Theatre review Archives - Queen's Journal

Review: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof hits production snags

Written on January 21, 2019. Posted in Arts.

Leaving the house in the middle of a snowstorm isn’t the most enticing idea. On Saturday evening, a committed audience did just that, venturing to Portsmouth to see Domino Theatre’s opening weekend production of Tennessee William’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. While the play is supposedly one of William’s...

Script falls short in The Mouse House

Written on October 24, 2018. Posted in Arts, Theatre.

The Domino Theatre’s production of The Mouse House proves community theatre is alive, but not always good. From Oct. 18 to Nov. 3, in The Davies Foundation Auditorium, Domino Theatre presented Robert Ainsworth’s psychological thriller, which won Best Production in the Eastern Ontario Drama League...

Singing, Sweden and Sondheim at the Rotunda Theatre

Written on March 6, 2018. Posted in Arts.

For four more days this month, the Rotunda Theatre will transform into the Swedish countryside for the classic Steven Sondheim musical A Little Night Music. The leading roles in the show are protagonists Fredrik Egerman and Madame Armfeldt, the head members of their respective families. These two...

The Tale of a Town goes cross-country

Written on February 2, 2018. Posted in Arts.

The Tale of a Town delves into the lost culture of main streets across the country. Lisa Marie DiLiberto and Charles Ketchabaw make up the main actors, producers and co-creators of the show that debuted at the Grand Theatre on Jan. 30. The Tale is a mix of camerawork, miniature sets, a live band,...

Wait until the lights go out to scream

Written on November 23, 2012. Posted in Arts.

With a title like Wait Until Dark!, the viewer is immediately left with an ominous feeling. The play that follows its title is suspenseful in all the best ways. Based on the 1966 Frederick Knott play, criminal mastermind Harry Roat Jr. and blind housewife of Sam, Susy Hendrix, face off in a tale of...

Gypsy gets gimmicky

Written on November 9, 2012. Posted in Arts.

Clothes aren’t the only thing lacking in the Burlesque-centered musical Gypsy. Continuity between scenes and the characters was also missing from the Kinsmen Club of Kingston’s production at the Grand on Wednesday night. The seminal Broadway classic is set in the 1920s, deep in the glamorous world...

Intuition changed

Written on November 9, 2012. Posted in Arts.

You’re served more than you expect when watching Counter Service. The mise en abyme — a play within a play — at what could have been the performance’s conclusion was incredibly startling. By the time of the applause, I found myself severely skeptical of my own interpretations. When we think of a ‘play...

Back to childhood

Written on April 5, 2012. Posted in Arts.

It’s the familiar cast of Peanuts characters, except they’re all played by females. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, is the reimagined 1967 musical based on the characters from Charles Schulz’s comic strip, Peanuts. “There is a precedent in children’s theatre for women to play male roles like Mary...

Youthful awakenings

Written on April 5, 2012. Posted in Arts.

Growing up is never easy, which the characters of Spring Awakening prove over and over again. Queen’s Musical Theatre’s spring production takes place in 19th century Germany — a time when being a parent meant hiding the truth about sex and conception from children. That’s the basis for the show’s...

Confrontation and comedic farce

Written on March 30, 2012. Posted in Arts.

Lies, games and violence are the necessities of modern entertainment, making it seem like we have to constantly crank up the intensity just to feel something. But Edward Albee’s Tony award-winning play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, brings out a range of emotional responses, from laughter and compassion...

Confrontation and comedic farce

Written on March 30, 2012. Posted in Arts.

'Don't have to be hammered'

Written on March 22, 2012. Posted in Arts.

’Til Death Star Do Us Part is the final show of the 2012 Queen’s Players triad and in true Players style it doesn’t only entertain — it takes a stance. This show addresses a wide range of subject matter, from evil plans to tenured professors to the economical struggles of student life and the accompanying...

Love over the wall

Written on March 16, 2012. Posted in Arts.

It’s a familiar tale of two lovers. But instead of a typical happy ending, the love dwindles. The Fantasticks is a 1960s musical, where two fathers fake a feud to make their children feel they’re fated to be together. Matt and Luisa, played by Sean McCabe and Aimee Bouchard, live next to each other,...

Getting intimate

Written on March 9, 2012. Posted in Arts.

Sex, lies and video-feed — with the crusts cut off. Queen’s Vagabond Theatre presents Closer, a show that cannot be put in a box. It’s confusingly honest yet poignantly deceptive. Written by English comedian Patrick Marber, it tackles subjects of sex, relationships, power, greed, selfishness and the...

Feel the wait

Written on March 9, 2012. Posted in Arts.

