en-us Tazed and Confused or Facebook of Revelations — but they have more scenes to call their own, backed up with bits both slapstick and clever, in Barack to the Future. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/35554 2008/08/07 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/35554 Avenue Q, the clever, quirky musical that won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2004 now playing in Toronto courtesy of Dancap Productions. Humans interact with puppets in discussing such issues as racism, homosexuality, homelessness and porn all in the tuneful, wide-eyed style of kiddie shows. The constant source of humour is the clash between the innocence of the presentation and the seriousness of the content. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34955 2008/07/30 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34955 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/34820 2008/07/29 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/34820 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34610 2008/07/25 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34610 Requiem for a Hotel, one of four chapters of The Gladstone Variations that unfold simultaneously around the Gladstone Hotel, ushers the audience to follow her. Like the lead characters in the three other variations (you have to go twice to see all four), Rhonda, played with shrill believability by veteran actress Janet Amos, wants something from a hotel that’s more than just a place to crash. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34087 2008/07/21 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/34087 Under Milk Wood is rapturous and infuriating in almost equal measure — rapturous because of the tour-de-force performance of Kenneth Welsh in the play’s more than 50 roles, infuriating because Ted Dykstra’s production seems determined to undermine the beauty of Thomas’s highly poetic text. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/33935 2008/07/16 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/33935 Andrew Evans — is a sort of free-for-all for comics, a chance to get up to their elbows in the sort of blue-and-black stuff that might not fly in the more PG-13 rooms around town. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/33183 2008/07/09 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/33183 The Way of the World (1700) is often called one of the greatest comedies in English, yet it is infrequently produced. The complex language, the convoluted plot and the dominant tone of cynicism all work to make the play more respected than liked. Fortunately for theatre-lovers, along comes a Soulpepper-NAC coproduction directed with such insight by Peter Hinton that it should win legions of converts to Congreve. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/32996 2008/07/07 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/32996 Sean Cullen looks a little out of place on Last Comic Standing. Not because he’s older than the average contestant, the summer filler series has seen grayer heads than his, and not because the songs and so many of his defining, cutesy-poo quirks get left behind in favor of plain ol’ all-purpose stand-up, but because he’s Sean goddamn Cullen. An entertainer in full with a resume two decades long, multiple Tonight Show appearances, a Comedy Central special and a stint, though brief, as Max Bialystock in The Producers. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/32558 2008/07/02 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/32558 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/word/article/32717 2008/07/02 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/word/article/32717 http://eyeweekly.com/city/torontonotes/article/32459 2008/07/02 http://eyeweekly.com/city/torontonotes/article/32459 A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a bawdier, funnier, sweeter affair. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/32253 2008/06/30 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/32253 Argument With a Dolphin.  ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/32239 2008/06/27 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/32239 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/31680 2008/06/23 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/31680 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31528 2008/06/23 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31528 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31461 2008/06/20 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31461 Robot Wars with dinosaurs — not that a seven-year-old child might find much to argue with in that that proposition – there's plenty to enjoy and admire about this touring production. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31469 2008/06/20 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31469 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31177 2008/06/19 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/31177 Don Giovanni (1787), not the one by Mozart but one by his contemporary Giuseppe Gazzaniga (1743-1818), and Renard (1922), a 15-minute burlesque by 20th-century master Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). The two works are entertaining if not particularly profound but they do provide a fine showcase of the talents of the next generation of opera singers.

]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30846 2008/06/17 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30846 Uncle Vanya, the acclaimed production directed by Hungarian Laszlo Marton. Chekhov’s bitter stew of failed lives and regret has become only tastier and more filling after several years in the fridge. Marton’s affinity for the Russian master’s pathos and humour once again draws out the best in actors like Diego Matamoros, Albert Schultz and Kristen Thomson. Their scenes come to life with emotional veracity and superb physicality.
]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30731 2008/06/16 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30731 The Sisters Rosensweig may have been pioneering in its day, now, after 16 years including six seasons of Sex and the City, the play seems to suffer from an identity crisis of its own. It veers uncomfortably between a sitcom-like style where everybody has quick comebacks and funny exit lines and a more realistic portrayal of characters as complex, sensitive people rather than joke-machines.  ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30733 2008/06/16 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30733 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/30735 2008/06/16 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/30735 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/30355 2008/06/11 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/comedy/article/30355 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30164 2008/06/10 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30164 Blink is a one-hour play collectively created by the first graduates of The Soulpepper Academy, a two-year paid residency for young theatre artists. Inspired by the accounts of real-life war photographers, Blink tells the story of freelancer Joshua (Mike Ross), who can’t escape the horror of his work. The technically polished play and the unaffected, detailed performances reflect well on Soulpepper’s mentorship process. Helped along with slick production values that appeal to the senses, Blink delivers invigorating theatre. ]]> http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30171 2008/06/10 http://eyeweekly.com/arts/theatre/article/30171