Reviews 2017
Reviews 2017
In 2017 Stage Door received 147,353 pageviews from 69,719 unique visitors from 159 countries. After its reign for three years as the most read review of the year, Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios was finally ousted this year by The Fate of a Cockroach, a mainstay of the top ten that for unknown reasons experienced a surge in readership this year. I reviewed this 1966 absurdist political comedy by Egyptian playwright Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) in 2005, but it appears the review if one of the only mentions of the play in English. The play was written during a brief loosening of censorship laws in Egypt and the numbers of readers of my brief review suggest that some theatre company would do well to stage the play again and to look into more of al-Hakim’s works and those of his compatriots.
The company with the largest number of entries in the top 50 is the Stratford Festival with ten, followed by the Shaw Festival with eight and Mirvish with four.
Shakespeare is usually the playwright most represented in the top 50. This year Shakespeare and Shaw tie for first with three plays each.
Three reviews from past years still maintain their hold on places in the top ten – The Fate of a Cockroach by Tawfiq al-Hakim from 2005, Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios from 2014 and Zone by Marcel Dubé from 2012. I assume when Kurios leaves North America for Japan next year, it will drop out of the top ten entirely.
-The Editor-
The 50 Most Read Reviews of 2017:
1. The Fate of a Cockroach (2005) by Tawfiq al-Hakim, AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, Toronto
2. Zone (2012) by Marcel Dubé, Théâtre français de Toronto et al., Toronto
3. Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities (2014) by Michel Laprise, Cirque du Soleil, Toronto
4. ‘O’ (2012) by Franco Dragone, Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas, NV, USA
5. Guys and Dolls (2004) by Frank Loesser, Stratford Festival
6. The Komagata Maru Incident by Sharon Pollack, Stratford Festival
7. Androcles and the Lion by G.B. Shaw, Shaw Festival
8. The Divine (2015) by Michael Marc Bouchard, Shaw Festival
9. Odysseo, Cavalia, Mississauga
10. The Illusionists - Live from Broadway, Mirvish, Toronto
11. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Drayton Entertainment, Cambridge
12. In Gabriel’s Kitchen (2006) by Salvatore Antonio, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto
13. Bat Out of Hell - The Musical by Jim Steinman, Mirvish, Toronto
14. The Pigeon King by The Company, Blyth Festival
15. Essay / The Russian Play (2008) by Hannah Moscovitch, Factory Theatre, Toronto
16. On a First Name Basis (2016) by Norm Foster, Foster Festival, St. Catharines
17. Harlem Duet (2006) by Djanet Sears, Stratford Festival
18. The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett, Shaw Festival
19. Western by Matthew Gorman, Next Stage Festival, Toronto
20. Onegin by Veda Hille, Musical Stage Company, Toronto
21. The Girl in the Goldfish Bowl (2002) by Morris Panych, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto
22. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival
23. A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin, Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton
24. Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto
25. Me and My Girl by Noel Gay, Shaw Festival
26. Saint Joan (2017) by G.B. Shaw, Shaw Festival
27. The Libertine by Thomas Shadwell, Talk Is Free Theatre, Barrie
28. The Dirty/Beautiful (2005) by Stephen Massicotte, Crow’s Theatre, Toronto
29. Sousatzka by David Shire, Garth Drabinsky, Toronto
30. The Virgin Trial by Kate Hennig, Stratford festival
31. North by Northwest by Carolyn Burns, Mirvish, Toronto
32. Miss by Michael Ross Albert, Unit 102 Actors Company, Toronto
33. The Birds and the Bees (2016) by Mark Crawford, Blyth Festival
34. Guys and Dolls (2017) by Frank Loesser, Stratford Festival
35. Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel, Shaw Festival
36. 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt by Rick Salutin, Shaw Festival
37. The Pirates of Penzance (2016), Arthur Sullivan, Toronto Operetta Theatre
38. Five Faces for Evelyn Frost by Guillaume Corbeil, Canadian Stage/Théâtre français de Toronto
39. Infinity by Hannah Moscovitch, Tarragon theatre, Toronto
40. Life After by Britta Johnson, Musical Stage Company, Toronto
41. Pinocchio by Caroline Smith, Torrent Productions, Toronto
42. My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot, Mirvish, Toronto
43. H.M.S. Pinafore by Arthur Sullivan, Stratford Festival
44. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival
45. Saint Joan (2007) by G.B. Shaw, Shaw Festival
46. Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley, Precisely Peter Productions, Toronto
47. Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken, Young People’s Theatre, Toronto
48. Treasure Island by Nicolas Billon, Stratford Festival
49. Médée (2002) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Opera Atelier, Toronto
50. Timon of Athens (2004) by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival
Illustration for The Fate of a Cockroach by Masir Sarsar. 2005. 50 Most Read Reviews of 2017
2018-01-01
The 50 Most Read Reviews of 2017