Other writing
Here’s a selection of theatre-related articles I’ve written and commentaries I’ve provided since “leaving” NOW Magazine. (Full story about “leaving” is here.)
Thank you to all the over-worked editors and producers who have assigned me things or accepted my pitches.
Review of Craze, Tarragon and Modern Times Stage Co., in association with Theatre ARTaud, November 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, tour at Mirvish Productions, November 2024, The Toronto Star
After a decade away, Michael Healey returns to acting on stage in his hit play The Master Plan, November 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Denzel Washington and Danielle Deadwyler from the film adaptation of The Piano Lesson, November 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Noah Reid and Mazin Elsadig of A Case for the Existence of God, Coal Mine Theatre, November 2024, The Toronto Star
The photo’s the thing: A look behind the scenes of five promo shots from Stratford’s 2025 season, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Interior Design, Tarragon Theatre, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of My Name is Lucy Barton, Canadian Stage, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Faust, Canadian Opera Company, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Profile of Victor Garber, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Wonderful Joe, TO Live at the Jane Mallett Theatre, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Goblin:Macbeth, Tarragon Theatre and Spontaneous Theatre, October 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Adrienne Warren and Steven Reineke for Simply the Best: A Tina Turner Tribute at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, September 2024, TSO’s Noteworthy
Review of Rosmersholm, Crow’s Theatre, September 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Qalb — A Journey of the Ego, 1S1 Theatre and Why Not at the Tarragon, September 2024, The Toronto Star
TIFF: Superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli discusses the new doc about him, September 2024, The Toronto Star
Jean Yoon and Christine Horne on Annie Baker’s Infinite Life, September 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Yann Martel, Lolita Chakrabarti and Max Webster on adapting Martel’s Life of Pi to the stage, August 2024, The Toronto Star
Feature interview with Yvette Nolan and Vern Thiessen on adapting Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners for the stage, August 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Get That Hope, Stratford Festival, August 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Idina Menzel for her Take Me or Leave Me Tour, August 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Stratford Festival, August 2024, The Toronto Star
Profile of Qasim Khan – who’s playing Hamlet in High Park – on his banner theatre year, July 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Harrison Roth, the 22-year-old, Toronto-born music director of the Shrek – The Musical tour, July 2024, The Toronto Star
Toronto Fringe 2024 reviews of Aala Tamasha Aala, The Kid Was a Spy, Saskatchewan – An Aspirational Polyamorous Adventure and Stiff & Sons, July 2024, Parton & Pearl
Toronto Fringe 2024 capsule reviews hub (with Joshua Chong and Karen Fricker), July 2024, The Toronto Star
Dora Awards wrap-up: Crow’s, Soulpepper and Canadian Opera Company win big at Toronto theatre awards, June 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (national tour), Mirvish Productions, June 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of A Streetcar Named Desire, Soulpepper, June 2024, The Toronto Star
Juno-winning comic Kyle Brownrigg on navigating the BS of Canadian stand-up, June 2024, The Toronto Star
The Last Timbit is about “real, honest people” not doughnuts, June 2024, The Toronto Star
For 45 minutes I held hands with seven strangers. I was touched — in more ways than one, June 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Age is a Feeling, Soulpepper, Soho Theatre, Haley McGee Productions, in association with the Luminato Festival, June 2024, The Toronto Star
Predictions of this year’s Dora Award nominations (with Joshua Chong), May 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner, Obsidian Theatre in association with Crow’s, May 2024, The Toronto Star
After a challenging year, the Shaw Festival is betting on My Fair Lady to turn around its fortunes, May 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Hedda Gabler, Coal Mine Theatre, May 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Medea, Canadian Opera Company, May 2024, The Toronto Star
Tim Rice talks Jesus Christ Superstar at 50, collaborating with Elton John and Freddie Mercury and his rock star dreams, May 2024, The Toronto Star
Jordi Mand on her play In Seven Days, which deals with medical assistance in dying (MAID), April 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Tyson’s Song, Pleiades Theatre, April 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with Megan Follows on her return to the stage after a decade in Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, April 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Mad Madge, Nightwood Theatre in association with VideoCabaret, April 2024, The Toronto Star
