Theatre 2024: Dogfight Musical @ Harbourfront Centre Theatre

Since I love the genre, I have watched innumerable live-theatre musicals over the years, including multiple viewings of old standards and classics that feel repetitive and boring after so many repetitions.  I am always on the lookout for new (at least for me) musicals that I have not seen before. My husband Rich knows this, so he is vigilant in pointing out any that he finds, be they obscure oldies that we never came across, or new productions making their debuts.  We were therefore excited to spot an advertisement for “Dogfight the Musical”, especially after learning that this was an earlier (2012) work by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, who went on to win the Best Musical Tony award for Dear Evan Hansen as well as writing songs for films The Greatest Showman and Lala Land.

Based on a similarly named 1991 movie starring River Phoenix, Dogfight the Musical deals with a group of newly trained Marines on their last day in the U.S. before shipping off to fight in the Vietnam War. Perpetuating a cruel ritual that has supposedly been played out by generations of Marines, the young men take part in the eponymous “Dogfight” where each one places a bet that he can bring the ugliest girl to a dance.  Eddie Birdlace and his best friends Borland and Bernstein, who call themselves “The Three Bees”, take part in this contest and scour the streets of San Francisco for possible candidates.  Eddie comes across shy waitress and budding folk singer Rose at her diner and convinces her to go to the dance with him.  At first reluctant, Rose eventually agrees and is excited about attending her first real date.  As he gets to know Rose, Eddie feels bad about what he is going to subject her to and tries unsuccessfully to back out of taking her to the dance.  Once Rose figures out what is going on, she berates him and flees the scene.  Feeling remorse, Eddie ditches his friends to apologize to Rose and takes her out on a real date.

An interesting side plot adds depth to the typical, derivative love story of two lonely people who find each other and form a connection.  Through songs and dialogue, we witness the naivety of the young Marines who do not realize what they are getting themselves into in Vietnam.  They think that they will be back in no time and will be heralded as “Hometown Heroes”.  The dramatic irony is heartbreaking as history shows that the broken and traumatized men who did make it back alive were not welcomed with open arms.

While the musical did not get much recognition, having a short run Off-Broadway and then Off-West End (I didn’t know that was a thing?!), I thought this was a good early effort by a writing duo that went on to achieve much greater fame.  The songs ranged from catchy to heartfelt and successfully moved the plot along, although the constant use of scatting syllables like “da da da”, “doo-doo-doot” and “bum bum bum” in multiple songs made me feel like the pair had not yet mastered the art of writing intricate lyrics.

The production, which had a community theatre feel, was put on by Thaumatrope Theatre, an up-and-coming theatre troupe that formed in 2022 with the goal of providing acting opportunities for “early-career artists”.  Reading the cast bios, many of the actors were either recent graduates or still attending schools like Randolph College for Performing Arts, University of Toronto or York University.  The individual actors were talented enough with good singing and acting skills, but the cast could have benefited from a bit more rehearsal time as the timing of some group dance numbers, especially by the marines, seemed a bit off.  However, the main issues with the production were technical as there were audio issues with the microphones so that sometimes the volume was too low for the characters to be heard and sometimes it was so loud that the voices were deafening or sounded screechy.  There was also a problem in the lighting as scenes transitioned from dimly to brightly lit.  Twice in the performance, while trying to brighten the stage lights, harsh glaring spotlights were aimed directly at the audience.  The Harbourfront Centre Theatre has three levels of seating including catwalks leading to the stage and this production made use of all three levels.  The band was permanently situated at the centre of the second level and the actors would appear on the various levels during different scenes.  This staging technique would have been more effective if props were not being moved on and off the darkened stage at the same time, which distracted a bit from the action that was happening above.

Despite these hiccups, I enjoyed the show and am delighted to make an addition to my ever-expanding list of musicals that I have watched.

Theatre 2024: O Christmas Tea @ CAA Theatre

Over the years before he decided to retire, we have watched several of Canadian actor and comedian Ross Petty’s “Fractured Fairy Tale Musicals”, which are based on the traditional British Christmas pantomimes but with a unique spin that made these shows a beloved annual tradition in Toronto.  Following the UK tradition, Petty’s pantos were loosely based on familiar fairy tales and classic stories such as Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid or sometimes a mixture of characters from multiple tales, featured cross-dressing stock characters, and encouraged audience participation in call and response fashion including booing and hissing at the villains and cheering for the heroes which was fun for the kids.  They also included contemporary songs and mixed in jokes regarding local issues and politics that could be appreciated by the adults in the audience as well.

