Category Archives: Uncategorized

BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, THE GREAT DEBATE, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, TOP GIRLS, AND A VEGAN WEEKEND AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL –PART III

Posted on August 13, 2015 by strecker

Above: Guitarist Marko Topchii, conductor JoAnn Falletta and the BPO  Below: Violinist Atis Bankas BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA The Sunday July 20 performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic turns out to be the first ever symphonic concert on the Shaw Festival Stage. … Continue reading →

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PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, TOP GIRLS, THE BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC AND A VEGAN WEEKEND AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL –PART II

Posted on August 8, 2015 by strecker

Photos by David Cooper It’s like a playful dare when Jenny L. Wright as Teacher turns to her audience and says “You may think we have gone too far.” But that is the point of Jackie Maxwell’s production of Peter … Continue reading →

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TOP GIRLS, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, THE BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC AND A VEGAN WEEKEND AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL PART I

Posted on July 28, 2015 by strecker

Photo by David Cooper Top Girls Not long ago, I met a university student who very confidently declared, “I like Stephen Harper.” “And why is that?” I asked, incredulous. “Because he gets things done,” was his answer. “And at what … Continue reading →

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CHRISTEL BARTELSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH WRITER, PRODUCER, CLOWN, TEACHER, COMEDIAN – AND CREATOR OF “ONEYMOON” NOW ON ITS WAY TO EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

Posted on July 27, 2015 by strecker

Canadian Comedy Award Nominee Christel Bartelse, now appearing at the Hamilton Fringe Festival, will soon be taking her new show, “Oneymoon,” to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This interview took place in July of 2015. James Strecker: Actor Ed Asner once … Continue reading →

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SWEET CHARITY AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL: ENERGY WITH A HUMAN HEART

Posted on July 18, 2015 by strecker

In the Shaw Festival production of Sweet Charity, director Morris Panych and his impressive cast reach under the stylized and safely distant entities that musical characters can easily become and find there a vibrant and unforced humanity. I took almost … Continue reading →

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IBSEN’S THE LADY FROM THE SEA AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL: ANOTHER MUST-SEE GEM IN THE COURTHOUSE THEATRE

Posted on July 3, 2015 by strecker

A naked woman lies atop a solitary, eroded, but commanding rock formation. A duet of female voices is gradually consumed by an electronic soundscape. The woman turns away from the spirit-dominating darkness around her and, looking toward us, seems consumed … Continue reading →

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LAUGHTER UNCONFINED: SHAW’S YOU NEVER CAN TELL AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL TO OCTOBER 25

Posted on June 12, 2015 by strecker

A few seconds of animation footage of a boat directed full speed ahead at the audience, a floating inflated fish and bubbles ascending merrily, and one feels present here the spirit, perhaps, of Terry Gilliam of Monty Python days. And … Continue reading →

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VALERIE HARMS: AN INTERVIEW WITH AN AUTHOR-CONSULTANT CALLED “A MOST REMARKABLE WOMAN” BY THE UNITED NATIONS

Posted on June 4, 2015 by strecker

Valerie Harms’ ten books include Your Soul at a Crossroads, Dreaming of Animals, The Inner Lover, Tryin’ To Get To You/ The Story of Elvis Presley, National Audubon Society Almanac of the Environment/ The Ecology of Everyday Life, Stars In … Continue reading →

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ADRIANNE PIECZONKA: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE INTERNATIONALLY CELEBRATED CANADIAN SOPRANO DUE TO SING RICHARD STRAUSS AND WAGNER WITH THE TSO MARCH 11, 12, AND 14

Posted on March 4, 2015 by strecker

Photograph by Bo Huang James Strecker: First of all, best wishes for your birthday of March 2. Since you’ll be fifty-two, I wonder how the Adrianne who will be singing with the Toronto Symphony on March 11, 12, 14 is … Continue reading →

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GEORGE BENJAMIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CELEBRATED COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, PIANIST AND TEACHER -APPEARING AT THE TORONTO SYMPHONY’S NEW CREATIONS FESTIVAL FROM FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 7

Posted on February 26, 2015 by strecker

Photo by Matthew Lloyd James Strecker: A Mind of Winter is the first of your three featured works in the Toronto Symphony’s New Creations Festival, so I’d love to know how introspective a work it is. A number of writers … Continue reading →

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