Wayne Leung (1981-2019)
Wayne was the Managing Editor of Mooney on Theatre from 2012 - 2019 and will be sorely missed. His death from an apparent heart attack was a loss not just to Mooney on Theatre, but also to the Toronto Theatre Community at large. You can read our publisher Megan Mooney's tribute to him here here.
Wayne was a writer, editor and corporate communications professional who was thrilled to be a part of the Mooney on Theatre team. Wayne loved theatre ever since his aunt brought him to a production of Les Misérables at the tender age of ten . . . despite the fact that, at that age, the show’s plot was practically indiscernible and the battle scenes scared the bejeezus out of him. Wayne’s current list of likes ran the gamut from opera, ballet and Shakespeare to Broadway musicals, circus and Fringe theatre. Outside of the theatre Wayne’s interests included travel, technology and food.
Cirque du Soleil brings its Avatar prequel arena show TORUK — The First Flight to Toronto
Do you remember Avatar? The blockbuster 2009 James Cameron movie featured Sigourney Weaver, a bunch of blue aliens (the “Na’vi”) and a beat-you-over-the-head environmental message. For its latest venture, TORUK – The First Flight, Cirque du Soleil has created a “live experience,” specifically designed for arenas, that takes place in the universe that Cameron created for the film. This is the first time the company has based a show on a pre-existing film property and the results are … interesting. Continue reading Review: TORUK — The First Flight (Cirque du Soleil)→
Mirvish brings a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera to Toronto
If you’re a Toronto theatre-goer of a certain vintage, The Phantom of the Opera will hold a certain significance for you. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s bombastic ‘80s mega-musical melodrama was a bonafide pop culture phenomenon. The original Canadian production opened in 1989 at the Pantages (now Ed Mirvish) Theatre and ran for over a decade.
For the musical’s 25th anniversary, the show was dusted off and a new tour was mounted with a brand new staging by director Laurence Connor. It’s this new touring production that Mirvish is currently presenting in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre so the show’s “phans” can expect to see something new as they re-visit an old favourite. Continue reading Review: The Phantom of the Opera (Mirvish)→
Transcendance Project brings dark, seductive, immersive dance-theatre to Toronto’s Great Hall
Toronto dance company Transcendance Project, brings The Eve of St. George; a dark, seductive immersive dance-theatre experience to The Great Hall. Billed as a “very special Masquerade,” audience members are given masks upon arrival then set free to roam the rooms and corridors on three floors of The Great Hall to stumble upon scenes and follow characters around the building as anonymous voyeurs, each constructing their own unique narrative experience. Continue reading Review: The Eve of St. George (Transcendance Project)→
Toronto’s Factory Theatre revives a classic Canadian play: Banana Boys by Leon Aureus
Pop quiz: name an Asian-American male actor who’s played a romantic lead role in a mainstream movie or TV show … Trick question, that’s literally never happened. We all-but-invisible (East) Asian-American/Canadian men; yellow on the outside, white on the inside, often stereotyped as diminutive, nerdy, and asexual, are finally given a chance to step into the spotlight and break down those prejudices in Banana Boys.Continue reading Review: Banana Boys (Factory Theatre)→
Mirvish brings a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera to Toronto
Toronto’s Factory Theatre revives a classic Canadian play: Banana Boys by Leon Aureus