Author Archives: strecker

ALL MUSIC GUIDE ERRS ON BIO OF HAMILTON’S JACKIE WASHINGTON

Posted on March 16, 2011 by strecker

About two years ago I notified the online All Music Guide that their biography of Hamilton’s Jackie Washington contained a number of errors because its author had mixed biographical information of two Jackie Washingtons. I explained further that I, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE

Posted on March 3, 2011 by strecker

Here’s the scene: a dark and shadowy street with strands of London fog drifting in and out, a lamp post, a bobby strolling through, a variety of street-world English accents, and a voice that shouts the news of Sherlock Holmes’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SOULPEPPER: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Posted on February 27, 2011 by strecker

The near-to-first production I saw of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the legendary Peter Brook mounting of forty years ago that placed a smugly grand Alan Howard as Oberon on a trapeze. At the end, the cast burst into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

DANCAP’S SOUTH PACIFIC AT TORONTO CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

Posted on February 24, 2011 by strecker

South Pacific’s lead characters, ensign Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque, originate conspicuously from two distinct worlds. She is from Little Rock and exudes an aura of everyday small town folk. She is twangy, good-willed, innocent in the ways of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SAINT CARMEN OF THE MAIN AT CANADIAN STAGE

Posted on February 16, 2011 by strecker

The slowly ascending curtain reveals 70s-ish high heels, then some leg, then high hemlines, then fourteen garishly attired members of the Chorus, some of indeterminate gender. These are whores and cross-dressers of every sexual persona, a loud bunch of aggressively … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Stage | Leave a comment

OPERA HAMILTON POPERA

Posted on February 10, 2011 by strecker

Opera Hamilton’s last Popera at Hamilton Place, before the company’s move to the more intimate and less pricey Dofasco Centre for the Arts for 2011-2012, was a richly satisfying evening. With David Speers conducting, the orchestra began the overture to … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera Hamilton | Leave a comment

SOULPEPPER: DAVID MAMET’S OLEANNA

Posted on February 8, 2011 by strecker

“It’s just a course,” says Prof John. He speaks from the world of academic concept where he, on the verge of tenure, is secure, assertive, intellectually confident, professorally efficient, and a man of patronizing empathy. Yes, he is annoying. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Soulpepper Theatre | Leave a comment

TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Posted on February 3, 2011 by strecker

First Movement: Press conference regarding the 2011-2012 Season Conductor Peter Oundjian is warmly chatty, richly anecdotal , ingratiating, and gently passionate about music and all else it seems. He tells us he has put together “a bold season” for 2011-12, … Continue reading →

Posted in Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (SOULPEPPER IN TORONTO)

Posted on December 8, 2010 by strecker

As terrifying as it is, “the spirit world” that torments Joseph Ziegler’s Scrooge, in Soulpepper’s enthusiastically heartwarming A Christmas Carol, might be, ironically, a preferable fit for the man. The corporeal world, after all, is a pleasure-less place for him … Continue reading →

Posted in Soulpepper Theatre | Leave a comment

CD REVIEW SHELBY LYNNE MERRY CHRISTMAS

Posted on November 19, 2010 by strecker

Shelby Lynne, on her new seasonal CD Merry Christmas, combines a sense of childlike wonder and adult worldly smarts. Her musicality is thoroughly compelling as she imbues often overly familiar lyrics with a worldly understanding of life’s complexity. On every … Continue reading →

Posted in Compact Discs | Leave a comment