2024 – The Year in Review – A View from the Box

Somehow it’s already the end of 2024; personally, I feel like this year has simply flown by. As per tradition, I’m going to be taking a little look back at the year and talking about some of my favourite productions!

Growth

Once again this year, I’ve been thrilled with the response to my work; from seeing a quote of mine used on the facade of a Mirvish theatre, to the staggering number of views and visitors to my site, I’m consistently excited and impressed by how things are going.

Overall, I saw and reviewed 157 individual shows this year. While it’s only a few more than last year, I still feel like it’s an impressive number to maintain. I’m hoping that this will continue to be a consistent target for years to come.
I am so thankful that I was asked to write for Intermission again this year! I reviewed 10 shows for them at the Toronto Fringe Festival along with 3 mainstage shows.
This year, I saw slightly less shows at the Fringe – 31 compared to last year’s 39. However, with only 77 plays on offer this year, it means that I saw almost half of what was being produced.
View/Visitor numbers have significantly increased once again this year! 76% more views and 89% more visitors than 2023. That’s so mind-blowing to me

In a way, it’s nice to look at these figures like these to really get a full picture of how things change year to year. I certainly don’t go into the year with any specific goals other than “do my best” and thankfully that’s been yielding great results thus far.

Other Highlights

Apart from my criticism itself, there’s been lots happening at A View from the Box:

I started a podcast! A View from the Box – The Podcast has been airing every 2 weeks or so since September and I’m having a great time with it! I’ve already got January’s line up ready and I’m looking forward to where this will take me.
This year, I was asked to review the entire season for Here for Now Theatre in Stratford. Kyle and I made monthly trips down to Stratford to witness their impressive season. I enjoyed being able to see the full season and therefore the full scope of their vision for the season. I’m also really looking forward to their new venue this coming summer!
I also was asked to attend several staged readings of new works as well as established ones. I heard Lisa Alves’ new work The Exhale, Aisling Murphy’s new play look away from me, Robyn Grant-Moran’s Bastard and Dahlia Katz directed a staged reading of Venus in Fur.
Things are going strong on social media, and I’ve even started a Blue Sky account for A View from the Box. I love getting your feedback on my writing and sharing all of these experiences with you.
In February, Mirvish remounted the Crow’s Theatre production of Uncle Vanya and when we arrived at the theatre, one of my quotes was being used on the facade of the theatre! It was incredibly surreal!

Memorable Mentions

Let’s quickly go through the year and talk about some of my favourite productions from 2024!

January – The year got off to a BUSY start! Our first show back from the Holidays was Crow’s Theatre’s Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, and what a way to be welcomed home! Theatre Rusticle’s The Tempest was in impressive feat of performance. Shakes BASH’d’s The Two Noble Kinsman brought me face to face with a rare experience of one of the Bard’s works which I hadn’t studied and absolutely captivated me. Finishing out the month was the moving Casey and Diana at Soulpepper which brings Canadian Queer history to life.

February – It might be the shortest month of the year, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not still plenty of theatre to check out! DION: A Rock Opera was the first World Premiere Coal Mine Theatre had produced, and it was a fabulous show (still waiting on a cast album tho!). Eldritch Theatre’s MacBeth: A Tale Told by an Idiot is still one of the most impressive solo shows I’ve ever seen. De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail at Soulpepper was a musical, magical journey into the life and trial of the renowned playwright. Merrily We Roll Along from Shifting Ground Collective was a triumphant return to the stage for that company and made me fall in love with the musical.

March – Tarragon Theatre’s Three Fingers Back was a strong start to the month! Followed by another strong showing from Crow’s Theatre with the mind-bending Dana H. However, the final two shows of the month were Canadian Stage’s The Inheritance Part 1 and 2: I didn’t know I could sob like I did at the end of Part 1. Overall it was a powerfully moving month of theatre.

April – this month got started a bit late as Kyle and I were in Mexico on our engagement trip! However, once we got home, the theatre was back in full swing! Opera Atelier’s All Is Love was like an incredibly curated Opera Playlist all about Love in its many forms. Eldritch revived its The House At Poe Corner which was a jaw-droopingly brilliant combination of Poe and Pooh Bear. Nightwood Theatre and VideoCabaret’s Mad Mage was a wild delight from start to finish. Outside the March and Soulpepper’s A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney had impeccable design and a gripping story beautifully performed.

May – The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company’s In Seven Days was a heartbreakingly beautiful look at our end-of-life choices. Coal Mine Theatre’s Hedda Gabler was an intriguing take on Ibsen’s classic. Obsidian Theatre and Crow’s Theatre’s seven methods of killing kylie jenner was an emotional and interesting production about our social media obsessions. Tarragon Theatre’s Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall was as educational as it was entertaining.

