Theatre 2026: The Great Gatsby @ Ed Mirvish Theatre

The Great Gatsby is a classic, tragic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 that deals with themes of obsessive love, privilege that comes with great wealth, corruption, moral decay, and disillusionment. Set in the decadent Jazz Age on Long Island, NY, the story is told through first-person narration by writer and bond trader Nick Carraway, describing his interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with reuniting with his former lover, the flighty and selfish Daisy Buchanan (nee Fay), who is Nick’s distant cousin.  Jay and Daisy were in love before he left to fight in World War I. Because he was poor, she chose not to wait for him and married the wealthy, brutish and philandering Tom Buchanan instead. Determined to win her back after the war, Gatsby turned himself into a self-made millionaire through shady dealings including illegal bootlegging. He built a mansion directly across the bay from the Buchanan home, which has a green light on its dock that acts as a beacon of hope for Jay. He throws lavish, uproarious parties to entice Daisy to attend but she never does. When Nick moves into a cottage next to Gatsby’s estate, Jay convinces him to invite Daisy to tea as a ploy to set up the former lovers’ reunion. Gatsby’s obsession with the past and his unrealistic, idealized image of Daisy eventually leads to tragic events that symbolize the loss of the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby has been adapted into movies several times. The most notable movie is a faithful 1974 adaptation starring Robert Redford as the suave, aloof and mysterious Gatsby and Mia Farrow as the ethereal Daisy.  The tone of the movie is muted and melancholy, reflected even in the wardrobe of the characters which are often in white or black hues, while jazz music true to the era is played throughout the scenes. By contrast, the 2013 remake starring Leonardo Dicaprio in the titular role and Carey Mulligan as Daisy leans into the hedonism and debauchery of the times with hyper, fast-paced cinematography, bright colours and controversially, the use of modern hip-hop and pop music intermixed with jazz. Whereas Fitzgerald’s book is a dark, cynical critique of the wealth, greed and excesses of the upper class, the 2013 movie glamorizes and even celebrates it.

The musical version of The Great Gatsby opened on Broadway in 2024 to mixed critical reviews but rave audience reaction, partly propelled by the star power of Tony-nominated actors Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) as Gatsby and Eva Nobelzada (Hadestown) as Daisy.  A roadshow version has come to Toronto but must not have sold very well since the run was cut short by multiple weeks and our tickets were moved to an earlier date to fit the new closing date. Accordingly, we went in with low expectations.

Our first impressions were good since the set design was stunning. Before the show opened, we were treated to the view of the Buchanan home and its blinking green light as seen from Gatsby’s estate. Adding to the ambience were the sounds of crashing waves and the calls of seagulls. The stunning sets continued with glamorous Art Deco designs representing Gatsby’s mansion and the era-appropriate, luscious costumes were equally impressive. We received an early glimpse of some of the wardrobe from displays in the lobby.

The initial songs do a good job of setting the scene and propelling the plot. The opening number “Roaring On” describes the jazz age (“Tonight let’s misbehave … the city’s reignited. The Great War is done”) while also providing Nick’s exposition as he starts to narrate the story. “Absolute Rose” introduces Daisy and her friend Jordan Baker who becomes Nick’s love interest.  “New Money” explains Gatsby’s world of the nouveau-riche and “For Her” allows Gatsby to convey the depth of his obsession with Daisy.

We also liked the choreography, especially in the large group numbers like “Roaring On” where the influence of legendary choreographer Bob Fosse seems quite apparent. The number “Shady”, describing Gatsby’s illicit dealings with his partner Wolfsheim, was also well done with the use of square spotlights and dancers in fedoras and trenchcoats that flap around like capes as they move.

It was interesting to compare some differences in tone and especially in plot between the various sources. The musical tried to redeem the characters to make them less self-indulgent and unlikeable or added plot points to give them more depth. As a result, Daisy no longer cynically chooses money over love when she gives up on Gatsby and marries Tom. Instead, through manipulation from her father, she is led to believe that Gatsby died in the war and marries Tom while in grief. Tom’s mistress Mrytle is pregnant with his child in the musical and is given the fabulous torch song “One-Way Road” where she also debates her choice of love or money before meeting her unfortunate fate.

