It took our four critic-judges almost 5 hours to decide on 103 nominees in 18 categories, but in the end we are all very pleased with the contendenders this year. Every category is full of strong artists that delighted and surprised us over the season and we feel lucky to have witnessed all thier talent and hard work.

So, without further ado – here are the nominees for the 2014 Critter Awards along with information on how to RSVP for the June 18th Awards Event. Remember, space is limited so get in touch early to secure your spot.
2014 Critter Nominations Announced
Calgary Theatre Critics’ Awards honour 103 nominees in 18 categories

Calgary Theatre Critics, Stephen Hunt of the Calgary Herald, Louis B. Hobson of the Calgary Sun, Jenna Shummoogum of Downtown Calgary and Jessica Goldman of CBC’s The Eyeopener and applause-meter.com are pleased to announce the nominees for the third annual Calgary Theatre Critics’ Awards.

Nominees were chosen from any production performed in Calgary between August, 2013 and June, 2013, with the exception of Broadway Across Canada performances. The winners will be announced at a free public award ceremony on June 18 at The Libertine Public House, 223 8 Ave SW.

The 2014 Critter nominees are:

Featured Actor in a Play:
Graham Percy – Twelfth Night (The Shakespeare Company)
Paul Welch – The Hounds of the Baskervilles (Vertigo Theatre)
Dj Gellatly – The Basement Boys (Theatre BSMT)
David Snider – The Diary of Ann Frank (Rosebud Theatre)
Richard Lee Hsi – Games (Alberta Theatre Projects)

Featured Actress in a Play:
Kandis Chappell – Major Barbara (Theatre Calgary)
Katey Hoffman – You Will Remember Me (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Genevieve Pare – Late, A Cowboy Song (Third Street Theatre)
Sarah Wheeldon – Twelfth Night (The Shakespeare Company)
Lindsay Burns – Camp Victoria (Lunchbox Theatre)

Featured Actress in a Musical:
Ester Purvis Smith – Bingo Ladies (Lunchbox Theatre)
Sarah Irwin – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)
Susan Gilmour – Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary)
Gabrielle Jones – Fiddler on the Roof (Stage West)
Natascha Girgis – Fiddler on the Roof (Stage West)

Featured Actor in a Musical:
Andrew Macdonald-Smith – Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary)
Jack Forestier – Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary)
Brent Middleton – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)
Brian MacDougall – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)

Best Solo Performance:
Kyall Rakoz – Ludwig and Lohengrin
Tara Travis – Til Death, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Monster Theatre)
Dave Kelly – Dad, Day 1 (Lunchbox Theatre)
Nathan Schmidt – Underneath the Lintel (Rosebud Theatre)
Chase Padgett – Nashville Hurricane

Best Set Design:
Anton de Groot – Travels with my Aunt (Vertigo Theatre)
Daniel Ostling – Major Barbara (Theatre Calgary)
Cory Sincennes – Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary)
Narda McCarroll – Around the World in 80 Days (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Scott Penner – I love you because (Stage West)

Best Technical Design:
Matthew Waddell – Tomorrow’s Child (Ghost River Theatre)
Ana Cappelluto, Richard Feren and Elysha Poirier – Seeds (Theatre Junction)
T. Erin Gruber – A bomb in the Heart (Downstage)
David Leclerc, Bruno Matte and Creighton Doane – Boom (Theatre Calgary / High Performance Rodeo)
Jamie Nesbitt – The Hounds of the Baskervilles (Vertigo Theatre)

Best Actor in a Musical:
Geoffrey Ewert – Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Sage Theatre)
Scott Shpeley – Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild)
Christian Goutsis – Touch Me: Sings for a (dis)connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild)
Victor A Young – Fiddler on the Roof (Stage West)
Eric Wigston – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)

Best Actress in a Musical:
Bree Greig – Do you want what I have got? A Craigslist Cantata (Alberta Theatre Projects / High Performance Rodeo)
Lisa Lennox – Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild)
Selina Wong – Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild)
Elinor Holt – Bingo Ladies (Lunchbox Theatre)
Stefanie Lis – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)