June – Thankfully, June is usually a quiet month before the zaniness of Fringe. Modern Times Stage Company’s The Caged Bird Sings at the Aga Khan Museum was a stunning introduction to the world of Rumi. The RAVE Institute and Outside the March’s R.A.V.E was amazing, and definitely the best workout I’ve had in a while! Basement Productions’ Tommy Rhodes is an exciting musical I can’t wait to see again. And then, of course, there was The Last Timbit; a funny and heartwarming bit of Canadiana whose tagline is perpetually playing in my head.

July – Ah the Fringe. The most hectic two weeks of the year for a theatre critic. I saw 31 shows total, and wrote about 21 of those on AVftB. Highlights include: The Delightful Chaos of Mistila and the Motlies, Gulp, Boy Boy and the Magic Drum, Patty Picker, Gringas, POZ, Saskatchewan, and Escape from Toronto. Here for Now Theatre’s 12 Dinners had me hopelessly crying by the end of it. And closing out the month was Canadian Stage’s summer tradition of Shakespeare in High Park. Hamlet was on offer this year and it was a glorious production.

August – Rosemary Dunsmore proved what a powerhouse she is in Here For Now Theatre’s The Saviour. I saw two fascinating readings at SummerWorks: Suitable Climate and Aye Caesar. Salt-Water Moon in King City was a perfect outdoor show to close out the summer season! The Capitol Theatre had me in the holiday spirit early with Christmastown. EveryBODY On Stage’s In My Own Little Corner had the most cozy set ever along with an inspirational story.

September – The 2024/25 seasons got off to amazing starts this year. Bowtie Productions put on one of my absolute favourite musicals Hedwig and the Angry Inch. 1S1 Theatre’s Qalb, A Journey of the Ego was a pointed reminder of how far we still need to go with providing accessibility for D/deaf and hard of hearing folks. Crows Theatre’s first offering Rosmersholm was an immersive experience both emotionally and physically. Here For Now Theatre’s Dinner with the Duchess literally had me on the edge of my seat. Buddies in Bad Times’ Roberto Zucco was a wild trip into French Absurdism. Riot King’s SAMCA took us on a spine-chilling journey through the woods of Black Creek Pioneer Village.

October – Ronnie Burkett was back to delight with Wonderful Joe; a moving story about a queer community and its elders. Tarragon Theatre’s Goblin Macbeth was a perfect start to spooky season (I can’t wait to see the goblins again). Next Stage brought back some old favourites like Civilized along with new delights like I Was Unbecoming Then. Canadian Stage’s My Name is Lucy Barton was a total tour de force by Maev Beaty. Tarragon’s other smash hit of the fall was Interior Design, which had me laugh and cry in equal measure. Canadian Stage also had a major hit with Playing Shylock; Rubinek was astounding.

November – I think this was my most busy November to date! It started off with What the Constitution Means to Me at Soulpepper; it was almost too on the nose for what would happen later that week. Eldritch Theatre’s Phantasmagoria 3D made me totally rethink of what’s possible on stage. Coal Mine Theatre’s A Case for the Existence of God was compelling and star-studded. Baram and Snieckus’ Big Stuff really does tackle big stuff yet provided a catharsis like no other. Crow’s Theatre’s The Bidding War is a biting look at Toronto’s real estate market. Lester Trips and Factory Theatre’s Honey I’m Home was perfectly unsettling…and not solely because the main character and I share a name. The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show was surreal and beautiful and irreverent; everything I need in a drag show. Wren Theatre’s Little Women was a cozy adaptation of the classic novel.

December – And somehow it was December already! The Soulpepper remount of The Master Plan is amazing (and runs until Jan 12). I got even more drag this month with Buddies in Bad Times’ Oraculum featuring Denim and Pythia! THE ROSS PETTY PANTO IS BACK! Canadian Stage has taken up the torch with The Wizard of Oz: The Toto-ly Awesome Musical (which runs until Jan 5). And finally for the year was Phil Rickaby’s spooky (but very potentially NOT incorrect) It Sees You When You’re Sleeping.

Wow! And that’s just a few per month! What a joy and honour it is to be invited to witness so many pieces of theatre this year!

Thank you

Firstly, thanks for making it this far in this massive post. You folks, the readers, you’re the ones who I’m writing for and who I’m so thankful find joy in my work.

I want to thank my family and friends who are getting used to my hectic schedule and that it means I often can’t get home as frequently as I’d like. A special shout out to my sister Emily who designed all of my new logos and banners that I’ve been using this year! She’s an incredible graphic artist and I’m so thankful for her artistry.

Most of all, I want to thank Kyle. I literally couldn’t do ANY of this without him. He’s come to see 59 shows with me this year. He’s my constant companion, my rock, and my joy. Without his constant encouragement and reassurance, A View from the Box couldn’t be what it is today. I love you TREE(3).