"A Christmas Story", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw A Christmas Story ... it's based on the movie of the same name, which we like.

Based on the perennial holiday movie favorite, A CHRISTMAS STORY chronicles young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker as he schemes his way toward the holiday gift of his dreams, an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.

An infamous leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas wish.

A CHRISTMAS STORY is a triple-dog-dare of a good time and it is sure to warm your heart this holiday season!

It has just arrived at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood, and will be there until the end of December. 

We've seen many plays there over the years and this one was okay, not one of our favourites ... we found it didn't capture the enthusiasm and humour of the movie.  Adult Ralphie is the narrator and is almost always on stage.  The actors were good, with some playing various parts. 

The music was loud, though, so it was hard to hear what the actors were saying (we were in the second row in the centre) ... so maybe turn down the music or turn up the actors' microphones.

"Priscilla Queen of the Desert", Randolph Theatre, Toronto

This evening Gord and I saw Priscilla Queen of the Desert ... I love the movie and have see the musical a few times.

Based on the Oscar-winning movie, "Priscilla" is the hilarious adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus bound for the Outback to put on the show of a lifetime. Their epic journey is a heart-warming story of self-discovery, sassiness and acceptance. 

This smash-hit show features a dazzling array of stunning costumes, fabulous feathers and a non-stop parade of dance-floor classics including "It's Raining Men", "Hot Stuff", "I Will Survive", "I Love the Nightlife", "Finally" and many more!

It recently opened and is playing until November 3.  Though it's a Lower Ossington Theatre production, it is at the Randolph Theatre.

It's the first time I've seen a play there ... it's a cool theatre.  Our seats were in the middle of the first row in the balcony.

The current building was erected in 1888 by the congregation of the Bathurst Street Wesleyan Methodist Church. The cornerstone was laid by Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada. Over the years, it inspired many church congregations, eventually becoming the Bathurst Street United Church. In the 1950s, facing a dwindling congregation, the building began to be rented out for concerts and plays. The building became better known as a theatre than a church. In 1985, the building became a permanent and well-known theatre.

"The Rocky Horror Show", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw The Rocky Horror Show ... we've seen it a few times.  I saw this production a couple weeks ago and loved it!

We know you shivered with antici ... pation, and the wait is over! Rocky Horror is back for Halloween!

This comedy horror and cult classic tells the story of newly engaged couple Brad Majors ("A-HOLE!") and Janet Weiss ("SLUT!"), who meet a group of strange individuals!

Sold-out for 8 years, you can't miss this hilarious spectacle, live on stage!

It is playing until the middle of November at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  We've seen many plays there over the years and haven't seen a bad production there.

The Lower Ossington Theatre has a small intimate theatre (maybe 100 seats) and a great place to see a play or musical.

Our seats were next to the narrator

"The Rocky Horror Show", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening I saw The Rocky Horror Show ... I've seen it a few times.

We know you shivered with antici ... pation, and the wait is over! Rocky Horror is back for Halloween!

This comedy horror and cult classic tells the story of newly engaged couple Brad Majors ("A-HOLE!") and Janet Weiss ("SLUT!"), who meet a group of strange individuals!

Sold-out for 8 years, you can't miss this hilarious spectacle, live on stage!

It is playing until the the middle of November at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  I've seen many plays there over the years and haven't seen a bad production there.

The Lower Ossington Theatre has a small intimate theatre (maybe 100 seats) and a great place to see a play or musical.

My seat was in the front row.  At one point, Frank-N-Furter sat across me on the stage and asked me if he should kill Eddie.  Alas, I had to say yes.

The actors were excellent!  It was interesting to see the liberties they took .... they embellished some of the lines, which worked out well.  I'm assuming there were plants in the audience as they were yelling out lines to which the cast responded.

Many of actors returned from the production last year.  David Light, the actor playing Frank N' Furter, was fabulous ... he was campy (but not too campy) and funny.  Patrick Avery-Kenny and Amanda Milligan were good as Brad and Janet (Amanda was Janet last year).  The part of the narrator was played again very well by Dani Zimmer ... she got drunker as it went on and was a hoot.   As a head's up there is swearing and sexuality (for example, Janet gets her boobs grabbed a lot).

This was a fun production and I'd like to see it again!