Best Touring Production:
Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper)
6.0: How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won (Northern Lights Theatre)
Do you want what I have got? A Craigslist Cantata (Acting Up Stage Company and Factory Theatre)
Seeds (Porte Parole)
A Brimful of Asha (Why Not Theatre)

Best Actress in a Play:
Amy Rutherford – The Great Gatsby (Theatre Calgary)
Natascha Girgis – Around the World in 80 Days (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Allison Lynch – Closer (Ground Zero Theatre and Hit & Myth Productions)
Beryl Bain – The Mountaintop (Theatre Calgary)
Carmen Aguirre – The Motherf***er with the Hat (Alberta Theatre Projects)

Best Actor in a Play:
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee – Kim’s Convenience (Theatre Calgary)
Dean Paul Gibson – Major Barbara (Theatre Calgary)
Duval Lang – You Will Remember Me (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Greg Wilson – The Basement Boys (Theatre BSMT)
Braden Griffiths – My Family and Other Endangered Species (Downstage)

Best New Script:
Dad, Day 1 – Dave Kelly (Lunchbox Theatre)
Games – Linda Griffiths (Alberta Theatre Projects)
You Will Remember Me – Francois Archambault (Alberta Theatre Projects)
My Family and Other Endangered Species – Ellen Close and Braden Griffiths (Downstage)
The Basement Boys – Steven Owad (Theatre BSMT)

Best Creative Concept:
Tomorrow Child – Eric Rose, Matt Waddell and David van Belle (Ghost River Theatre) Eavesdrop: The Coffeeshop Show – Mark Hopkins and Charles Netto (Swallow-A-Bicycle Theatre)
Legend Has It – Rebecca Northan, with Renee Amber, Bruce Horak, Mark Meer, Jamie Northan and Sean Bowie (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Of Fighting Age – Col Cseke and Christopher Duthie (Verb Theatre)
Boom – Rick Miller (Theatre Calgary / High Performance Rodeo)

Best Director Musical:
JP Thibodeau – Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild) Kelly Reay – Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Sage Theatre)
Amiel Gladstone – Do you want what I have got? A Craigslist Cantata (Alberta Theatre Projects / High Performance Rodeo)
Michael Shamata – Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary)
Amanda Liz Cutting – Spring Awakening (Artists’ Collective Theatre)

Best Director Play:
Dennis Garnum – Major Barbara (Theatre Calgary)
Vanessa Porteous – You Will Remember Me (Alberta Theatre Projects)
Simon Mallett – Travels with my Aunt (Vertigo Theatre)
Chelsey Fawcett – The Basement Boys (Theatre BSMT)
Kate Newby – Twelfth Night (The Shakespeare Company)

Best Musical:
Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)connected Age, Forte Musical Theatre Guild
Do you want what I have got? A Craigslist Cantata, Alberta Theatre Projects / High Performance Rodeo
Fiddler on the Roof, Stage West
Mary Poppins, Theatre Calgary
Spring Awakening, Artists’ Collective Theatre

Best Play:
Major Barbara, Theatre Calgary
You Will Remember Me, Alberta Theatre Projects
My Family and Other Endangered Species, Downstage
Kim’s Convenience, Theatre Calgary
Twelfth Night, The Shakespeare Company

In addition, the critics will be handing out the Evans Award, a special award recognizing outstanding contribution to the vibrancy of the theatre community in Calgary. The award recipient will be revealed on the night of the event.

To attend the Calgary Critics’ Awards please RSVP to critterawards2014@gmail.com as soon as possible as there are a limited number of spots available. Doors open at 7pm with complimentary nibbles for everyone, the awards will begin at 8pm and the celebration will continue until they kick us all out.

The Calgary Critics would like to thank their event sponsors: Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun, Bottom Line, Clarice Siebens and Petrocraft Storage Inc. for their support and enthusiasm.

(l to r) Rene Abdon, Dj Gellatly, Greg Wilson and Jesse Anderson. Photo by: Eric Peters.