Actor Sabryn Rock is building an impressive director’s resume, April 2024, The Toronto Star
Canadian actors share their Les Misérables stories from nearly four decades (with Joshua Chong), March 2024, The Toronto Star
How Canada’s pioneering queer theatre artists are passing the torch to new generations, March 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Three Sisters, Soulpepper/Obsidian Theatre Co., March 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of La Bête, Talk is Free Theatre, March 2024, The Toronto Star
From Merry and Pippin to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, March 2024, The Toronto Star
Toronto Theatre Guide, a tour of five iconic theatres and their neighbourhoods, February 2024, for ON Culture Days
Review of Merrily We Roll Along, Shifting Ground Collective at the Annex Theatre, February 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of Guilt (A Love Story), Tarragon Theatre, February 2024, The Toronto Star
Interview with EGOT-winning composer Alan Menken for Aladdin’s return to Toronto, February 2024, The Toronto Star
Review of De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail, Soulpepper, February 2024, The Globe and Mail
Inside the world of theatre super fans, February 2024, The Toronto Star
Meet the brilliant theatre star proving that Black stories belong onstage any time of the year, February 2024, The Toronto Star
Theatre podcast captures buzzy performances to give plays a second life, January 2024, The Toronto Star
Sexy, anarchic, raw: a director reimagines Shakespeare and brings you The Tempest as you’ve never seen before, January 2024, The Toronto Star
Andrea Scott was a successful – but broke – Toronto playwright. So she moved to L.A. to write for TV, January 2024, The Toronto Star
The 14 theatre shows we can’t wait to see this year (with Karen Fricker and Aisling Murphy), January 2024, The Toronto Star
Comedian Andrew Barr: A sobering look at fighting addiction, January 2024, The Toronto Star
The breakthrough artists of Toronto’s theatre scene in 2023, December 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Crow’s Theatre and Musical Stage Company, December 2023, The Toronto Star
The Top 10 Canadian comedy albums of 2023, December 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Mirvish Productions, December 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of 42nd Street, UK tour by Mirvish Productions, December 2023, The Toronto Star
UK theatre legend Ruthie Henshall on 42nd Street and the state of musical theatre, December 2023, The Toronto Star
The 10 best theatre productions of 2023 (with J. Kelly Nestruck), December 2023, The Globe and Mail
Standup Steph Tolev's triumphant homecoming, December 2023, The Toronto Star
Alice in Wonderland gets a family-friendly revamp via Bad Hats Theatre, December 2023, The Toronto Star
15 (funny, heartwarming, lavish, musical) reasons to go to the theatre this holiday season, December 2023, The Toronto Star
Richard Thomas on why he had to star in Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Why playwrights can make good novelists: They’ve got the dialogue part figured out, November 2023, The Toronto Star
The Lion King set to return next year in a new homegrown sit-down staging, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Funnyman Ron Pederson returns to Second City, and the improv is chaos!, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Three Canadian theatre MVPs talk getting older, on and offstage, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Audra McDonald with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Comedy Bar turns 15, November 2023, The Toronto Star
Lucy Eveleigh moves to Luminato after leaving the Toronto Fringe, November 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of The Guide to Being Fabulous, Soulpepper/Her Words Festival, October 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of Jagged Little Pill, Mirvish Productions, National tour, October 2023, The Globe and Mail
Eldritch Theatre has provided old-timey, low-fi thrills and chills for almost 25 years, October 2023, The Toronto Star
Reviews of Next Stage Festival shows (with Joshua Chong and Karen Fricker), October 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of stand-up Hannah Einbinder, Comedy Bar Danforth, October 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of The Wild Rovers, October 2023, The Globe and Mail
Need a laugh? Put these 4 comedy albums from 5 Toronto artists on your must-listen list, October 2023, The Toronto Star
The Theatre of Tomorrow, October 2023, University of Toronto Magazine
Review of Wildwoman, Soulpepper/Her Words Festival, October 2023, The Toronto Star
How Donald Trump’s win in 2016 pushed Will Arbery to get Heroes of the Fourth Turning on stage, October 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of Heroes of the Fourth Turning, The Howland Company and Crow's Theatre, October 2023, The Toronto Star
Going to the theatre alone, October 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Appropriate, Coal Mine Theatre, October 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time, Tarragon Theatre, September 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Six The Musical, Mirvish Productions, September 2023, The Globe and Mail
Canada’s best-known theatre photographer shares the secrets to her (behind-the-scenes) success, September 2023, The Toronto Star
Interview with In Dreams creators David West Read and Luke Sheppard, September 2023, The Toronto Star
A guide to navigating this year’s Just for Laughs Toronto Festival, September 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Stratford Festival, September 2023, The Globe and Mail
Script Tease: 2 Second City alums, 8 Canadian playwrights, and 2 pages of cold-read script make for inspired improv, September 2023, The Toronto Star
Fall Theatre Guide: Exciting world premieres and intriguing twists await this season, September 2023, The Globe and Mail
Fall Stage Preview (with Karen Fricker and Joshua Chong), September 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Les Belles-Soeurs at the Stratford Festival, August 2023, The Globe and Mail
Sarah Garton Stanley “stoked” to dig into Calgary in new role at Arts Commons, August 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of Ordinary Days from Shifting Ground Collective, August 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of The Shadow of a Doubt at the Shaw Festival, August 2023, The Toronto Star
Random acts of theatre: What happens when actors don’t know their roles until seconds before the show?, August 2023, The Toronto Star
DION: A Rock Opera to get world premiere as part of Coal Mine Theatre’s four-show 2023/24 season, July 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of The Effect at Coal Mine Theatre, July 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of Wedding Band at the Stratford Festival, July 2023, The Toronto Star
12 days. 100 shows. 280 volunteers. Here’s what it takes to put on the Toronto Fringe Festival, July 2023, The Toronto Star
Toronto Fringe reviews of Mail Ordered, Family Road Trip, Ms. Titaverse, Do You Think You’re Better Than Me? and All of Our Parents Are Asian, July 2023, Parton & Pearl
Judy Garland, having a strong mother and finding her voice: Kiki Moritsugu on her Fringe show A Woman Is..., July 2023, The Toronto Star
They had a hit Fringe play about coaching straight actors to play gay. They’re back to send up the queer community, July 2023, The Toronto Star
10 Fringe shows for every type of theatregoer, July 2023, TorontoVerse
What a laugh! Improv institutions Theatresports and Bad Dog Theatre Company celebrate big anniversaries, July 2023, The Toronto Star
Ultimate guide to the Toronto Fringe Festival: 15 must-see shows (with Karen Fricker and Joshua Chong), June 2023, The Toronto Star
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wraps up its run in Toronto, June 2023, CBC’s Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Review of Richard II at the Stratford Festival, June 2023, The Globe and Mail
Hamilton musical star Donald Webber Jr., reflects on his newest role: father to Donald III, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of No Save Points from Outside the March, June 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of Loss at the Luminato Festival, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at the Luminato Festival, June 2023, Intermission
Exiting stage left: Why up-and-coming theatre artists are leaving the industry, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Armadillos at Factory Theatre, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Stratford Festival, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Review of Kelly v. Kelly from Canadian Stage and Musical Stage Co., June 2023, The Globe and Mail
Theatre peeves and cues: 9 things that make this critic cringe, June 2023, The Toronto Star
Gavin Crawford weaves humour and heartbreak of Alzheimer’s in Let’s Not Be Kidding podcast, May 2023, The Globe and Mail
Yes, Fatuma Adar is Having a Black Out night at She’s Not Special – But She Wants Everyone to Have Fun At Her Show, May 2023, The Toronto Star
Five Dramatic Ways the Toronto Theatre Scene Has Changed, May/June 2023, The Grind
Five Bars and Cafés in Toronto Theatres Worth a Visit on Their Own, May 2023, TorontoVerse
Theatre Etiquette: Do You Sing-Along at Musicals?, April 2023, The Toronto Star
Phantom of the Opera Nears the Point of No Return on Broadway, April 2023, CBC’s Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Reimagining Stratford: The Theatre Festival City is Ready to Put on a Show, April 2023, The Toronto Star
Why Wasn’t There Any Room for Room on Broadway?, March 2023, CBC’s Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Review of Fairview from Canadian Stage and Obsidian Theatre Co., March 2023, The Globe and Mail
Review of The Darkest Dark at Young People's Theatre, February 2023, The Globe and Mail
My First Month as an Independent Theatre Blogger, January 2023, Generator
Review of Fall on Your Knees from Canadian Stage and others, January 2023, Variety
Review of Fifteen Dogs at Crow’s Theatre, January 2023, The Globe and Mail