Our major issue with the show was with the portrayal of Gatsby and it is unclear whether this was a result of the actor’s performance or the way the character is written in the musical’s book. Rather than the mysterious, sophisticated and debonair persona described in the book and as portrayed by Redford and DiCaprio, our Gatsby came across as goofy, insecure and immature. This especially came across in the song “Only Tea” where he is so nervous to meet Daisy that he actually jumps into the bushes to hide when she arrives. As a result, we did not feel much romantic chemistry between the two leads.  Whether this was deliberately played for laughs or not, it undermined the dark nature of the source material. Looking at the images of the cast in the program, I wonder if the actor playing Gatsby was too young for the role.

It did not help that the show played at the Ed Mirvish Theatre and as always, the sound system is problematic.  Usually, it is impossible to hear since the sound is too low. This time, perhaps to compensate, the sound was cranked up so loud that every song sounded like the actors were shouting and that in itself muffled the lyrics for me and took away any tenderness or subtly to the love songs. As a result, although I liked the songs when listening to the soundtrack, I did not enjoy these live singing performances.

This show has promise and I might have appreciated it more had I watched it in a theatre with good sound and a more appropriate cast. Based on what we got, I understand why the show’s run ended early. We might have been in the minority in our assessment of the show since many others in the audience were really into it and there were multiple women walking around dressed like flappers.

Theatre 2026: Blyth Festival - Last Mayor of Rusty River, Curveball, Dry Streak

After talking about it for years, this is the first year that my husband Rich and I managed to get to the Blyth Festival in Huron County, Ontario. Founded in 1975, this is a theatre festival dedicated exclusively to the creation and performance of original Canadian plays, often with rural or small-town themes and occasionally based on true local stories. The festival runs each year between June through September and offers 5-7 shows for the season. There is usually a “Bonanza Weekend” where most if not all the shows are programmed to run back-to-back with special passes sold for this event. Two venues are used for the festival—the indoor Memorial Hall (Margaret Stephens Stage) and an outdoor space called the Harvest Stage with an open-air stage and a covered canopy for the audience.

Because of other commitments, we were not able to attend the Bonanza weekend this year.  But we did select three shows that would play on Saturday and Sunday and made a four day long-weekend out of it with visits to nearby Goderich (which we used as a home base) and Bayfield along the way.

Our first show was The Last Mayor of Rusty River, a bluegrass musical comedy which had a very promising premise for zaniness and hilarity. To protest the ineffectiveness of longtime incumbent mayor Larry Fletcher and his obsequiously loyal deputy Jerry Jones, two young, up-start councillors (Tina Stackhouse and Tim McCavity) decide to run Captain Whiskers, a cat, as his opponent in the next election. I wondered if it was intentional that Tim's last name was also the name of one of the lead characters in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats?

The first act of this two-act play sets up the conflict through several council meetings in municipal chambers, held both behind closed doors and open to the press, as represented by reporter Harmony.  The beleaguered clerk Judy Townsend tries in vain to keep decorum. In these meetings, through bluster, bullying and mockery, Fletcher rebuffs any attempts by the younger councillors to discuss important issues like infrastructure, economic growth, or homelessness, which is Tina’s passionate cause. Instead, he focuses on trivial matters such as deciding on a town mascot and tries to hide shady dealings made for his own personal gain. Finally fed up with Fletcher’s incompetence and corruption, Tim declares that he will register his cat Captain Whiskers to run against Fletcher in the upcoming election, since even a cat would do a better job than the current mayor. After this lengthy setup, we are primed for the mockery of an election between a buffoon and a feline.

Instead, the second act takes a tonal shift when Tina decides that she will also run for mayor, making it a three-way race, highlighted by a mayoral debate between the candidates. Suddenly the play becomes very preachy as Tina rails about the plight of the homeless and we feel like we are in a humanities or ethics lecture instead of watching a comedy. Whether intended or not, the character of Fletcher channels our current provincial premier Doug Ford, using his signature catch-phrase “my friends” to preface each sentence and replying with nonsensical doublespeak that never actually answers the questions put before him. Tim’s “interpretation” of what Captain Whiskers had to say produced some funny moments, including the proverbial “cat coughing up of a hairball” joke.  But for the most part, much of the humour felt sapped from the play as it veered from being a satire to trying to make a serious social statement. There were some cute songs sung by actor-musicians who also played the various instruments including piano, drums, guitars, and more. The songs were fun but didn’t really advance the plot to make this a traditional book musical and felt disconnected from the rest of the show. Both Rich and I thought that the play started strongly but waned by the second act and went on a bit too long.

