Kingston Theatre Alliance

Last summer I booked a trip to New York City as I hadn’t visited since I was very young. I was extremely excited as I really wanted to see a Broadway musical for the first time. As I hopped online looking for shows to see, I remember thinking, “Back to the Future the Musical… Why?” I have no hate for the idea—it could be an amazing musical—I was just surprised at the idea of a Back To The Future musical and it having a spot on Broadway. I continued searching and found that around half of the musicals on Broadway at the time were either remakes of hit movies or revivals of older shows. At first, I was surprised but after further thought, it made sense. I recently looked at Broadway.com’s list of current best-selling Broadway shows and saw that four out of the top ten shows on Broadway right now are direct adaptations of former hit movies, while five out of ten of the shows are connected to an already existing popular product or a revival of an old show.

Nine is a famous Broadway musical brought to life by the students of St. Lawrence College’s Music Theatre – Performance program. It played at the Thousand Islands Playhouse this past weekend and was directed by Alexandra Herzog. With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Arthur Kopit, the story based on the 1963 film 8½  follows Italian Film Director Guido Contini (Felipe De Brito) as he tries to […]

When it comes to theatre criticism, there are dozens of different opinions about its pros and cons. Of course readers have their valued takes but if there’s ever a disconnect that draws a line, it’s usually between the folks writing and publishing a review, and the folks involved in the production. Recently, the Kingston Theatre Alliance (KTA) received an email about a review and subsequent editor’s article, both written by […]

Since my first dreary days as an ArtSci frosh, getting stuck in a crowd of Queen’s students has been a surefire way to bring out my inner Wednesday Addams. As I stood in the Rotunda Theatre’s packed lobby on Thursday evening, noisy whirls of preview-night chatter ricocheting in my ears, I felt a distinct urge to crawl deeper into my own skin. When I realized my arms were crossed and […]

You’ve heard of iPhone, iPod, iPad, but what about iWorld?  Kingston Meistersingers’ production of We Will Rock You!, directed by Rachael McDonald, is a jukebox musical with songs by Queen and book by Ben Elton. Bringing a collection of rock hits to Domino Theatre’s stage, the show flashes forward hundreds of years into the future: the world is run by Globalsoft, a music corporation that has destroyed and banned all […]

Audiences are wondering if all the world’s a billboard as the latest trend in corporate sponsorship emerges in Kingston’s theatre scene. Previously known as Domino Theatre, the new Domino’s Pizza Theatre will soon follow the lead of Slush Puppie Place (formerly Leon’s Centre) in accepting commercial dough.  Rising costs of venue upkeep and drastic cuts to arts funding have been cited as motivators for more local organizations to turn to […]

The prompt: write a play about solar eclipses.  The students of Queen’s University (QU)’s DRAM 251 class were tasked with this in their 2023 fall semester. 24 plays were written as a result and seven have gone on to be dramaturged by the students of QU’s DRAM 339 class this 2024 winter semester. But the collaboration doesn’t end here. The seven plays will have staged readings tomorrow, March 25th, 2024 as […]

The Performance Blog is a primary resource for audience members, artistic collaboration, critical dialogue, and theatre practitioners. Our platform consolidates events, news, artists, and organizations in the Southeastern Ontario area in an accessible and accountable manner that the region has never seen before. Led by the Editor, the writing team is looking for passionate individuals who are committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR, all while building a stronger sector for live performance in the region.

Set forth on a journey through the Forest of Arden where love and laughter intersect to create a fascinatingly funny story. As You Like It is written by the brilliant William Shakespeare and Domino Theatre’s production of the show, directed by Peter Aston, is now playing. Personally, I am not a big Shakespeare theatre-goer. I read a few of the plays in high school and saw some live performances, but […]

“The biggest mistake any of us could make would be to underestimate Satan.” –Paradise Lost Paradise Lost is an interesting and unique retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, and the first battle between good and evil. By Playwright Erin Shields and directed by Evalyn Parry, the play is loosely based on John Milton’s poem of the same name. Paradise Lost flips everything we were taught about the story […]

You know how the story goes: boy meets girl, girl meets Satan, Satan tempts girl, girl eats fruit, boy eats fruit, humankind becomes doomed, and for some reason it’s all girl’s fault. Or something like that. Adam and Eve’s fall from innocence has been told and retold across millennia. Perhaps the best-known English-language version (and certainly the one most often assigned to university students) is John Milton’s 1667 epic poem, […]

The sweeping spectacle returns! Birdbone Theatre’s Broom Dance was reviewed last year by Haley Sarfeld and has made its way back to the stage after further workshopping and the incorporation of a new collaborator. As beautifully crafted shadow puppetry, the play follows a few different storylines that explore Slavic, Italian, and Polish folklore. Curated by Aleksandra Bragoszewska, Alison Gowan, and Ekaterina with compositions by Gowan and Ekaterina, Broom Dance bewitches […]