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Chicago Tribune
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: The Stratford Festival of theater rediscovers a beating Canadian heart
STRATFORD, ONTARIO — Settling in my seat for 'Annie' at the Stratford Festival of Canada, I awaited with perennial pleasure the overture's trumpet solo for 'Tomorrow,' followed by the chirpy sounds of 'It's the Hard-Knock Life,' a masterful little combo that first argues for optimism at all times before empathizing with our daily grinds. But it didn't happen. Instead, the 1,800 people inside the sold-out Festival Theatre here rose to their feet and sang the music of Calixa Lavallée, not Charles Strouse: 'O Canada, Our Home and Native Land.' The moment was striking because in some 30 years of attending Canada's most prominent theater festival every summer, I'd never heard the Canadian national anthem sung at a regular performance of a show. The Stratford Festival, founded by a British man, dedicated to a British playwright and popular with Chicagoans and other Americans for decades, had always existed within a kind of multinational, English-language detente. This year, surely as a reaction to President Donald Trump's rhetorical campaign to render Canada the 51st state, it just felt a whole lot more Canadian. At the Avon Theatre, during the intermission for that most Canadian of stories, 'Anne of Green Gables,' my eyes fell on the ice cream case, as they are wont to do. The outside of the fridge said Breyers. But inside was a local Ontario brand, McFadden's. Delicious. All that said, Americans, the festival says, have been returning to Stratford this year: U.S. visitation is up by 4% year-over-year. There is also something of a local campaign in town to make them feel especially welcome. At Revel, a local coffee house and distinguished pastry purveyor, a sign on the counter asks American visitors to identify themselves. If they do, they are treated to a free coffee beverage, courtesy not of the cafe but of a local benefactor who prefers to just go by Stuart and who gets billed daily, and who wants Americans to feel welcome to the point of funding their cappuccinos. He's the local version of Daddy Warbucks, whose crew likes to sing about how Annie 'put sweet dreams upon our menu.' As indeed she does. The year's Canadian vibe, a very lively and ebulliently choreographed 'Annie' aside, extends to most of the shows I saw here. The big hit this year is 'Anne of Green Gables,' a beloved Canadian coming-of-age story by Lucy Maud Montgomery about another outspoken redheaded orphan, this one a denizen not of N.Y.C. but of Canada's Prince Edward Island. As played by Caroline Toal, Anne 'with an e' captures her audience almost the moment she walks out on stage. A pre-existing relationship and familiarity surely helped, although that can be a double-edged sword. I watched young Canadian girls and women all around me sizing up the ebullient but vulnerable Toal in a matter of seconds and deciding she will do very, very well. Indeed. Improbably, the spunky Toal is the star of the Stratford summer. The new adaptation, written and directed by Kat Sandler, first sets the story within an outer frame, a book club taking on Montgomery's novel, which is a conventional meta approach. It then makes the far bolder choice of abandoning the period setting halfway through and asking the question, 'What would Anne be like today?' The idea works strikingly well, partly because we've already experienced the heroine in her actual period, so it doesn't feel as much like an imposition as other modernizations but instead feels helpfully ruminative, a stand-in for what every contemporary fan of the book typically wonders as they read. 'Anne of Green Gables' engages in a reconstruction of a broken family (not unlike 'Annie,' which builds its own) and the key, whatever the period, is the relationship between Anne and her two surrogate parents, wound-tight Marilla (Sarah Dodd) and deadened Matthew (Tim Campbell). Although possessive of a very Canadian stoicism, the two siblings blossom once Anne comes into their lives and all three of these actors understand what they are about and their journeys are consistently honest and moving. I'd argue Sandler's conceit, which is just as fun when Anne is dealing with her friends and love interests, overstays its welcome by a few minutes in the contemporary section. But with some judicious cutting, 'Anne of Green Gables,' which has much akin with 'John Proctor is the Villain,' and the same target demographic, strikes me as a very viable Broadway show. Other evidence here suggests that Canadian theater, and Canadians in general, are doing better than their neighbors to the south at focusing on the core values that hold the nation together. Take, for example, 'Forgiveness,' a new play by Hiro Kanagawa that is based on a memoir by Mark Sakamoto exploring how Canadians of Japanese origin with treated during World War II. As was the case in the U.S., anyone who looked Japanese was rounded up in Canada and treated poorly in work camps and the like, decimating families and traumatizing those who felt as Canadian as anyone else. 