We encountered clever promotional material that hyped up the show before even entering the theatre. There were political signs campaigning for Captain Whiskers found along the streets leading up to Memorial Hall. In the lower-level gallery below the theatre was a polling station where you could vote for Fletcher, Larry (“Experienced, Connected, Probably Knows a Guy) or Whiskers, Captain (“Independent, Curious, Answers to No one…except the Global Tuna Consortium”). We still found this show entertaining to watch, but it did not turn out to be what we expected).

Our next show was based on a true story from the 1950s of women employed at Stratford, Ontario’s Kroehler furniture plant who were part of the company’s softball team. This was during a time when corporate softball and fastball leagues were popular in Southwestern Ontario. After their day jobs assembling furniture, they played competitive baseball at night to packed stands. After a disappointing 1952 season and a slow start with many setbacks in 1953, the Kroehler Girls staged a “legendary” comeback that took them to the regional championships, resulting in their winning both the Provincial Women’s Softball Union Intermediate A and Junior A Championships.

Expanding on the 2021 play “Kroehler Girls!”, Curveball: The Fast-Pitch Ladies from the Factory Floor is a musical that dramatizes this historic achievement. Fictionalized characters, who are amalgamations of real-life players, were developed from extensive research through the archives of the Stratford-Perth Museum.  Some of the stories and dialogue were taken directly from interviews with the original team members.

The cast includes the male coach and six female players who represent the core of the team. There is Honey, the leader and star player who has lost her powerful hitting stroke due to personal issues that become apparent as the show progresses. Doll is the matron of the group with three children to juggle on top of her factory job by day and her baseball job by night. She represents the grit and determination of the players who refused to give up their passion for sports even after marriage. Shack is fierce, abrasive and the most competitive member of the team. Her character is named in honour of Elaine Shackleton, a key member of the 1950s squad. Despite being portrayed as the team’s “sexpot”, Wanda is intelligent, ambitious and determined to break free of traditional women’s roles set by the era’s patriarchal limitations. She dreams of leaving the steno pool to become a saleswoman. Wanda’s sister Georgie is the newcomer to the team, a power pitcher who tries to fit in and win the trust and respect of her teammates. Nora is a dependable player and factory worker who rounds out the core roster and takes part in the game sequences. Finally, James is a bit actor at the newly opened Stratford Theatre where evening performances conflicted with the baseball games that were played at the same time. James becomes a romantic partner for Georgie, thus merging the arts and sports worlds.

This is a heart-felt show about teamwork, camaraderie, “finding your power” and dealing with any “curveballs” that come your way, whether in baseball or in life. It intermixes action-packed sequences from softball practices and games with scenes that delve into the personal lives of the players and their coach, highlighting their hopes, fears and challenges. It also gave historical context to the regional Ontario in the 1950s, reflecting on post-World War II industrial culture, shifting gender roles, the rise of theatre in Stratford, and the start of decline in interest in women’s sports that had become so popular during the war years. 

It was especially fun to watch this show in the open-air Harvest Stage that was decked out with an old scoreboard and faded vintage signs advertising companies of the time including Kroehlers, Canadian Tire, A&P Food Stores, Olin Brown Candies, CJCS 1240 Radio and more.  The composer of the musical played piano at one side of the stage, providing musical accompaniment for tunes that ranged from emotional “I want” songs to upbeat team cheers. Before the show started, the artistic director of the Blyth Festival paid tribute to audience members who were descendants of Kroehler Girls. It was interesting to note that one of the playwrights was Andy Pogson, the nephew of the power-hitting 3rd baseman Marg Syms (née Pogson) on the team.

Our final show was a hilarious comedy that coincidentally starred the entire cast from Last Mayor of Rusty River, plus one additional actor. It was interesting to see all these performers in different roles so soon after watching them in the first show. Dry Streak is set in the fictional town of Stoney Valley, Saskatchewan in 1988 but is based on playwright and grain farmer Leeann Minogue’s real-life experience of living through one of the worse droughts in modern-day prairie history that year while working on her farm in Swift Current Saskatchewan.