Therefore, when my husband Rich noticed that an acclaimed British pantomime called O Christmas Tea was making a 3-night run at the CAA Theatre in late November, we thought it would be a fun show to attend.  It turned out that this was not a traditional British pantomime, but rather a modern spin on the genre that came across as an absurdist Christmas panto.  We found it to be strange (not in a good way) and not very funny, although admittedly, humour is extremely subjective and there could have been a cultural divide that we could not span. 

The show started off with a quirky character named Jamesy who moves like a contortionist in the way that he can flex the muscles of his legs and foot.  Jamesey wants to invite his friend James (no, that is not the least bit confusing?!?) to tea and “phones” him using a teapot.  Once James arrives, it is clear that he can break the fourth wall and see the audience while initially Jamesy cannot.  As they converse, somehow Jamesy’s wild imagination causes their tea to flood the earth, taking them on a fantastical nautical journey that includes a shark, sea captain, first mate, the Queen of England and God.  These characters are played by members of the audience that are selected/dragged onto stage and asked to improvise while wearing silly costumes that were thrust upon them.  The scenes with this audience participation turned out to be the most fun because luckily, some quick-witted people were chosen and their improvisations added to the charm of the show.  Had they been duds, this could have been even worse.

Unfortunately, the rest of the show did not fare as well for many in the audience including us.  Part of the problem was that without the familiar structure of a fairy tale like Ross Petty’s pantos, we did not understand when or what we were supposed to call and respond.  The other issue was that we just didn’t find their jokes, pratfalls and slapstick schtick to be funny.  This was highlighted by one moment where James delivered a joke that landed flat.  He broke the fourth wall and addressed the audience, complaining that we did not appreciate his best joke of the night.  Just to be sure, he delivered the joke a second time—it still was not funny and no one laughed.  The silence was very awkward!  When you need to plead with the audience to laugh at your joke, there is something very wrong happening.  The best and funniest moment occurred during an acrobatic sequence early on in the show when James accidentally split open his pants.  Giggling at this unexpected development, the actor playing James adlibbed as he revealed what had happened by showing us the giant slit that exposed his underwear, then quipped with perfect timing and dramatic pause “I need to find a Tailor … Swiftly”.  Given that Taylor Swift was in Toronto for her Eras Tour that same weekend, this turned out to be the actual best joke of the night.

While there is obviously an interest and demand for this type of performance, it turns out that this modern take on the Christmas pantomime is not our cup of tea (pun intended).

Theatre 2024: Lion King Revival @ Princess of Wales

When I watched The Lion King in its initial Toronto run back in 2000, seeing Julie Taymor’s innovative use of puppetry for the first time was a magical and awe-inspiring experience that can never be replicated.  The first beats of the African chants, the giant rising sun and the appearance of the animal puppets produced a thrill that will stay in my memory forever.  I was used to seeing puppet acts where the puppeteers remained hidden such as The Muppets, or manipulated marionettes from above via strings as Ronnie Burkett or the kids from The Sound of Music do.  This was the first time where human puppeteers strode boldly on stage, perfectly integrated with their puppet forms so that man and animal blended into one in my imagination.  Tall giraffes played by actors on stilts, graceful zebras, loping gazelles, swirling birds and a giant lumbering elephant that traverses the auditorium to climb onto the stage all congregate to pay tribute to the birth of Simba, the heir of Pride Rock while his proud (pun intended) parents Mufasa and Sarabi look on.  The act of the mystical mandrill Rafiki hoisting the lion cub into the air with both arms outstretched has become so iconic that it widely parodied including in a hilarious scene from the TV show Modern Family.

Since The Lion King’s inception, no other show featuring puppets has so perfectly merged man and beast in such a beautifully stylized manner.  But there have been other hit shows including War Horse and Life of Pi that masterfully manipulate life-sized animal puppets while the puppeteers remain in full view.  It is as if Julie Taymor unleashed the potential of using puppets on stage as a new and powerful way of storytelling.  This influx of shows using hyper-realistic puppets to portray animals has somewhat diluted the impact of seeing them in The Lion King.

