Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Hadestown: Teen Edition Playwright/s/Composer/s – Anaïs Mitchell Production Company/Theatre space – StoryBook Theatre / The Beddington Arts Centre Length – 2 Acts, 2 hours, 20 minutes (one 15-minute intermission) Genre/s – Fantasy Tragedy Opera Premise – In a world where gods and mortals co-exist above and below ground, an artist succeeds in rescuing his beloved from the underworld only to lose her in the end. Why

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – The Wizard of One Playwright – Production Company/Theatre space – Calgary Fringe / The Kinkonauts @ BLOX Arts Centre Length – 45 minutes Genre/s – Absurdist drama/fantasy crossover Premise – Frank has to defeat his evil soon-to-be daughter-in-law and follow the yellow wires to the man in the basement with three other people who are similar to the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow to escape a senior citizens’ home and retu

Calgarian Neil James has reimagined The Wizard of Oz so that now it takes place in a senior citizens retirement home. Dorothy is now an aging gentleman whose son is marrying a gold digger, and they have put him in the home where she works. She intends to drug him and have him sign away his life savings and property. This certainly qualifies her as a witch. Like the original Dorothy, the old man just wants to go home. In his attempt to find the Man or Wizard, he meets a man w

In one day, Jack Bennet got dumped, fired, and evicted, and, worst of all, his beloved dog died. So with his truck and a chainsaw, he decides to leave Alberta and flee north — really far north — into the Yukon. Metis actor and playwright Colin Wolf tells what happens when Jack hits the Yukon and how he finds new friends and new purpose for his life. Wolf becomes all the characters Jack meets, and these characters are so well delineated it seems as if there is always more than

The Late Great Mormon Drag Queen Steven Morton has to be congratulated for finding this true story. It’s as unbelievable as it is entertaining. Brigham Morris Young was the 15th son of the polygamous Mormon prophet Brigham Young. He was a shy, unassuming man destined to be forgotten, except that he found his true vocation, in the drag persona of Madam Pattrini. Morris came alive when he donned the wig and dress and people loved him. The prophet Lorenzo Snow even asked Morris

Penny Ashton’s musical Promise and Promiscuity is more a homage to, than a parody of, Jane Austen. It’s also as endearing and witty as it is clever. Elspeth Slowtree is a woman ahead of her time. She writes novels and newspaper columns under male pseudonyms and would rather remain an old maid than marry the snorting cousin Horacio. Her independence catches the fancy of Reginald Wrexham, the most eligible wealthy bachelor, and the stern, no nonsense Digby Dalton, But there are

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – American’t Playwright/s – Jon Bennett Production Company/Theatre space – (semi-professional) the theatre, (yes, the new company is called “the theatre”) @ 14th Ave and 2nd Street SW. Length – One Act, 75 minutes (no intermission) Genre/s – Storytelling Premise –COVID puts Bennett into a tailspin, forcing him to return to his dysfunctional family in Australia where, depressed, he drinks, attempts suicide, then returns

Learning to Count Past 100 Eve Beauchamp has written one of the few plays to be featured at Fringe this year, but it is not a typical play by any means. It is a non linear, absurdist dramedy. The two characters played by Keith Bonioi and Maysan Kawah are brother and sister, but he ends up playing several other people including their father, other children and one of his sister’s suitors. Kawash is baking cookies, while Bonioi is obsessing over the possible existence of extrat

Pray the Gay to Stay Calgarian Bryan Sandberg was born and raised in the Philippines, the son of a pastor. His father was not just any pastor but the man who taught others how to be preachers. His father was just about as high up in their church as one could go. When he was a little boy, Bryan and his mother practically worshipped each other. They were inseparable. Then Bryan realized he was gay and he knew what the church thought of homosexuality. Sandberg is quick to make s

Marysia Trembecka bills her solo show as life’s lessons, as powered by the wisdom, music and outrageous fabulousness of Celine Dion and Cher. She uses some of these divas’ songs to talk about the women’s lives, and this is where the show sizzles. Without making any pronouncement, Trembecka recalls that Celine was just 12 years old when Rene Angelil, then 38, became her manager. He was 44 and she was 18 when they became romantically involved. She very cleverly leaves it up to

