Company

Directed by

Lezlie Wade

Musical Direction by

Wayne Gwillim

Featuring

Thom Allison, Barbara Barsky, Steven Gallagher, Eliza-Jane Scott, Michael Strathmore

Costume Design

Sarah Melamed

Lighting Design

Paul Major

Stage Manager

Dot Routledge

Reviews

Let’s get right to the point: Elegies: A Song Cycle is the most satisfying, fulfilling, beautifully performed piece of musical theatre I’ve seen in this city for a long time… If you believe that musical theatre is an art form capable of rousing you to both tears and laughter in the same evening, then this is the show for you.

— Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star

In a city that recently has witnessed the demise of a big musical (The Lord of the Rings), the slaughter of a classic one (The Threepenny Opera), and the premature birth and inevitable death of a homegrown effort (The Story of My Life), this relatively unknown work and its low-key interpreters should be embraced and feted. For unlike The Lord of the Rings, Elegies is intimate, personal, yet effortlessly universal. In stark contrast to The Threepenny Opera, it is cast with musical-theatre people who (shock! horror!) can sing. Compared to The Story of My Life, another musical that revolved around death and eulogizing, this one is sung without amplification, and actually tells a good story… If the show proves anything, it’s that musical theatre, while always a challenge, is not rocket science. All it takes is a few good songs, a handful of actors who can sing, and a director who trusts both material and cast. Why has that eluded the biggest companies in town?

— Kamal Al-Solaylee, The Globe and Mail

I am not familiar with the Acting Up Stage Theatre Company—now in its third year—but now that I’ve seen what they can accomplish, I’m just sick that I’ve missed any earlier productions…The voice—and the acting—of Thom Allison, Barbara Barsky, Steven Gallagher, Eliza-Jane Scott, and Michael Strathmore are among the finest I’ve encountered in four decades of reviewing… This song cycle provided some of the most powerful moments I’ve experienced in musical theater. Bravo.

— Allan Gould, City Post Magazines

Photos