CITYSONG: PRAISE BE
I’m not going to tell you that either this script or this production is perfect, but I am going to say hallelujah! Let’s hear it for the long view. Let’s hear it for philosophical and artistic ambition. Let’s hear it for the tenderness, confidence, and commitment this...
JULIET & ROMEO: THE TRAP OF ROMANTICISM
About halfway through, Juliet & Romeo takes a turn that made me like it a lot more, although I was already having a good time with it. Conceived and directed by Ben Duke, and devised by Duke and Solène Weinachter, who were its original performers, this...
![THE UNDENIABLE [REPETITIVE, PREDICTABLE] ACCUSATIONS OF RED CADMIUM LIGHT](https://colinthomas.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-24-at-12.42.38-PM-400x250.jpeg)
THE UNDENIABLE [REPETITIVE, PREDICTABLE] ACCUSATIONS OF RED CADMIUM LIGHT
I’m surprised I wasn’t more bored than I was. I mean, I was plenty bored; I’m just surprised I stayed awake. I’d say that there are spoilers ahead and, technically speaking, there are, but the big plot point I’m about to reveal comes as no surprise. (Still, if...
SHREK THE MUSICAL: LOOKS AND LOVE IN THE STORY AND PRODUCTION
Physically, this production of Shrek the Musical is as handsome as all get-out — and there’s a lot of talent on the stage. That said, on opening night, it took quite a while before I was emotionally engaged. Let’s get into all that. But first, a quick synopsis...
WONDERWALL: TAKE 2 (Revised review prompted by reader feedback)
This is my second take on this review. I’m posting a new version because I received emails from two readers who took me to task — persuasively — for my response to the script’s treatment of the main character’s intellectual disability. (You can read their comments...
END OF GREATNESS: TRANSCENDENT
Ambitious. Meditative. I loved it. The end of greatness is a cosmological concept that, in the words of writers Veda Hille and Maiko Yamamoto, theorizes “the point in the universe where everything stops being unique and starts being repetitive.” As I understand...
ON NATIVE LAND: THE INTIMACIES OF LAND AND SELF
After a quick synopsis, I’m going to talk about the things I love. There are lots of them. There will also be nuance, but this review is not going to take a sharp negative turn. As I see things, writer/director/composer/lyricist Cory Payette’s new musical On Native...
KIMBERLY AKIMBO: A BIT OFF
I was not completely charmed by Kimberly Akimbo, which, given the musical’s popularity, might be a sign of sociopathology — or terminal jadedness. In my defense, although the whole didn’t sweep me away, I did enjoy substantial components of this Arts Club production....
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE: IT’S COMPLICATED — AND SIMPLE
To be fully successful, any production of Shakespeare in Love must capture three layers of love. The entry level to Lee Hall’s script, which is an adaptation of Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard’s screenplay for the 1998 film, is a fictional love affair between William...
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