The plot focuses on one multi-generational farming family headed by patriarch Peter and his put-upon wife Olive, who is expected to do all the cooking, cleaning and even answering the telephone. They have three children including Denise who is married with rambunctious twin boys (never seen but always getting into trouble), Charlie, the black sheep who spurned farming in favour of a job in radio broadcasting and youngest son John who is returning from the “big city” of Calgary with his new girlfriend Kate. 

This becomes the proverbial “fish out of water” trope as the family strives to accept Kate who is a punk-rock loving, vegetarian and is not interested in marriage and knows nothing about farming or rural life. John was born and bred to be a farmer and wants to take over the farm one day. Big-hearted and ultra-sociable, Kate works hard to fit in and adapt while suffering along with the rest of the community from the stifling heat, dust and lack of rain. One day after having a few too many drinks at a bar, Kate jokes that if it would just rain already, she would run naked down Main Street. Unfortunately, her flippant remark was overheard and reported in the local newspaper and from there things spiral out of control, going national after being picked up by the CBC.

Dry Streak is a wonderful, heartwarming, feel-good story that continues to build and gain momentum until it reaches a hilarious, laugh-out-loud, and thoroughly satisfying twist ending. Structurally, this is exactly how a good play should progress. Of the three shows that we watched, this was by far our favourite and it was so great to end our first Blyth festival on a high note.

Theatre 2026: Tao of the World @ Stratford Festival

Jovanni Sy is a Chinese/Filipino Canadian actor, director and playwright who has become known for reworking classic plays and putting a modern and often Asian spin on them.  As part of Stratford Festival’s 2024 lineup, his play “Salesman in China” dramatized and extrapolated upon the real-life events of American playwright Arthur Miller who traveled to Beijing in 1983 to direct a Mandarin version of Death of a Salesman featuring prominent Chinese actor Ying Ruocheng in the role of Willy Loman. Performed in both English and Mandarin (with surtitles), Salesman in China ponders how these two artists from differing cultural, political and linguistic backgrounds can learn to collaborate, while delving into each man’s personal history. We will see Salesman in China as the last show of our 2026/27 Mirvish subscription series.

This season, Sy is back at Stratford directing his latest play, “Tao of the World”, which is a re-working of the iconic Restoration Comedy, “Way of the World”, written by William Congreve in 1700. Restoration Comedies were written and performed between 1660-1710, beginning during the reign of King Charles II, and sought to rebel against the previous morally-strict Puritan regime led by Oliver Cromwell. As such, the plays featured risqué humour, provocative themes of sexual intrigue and adultery, fast-paced plots, and witty dialogue. Way of the World is also considered a “Comedy of Manners” in that it satirizes the behaviour, etiquette, and conventions of the upper classes.

In “Way of the World”, the charming but manipulative rake Edward Mirabell wishes to marry Millamant, who is set to inherit a sizeable dowry, but only if her aunt Lady Wishfort approves of her choice of husband. Unfortunately, Lady Wishfort despises Mirabell, who previously spurned her sexual advances. Instead, Wishfort considers her nephew Sir Wilfull Witwould as a more suitable spouse for Millamant. Mirabell previously had a secret affair with Wishfort’s daughter Arabella, who he then forced into a loveless marriage with his rival Fainall. Still smitten with Mirabell, Arabella helps him with a plot to compromise and blackmail her mother into agreeing to the marriage. Mirabell arranges for his manservant Waitwell to marry Lady Wishfort’s maid Foible. He then disguises Waitwell as his wealthy (but non-existent) uncle Sir Rowland in order to woo Lady Wishfort. He hopes to cause such a scandal once Waitwell’s identity and marital status is revealed that Lady Wishfort will be forced to consent to the marriage in exchange for suppressing the details. Fainall and Mrs.Marwood (who are also having an affair) find out about the plot and try to blackmail Mrs.Wishfort and Arabella themselves, since they also found out about Arabella’s affair with Mirabell. Fainfall demands control of the family fortune in order to preserve the reputation of the family. But clever Mirabell had anticipated this possibility and had previously arranged for all of Arabella’s assets to be transferred into his control. Grateful for his help, Lady Wistfort agrees to the marriage between Edward and Millamant.

