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RIDGE IS CLEAR-EYED

RIDGE IS CLEAR-EYED

This is an odd compliment I know, but, watching Ridge, I kept thinking, “This show is like a block of wood.” It’s so solid and complete: so densely ethical and intelligent, so wholly and naturally itself. Written by Brendan McLeod, brought to fruition with the band...

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ECHO: MOSTLY SPECTACULAR, SOMETIMES LESS

ECHO: MOSTLY SPECTACULAR, SOMETIMES LESS

Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO gave me so much. I want to talk about those things first. The look of the show is fantastic. The only set piece is an enormous white cube — 12 tons and the size of a two-storey apartment building. Designed by Es Devlin, the cube rotates and...

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CHARLIE AND THE (DARK) CHOCOLATE FACTORY

CHARLIE AND THE (DARK) CHOCOLATE FACTORY

I haven’t seen the film or read the book, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical comes into its own when it’s at its nastiest. There are upsides and downsides to this. (I’m mostly going to deal with the downsides first, but hang in with this review if you...

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EARWORM: WORKS ITS WAY IN

EARWORM: WORKS ITS WAY IN

Playwright Mohammad Yaghoubi’s Earworm is such an intriguing combination of elements. They didn’t all work for me, but they sure as hell kept me engaged. The central relationship is between an Iranian-Canadian podcaster named Homa and her adult son Pendar, who lives...

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MIDDLETOWN: SURPRISING PLEASURES

MIDDLETOWN: SURPRISING PLEASURES

Artistic adventure is rare in Vancouver theatre these days. Want some? I’ve got a show for you. On so many levels, Sticks and Stones Theatre’s production of Middletown is such a surprising pleasure. Like Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, which clearly inspired it,...

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JERSEY BOYS: ENTRANCING

JERSEY BOYS: ENTRANCING

There is a particular kind of pleasure that comes from just giving yourself to a show because it’s so seamlessly assured and stimulating. It’s what folks are talking about when they say they were spellbound by a performance. For almost all its running time, that’s the...

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