Now, over twenty years later, Mirvish Productions has launched a new home-grown, hopefully long-run production of The Lion King, intent on bringing this beloved spectacle to a new generation.  Recently, my husband Rich and I watched this version as part of our Mirvish subscription series.  This was the first time for him and I was a bit jealous that he would get to experience the that initial thrill.  For me, on second viewing, the puppetry was still wonderous but I would never get that initial electric rush again. I do not recall feeling this the first time that I watched The Lion King, but other than when the puppets were on full display, the rest of the show felt long and slow with the first act lasting an hour and 15 minutes. Rich felt the same, so it wasn’t just a repeat viewing phenomenon.

In 2018, the musical incorporated video elements into the show in an attempt to modernize it and “create a more immersive experience”.  It worked in some scenes, as when a tiny mouse scampered across the stage and was “scooped up” and eaten by Scar or when Rafiki asks the spirits to conjure up the image of Simba on the mystical Baobab tree.  However, I felt that the over-reliance on video especially in some critical scenes dampened the emotional impact of those moments.  Video was used to portray the onrush of approaching wildebeests but the video screen was so small and the animals did not seem to get any larger before they were suddenly replaced by “live action” beasts on stage.  Even worse for me was the staging of the big dramatic showdown between Simba and Scar in the grand finale.  Rather than depicting the actors portraying those characters in a choreographed fight scene, large metal screens covered the stage and a tiny video stream at the bottom showed the two lions fighting. For me, this was totally ineffective and the drained the tension out of what should have been a climatic scene, which felt frantic and rushed after the 2.5 hours of slow build leading up to this point.

Still, there is lots to love about the show.  I am sure that the new generation of children who get to see the Lion King for the first time will still be enthralled by Taymor’s gorgeous puppetry, the vibrant colours of the costumes, the comedic schtick of Timon and Pumba, the great set pieces that include Pride Rock and the Elephant Graveyard, and the iconic songs that they know by heart from the animated movies.  For me, this production did not live up to my memories of my first viewing.  But perhaps, that is just a case of “You can’t go home again”.

Theatre 2024: Dangerous Corner @ Dundas Little Theatre

 Recently we visited Dundas, Ontario which is now considered a satellite suburb of Hamilton.  We found this small community to be charming and vibrant, especially since we were there on the weekend before Halloween and found ourselves in midst of a bagpipe-led parade complete with costumed children, adults and pets alike, followed by a trick-or-treat event where all the local stores had candy ready for the neighbourhood children.

“Dundas Little Theatre” is an amateur theatre company that has been part of the local art scene since 1960. We watched the opening show of their 2024-25 season, which was the 1932 play “Dangerous Corner”, the first of many social commentaries written by English playwright J.B. Priestley.  Years ago, we watched his most famous play, the much adapted “An Inspector Calls” which deals with the class divisions and social responsibility for those less fortunate.

Dangerous Corner deals with secrets and lies and whether it is better to “let sleeping dogs lie”, as the old English idiom goes. To drum in this point, the play starts with three upper-class women dressed in evening gowns (Freda, Betty, Olwen) plus a modestly dressed elderly lady (Miss Mockridge) listening to a radio program named after that saying.  This play-within-a-play ends with a gunshot and a scream. As they discuss the show, they are joined by tuxedo-clad Robert, Gordon and Charles who all work at the same company along with Olwen.  Robert is married to Freda and Gordon to Betty while Charles is clearly smitten with Olwen.  Miss Mockridge is an esteemed author looking for ideas for her next book.  This group with their simmering emotions and secrets kept just under the surface provide her with delicious fodder.

The group partake in banal conversation while Gordon fiddles with the radio looking for dance music to liven up the party but finds only static.  A seemingly innocuous statement by Olwen triggers a cascading series of revelations about a suspicious suicide (or was it?!?), stolen money, marital infidelity, unrequited love and even sexual assault and homosexuality, which seem to be very risqué topics for the 1930s!  By the end of the play, none of the characters are any better off for having their secrets revealed, as relationships and friendships are torn apart.  Then in a “time-reset”, which is a trope for what has become known as Priestley’s “Time Plays”, the action rewinds to the beginning.  In this alternate timeline, Gordon successfully finds dance music which distracts everyone from questioning Olwen’s triggering statement.  Instead, they all dance happily and avoid the “Dangerous Corner” that they might have turned into.

To match the wealthy, upper-class English setting of the 1930s where Dangerous Corner takes place, both the wardrobe of the characters and the set design reflect the Art Deco style of the times.  I was impressed by how elegant and elaborate the gorgeous set was, especially for a show that only ran for two weeks.  In particular, the fireplace and mantlepiece, light sconces, stained glass designs on the double-doors at the back of the stage and the settees and lounger really sold the Art Deco time period.  The set designer Graham Clements revealed that some of the furnishings were borrowed from the Players’ Guild of Hamilton.