'Oh Canada,' one Japanese Canadian character cries out. 'I don't know if I can ever forgive you,' which is a central question of the show. There are, of course, many angry plays looking back on radicalized ill-treatment from the past. Most of such U.S. pieces fundamentally are accusatory. But the aptly named 'Forgiveness' also explores how conscripted Canadian servicemen were treated by the Japanese forces, who subjected them to horrific camps of their own, thus in part explaining (in this play) the challenges Canadian veterans in supporting the subsequent interracial marriage of their own children. The piece, which is directed by Stafford Arima, is too subtle and sophisticated to claim equivalence, or to try and argue which was worse than the other. But the reality of most theater, of course is that the audience skews older, whatever efforts are made to the contrary, and the retirees who flock to genteel Stratford each summer are only one generation removed from those remembering World War II. 'Forgiveness' functions not as a reckoning but as a dramatic truth and reconciliation committee that takes its viewers by the hand and helps them move forward to a multi-cultural and unified nation together. The piece is a tad lugubrious and struggles some with the common issues of dramatized memoirs that range across space and time. But Arima and his excellent cast keep us focused on arriving at the most moving of conclusions. I took a while getting out of my seat after director Antony Cimolino's production of 'The Winter's Tale,' which I've long felt to be the most moving of Shakespeare's last plays, given that it proffers the ability to bring a loved one back from the dead, and someone who died due to the main character's folly of myopia and narcissism. If you know the play, you'll recall that the jealous King Leontes not only effectively kills his faithful wife, Hermione, but tries to get rid of his daughter, Perdita, who is saved only by an underling whisking her away in the nick of time. Thanks to merciful powers and his own much delayed self-knowledge, Leontes gets another chance with both of those loved ones. That's always moving, especially when you have a deep well of an actor like Graham Abbey playing Leontes. But Shakespeare leaves Leontes and Hermione's son, Mamillius, dead. He died from distress at his mother's arrest and he usually just lingers at the end, unseen and unspoken. Not here. In this production, he arrives accompanied by an angel. Leontes thinks he has got him back, too. But no. Not all of our mistakes can be corrected, Cimolino first seems to be saying. But the exquisite moment then suggests that Mamillius can still forgive from immortality, and thus Leontes still can be forgiven. It's affirmative and deeply sad. I won't quickly forget the end of this summer telling of 'The Winter's Tale.' On this trip, that leaves me with director Robert Lepage's 'Macbeth,' a wacky production that imagines the Scottish play as a feud between coke-snorting bikers. Settings include a roadside motel, from a balcony wherein Lucy Peacock's all-in Lady M falls most theatrically, a gas station and a parking lot with outdoor grills, the flame-throwing lair of the twisted sisters. When Macbeth meets his pre-ordained fate, Birnam Wood arrives in the form of bikers riding what look like real bikes, all carrying little verdant trees on their handlebars. There's another rub too. Tom McCamus, who plays Macbeth, is a 70-year-old actor and a great veteran star of this festival, as is Peacock, a fine foil. That's a cool idea. Most of Shakespeare's characters shift in age according to which scene you are in. No reason not to push that envelope a bit with an actor of this skill and lucidity, Alas the concept, which uses the cinematically fused iconography familiar to we longtime fans of LaPage, doesn't really work because it doesn't establish enough gravitas among the biker gangs to really make you believe they are dealing with matters of honor and destiny; it is as if the characters are putting on the drama, which can work fine with many of the Bard's works, but not this one. Macbeth is meta all by itself. It does not need any frame for it work its horrors. Still, any festival of Canadian identity — even if I think that mostly is unconscious — has to deal with the Quebecois, the yang to the yin of rural Ontario, which isn't far removed from Minnesota nice. That only gets you so far with the Scottish play. Lepage always offers a little Francophone disruption wheresoever he roams, disruptingly, and 'Macbeth' never really works, anyway. Except on us poor suckers who fall prey to its curses.
