The Rating System NNNNN Standing ovation NNNN Sustained applause NNN Recommended, memorable scenes NN Seriously flawed N Get out the hook = Critics'' pick (highly recommended)

reviewed: CYRANO DE BERGERAC, THE FROG PRINCE, THE HOPE SLIDE, JACK AND JILL, VIRGINIA, and WAITING FOR TRUDEAU: THE RETURN OF THE KING - July 04, 2004

CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Edmond Rostand’s period comic romance about the lover with the big schnozz gets an outdoor production, featuring a splendid Chris Coculuzzi in the title role. This guy handles the role’s language and sword-fighting with the appropriate panache.
Rating: NNN (JK)

THE FROG PRINCE (AN ENVIRONMENTAL FAIRY TALE)
Nothing wrong with a children’s play driving home a message, but this heavy-handed, numbing version of the fairy tale about a prince turned into a frog – here he’s a green crusader bent on teaching the spoiled princess about composting and the three R’s – is a well-intentioned but charmless show.
Rating: N (JK)

THE HOPE SLIDE
Joan MacLeod’s moving piece blends the rebellious Doukhobors, the 90s AIDS crisis and a narrator who reflects back on her high-school angst. Terri-Lyn Storey’s solo performance works for the most part, but her grade 9 student strays into unnecessary histrionics and caricature.
Rating: NNN (JK)

JACK AND JILL
A troubled husband and wife – he’s Korean/Canadian, she’s Caucasian/Canadian – go through a rough patch around work and pregnancy. The dialogue’s stilted and the direction slow-paced, but there’s a germ of a play here about a multicultural marriage if the characters were invested with believable theatricality.
Rating: NN (JK)

VIRGINIA
Some people will find 90 minutes about Virginia Woolf too long, but adapter/actor Martha Cronyn gives a dedicated performance under Rosemary Dunsmore’s direction. Capturing the writer and the woman’s myriad moods, Cronyn offers an intelligent, well-argued view of a rich, passionate spirit.
Rating: NNNN (JK)

WAITING FOR TRUDEAU: THE RETURN OF THE KING
A fast-paced musical revue about Canada’s history and cultural icons strikes lots of targets dead-on and sometimes falls flat with groaners, but the energy in this audience-pleasing show can’t be beat.
Rating: NNNN (JK)