"It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Faced with a life of dreams deferred, George Bailey sets out to throw himself from a bridge — until a dotty angel-in-waiting shows him what might have been. Don't miss this beloved holiday classic, brought to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast!

Revisit Bedford Falls, fall in love again with George and Mary, and discover the magic of an angel named Clarence! It’s Christmas Eve in 1947, and inside a radio studio, a live broadcast brings to life Frank Capra’s timeless film in all of its feel-good glory!

Be a part of the live studio audience and join the cast and crew as they take you on a journey through the most important evening in one man’s life. It’s the perfect holiday outing for the entire family and, who knows, an angel might even get his wings!

It is playing this month at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  We've seen it there the last two years and enjoyed it ... it's become a tradition for us.

The play takes place on Christmas Eve 1946 in New York before televisions were in every household and people listened to radio for entertainment.  The premise of the play is that five actors are performing It's a Wonderful Life and it's being broadcast live over the radio ... and the audience watching the play is the audience for the live broadcast (we were prompted to clap when the "Applause" sign lit up).

The actors were good and we enjoyed this production.  They started playing their roles as actors right away.  "Freddie" wandered around the audience before the "play" started chatting with people.  They all played various parts and were continuously switching back and forth between characters and voices.  Vince Deiulis, who played Jake Laurents who plays "George" played the same character two years ago at this theatre.

It was interesting to watch them as actors playing actors of a radio show.  There were even two "commercials" during the broadcast.  The sound effects were imaginative ... mashing Corn Flakes for the sound of walking in snow, etc.  Even though the play was supposedly being broadcast on the read, the actors still physically acted it out to some extent.  At times, I closed my eyes so I could experience it as a radio show.

I'm looking forward to seeing it next year!

"The Rocky Horror Show", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw The Rocky Horror Show.

We know you shivered with antici ... pation, and the wait is over! Rocky Horror is back for Halloween!

This comedy horror and cult classic tells the story of newly engaged couple Brad Majors ("A-HOLE!") and Janet Weiss ("SLUT!"), who meet a group of strange individuals!

Sold-out for 7 years in a row, you can't miss this Halloween spectacle, live on stage!

It is playing until the the middle of November at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  I've seen many plays there over the years and haven't seen a bad production there.  The Lower Ossington Theatre has a small intimate theatre (maybe 100 seats) and a great place to see a play or musical.

We've seen this musical a few times.  In fact, we just saw it at the end of July at the Stratford Festival.   We also saw and enjoyed the Lower Ossington Theatre production five years ago.

The actors tonight were entertaining in their roles.  It was interesting to see the liberties they took .... they embellished some of the lines, which worked out well.  I'm assuming there were some plants in the audience as they were yelling out lines to which the cast responded.  Nathaniel Bacon, the actor playing Frank N' Furter, exuded sexuality.  Callum Lurie and Amanda Milligan were good as Brad and Janet.  The part of the narrator was played by a female (very well by Dani Zimmer), which was different than other productions ... and she got drunker as it went on and was a hoot.   The part of Eddie/Dr. Scott was also played by a female, which was odd because it was a woman pretending to be men ... why not just have a man do these parts?   As a head's up there is swearing and sexuality (for example, Janet gets her boobs grabbed a lot).

This was a fun production and I'd suggest you check it out.

"The Producers", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw The Producers.  We saw the Mirvish production many years ago and I've seen the 2005 movie with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick so I knew the story.

The Tony-winning musical based on the Oscar-winning movie! An explosion of pure comedic lunacy from the twisted mind of Mel Brooks! When down-and-out producer Max Bialystock learns it's possible to make more money from a flop than a hit, he sets out to make the worst show possible:

“SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER”

Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful, due largely in part to the unexpected and comedic antics of the main actor! With extravagant costumes, large dance numbers, and spectacle after spectacle, this show is one of the largest, most audacious, and knee-slappingly funniest musicals of all time!

It is playing this month at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  We've seen a few plays there over the years and haven't seen a bad production there.  The Lower Ossington Theatre is a small intimate theatre (maybe 200 seats) and a great place to see a play or musical.

This is a fabulous production!  Benjamin Todd and Hugh Ritchie are excellent as Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom.  Mitchell Court and Ryan Gordon Taylor are fun and campy as Roger and Carmen.  All the other actors had different roles and they moved in and out of them really well.  Despite it being a smaller theatre, this seemed like a big-theatre production.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

It's there until the middle of November ... I highly recommend that you check it out!