Globe and Mail
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Kat Sandler's fresh take on Anne of Green Gables is a standout at the Stratford Festival
Title: Anne of Green Gables Written and directed by: Kat Sandler Performed by: Caroline Toal, Tim Campbell, Sarah Dodd, Maev Beaty, Helen Belay, Jordin Hall, Steven Hao, Josue Laboucane, Julie Lumsden, Jennifer Villaverde Company: Stratford Festival Venue: Avon Theatre City: Stratford Year: Until Oct. 25, 2025 Critic's Pick For perhaps the first time in the Stratford Festival's history, the show you absolutely, categorically cannot miss this summer was not written by William Shakespeare. It's not a musical, either, or even a restoration comedy. No – the play you'd be doing yourself an enormous disservice to skip is Anne of Green Gables, adapted and directed in a heartwarming, gut-wrenching, life-affirming production by Kat Sandler. The show, which opened on Saturday afternoon at the end of an unusually strong week of openings for the Stratford Festival, wasn't on my list of most anticipated productions in 2025. To be honest, it was barely on the list of my most anticipated productions last week. But Sandler's adaptation – some of her best writing in recent years – manages to have its cake and eat it, too, with a script that welcomes children and adults alike into its care from the very first line. It's both funny and achingly sad; straightforward yet nuanced and supple. Like Anne herself, Sandler's treatment of her is one of gripping contradictions that stretch the imagination and satisfy the soul. For the Anne purists in attendance, don't worry: The first act is a faithful adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic tale about a gregarious young orphan living on Prince Edward Island in the 1890s. Anne is loquacious, adventurous and headstrong; she hates her red hair; she possesses a moral code comparable to that of a medieval knight. Behind the scenes with the Stratford Festival's artisans But Sandler's script is so much more than a one-to-one transcription of the classic stories. When she updates the story to a time that approximates now in the second act, the choice seems as obvious as a bottle of raspberry cordial on a hot summer day, the story as charming and timeless in modern dress as it is in bloomers and puffed sleeves. As if refurbishing those fabled gables by hand, Sandler builds a careful frame around Anne's story that lets the audience know what's what. When we meet the first-rate ensemble cast, they're not residents of Avonlea, but members of a book club eager to discuss the story's finer plot points. It's through this lens that Sandler is able to anticipate and reject the idea that Anne is untouchable – that she can't be reimagined by anyone with a big enough heart and a sharp enough pen. When actor Maev Beaty, novel in hand, chortles, 'That's not in the book!,' the laughs come easily: Superfans, it turns out, transcend centuries. (Beaty, as ever, is a treasure of the Stratford Festival stage, a joy to watch as she shape-shifts from concerned Anne stan to next-door neighbour Rachel Lynde.) And what's an adaptation without a spitfire Anne leading the way? Caroline Toal is that and more, spunky and sprightly as Canada's favourite redhead, as convincing in the play's darker moments as in its more lighthearted tales of tweenage girlhood. Watching Anne become bosom friends with Diana (Julie Lumsden) feels like watching a home movie, their love for one another timeless and sweet. Diana is the one person in Avonlea for whom Anne never needs to shrink herself or her heart, and Lumsden ably captures the child's sense of good humour. Two other important performances make this Anne sing: Sarah Dodd as Marilla, the woman who, after some prodding, accepts Anne into her home, and Tim Campbell as Matthew, Marilla's brother. Dodd and Campbell both possess the emotional dexterity these parts demand, the ability to convey complicated feelings of justice, pride and anxiety in a way that's accessible to the kids in the audience while also being deeply relatable to the guardians who bought their tickets. Campbell, in particular, is astounding – I'm certain his sensitive, iridescent portrayal of Anne's de facto father figure will stay with me for years. There are no weak links in the rest of Sandler's cast: Steven Hao, Jordin Hall, Jennifer Villaverde, Josue Laboucane and Helen Belay are phenomenal chess pieces in Sandler's vision, relentlessly believable and sweet as they weave in and out of Anne's orbit. One of the most poignant aspects of this production is Joanna Yu's set, complete with a peeling, emerald-green roof. It's easy to see how Anne falls in love with her home, the mismatched furniture pieces in her bedroom and kitchen that accompany her first experiences of family. Yu's costumes, too, conjure a universal childhood unconstrained by era – give or take a bad wig or two, the clothes themselves are nostalgic and sleek. (Fret not: The most important wig, with its iconic red braids, looks just fine on Toal's head.) 