 

The Basement Boys presented by Theatre BSMT

EPCOR Centre Motel

Friday, May 9 – Friday, May 16

http://www.theatrebsmt.ca/Theatre_BSMT/Whats_On.html

Listen to my review of The Basement Boys on CBC’s Eyeopener at http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/05/12/jessica-goldman-reviews-basement-boys/

 

RATING

For the occasional theatre goer – Make no mistake, this is not an easy fun slacker comedy. Instead, this  dramatic play takes an insightful and sometimes disturbing look at these 20-somethings still living in their parent’s homes and examines why they are so stuck. There is drinking, drugs, foul language and attitudes and behaviour that might anger you, but it’s all in service of an exciting and at times edge of your seat story where the curve balls will thrill you and the acting impresses all around.  SEE IT

For the theatre junkie – This play is an incredible accomplishment across the board. Owad’s writing is searingly authentic and his ability to throw curves and keep us on our toes all production is thrilling. Fawcett’s smart direction hits you from the minute walk into the theatre and doesn’t let up until the last perfect moment on the play. The entire cast goes to town with their roles with special mention to Greg Wilson who channeled Phillip Seymour Hoffman for his exquisitely realized character. If this is the emerging talent Calgary has to look forward to from writers, directors and actors, the city is in for a treat! SEE IT

 

(l to r) Ashley Wright and  Jamie Koncheck. Photo by Trudie Lee.

 

The Red Priest (Eight Ways to Say Goodbye)

April 29 – May 17, 2014

Martha Cohen Theatre

http://www.atplive.com/2013-2014-season/Red_Priest/index.html

Listen to my review from CBC’s Calgary Eyeopener at 

http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/05/08/jessica-goldman-reviews-red-priest/

 

RATING

For lovers of Vivaldi – Tip of the hat to playwright Mieko Ouchi who did her research on the famed composer and offers up a fairly accurate portrayal of what the latter years his life might have been like. But for those of you who except to be regaled with swaths of his music throughout the show or gain insight into his process or inspirations, no such luck. Vivaldi’s music features lightly in this production that is far more concerned with beautiful (but flawed) writing than about the music itself. MAYBE SEE IT

For the occasional theatre goer – Sure there are the seeds of a story embedded in this play, but it is too subtle to satisfy. Without allowing you to see and savour the budding affection between Vivaldi and his noblewoman student, the audience never really buys the love affair. In addition, scenes composed of only metaphor and one too many monologues will distract and distance you. SKIP IT

For theatre junkies – Ouchi’s writing is haltingly beautiful at times and the performances are strong. But the decision to add a superfluous third character into this production, some questionable design decisions and a narrative that never really takes flight makes this production overly frustrating in too many places. MAYBE SEE IT

(L to R) Mathieu Bourossa and Duval Lang. Photo Credit: Jason Mehmel

 

Michel and Ti-Jean

May 1 – 10, 2014

Studio Theatre

www.sagetheatre.com

Listen to my review from CBC’s Calgary Eyeopener at http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/theatre/2014/05/05/jessica-goldmans-latest-review-1/

 

RATING

For Kerouac/Tremblay fans – Neither one of this literary giants comes off as likeable in this production. Kerouac is portrayed as a bitter/self-pitying drunk whose stream of conscious prose sounds like a slightly elevated Hallmark card. Tremblay is drawn as a sycophantic, gosh-wow, fairly empty-headed young writer. All this would have been fine I suppose,  if their conversation had elicited anything resembling heft or even interest. Instead it’s a minutia navel gazing that offers no real insight or intrigue. SKIP IT

For newbies to the writers – This is a name dropping, reference ridden narrative that will leave you in the dark much of the time. Yes, you’ll get the basic gist of the men’s style of writing and topics of choice, but you’d be far better off reading their works themselves to imagine what a meeting of these minds might have been like. SKIP IT

For the occasional theatre goer – A two-hour conversation between writers who are far less interesting than the work they produce most certainly will not ring your bell. SKIP IT

For the theatre junkie – Not even an incredible talent like Duval Lang (as Kerouac) could save this play from being a slog. With a distinct lack of tension, no real intellectual challenge and a trajectory that reeks of cliché, this is an utter disappointment all around. SKIP IT

 

Vanessa Sabourin in Monstrosities. Photo Credit  Marc J Chalifoux Photography.