"It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Faced with a life of dreams deferred, George Bailey sets out to throw himself from a bridge — until a dotty angel-in-waiting shows him what might have been. Don't miss this beloved holiday classic, brought to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast!

Revisit Bedford Falls, fall in love again with George and Mary, and discover the magic of an angel named Clarence! It’s Christmas Eve in 1947, and inside a radio studio, a live broadcast brings to life Frank Capra’s timeless film in all of its feel-good glory!

Be a part of the live studio audience and join the cast and crew as they take you on a journey through the most important evening in one man’s life. It’s the perfect holiday outing for the entire family and, who knows, an angel might even get his wings!

It is playing this month at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.  We saw it there last year and enjoyed it.

The play takes place on Christmas Eve 1946 in New York before televisions were in every household and people listened to radio for entertainment.  The premise of the play is that five actors are performing It's a Wonderful Life and it's being broadcast live over the radio ... and the audience watching the play is the audience for the live broadcast (we were prompted to clap when the "Applause" sign lit up).

The actors were good and we enjoyed this production.  They started playing their roles as actors right away.  "Freddie" shook the hands of everyone sitting in the front row (which we were) before the "play" started.  They all played various parts and were continuously switching back and forth between characters and voices.

It was interesting to watch them as actors playing actors of a radio show.  There were even two "commercials" during the broadcast.  The sound effects were imaginative ... mashing Corn Flakes for the sound of walking in snow, etc.  We discovered that sitting in the front row we missed seeing the actors doing the sound effects as we were too low.  We'll sit higher up next year.

"It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Faced with a life of dreams deferred, George Bailey sets out to throw himself from a bridge — until a dotty angel-in-waiting shows him what might have been. Don't miss this beloved holiday classic, brought to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast!

Revisit Bedford Falls, fall in love again with George and Mary, and discover the magic of an angel named Clarence! It’s Christmas Eve in 1947, and inside a radio studio, a live broadcast brings to life Frank Capra’s timeless film in all of its feel-good glory!

Be a part of the live studio audience and join the cast and crew as they take you on a journey through the most important evening in one man’s life. It’s the perfect holiday outing for the entire family and, who knows, an angel might even get his wings!

It is playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.

The play takes place on Christmas Eve 1946 in New York before televisions were in every household and people listened to radio for entertainment.  The premise of the play is that five actors are performing It's a Wonderful Life and it's being broadcast live over the radio ... and the audience watching the play is the audience for the live broadcast (we were prompted to clap when the "Applause" sign lit up).

The actors (David Bradshawe, Vince Deiulis, Emma Ferrante, Thomas James Finn and Hannah Gallant) were fabulous!  They all played various parts and were continuously switching back and forth between characters and voices.  It was hard not to get caught up in the story.

It was interesting to watch them as actors playing actors of a radio show.  The sound effects were imaginative ... mashing Corn Flakes for the sound of walking in snow, etc.  There were even two "commercials" during the broadcast.

It must have been tough as an actor doing a radio show because the audience listening at home can't see them and their expressions so they have to make sure their voices and sound effects are effective.  This play showed us the work involved and also behind-the-scenes ... like taking a nip from flask.

This play is a must-see and will hopefully be back for the holidays for years to come!

Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw The Mousetrap this evening.

The scene is set when a group of people gathered in a country house cut off by the snow discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst! Who can it be?

One by one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until at the last, nerve-shredding moment the identity and the motive are finally revealed.

In her own inimitable style, Dame Agatha Christie has created an atmosphere of shuddering suspense and a brilliantly intricate plot where murder lurks around every corner!

It is playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood.

The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. It opened in London in 1952 and has been running continuously since then ... it is the longest initial run of any play in history.  The play is known for its twist ending, which the audience are asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre ... that happened tonight.

This is the fifth play we've see at the Lower Ossington Theatre and like the others, it didn't disappoint.  The actors did a good job in their roles.  Lauren Saunders was especially chilly in her role as Miss Casewell ... she had quite the glare.  The actor who plays Mr. Paravicini had suddenly taken ill and another actor was called in to take his place.  Though  he hadn't had a chance to rehearse and read his lines from a binder, he did an excellent job filling in and the audience gave him some extra applause.

Live theatre ~ "Anything Goes", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Cole Porter's Anything Goes tonight.

