Drivel Passing as Reportage

Not that long ago, the Toronto Star was a reliable source of quality theatre reviews. You could read a thoughtful, fair-minded, well-written critique from the likes of Nathan Cohen, Urjo Kareda, or Vit Wagner.

Cohen and Kareda have passed away, and Vit Wagner now has another beat. Reviewing theatre at the Star these days is Richard Ouzounian, whose reviews I often find short on substance. I’m not sure they much help your average Torontonian find the best value for his theatre dollar. Mr. Ouzounian seems happier to report on Broadway, and the buzz that surrounds the glitterati, than on the homegrown product. Particularly disappointing are his interviews, barely a scratch on the surface.

But his latest article, on how things are looking up at Stratford despite the recession, sinks to a new low. (http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/623632)

A teenage usher is quoted as saying that every preview of West Side Story gets a standing ovation. The female lead is ‘awesome,’ he adds. And both the Artistic Director and General Director are confident that the season will close in the black! Excuse me, but what else are these people going to say?

The box office had ‘a substantial increase in sales over last week,” according to Administrative Director Anita Gaffney. That can mean they sold ten tickets instead of five. Remember, this is the same festival that – inconceivably – cancelled 31 performances in the fall because of weak sales now.

This is what press agents do: create the best buzz possible, no matter how flat the prospects. In publicity you never, but never, admit that the sky is falling.

As a journalist, however, you have a responsibility to the truth – to tell the real story as best you can. This means you ask probing questions. While you cannot ignore the publicity machinery, you are skeptical about it. As a journalist, you place the interests of your readers ahead of the interests of your friends. No one said it’s easy.

Mr. Ouzounian urges his readers to buy their Stratford tickets now ‘instead of waiting’ because he predicts ‘sold-out shows later in the season.’ This is not good advice, and it weakens our trust that upcoming reviews will be balanced. If Mr. Ouzounian writes gushing four-star reviews for the Festival this season, will anyone believe him, or be surprised?

Readers of the Star deserve better than this.

Lynn
April 30, 2009


Lynn’s Best Productions of 2008

August Osage County - Music Box Theatre, New York
Black Watch - From Scotland, via Luminato, Toronto
Brief Encounter - Haymarket Cinema, London
Cooped - Premier Dance Theatre, Toronto
Cranked - Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, Toronto
Krapp’s Last Tape/Hughie - Double Bill at Stratford
Major Barbara - National Theatre, London
Nickolas Nickleby - Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto
South Pacific - Lincoln Center Theater, New York
Stuff Happens - Berkeley Street Theatre, Downstairs, Toronto
The President - Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
The Stepmother - Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
The Trojan Woman - Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario
War Horse - At the National Theatre, London

Lynn
January 5, 2009

The Other Shoe Has Dropped

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival announced April 24 that Anika Noni Rose would not be playing Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra this season. The reason? Scheduling conflicts with her television filming of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. What took everybody so long to figure that out? It seemed pretty clear to me March 14.

Ms Rose is presently on Broadway starring in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The production has been held over to June 22. This extension will not interfere with the television filming. Interestingly in Playbill-on-Line, March 4, in a Q and A Ms Rose was asked what leading role she was dying to play. She answered: Cleopatra. But no mention that at the time she was scheduled to play the role, albeit Shaw's version, at Stratford. Playbill-on-Line reported Ms Rose being cast in the television series March 11.

Interesting. Did she know then (March 4 or 11) she wasn't going to Stratford?

Ms Rose will be replaced by Nikki M. James who will also be playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at Stratford.

Lynn
April 27, 2008

Anika Noni Rose is on a roll. The Tony Award winner (Caroline, or Change) is on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and got the best reviews of anyone in the production. It runs until April 13.

She has also just been cast in a new HBO series based on the detective books, “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” by Alexander McCall Smith. The filming of the series begins in August. The series is set in Botswana.

Ms Rose is also cast to play Cleopatra in George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, in Ontario. It stars Christopher Plummer as Caesar, and is directed by Des McAnuff.

Caesar and Cleopatra runs at Stratford from August to November, playing 3 times a week at the beginning of the run, and then increasing to four and five times a week for the rest of the run.

Question? How is Ms Rose going to be in two places at the same time: Filming the series (set in Botswana) and playing Cleopatra in Stratford, Ontario?

Lynn
March 14, 2008