At the front of the stage is a table on which a chess set sits and at the start of the play, several pieces were knocked over and a couple had fallen onto the ground.  I was convinced throughout the show that there was a clue in this chessboard as to what was happening, especially since the pieces were picked up and then knocked over again in subsequent scenes.  I even studied the opening move of the pieces at half-time, trying to glean meaning from it. This all turned out to be a MacGuffin (stealing a term from Alfred Hitchcock) as the chessboard never figured into the plot.

One other interesting note for this rendition of Dangerous Corner is the addition of a maid who has no lines, but whose sole purpose seemed to be to aid the elderly actress playing Miss Mockridge up and down a couple of steps leading on and off the stage.  Considering that at least two other actors stumbled slightly on those steps, this might have been a wise move.  While the “dangerous corner” referenced in the play is purely psychological, these steps might have been the physical manifestation of this peril.

Given that this was a production by a self-proclaimed amateur theatre group, the overall acting and production value was stellar and quite enjoyable.

Theatre 2024: The Last Piece @ Hart House Theatre

I was initially hesitant about watching a musical about Alzheimer's, which I thought might be too sad and depressing. That it would be presented in “concert” with the cast sitting on stage without any sets, props, costumes, choreography or other stagecraft did not ease my discomfort.  But knowing my love of musicals and desire to watch new ones, my husband Rich convinced me to attend “The Last Piece” at University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre.  Am I ever glad that he did.  This turned out to be a wonderful experience, made all the more special by knowing that the book, music and lyrics were written by Shreya Jha, a U of T medical student in her final year of medical school.  It is mind-boggling to consider how talented Jha is to excel at both medicine and musical theatre, let alone the time management required to focus on both—no left-brain vs right-brain preference here!

The Last Piece deals with 60-year-old Amara who has been acrimoniously divorced from, and out of contact with, her ex-husband Andrew for over 10 years when she gets summoned to the hospital in her hometown.  Andrew has been admitted and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and Amara is listed as his emergency contact.  Amara rants to her friends Morgan, Franchine and Shelby about this imposition and all the bad memories of the breakup that Andrew’s resurgence brings up.  Through flashbacks played by a set of younger actors, we see how Amara and Andrew originally met in university and connected over their mutual love of jigsaw puzzles.  The pieces of these puzzles become a metaphor for the couple’s relationship and their different goals and values.  While Amara is careful and methodical, always starting her puzzles at the corners before filling in the middle, Andrew randomly attaches pieces and enjoys being surprised as to the outcome.  Andrew wants to travel the world and experience new adventures, declaring that home is anywhere in the world where they can be together.  Amara wants stability, permanence and the traditional definition of home, which includes a job, house, kids, friends and family.  Despite their love for each other, these fundamental differences result in the constant need for unhappy compromises, and eventually drive them apart.  Now Andrew is back, with his wanderlust and desire for change dampened by his disease and his fading memories taking him more and more to the past.  Amara struggles with whether she should let Andrew back into her life and take on the responsibility of caring for him as his health declines.

The Last Piece is a moving tale of love, loss, memories and family.  The proverbial “last piece” had many meanings in the play, including the physical last piece to complete their jigsaw puzzle, or symbolically to represent the last piece of Andrew’s memory that he struggles to preserve.  The lyrics of one of the songs included the line that “you never know how beautiful a puzzle is until you put in the last piece”. A wonderful 6-person band featuring a violin, cello, guitar, reeds, base and drums sat at the back of the stage behind the actors, providing the score of the musical.  Judging by their ages, they were probably U of T students. They also delightfully serenaded us with jazz classics prior to the start of the show.

The intimate songs and dialogue did not suffer from the lack of sets or movement, but the lack of costumes and the ages of the actors detracted a bit from the storyline.  The older Amara and Andrew were played by actors well short of the sixty-year-old characters they were supposed to portray.  The younger actors fit well when playing 20-year-olds but did not resonate as much when they “aged” three decades up to age 50, all while still dressed in young Andrew’s ripped jeans and young Amara’s school-girl pleated skirt and nylons. Having said that, the acting and vocal singing abilities of the entire cast was very good, especially the powerfully emotional performances by the two Amaras.  The show is only playing for three nights (and one matinee) at Hart House.  I hope that this musical gets a proper staging at some point, perhaps at a future Fringe Festival or even a larger theatre.