All stories by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

The technology in sound installation ‘Blindness’ is so ‘amazing’ even its star Juliet Stevenson got carried away by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

‘Although there wasn’t a live actor in the room,’ theatregoers ‘were absolutely convinced that there was,’ says British actor Stevenson, who even pulled her own feet out of the way…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 03:27PM
Friday, February 26, 2021

Soulpepper will take audiences ‘Around the World in 80 Plays,’ letting theatre lovers experience new lands and cultures without ever leaving their by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Featuring plays and related content from countries like Nigeria and Argentina — and from the Cree, Saulteaux and Métis nations in Canada — Soulpepper hopes to broaden artistic horizons.…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 10:00AM

CBC Arts and Obsidian Theatre asked ‘What is the future of Blackness?’ Black theatre students who are the future have some thoughts by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

In a project sponsored by York and Brock universities, 21 students shared their responses to the plays in ‘21 Black Futures.’ In songs, poems, American Sign Language videos and more, the…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Wednesday, February 3, 2021

You can’t go to the theatre. Artists can’t even share the same space, so how does the show go on? Theatre companies pivot yet again by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

While Tarragon Theatre is taking its world premiere of ‘Orestes’ entirely online and ‘february: a love story’ has become a film, the Rhubarb Festival is going analogue — the 2021 e…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:30AM
Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Here’s what we learned about theatre in 2020 and what we miss — yes, even the washroom lineups by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Among other things, Star theatre critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga learned that our theatre scene is built on unjust foundations, that local companies ‘pivoted’ and fast, and that you…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Thursday, September 10, 2020

Over a storied acting and directing career, Philip Akin has made sure Black theatre lives matter — a new award will keep that legacy alive by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Philip Akin has stepped down as artistic director of Obsidian Theatre, but the Philip Akin — Black Shoulders Legacy Award will keep his tradition of mentorship alive beyond his lifetime by…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Thursday, June 18, 2020

Indigenous voices take the lead on Stratford Festival’s social media by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Two days of testimony and activism by First Nations artists on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube begin Friday, June 19. The initiative follows the festival’s successful first ventur…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2020

The Stratford Festival admitted its own systemic racism and gave Black artists a chance to speak out by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

For 72 hours, the Stratford Festival handed its social media channels to Black artists and artisans. They revealed their experiences of racism throughout Canada’s theatre world and urged S…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Critics honour Toronto’s best theatre — lockdown or no lockdown by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

‘The Flick,’ an Outside the March and Crow’s Theatre co-production of Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about three young adults working in a rundown cinema, picked up sever…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Your best bets, from a drag cabaret to Shakespeare, for a virtual theatre fix during COVID-19 by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Theatre companies are keeping the artistic juices flowing with new online content and streaming filmed versions of past productions. Theatre critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga sort out the…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00AM
Wednesday, December 18, 2019

At a moment in which truth seems like an endangered species, here are 10 theatre shows that inspired in 2019 by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

These 10 productions are evidence of the ways in which inspired leadership can result in outstanding creative achievement.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

11 shows worth seeing in Toronto theatres this fall by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

From Kat Sandler’s Yaga to SpongeBob SquarePants, our critics’ picks of productions worth your time and money.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Sunday, July 7, 2019

Six shows you should see at the Toronto Fringe Festival by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

On top of the breakout solo shows and new musicals that populate the Fringe circuit, the Star’s theatre critics have ventured into more unexpected territory of audio plays, mime and puppet…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:07PM
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Here’s the shows we’re looking forward to — in Toronto, at Shaw and Stratford, and beyond by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

From intriguing visual creations at Luminato to classic Shakespeare to a brand new show about a doomed elephant, there’ll be a lot to see, say the Star’s freelance theatre writers.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 11:36AM
Monday, February 11, 2019

Come From Away celebrates its reopening at the Elgin Theatre by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

The cast had to adjust to the new space after nearly a year at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, while the Elgin was made cozier for audience members with fewer seats and a new back wall.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 02:31PM
Saturday, January 19, 2019

Soulpepper Theatre’s new leaders, Weyni Mengesha and Emma Stenning, are drawing the curtain on a difficult past by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Weyni Mengesha and Emma Stenning are putting Soulpepper Theatre’s troubles behind it and want to build a company in which everyone’s voices are heard, they tell Karen Fricker and Carly M…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:00PM
Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Here’s what the Toronto Star’s theatre critics are looking forward to in 2019 by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

On Karen Fricker’s and Carly Maga’s list: Indigenous theatre like After the Fire, Broadway musicals like Dear Evan Hansen and Kiss of the Spider Woman, Canadian classics like Lilies and …

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The nine best Toronto theatre productions of 2018 by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Toronto Star theatre critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga reveal what popped for them on Toronto stages, plus two more from voices they want to hear more from.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 09:00AM
Monday, November 5, 2018

George F. Walker double bill explores poverty and mental illness at the Assembly Theatre by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

In Kill the Poor, Walker’s point is that folks who live marginally can’t be reduced to ‘you people’ while he takes a sympathetic approach to a woman’s extreme mental condition in H…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 11:18AM
Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Fall brings an embarrassment of theatre riches to Toronto, and the Star’s critics pick out some gems by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Toronto Star critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga lay out their best bets for the new season: from the play The Nether to site-specific work Dr. Silver: A Celebration of Life, to musical Sch…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 12:29PM
Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Reporting from the Fringe festival’s front lines by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Star critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga unleash 22 U of T undergraduates to review shows now playing at Toronto Fringe.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 09:30AM
Wednesday, July 4, 2018

It’s ‘Theatre Christmas’ in July with 158 shows at the Toronto Fringe Festival by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Star theatre critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga share what they’re looking forward to, including Morro and Jasp’s latest, The Merkin Sisters and The Preposterous Predicament of Polly P…

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 07:00AM
Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Fun Home picks up 4 (or is it 6?) Toronto Theatre Critics Awards by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic,carly Maga - Theatre Critic

The Best Actress Prize goes to the three performers who played the role of Alison Bechdel in the acclaimed Toronto production of Fun Home.

SOURCE: Toronto Star at 06:00PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards