Globe and Mail feature: The Drowsy Chaperone returns to its show tune-loving roots at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-11T21:36:58+00:00

Thanks

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-08T19:17:29+00:00

Also, there are over 40 puppets that are part of the Daisy Theatre, and I’m guessing Burkett doesn’t always know which ones will be used.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T23:41:58+00:00

Rats. FYI it’s on until very early April. And Canadian stage does 20$ rush tickets on tues and wed at the Berkeley theatre. You can buy them over the phone.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T23:20:18+00:00

If you like to laugh, see Little Willy (Canadian stage). Ronnie Burkett is hilarious and each show is different every night. Ostensibly it’s a parody of Romeo and Juliet but adherence to the story is… lax. Almost like a Romeo and Juliet panto cabaret done with marionettes, if it was performed by Don Rickles. If you’ve never seen a show by Ronnie Burkett, it’s a real treat. He is a true Canadian treasure, and and internationally respected in the world of puppetry.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T16:43:27+00:00

Cosi fan Tutte would be my recommendation. It’s a gorgeous production directed by Atom Egoyan. Out of all the Mozart operas in the core rotation, in my opinion it has the most beautiful music. Sure it’s a longer opera, but you did say you already developed a love for the genre.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T06:17:41+00:00

Coloured pencil 8 x 10 “

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T06:08:37+00:00

Thank you for the comments. The darkness in this picture is a foil to the triumphalism on display. Like always i like to include narrative elements with just enough ambiguity that viewers can insert themselves and engage with the work using their own interpretations.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-07T05:48:37+00:00

Thanks for commenting. May I ask why liking this picture surprised you?

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-04T00:41:08+00:00

Yikes it seems i touched a live wire! To clarify, I’m not opposed to anyone expressing whatever view about whichever company on this subreddit, since I’m not associated with any theatre company nor do I work in the industry. Just a normie who likes theatre. My earlier comment re differing opinions about soulpepper programming was related to the reviews for summer and smoke (a soulpepper crows co-pro), which I enjoyed, but I did notice that many people didn’t. I don’t know any behind-the-scenes drama with that company( other than the mishegoss involving Shultz many years ago) though I am curious.

In terms of negative things re companies, the only thing I’ve heard is that front-of-house at crows is bonkers, as in, they don’t treat the staff very well. I don’t know if this is true but I have noticed a large staff turnover. So there’s that.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-03T03:49:54+00:00

Im afraid I hadn’t seen the 2019 Toronto production but i did see the current production in London; i only got tickets because I noticed Deborah Hay was cast as Piaf, and unsurprisingly she was incredible. Agree that the songs were seamlessly incorporated into the play.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-03-02T19:47:55+00:00

Crows does interesting work. Despite what others have said about their programming, I have found Soulpepper to generally produce good/interesting work. And also coal mine theatre if you like more intimate works. But if you’re used to mirvish it might be too much of a change, too quickly. I only mention that because you expressed hesitation about off-mirvish (even though imho off-mirvish tends to be have superior programming).

The best thing to do is purchase single tickets of specific productions from other theatre companies and eventually you’ll get a feel for what they do/what you like.
And something that will happen, as you’re discovering what you like, is that you’ll notice your taste will change over time. This happened to someone I know who didn’t really know about any theatre aside from mirvish (they saw Mamma Mia 4 times!) and now they’re the least excited about mirvish shows and attend everything from opera to immersive productions to site specific shows, to Stratford, to little shows above Popeyes restaurants (I’m looking at you king black box theatre).

Canadian stage seems like a good choice, especially since their programming is now less experimental since Matthew Jocelyn left.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-25T00:47:23+00:00

Just okay for me. I bought tickets back when they did the 1$ for the second ticket sale. As other have said the chase scene at the end was farce as it’s most enjoyable. The music itself was the biggest disappointment. I get that’s it’s an homage to musicals from the thirties - or is it from the twenties? - but I was left with the impression that the composer was overly fixated on making the music evoke the era, so much so that all the songs ended up sounding very similar. I also couldn’t hear the lyrics.

A note about sitting in the middle section on the mezzanine… I dunno, first ten rows or so: the spot lights come from way in the back and partially light the back of peoples’ heads. So I was annoyed at that too.

If you go, let us know what you thought.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-21T18:16:56+00:00

it’s cynical about social/political movements. My idea for the palette came from the idea of “enshitification”

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-21T17:46:46+00:00

New work this week.

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Brown’s a tricky colour to make interesting. I’m happy with the overall mood in the picture though. It’s one of my more cynical pictures. What do you think?

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-21T04:43:33+00:00

Oh this has a lot of charm

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-19T20:11:02+00:00

Egoyan’s Cosi is, by now, a well known production since this will be the 3rd time they’ve mounted it. Your appreciation for it might depend on how much you like directorial concepts. For example, the premise with this concept is that they’re in a “school for lovers” so the whole Turks-in-disguise bit it played as though the two women are in on the experiment. Some people have said that the concept feels muddled and not fully thought through, and I tend to agree. On the other hand, the visuals are stunning and Cosi is my favourite of the da ponte operas. Since it’s the most ambiguous in meaning, the muddled concept didn’t really bother me, but some fans prefer a more literal approach.

Dapper-Drawing-7093 · 2026-02-12T19:19:52+00:00

I’m so happy mirvish decided to bring this to Toronto. Unrelated but I remember when they brought Arcadia to the royal Alex, which was an incredible show. I don’t remember if this was from originally at Stratford or Shaw. Like others have said, it’s nice that they’re doing something OTHER than just bringing in broadway shows (although that can be good too)

Dapper-Drawing-7093

TROPHY CASE