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.
Even if Jake Epstein’s name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, you’d recognize him. You’ve seen the Toronto-based actor in something, whether it’s his work on TV in shows like Degrassi and Suits, or, if you’re a musical theatre geek like me, from his leading roles in multiple Broadway musicals. Epstein is now back in Toronto headlining in his own solo cabaret/show-biz confessional, Boy Falls From the Sky: Jake Epstein Live at Supermarket presented by Past Future Productions and now playing as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Be Kind, Rewind is the latest collaboration between perennial Toronto Fringe Festival favourites Edge of the Sky and the musical writing duo Barbara Johnston and Suzy Wilde (Summerland, One Small Step). Their new show is a coming-of-age musical centred on a misfit teen’s attempt to re-invent herself while working at a video rental store/bait shop in a Northern Ontario cottage town in the summer of 1995.
Luminato brings a new version of the a cappella telling of the Salem Witch trials to Toronto
Obeah Opera tells the story of the Salem witch trials from the perspective of the first woman accused: a Caribbean slave named Tituba. Sung through entirely a cappella, the latest incarnation of this surprisingly vibrant and uplifting show is currently presented in Toronto as part of the Luminato Festival. Continue reading Review: Obeah Opera (Luminato/Asah Productions)→
Soulpepper presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts in Toronto
I had invited a friend to join me for the opening night of the new production of August: Osage County by Soulpepper on Friday night but when I mentioned it was a three and a half-hour family drama with two intermissions he decided to pass. His loss; he missed out on an absolutely riveting evening of theatre. Continue reading Review: August: Osage County (Soulpepper)→