'I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,' Anne memorably quips as the seasons turn cool in Avonlea. As summer descends upon Southwestern Ontario, I'm right there with her – but I'm equally glad I live in a world where there exists this gorgeous piece of theatre, the irrefutable standout of this year's Stratford Festival. Go see it.
Toronto Star
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Stratford Festival's much-awaited ‘Macbeth' — with motorcycles and violent gangs — is a feeble letdown
Macbeth 2 stars (out of 4) By William Shakespeare, directed by Robert Lepage. Until Nov. 2 at the Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St., Stratford Ont. or 1800-567-1600 STRATFORD — I shudder when I think about how much money was poured into the Stratford Festival's latest 'Macbeth,' which opened Wednesday at the Avon Theatre. Inside The program of director Robert Lepage's production, created in collaboration with his company Ex Machina, is a four-page insert listing the hundreds of donors who have bankrolled this revival, which will tour to Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa next year. Indeed, it's an expensive, extravagant and altogether epic endeavour. And yet, this highly anticipated staging amounts to nothing more than a feeble letdown, despite some glimpses of brilliance and its starry cast of Stratford favourites. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Lepage sets his version of the Scottish Play in the context of the Quebec Biker War, a drug-related turf war between two motorcycle gangs that terrorized the city of Montreal for nearly a decade, leaving more than 160 people dead between 1994 and 2002. Ariane Sauvé's set drops the audience into the heart of the action. Its centrepiece is an imposing two-storey motel, frequented by Macbeth (Tom McCamus) and his fellow outlaws, dressed in leather (the costumes are designed by Michael Gianfrancesco) and riding on spiffed-up motorcycles that zoom around the stage. Impressive as this mise-en-scène is, however, Lepage's high-concept and heavily edited treatment feels like it's constantly trying to square a circle. Any attempt to draw parallels between these 'Macbeth' characters and the historical figures involved in the Quebec Biker War only proves futile. Tom McCamus as Macbeth in 'Macbeth.' David Hou/Stratford Festival Is King Duncan (David Collins) supposed to represent former Hells Angels leader Maurice Boucher? Is the story meant to depict the warring factions and hierarchy within a single group — or between two opposing gangs? None of this is entirely clear. Lepage says in his program note that any director leading a production of 'Macbeth' should 'choose a context in which contemporary audiences can better grasp the twists and turns of the intrigue and the psychological complexities of the characters.' But instead of offering clarity, his own concept — as typical of most Shakespeare productions placed in a setting that's based on a real historical event — merely adds more confusion. The most laughably ridiculous moment: when Macduff (Tom Rooney) and his gang of burly biker men start chopping down Birnam Wood to use as 'camouflage' as they stage their final attack on Macbeth. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW If you're able to look past these incongruities, there are bright spots to this production — at times imaginative and cheeky, throwing reverence to the wind. In particular, some of the design elements conceived by Lepage are stunning. Perhaps his greatest coup de theatre comes right at the top of the show: In his prologue, two assassins steer a small boat into the middle of the lake. In it is the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, his head tied up in a gunny sack. The men strap him to a pair of concrete blocks, then push him overboard, setting forth a chain of events that will see Macbeth driven to madness by his own ambition and thirst for power. Later on, Lepage pulls off yet another. I'm loathe to spoil what it is, but it involves