In his graduating thesis for his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Calgary, Jovanni Sy discussed how he originally intended to stage Way of the World as written, just to prove that a “person of colour” could direct a Restoration Comedy. But while he was reviewing the play, he encountered elements of the plot that have not aged well and would be “problematic for modern Canadian audiences”. These issues included sexist tropes and double standards, lack of agency for the female characters and the overly cruel treatment of Lady Wistford which would no longer be considered funny. Mirabell’s character and actions make him so unlikeable by today’s standards that it would be difficult to portray him as a romantic hero. Also, a five-act play would not go over well with the limited attention spans of audiences today.

All these issues led to Sy’s writing of “Tao of the World”, which takes the basic plot points of Congreve’s play but transposes it to the modern-day world of Singapore’s uber-rich, mixing Restoration Comedy with influences from the 2018 hit movie Crazy Rich Asians. Sy has created a hilarious, fast-paced, intelligent romantic comedy that addresses or modernizes the less acceptable aspects of the source material. The female characters now have agency and drive much of the plot. Arabella is the protagonist of this story instead of Edward. Millicent is strong-willed, sexually adventurous and not afraid to pursue her desires. Arabella’s mother, Lady Helen Yu, is still a vain controlling woman, but her comeuppance is silly and farcical instead of cruel and humiliating. And this is a two-act play where you are having so much fun that the time just flies by.

In Sy’s version, Arabella is a spoiled, privileged rich heiress who was once romantically involved with Edward Lim but broke up with him and married Trevor Flynn instead. She regrets this decision and is still in love with Edward. When he declares that he is in love with and plans to marry her younger cousin Millicent, Arabella is crushed but schemes to break them up. Edward and Millicent’s path to marriage is blocked by Arabella’s mother Lady Helen Yu, who controls access to Millicent’s trust fund inheritance which will be released to her upon her marriage. A second stipulation states that Millicent must still be a virgin (which she already is not at the start of the play—a fact that she tries to conceal). Arabella pretends to help the couple but secretly tries to pair Millicent up with another suitor, Dr. Wilson Wong. Hilarity ensues when it becomes apparent to all that Wilson is gay and very attracted to Arabella’s good friend and confidante Devan, who is in a closeted relationship with his partner Jackson. Devan is the son of a former beloved servant who passed away during the COVID pandemic, a fact that becomes important towards the end of the play.

Following the twists from the source material, Edward tries to gain advantage over Lady Helen by finding incriminating photos from her younger days when she had a tryst with a shockingly famous and influential man who became a monk. As a running joke, each time his name is spoken aloud, it is bleeped over by perfectly timed sound effects including very soft bleeps the one time the name is whispered.  Playing on her fascination with Buddhist monks because of her lost love, Edward convinces Jackson to dress up as one in an attempt to steal the salacious photos. Trevor Flynn and his illicit paramour Eleanor Marwood wind up with the photos and try to blackmail Lady Helen themselves, as well as gain access to half of Arabella’s fortune through divorce. Using a similar plot device as Way of the World, Flynn is thwarted when it turns out that Arabella had signed over the shares of her company to Devan, in a show of love and act of contrition relating to another plot point. With the photos retrieved and the marriage blessed, we get the same happy ending as in the original play.

Sy wrote his comedy in 2021 during the tail end of COVID but set the action in the near future when the pandemic has run its course but is still fresh on everyone’s minds. At the beginning of the play, many of the servants wear masks and there is mention of vaccines. Sy modernized his play by adding gay characters at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Singapore (repealed in 2023) and gay marriage was prohibited (as it still is today). His female characters are unabashedly overtly sexualized and he gives a voice to the servants who initially just silently observe the hi-jinx of their employers but eventually get to express their grievances. In scenes where karaoke or singing is involved, well-known Mandarin songs are used to give authenticity to the world that Sy has wrapped his characters in.  Not understanding what was being sung (or occasionally being said) in no way detracted from the fun being had.

This was a joyous play to watch with superb acting and comedic timing, especially by Agnes Tong who plays Arabella and Michael Man who plays Wilson. As Arabella, Tong’s facial expressions are priceless, especially when she presents a fake happy face to Edward, then breaks the fourth wall and turns towards the audience to show how she really feels. Man’s portrayal of Wilson’s flustered anxiety and gag reflexes left the audience howling with laughter.  Kudos to Stratford for this avant-garde show that strays from its comfort zone of programming Shakespearean or classical dramas. I think it helped that Tao of the World was performed at the smaller and beautifully renovated Tom Patterson Theatre with its elongated thrust stage, while leaving its mainstream shows in the large theatre spaces.