Mirvish presents Broadway-bound original Canadian musical Come From Away in Toronto

***NOTE: All performances are cancelled between Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, April 12 to respect social-distancing requests around COVID -19

Like many people, I’ve been in a miserable funk since the US election. Since that day, the world has become a much darker place and the future looks so bleak. Come From Away, an original Canadian musical playing in Toronto before heading to Broadway, was the balm I needed to soothe the ache in my soul. It’s an unabashedly uplifting story about the triumph of the human spirit in another dark moment in history. By the end of the show I was so moved that I wanted to leap up on my feet and cheer for the goodness of humanity.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the FAA grounded all aircraft across the US and closed American airspace causing hundreds of flights to be diverted. That day, 38 planes carrying 6,579 passengers and crew members were forced to land in the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland, nearly doubling its population at the time. Come From Away is about the events of that fateful day and how the community of Gander came together to care for these strangers in their hour of need. Continue reading Review: Come From Away (Mirvish) →

Mirvish brings theatrical circus troupe 7 Fingers’ latest show Cuisine & Confessions to Toronto

Inviting someone to your home for a meal is one of the most personal gestures you can extend to someone. Establishing a deeper connection with someone by sharing a meal together seems to be a universal human experience that cuts across cultures. It just so happens that establishing a human connection by sharing food is exactly what theatrical circus troupe the 7 Fingers attempts to do in their new show Cuisine & Confessions.  Continue reading Review: The 7 Fingers Cuisine & Confessions (Mirvish) →

Toronto’s Theatre Fix stages an immersive show about refugees inside a shipping container

A year ago the world was collectively stunned by the image of Alan Kurdi, a young Syrian boy whose lifeless body washed up on a beach after he drowned in the Mediterranean sea as his family attempted the perilous crossing to seek asylum in Europe. It took that shocking photo to humanize the millions of refugees worldwide enough for the world to finally take notice.

The Container, a remount of a production presented at the 2014 SummerWorks festival, is a stark, gripping, immersive show staged in an actual 20-foot shipping container. The play sheds light on the stories of the people who risk their lives on these dangerous migration routes.  Continue reading Review: The Container (Theatre Fix) →