Young Wall Street broker Billy Crocker arrives at the docks to bid adieu to his boss Elisha J. Whitney and nightclub singer, Reno Sweeney, as they board the London-bound S.S. American. 

For the second time, though, Billy unexpectedly crosses paths with the beautiful Hope Harcourt, whom he rode in a taxi with earlier. Determined to win her away from her fiancé, the stuffy Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, Billy gets the bright idea to stow away on the ship. Through a series of schemes concocted by Reno and hapless gangster “Moonface” Martin, Billy may just woo his lady love before the vessel reaches London, or he may end up in the brig.

With an original 1934 songbook constructed by beloved composer Cole Porter, Anything Goes introduced a slew of tunes still recognizable to this day. The jaunty score barrels through such standbys as “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “You’re the Top”—songs that have been recorded several times over by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand.

It's playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre (Ossington/north of Queen) until March 20.  I like this theatre because it's small (it holds about 140 people) so you're not too far from the actors.  Our seats were in the front row so the actors were inches in front of us.

This is the fourth play we've seen there.  They've all been excellent, including this one!  There was lots of singing and dancing ... there's humour ... and there's a happy ending.

At one point, Moonface Martin and Reno Sweeney, who are old friends, are singing and dancing.  The dress on Chelsey MacLean, who was playing Reno, came undone at the back.  As she was singing and dancing, she was trying to refasten her dress.  Thomas James Finn, who played Moonface, tried to help her to no avail and even made a comment about how she's falling apart.  It was funny, improvised and the audience loved it.  Ironically the song they were singing was called Friendship.

The actors, dancers and singers were all very good.  Chesley MacLean as Reno was seductive, as was Emma Gibney as Erma.  Standouts for me were Thomas James Finn as Moonface Martin and Kevin Doe as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh.

"Avenue Q", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Avenue Q this evening.

"Avenue Q" tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone’s looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship and a “purpose.” Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that “the real world” isn’t so bad, after all! *Not intended for children. 

It's playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre, which is in our 'hood, 'til December 21.

I've resisted seeing it over the years because it looked dumb.  Puppets?!  Seriously??!!  But since it's playing in our 'hood I figured it was a good opportunity to check it out since I'd heard good things about it ... and I'm glad we did because it was more than good.

It's really funny and definitely not for kids.  There is lots of swearing and there are adult activities and themes.  I was wondering what it would be like seeing puppets and also being able to see the people working the puppets.  It was interesting because the people working the puppets had the same facial expressions the puppets would have and surprisingly it wasn't distracting.  The dialogue was funny as were the songs.

It seemed at times, though, that the music was a bit too loud and it was hard to hear what the singers were saying.  Plus I found that Christmas Eve's (Phoebe Hu) accent was too strong so I had a hard time understanding what she was saying at times (plus she spoke fast), which is too bad because Christmas Eve is a hoot!

I enjoyed it and am glad we went to see it.  I'd recommend it!

"Spamalot", Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, ON

The Lower Ossington Theatre (Ossington Avenue/Queen Street W) is in our 'hood and Gord and I saw The Rocky Horror Show there in November (it was excellent!).

Tonight we saw Spamalot, which is the adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

You can buy drinks and take them into the theatre

"Spamalot" tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and features a bevy (or possibly a brace) of beautiful show girls, witch-burnings (cancelled - health and safety), flying cows, killer rabbits and French people.  The show also includes the aation’s favourite comedy song "Always Look on The Bright Side Of Life" and Eric Idle himself as God (see small print).*

* As a visual recording!  As if we could afford this God-like comic in these economic times! 

The theatre is small and intimate ... there are about 140 seats.  We sat right in the front row in the middle ... great seats!  King Arthur high-fived us!

We saw Spamalot on the big stage downtown in August 2006 and enjoyed it.  The version tonight was excellent.  It was fun and lively and they worked the space well.  Everything you know and love are included ... rude Frenchmen, the knights who say "ni", a killer rabbit and the knight who loses his limbs but still won't give up.  The actors did an excellent job. 

Photo:  Seanna Kennedy

Jason Gray was great as King Arthur as was Evan Dowling as his loyal sidekick, Patsy.

Photo:  Seanna Kennedy

Emma Ferrante as the Lady of the Lake was a fabulous diva.

Photo:  Seanna Kennedy

It's playing 'til the end of September so you should go check it out.