Month: January 2024

BIG NEWS!

Published on by alix

THEATRE AEZIR BECOMES A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION

As you know last spring when we did The Phoenix Lottery, we became a professional company hiring Equity Actors. That was a big step for us. Today we are announcing that Theatre Aezir is now officially a Canadian Not-For-Profit Corporation. What comes with this new designation is more structure and organisation. Our first board of directors includes myself as president, David Pasquino as Treasurer and Caroline Bonham as Secretary. We are looking to add more board members so, if any of you are interested in helping Theatre Aezir grow let’s get together and chat. 

We are extremely excited about this new development. Many more funding sources are now open to us. We also have started the process to become a registered charity with the CRA. That will take a few months more. You might think of saving now for the future. LOL

We have a new website and new email addresses. We are revamping our marketing and publicity to include a new social media program and print ads. You might have seen our ad for Marion Bridge in The Grand’s “The Invisible” program. 

This is important enough news to have its own post. But just so you don’t have to go looking for it. Here’s the ticket link to Marion Bridge. 

Elizabeth Durand, Artistic Director
#theatreaezir #londonontario #nonprofit

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

Published on by alix
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Greetings, fellow theatrical art enthusiasts! 

Today, let’s explore the world of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 which is a co-production by The Musical Stage Company and Crow’s Theatre in Toronto. This is a long-awaited Canadian premiere of the Broadway musical was written by Dave Malloy, directed by Chris Abraham, choreography by Ray Hogg and music direction by Ryan deSouza.

A contemporary style musical that combines indie rock, pop, folk, electronic dance, and classic Broadway music. Adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s monumental novel “War and Peace,” audiences are dropped into imperial Russia of 1812. The narrative follows Natasha, a young aristocrat engaged to Andrey, as she becomes entangled in a web of love and intrigue that mixes time and space. 

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The set is gorgeous and innovative. They built balconies with golden staircases, plentiful draperies and chandeliers. We have been lucky enough to have snatched one their scenic painters to work on our upcoming production of Marion Bridge. The center of the acting space is a square platform that turns. While a turning platform can indicate different scenes, I think they liked turning it because it was cool. Not every rotation was necessary. 

The balconies were used for seating, walkways, and some members of the orchestra. Call me an old fogey but why does the sound have to be so loud? I have seen many plays at Crow’s Theater under the direction of Chris Abraham and if he is not the best Artistic Director around, I don’t know who is. I’m glad I saw Natasha, Pierre, et al but it was my least favourite production at Crows. Those who know me will say, but you don’t like musicals.  Yes, but I loved The Musical Theatre Company’s production of Kelly vs. Kelly.  

Winner of two Tony Awards, three Lucille Lortel Awards, the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical, a Special Obie Citation, and the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater, NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is “the most innovative and the best new musical to open on Broadway since Hamilton” (The New York Times). 

Don’t miss the opportunity to witness this spectacular play in the vibrant Crow’s Theatre, from Dec 5, 2023 – Feb 11, 2024, where the art of storytelling comes to life in its most enchanting form.

#theatreaezir #londonontario #marionbridge #crowstheatre
Cover Image Credit: Hailey Gillis by Colton Curtis.

The Invisible at the Grand Theatre

Published on by alix

The incredible production of The Invisible has just opened at Grand Theatre. Did you see our ad in the program? So exciting!

Don’t forget to buy your tickets for our upcoming production of Marion Bridge by Daniel MacIvor. The show runs from Feb 29 – Mar 10 at the Procunier Hall, at Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas Street, London, Ontario.

To buy tickets, call The Palace at 519-432-1029, or purchase them online here: https://mytickets.palacetheatre.ca/eventperformances.asp…
#theatreaezir#thepalacetheatre#PalaceTheatreArtsCommons#GrandTheatre#LdnOnt#TheatreInLondon#londonontario

More about Daniel

Published on by alix

Of greater interest than the accolades is probably knowing how he got started writing. Originally from Cape Breton, his family was Catholic and not uncommonly, his father was an alcoholic who as Daniel says, ‘was known to the police’. His mother was an outstanding waitress who put Daniel through school. One of his teachers provided encouragement by making sure he knew he had talent. For his sixteenth birthday a present of an electric typewriter set him on a writer’s career path. 

He entered Dalhousie and went into journalism. Somehow, he fell into the theatre department initially as a performance major. Daniel is probably one of only a few playwrights who has written a play without actually having seen one. When asked by Tom Power how he starts to write a play he talked about Daniel Brooks. “Daniel says the show begins with the poster, the artwork, the image.” The artwork is a major influence and as the development process begins to generate material it becomes part of the work. I wonder how many other playwrights combine the visual with the aural in the early stages of development.

In next blog post I will give you more background on the genesis of Marion Bridge. Many of you know the Marion Bridge movie which is quite unlike the play. Come back and you’ll learn more.

Photo Credit: Thorfinn Stainforth

Daniel MacIvor

Published on by alix

We know Daniel MacIvor as one Canada’s greatest playwrights. He’s also a performer, and filmmaker who divides his time between Toronto and Cape Breton. He has been the recipient of a Governor General’s Literary Award, the Siminovitch Prize for Theatre, a New York Obie Award, and a GLAAD Award. His plays include Never Swim Alone, In On It, His Greatness and The Best Brothers which have been translated into French, German, Czech, Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese. He has worked on commissions for the Wexner Centre at the University of Ohio, A Beautiful View, the National Theatre School of Canada, You Are Here, Mulgrave Road Theatre Marion Bridge, the Canadian Opera Company where he wrote the libretto for Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian, and the Stratford Festival where he continues to develop Walker Rhodes, a new musical with Steven Page.

Daniel’s most fruitful partnership has been with director Daniel Brooks (23 June 1958 – 22 May 2023) with whom he created seven solo performances for international touring. The style of these pieces, and much of his other work, is minimalist and meta-theatrical. Marion Bridge is his most performed play, and it is wholly unlike his solo work. More on that is my next newsletter. His most important solo plays may be Here Lies Henry and Monster. These were performed last month at Factory Theatre in Toronto. Here Lies Henry has been admirably performed here by Justin Quesnelle. I saw it twice.

Photo Credit: Sam Santos