When the audience first walks into the drama department’s new production, they follow a candlelit pathway that’s lined by dioramas. Each piece of art contains various interpretations of Penelope Waits and the idea of passing time. The ambient pathway leads audience members onto a balcony, down steps,...

Vogt C shapes up

Written on March 2, 2012. Posted in Arts.

It’s the circle of Vogt, and it moves us all. As soon as audiences walk through the doors to the theatre they’ll know why the third and final instalment of this year’s Vogt studio series is titled Vogt comes full Circle. Vogt C takes on the challenge of performing in the round — the actors are surrounded...

Queen’s gets down

Written on February 7, 2012. Posted in Arts.

This week marks an on-campus group’s departure from the Vagina Monologues. Down There is a compilation of original monologues from the Kingston and Queen’s community. This year’s directors, Anoodth Naushan, Farheen Alim and Beckham Ronaghan, decided to move away from the pre-written works of the Vagina...

What happens at Rothstein’s

Written on February 3, 2012. Posted in Arts.

John Lazarus’ new play, The Grandkid seems autobiographical. But the drama professor says the story about a student and her grandfather isn’t based on anyone specific. The comedy tells the story of first-year university student Abby Rothstein, who moves in with her grandfather, Professor Julius Rothstein,...

Horror, humour and headless royals

Written on February 3, 2012. Posted in Arts.

This week, Vogt gets spooky. Vogt gets Buried is the second instalment of the annual three-part Vogt series. But Vogt B features a vastly different feel from the provocative comedies of November’s Vogt, got funny, A. “It’s different from past Vogt shows because — it’s a tonal thing,” finance producer...

Sublimely seductive scene

Written on January 17, 2012. Posted in Arts.

Bustiers and burlesque dancers made for some obviously awkward moments for the grandparents sitting in the front row of Blue Canoe Productions’ Cabaret. While outlandish behaviour and scantily-clad cast members propelled the production, the musical is defined by a poignant story full of mesmerizing...

Dog problems

Written on January 13, 2012. Posted in Arts.

A marriage doesn’t usually breakdown over a pet. But King’s Town Players’ delightful rendition of Sylvia shows how a stray dog “chews a hole in a 22-year-old marriage.” The modern day romance explores the challenges faced by Greg and Kate, a middle-aged couple trying to adjust to life without children....

Musical murder mystery

Written on January 13, 2012. Posted in Arts.

The version I saw of QMT’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood likely ended differently than the one you will see. The musical requires audience participation in deciding who murdered Edwin Drood. Charles Dickens was in the process of writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood when he died, leaving the ending unfinished....

Love, not just comedy

Written on November 25, 2011. Posted in Arts.

There’s lots of love in Vagabond Theatre’s quirky and exuberant version of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The show runs at the Rotunda Theatre in Theological Hall. It’s like being in the Globe Theatre — the audience sits on all sides of the action. The set design is minimalist to an extreme — a rock...

Puppets in progress

Written on November 18, 2011. Posted in Arts.

A man dressed as a goat sat on me in the oddest theatre experience I’ve ever had. The impromptu lap dance was a comedic high point in the dress rehearsal of Gentle Wings Puppet Theatre’s newest show, Puppet Cabaret. It accomplished what the goat wanted — a temporary distraction from a haphazard show. Puppet...

Premiere play

Written on November 11, 2011. Posted in Arts.

Dalliance Theatre Company’s inaugural production, Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy, is playful and enchanting. Brindsley Miller, played by John Gallant is the typical starving artist. A rich benefactor is coming to view his work and his fiancée’s father is visiting. But the master fuse blows, leaving...

Footloose: film or musical

Written on November 11, 2011. Posted in Arts.

Caitlin Choi First-time fan Forgive me Reverend, for I have danced. Having never seen the 1984 classic film Footloose, starring bad boy Kevin Bacon, I was surprised to find my shoulders bopping and knees pumping during the Kinsmen Club of Kingston’s musical rendition at the Grand Theatre. Undeniably...

War re-experienced

Written on November 11, 2011. Posted in Arts.

Three years ago, Christopher Morris, ConEd ’97, conducted a series of interviews in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Ontario to discover the realities of those affected by the war in Afghanistan. Dust became the outlet for these stories. Over a five-week period, a cast of 13 Queen’s students rehearsed the...

Vogt A plays get provocative

Written on November 4, 2011. Posted in Arts.

This year Vogt gets funny, tackling themes of religion and homosexuality through mature and irreverent comedy. Vogt’s first production of the year, Vogt, got funny, A? is made up of four one-act plays. Web Confessional, The Badger and the Star, Jimmy the Antichrist and Venerating Pablum tackle a wide...

Tag: Theatre review

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