West Read (book), continues at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St W, Toronto, Ont. For tickets and more information go to: www.mirvish.com  

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