a scorching scene transition between Banquo's murder and Macbeth's banquet (depicted here, of course, as a backyard barbecue cookout). There's a cinematic feel to much of this production. (After the prologue, in fact, Lepage projects a series of opening credits onto a screen at the front of the stage.) But in the end, these visual set pieces feel more like self-serving gimmicks, some of which hinder instead of help to serve the story itself. Members of the company in 'Macbeth.' David Hou/Stratford Festival Sauvé's set is so large and unwieldy that the scene transitions, particularly in the first half, take far too long, killing any sense of momentum. Those motorcycles are also so overused that by the fifth or sixth time they're rolled out, I wondered if Lepage was just trying to justify the expense of making them. A poorly conceived production of 'Macbeth' can be redeemed by a strong set of performances. But that's not the case here. Throughout, I rarely got the sense from this ensemble that they're living in a world of hypermasculinity and violence. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW With his deep, sonorous voice, McCamus' rather traditional take on Macbeth is cold and calculating. But though great in the first half of the play, McCamus overdoes his subsequent scenes of madness. Writhing on the floor, like a helpless creature, it feels as though he's playing a caricature of Macbeth rather than the character himself. As Lady Macbeth, Lucy Peacock delivers a performance that's similarly one of diminishing returns. She's terrifyingly domineering and manipulative early on, goading her husband into murdering Duncan and seizing the crown. Peacock's voice, almost maniacal, flirts between complete seriousness and carefree glibness. But Peacock's interpretation of Lady Macbeth's famous sleepwalking scene feels surprisingly dull, with her speech lacking both energy and a coherent through-line on opening night. From front-left: Tom Rooney as Macduff, André Sills as Ross and Austin Eckert as Malcolm with members of the company in 'Macbeth.' David Hou/Stratford Festival Graham Abbey fares far better as Banquo, Macbeth's friend-turned nemesis. But both Collins and Rooney are uncharacteristically stiff and, at times, unintelligible. (The poor sound amplification, and the fact they're all miked, is part of the problem.) Among the bikers, however, it's André Sills and Emilio Vieira who are most convincing, as Ross and Lennox, respectively. Kudos to Maria Vacratsis, as well, who plays the Porter (the motel manager in this version) and milks the laughs with her sexually charged speech in the second act. The witches (played by Aidan deSalaiz, Paul Dunn and Anthony Palermo) are portrayed as a trio of transgender prostitutes and drug addicts, scorned by Macbeth, yet whose prophesies lead to his downfall. This is a fascinating take, but one that I felt could be presented more sensitively. You really could say that about this production as a whole. Brash and bold yet lacking in its finer details, it's proof that no amount of money nor special effects can correct for a misguided vision.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Decatur's Avon Theatre closing after 25 years following death of owner
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur staple is closing its doors after 25 years of service to the community. The Hutson family, owners of the Avon Theatre, announced on Tuesday that the theatre is closing following the passing of owner Skip Hutson. The family explained that they've been struggling with debt accumulated in the last few years and, despite support from the community via GoFundMe, they were unable to overcome the financial burden. Memorial fund raises money for park add-ons in honor of Teutopolis spill victims 'This was the hardest decision we have had to make and it marks the end of an era,' the Hutsons said in their statement. 'The Avon Theater wasn't just a business — it was a home for our family. Skip and Sue's grandchildren grew up here and created countless memories in its halls. It's where our daughter even got married, and where so many special moments were shared with all of you.' 'Thank you for all the years of support,' the family continued. 'This is the end of an unforgettable chapter, but the memories we've made here will live on forever. We will forever be grateful for the love and community that the Avon Theater has brought to our family.' The Hutsons did not give an exact closing date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
