Comely maidens tease, Mary Walsh rages at Canoe Theatre Festival

Comely maidens tease, Mary Walsh rages at Canoe Theatre Festival

Burlesque has undergone an interesting renaissance. Once a form of theatrical entertainment that invited randy gentle-men to peep at comely lasses cavorting unbesleeved and naked ankles akimbo, the girly show eventually “evolved” into full nudity, away from the eyes of the up-standing citizenry and disconcerted clergy, and into the seedy domain of the strip club. […]

Mark Meer elected Edmontonian of 2012 in landslide victory

Mark Meer elected Edmontonian of 2012 in landslide victory

We should’ve known what would happen if we put Mark Meer on the list. Of course he was voted GigCity’s Edmontonian of the Year – in a landslide, with 68% of the vote. He’s such a tireless self-promoter and wields such a formidable clout in social media that winning our little contest/social experiment was a […]

Come on down! The Price is Right to hit Edmonton

Come on down! The Price is Right to hit Edmonton

Why has this not been in Edmonton before? We love shopping! Part of a successful series of touring TV game shows, the “Price is Right” is coming to town – at the Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday, March 10 – and we get to play. Tickets go on sale Friday. This is a for-real game show, […]

THEATRE: Bus ride finds true meaning of Edmonton

THEATRE: Bus ride finds true meaning of Edmonton

If you’re lacking either Edmonton or Christmas spirit or both, a ride on the magic bus could do wonders. And no, its not the No. 5 on the last Friday of the month. “Birdie on the Wrong Bus” is billed as a heart-warming slice of Edmontonia, making its world premiere at the Show Globe Festival […]

REPORT: Taboo takes sexual marketing to a new audience – women

REPORT: Taboo takes sexual marketing to a new audience – women

If we had a time machine, a young Ron Jeremy would’ve experienced an existential crisis at this year’s Taboo: Naughty But Nice Show, which wrapped its three day run in Edmonton on Sunday. The world’s most famous porn star likely would have been wandering around the Edmonton Expo Centre in a daze, wondering where the […]

On thin ice: play looks at global warming

On thin ice: play looks at global warming

One of the most disturbing things about global warming is hearing people’s reactions on how it’s going to affect their “lifestyle.” Another example comes in a play called “6.0: How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won” – a funny yet poignant tale of champion figure skaters trying to stage a comeback in […]

From play to movie back to play, Jack Goes Boating proves its stamina

It’s quite a challenge to do play that’s been made into a movie. Everyone’s going to make comparisons, many of them unfair. Good example: Kurt Vonnegut – great novelist, lousy playwright. Fortunately for the cast of Jack Goes Boating – opening Thursday at the Varscona Theatre – the 2010 movie of the same name isn’t […]

REVIEW: Rock of Ages succeeds despite, or maybe because of, cheesy music

Going into Rock of Ages, the latest Broadway Across Canada production to set up shop at the Jubilee Auditorium, I had a real fear that this was going to be one of those shows that I would be tempted to leave at the intermission (I quit halfway through Cats; I don’t care how popular that […]

ROCK MUSICAL: Rockers to rock in Rock of Ages

If there’s a rock ‘n’ roll heaven, it might include a part in Rock of Ages. It may seem that way for rock singer Universo Pereira, who landed the plum role of hard rockin’, hard livin’ rock legend Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages despite having no theatre experience whatsoever. But he was a rock […]

Shakespeare’s words replaced by body language in Alberta Ballet’s Othello

It’s going to take some serious body language to render Shakespeare without words – as the cast of Alberta Ballet’s production of Othello should know well by now. That’s the ballet for you. No dialogue. What would Shakespeare have thought about such a thing? Playing Friday and Saturday at the Jubilee Auditorium, Othello stars Kelley […]

Gay love on the Rez: award-winning play comes out in Edmonton

Gay love on the Rez: award-winning play comes out in Edmonton

The bullying and self-loathing Waawaate Fobister suffered as a gay youth wasn’t derived from his own aboriginal culture – but from the Christian dogma that was forced upon it. “As a teenager growing up as a Christian, I just hated myself because they told me I was going to go to hell because of who […]

SCARY TIMES: 13 Halloween events for grown-ups who don’t want to grow up

SCARY TIMES: 13 Halloween events for grown-ups who don’t want to grow up

It’s no mystery why Halloween has been completely co-opted and dominated by grown-ups – it’s because many modern grown-ups have failed to grow up. Joe Flaherty – SCTV’s Count Floyd, so he ought to know about this sort of thing – complained that many of the adult students in his improv classes back East were […]