On Stage

¡s? ON«fSf^tJí» ^febí^fiS^JUDrTHHSHER STAGE>»^Ö«een'i l/nivercify We begin a new theatre season with a broader mandate for this feature. I shall henceforward attempt to keep you in touch with productions of Victorian drama on stages not only in Toronto and Montreal but across Canada. Regular information on what's Victorian in New York and London, England will still be included for international travellers. Perhaps, in perusing the current list of available productions, you will discover something titillating and/or tantalizing just down the road or just around the corner, although I'm afraid there are some comers I didn't hear from in time for this issue. As this is the last Victorian Review for 1993, may I take this opportunity to offer you all somewhat early felicitations for an extremely jolly "Bah humbug!" and "AuId lang syne" season? VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: A Little of Wot You Fancy: A Victorian Music Hall compiled by Susan Cox The Vancouver Playhouse · November 13 - December 1 1 · Susan Cox, the Playhouse's new Artistic Director, has, according to the theatre's brochure, compiled an evening's entertainment of "boisterous cockney humour, songs and patter, comedy and pathos, drawn from the very best of Victorian music hall." For those of you lucky enough to be in Pacific climes at that time of the year, I'm sure a little of wot you fancy'11 do you good. As a footnote for music-hall fans, Bertie, a new musical about Vesta Tilley, starring Anita Harris, opened recently for a limited run in Birmingham, England. Musical adaptations of Charles Dickens's novels are favorite entertainments for the Christmas season and 1993's offerings should not disappoint. EDMONTON, ALBERTA: Oliver by Lionel Bart The Citadel Theatre· November 28, 1993 - January 16, 1994 · The Citadel is advertising its Shoctor stage production of Oliver as a "largescale musical." Bart's unforgettable adaptation of Oliver Twist is also part of the Citadel's New Year's Eve celebrations that include the show and a fireworks display, which patrons can watch from the indoor comfort of the Lee Pavilion. 106Victorian Review WINNIPEG, MANITOBA: A Christmas Carol music, book and lyrics by Mavor Moore Manitoba Theatre Centre· November/December (exact dates unknown) · LONDON, ONTARIO: A Christmas Carol by Mavor Moore The Grand Theatre· November 30 - December 24 · Directed by Miles Potter, starring William HuU as Ebenezer Scrooge The production team and star of Mavor Moore's musical adaptation, which was a Grand success last year, are returning for this year's revival. The critics unanimously praised the "magical" staging of the production; one reviewer even called it "awesome." Moore's version of Dickens's tale "captured all the spiritual venom and scary gloominess of the original" and William HuU "create[d] a gentle, almost absent-minded Ebenezer Scrooge. . . ." ONE AND OFF BROADWAY, NEW YORK: 7"Ae Government Inspector by Gogol, adapted by Adrian Mitchell National Actors Theatre, Lyceum Theatre • Previews from December 21, 1993; opens January 6, 1994 · Starring Tony Randall in the title role. Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw Bouwerie Lane Theater· November 26, 1993 - February 11, 1994· Directed by Richard Corley Shaw's social comedy runs as part of the Jean Cocteau Repertory's 23rd season, with performances on Saturday and Sunday only. LONDON, ENGLAND: At press time, there was nothing Victorian running on stage in London, England, but pantomime season fast approaches. News update on Kenneth Branagh's film production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Shooting started in October and, at the moment I am told, they are slightly ahead of schedule. ...