Geoff Hughes wrote, directed and stars in this tribute to wrestling icon Randy “Macho Man” Savage. The show is as much about Hughes as it is about the American wrestler because Hughes was/is the ultimate fan. It is one of those cautionary tales about meeting your idol. We got to meet and talk briefly with Hughes before his show at the Blox Arts Centre, and the transformation to his onstage persona is remarkable. He maintains the Macho Man facade for the full 60 minutes. I

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Randy & Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story Playwright – Geoff Hughes Production Company/Theatre space – Geoff Hughes / The Kinkonauts @ BLOX Arts Centre, The Calgary Fringe Length – 50 minutes Genre/s – Storytelling Premise – A superfan and impersonator of Randy Savage tells stories from his wrestling days, matches with other wresting characters, and recounts the performers own encounter with his hero. Why this play? W

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – The Late Great Mormon Drag Show Playwright/s – Steven Morton Production Company/Theatre space – Steven Morton / Festival Hall, The Calgary Fringe Festival. Length – 1 Act 60 mins (no intermission) Genre/s – Musical Drama Premise –After unsuccessfully proselytizing in Hawaii, shy insecure Morris, the 15th son of the Morman prophet, wants to stand out from his 57 siblings, marries and runs a sweet shop but only finds

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Down the Rabbithole Playwright – Sya Sen Production Company/Theatre space – Sundog Storytellers, The Calgary Fringe Festival, 1308 Theatre. Length – 1 Act (45 minutes including preshow chat, no intermission.) Genre – Drama Premise – A young woman (who has been clubbing? drinking? taking drugs?) has a dream based on Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. Why this play? Why now? – The play is about the reeducation of Alice

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Fire in the Meth Lab Playwright/s – Jon Bennett Production Company/Theatre space – An independent touring show curated by the theatre, in conjuncton with (but not officially part of) the the Fringe Festival. @ 14th Ave and 2nd Street SW. Length – One Act, 80 minutes (no intermission) Genre/s – Storytelling Black Comedy Premise – A man recounts deeply personal stories from his dysfunctional childhood musing on the cau

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Clue Playwright/s/Composer/s – Written by Sandy Rustin, additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn (based on the Hasbro board game). Production Company/Theatre space – (professional) Work Light Productions and LME Productions, in association with Broadway Across Canada, The John Ware Organization at the Jubilee Auditorium. Length – 1 Act (90 minutes, no intermission.) G

Congratulations to all the award nominees for the 2025/2026 Calgary Theatre Critics’ Awards Below are the recipients OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY - LEADING ROLE 1. Brent Gill, Hurry Hard, Rosebud Theatre 2. Meg Farhall, Beyond by the Sea, Lunchbox Theatre 3. Elinor Holt, How Patty and Joanne Won High Gold at the Grand Christmas Cup Winter Dance Competition, Lunchbox Theatre 4. Ellen Close, How Patty and Joanne Won High Gold at the Grand Christmas Cup Winter Dance

10 . The theatre review understands development time. Reviews are written with the knowledge of whether the show is in development or not and what stage of development. The first draft read vs closing of a world tour determines the lens of the reviewer.

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King Show – Beehive Playwright/s/Composer/s – Created by Larrry Gallagher, music and lyrics by Claudia Brevis, Lincoln Chase, Shirley Elliston, John Gluck, Walter Gold, Seymour Gottleib, Herbert Wiener, Edward Holland, Lamount Dozier, Brian Holland, Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil, Leon Rene, Otis Rene, V. Catalano, A Levison, P Alonso, Guy Hemric, Jerry Styner, Donna Dijon, Doug Morris, Elliot Greenberg, Barbara Baer, Roberts Sc

2025/2026 OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY - LEADING ROLE 1. Brent Gill, Hurry Hard, Rosebud Theatre 2. Meg Farhall, Beyond by the Sea, Lunchbox Theatre 3. Elinor Holt, How Patty and Joanne Won High Gold at the Grand Christmas Cup Winter Dance Competition, Lunchbox Theatre 4. Ellen Close, How Patty and Joanne Won High Gold at the Grand Christmas Cup Winter Dance Competition, Lunchbox Theatre 5. Lili Beaudoin, Juliet: A Revenge Comedy, Monster Theatre/One Yellow Rabbit