The Epilogue.
Mamma Mia!
No, I am not switching to Italian right before the end of my notes! It’s not an emotional summary of my visit to Montreal either. “Mamma Mia” is a musicle I was lucky to see in Torontonian “Royal Alexandra” theatre - and my last tribute to the famous Entertainment District I already mentioned far above.
“Mamma Mia” is also a song of ABBA, and this is no coincidence: the whole musicle is based on no less than 22 ABBA songs, while a simple and yet touching plot is there to bridge between them. And yet, it wasn’t a clandestine ABBA concert but rather a first-class theatrical experience - in an old and posh playhouse hosting a dynamic and well-matched group of high-trained performers (singers as well as actors and dancers). The Royal Alex - as it’s affectionally called by its devotees- revealed itself as a meeting-point for styles and cultures: people in jeans and tuxedos were sitting next to each other and equally intently watching and generously cheering, while the wonders of the modern stage technology (like multipurpose folding sets and instant scene changes) peacefully coexisted with heavily ornamented doors, gilded ceilings and satin armchairs of the building that was about to be brought down years ago but has been saved and given a new life by a local tycoon…
And finally, there was a gratis programme that made a truly exciting piece of reading - well-composed excerpts from an emotional diary of Catherine Johnson, the playwright, followed by a story of RAPA, an Arts Academy that had coined a unique concept of “triple threat” (its graduates are supposed to be equally skillful in all three fields constituting a good musicle - acting, singing and dancing. Some of them were proving their academic success on that very day, right before our eyes); a shop specialising on theatre memorabilia of all times was rubbing shoulders on the programme pages with a life-story of Ed Mirvish, “The Honest Ed”, that very person having saved “The Royal Alex”. All in all, this programme turned out to be a wonderful source of information helping to keep pace with the Torontonian artistic world.
Little things combining into an outstanding experience; several such and similar experiences providing for a great visit - and what’s Life, if not a string of visits around the Universe?! All we have to do is to buy a right ticket…
Toronto-Montreal, 21 century!
No, I am not switching to Italian right before the end of my notes! It’s not an emotional summary of my visit to Montreal either. “Mamma Mia” is a musicle I was lucky to see in Torontonian “Royal Alexandra” theatre - and my last tribute to the famous Entertainment District I already mentioned far above.
“Mamma Mia” is also a song of ABBA, and this is no coincidence: the whole musicle is based on no less than 22 ABBA songs, while a simple and yet touching plot is there to bridge between them. And yet, it wasn’t a clandestine ABBA concert but rather a first-class theatrical experience - in an old and posh playhouse hosting a dynamic and well-matched group of high-trained performers (singers as well as actors and dancers). The Royal Alex - as it’s affectionally called by its devotees- revealed itself as a meeting-point for styles and cultures: people in jeans and tuxedos were sitting next to each other and equally intently watching and generously cheering, while the wonders of the modern stage technology (like multipurpose folding sets and instant scene changes) peacefully coexisted with heavily ornamented doors, gilded ceilings and satin armchairs of the building that was about to be brought down years ago but has been saved and given a new life by a local tycoon…
And finally, there was a gratis programme that made a truly exciting piece of reading - well-composed excerpts from an emotional diary of Catherine Johnson, the playwright, followed by a story of RAPA, an Arts Academy that had coined a unique concept of “triple threat” (its graduates are supposed to be equally skillful in all three fields constituting a good musicle - acting, singing and dancing. Some of them were proving their academic success on that very day, right before our eyes); a shop specialising on theatre memorabilia of all times was rubbing shoulders on the programme pages with a life-story of Ed Mirvish, “The Honest Ed”, that very person having saved “The Royal Alex”. All in all, this programme turned out to be a wonderful source of information helping to keep pace with the Torontonian artistic world.
Little things combining into an outstanding experience; several such and similar experiences providing for a great visit - and what’s Life, if not a string of visits around the Universe?! All we have to do is to buy a right ticket…
Toronto-Montreal, 21 century!