 

Monstrocities

May 1 – 10, 2014

Joyce Doolittle Theatre

www.pumphousetheatre.ca

 

There is no moral/societal tut tutting in Urban Curvz and The Maggie Tree’s production of Monstrosities, a play that examines image and its harmful effects on certain women. No feminist lecture on how we are all beautiful regardless of our flaws or how the world defines us esthetically. Instead, Monstrosities, directed by Sandra Nicholls, introduces us to three women whose appearance spits in the face of the beauty norm and  invites us to stare, to gawk, to hear their stories and make of them what we will. Freak? Victim? Appropriator?  The verdict remains open to interpretation. It’s most certainly an interesting jumping off point for thought-provoking theatre, but unfortunately here the idea is often more intriguing than the execution.

Performed in post dramatic style (plotless) the play unfolds in three twenty minutes monologues and introduces us to three females , each of whom have been branded with the freak flag based on their particular deviance. Amber Borotsik tackles the first role as a woman with see through skin living a life of self-inflicted isolation as a kind of ode to the Japanese practice of hikikomori and to shield herself from the cries of disgust she encounters in public. But an online connection with a boy leads to his asking her out and we watch as she struggles to overcome her fear of rejection. While certainly we have empathy for this fragile creature’s struggle, our patience in this portion is taxed greatly by the repetitive day-dream trope that delays her exit. Not even Erin Gruber’s clever video projections that utilize traditional animation, live streaming and mashups of the uber romantic film Before Sunrise, help to bring traction to this ultimately deflated monologue. We note the conclusion of the scene with barely a shrug. We’ve briefly gawked, lost interest and moved on.

Vanessa Sabourin tackles the second monologue, employing a more distinctly attention grabbing character. Or perhaps monster is a better description. Dressed in army-like clothes with a waxy eyebrowless face and traces of scars on her neck, this is an aggressive creature that makes no apologies for her otherness. She’s known she was different from childhood when dental problems belied what was to come. Three sets of teeth later with new ones falling out all the time, made for an awkward adolescence we are told. Add to that an acute sense of other people who she possibly wants to eat coupled with her ability to be reborn and adulthood isn’t much easier. So of course it’s no surprise that a TV crew wants to film her and her baby for their “look at that freak, thank heavens it’s not me” style of reality show. Exploitation is the theme in this segment which asks us if the truly horrific deserve our sympathy. Credit should be given for not allowing sentiment to creep into the portrayal and Sabourin does a fine job spewing anger and painfully spitting out teeth. But the monologue suffers from fairly unimaginative staging, unimpressive video elements and bookend padding in the form of a tornado metaphor that oozes unnecessary esoteric showboating.

Kristi Hansen closes out the show as the woman formerly known as Long Jean Sliver, the porn star lass whose claim to fame was having a bigger penis than the men she starred with. Or at least that’s how she was marketed. As the strangely titillating, decidedly odd, melancholy and ultimately empowering scene plays out, we come to realize that when it comes to this woman, what you eventually see is not what others have claimed you’d get. It’s a brave and compelling performance by Hansen that would have benefitted from less reliance on what we assume is some kind of 1970’s porn or fetish film taking over the monologue while “Jean” sits wordless.  This is a woman with much to say (and show) and silencing her in favour of a film facsimile felt like theatrical theft.

Each one of the three scenes in Monstrosities had worthwhile notions to explore but in different ways failed to land due to various directorial decisions and lack of narrative depth. Together they make an interesting suite of yet to be refined glimpses of what we normally stare at or look away from. Perhaps after looking a little harder at their creation and working on its weaknesses, this is a production that will resonate more strongly.

 

RATING

For the occasional theatre goer – With the post dramatic structure, loose monologue style that doesn’t offer up easily digestible stories  and a somewhat ambiguous point to it all, this one is way out of your comfort zone. SKIP IT

For theatre junkies – Strong performers, some excellent use of video design and the seeds of several compelling ideas to ponder can’t help us fully connect with this underdeveloped play. But keep an eye out should it ever come back in what will hopefully be a more engaging incarnation. SKIP IT