In 2019 Stage Door received 201,447 pageviews, the highest number in its 25-year history. This may be due in part to the introduction this year of a responsive design that allows the site to be read more easily on smartphones and tablets. The pageviews came from 98,906 unique visitors, also the highest number ever, from 171 countries. Of the unique visitors 67.6% were from Canada, 18.7% from the US and 3.5% from the UK. 

The Fate of a Cockroach by Tawfiq al-Hakim that had been number one last year, sank to number nine this year. Its main rival, Zone by Marcel Dubé, moved up to number one. The top ten featured seven new entrants this year, two of which were plays from South Africa. 

The company with the largest number of entries in the top 50 is the Stratford Festival with 13, followed by the Foster Festival with 4 and the Blyth Festival, Canadian Stage, Cirque du Soleil, Mirvish and the Shaw Festival all tied at 3 each. 

Again there was a wide range of genres represented in the top 50. Beside plays were musicals (7), circus (3), operas (2), sketch comedy (1) and magic (1). 23 of the top 50 shows were by Canadians. Of the 50 only 21 of the shows were presented in Toronto.

Dates are given in parentheses for pre-2019 reviews or to distinguish double reviews.

The Editor

The 50 Most Read Reviews of 2019: 

1. Zone (2012) by Marcel Dubé, Théâtre français de Toronto et al., Toronto 

2. Ubu and the Truth Commission (2015) by Jane Taylor, Canadian Stage, Toronto

3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Mirvish, Toronto

4. ‘O’ (2012) by Franco Dragone, Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas, NV, USA

5. Essay / The Russian Play (2008) by Hannah Moscovitch, Factory Theatre, Toronto

6. Nongogo (2015) by Athol Fugard, Canadian Stage, Toronto

7. Getting Married (2008) by G.B. Shaw, Shaw Festival

8. Othello by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival

9. The Fate of a Cockroach (2005) by Tawfiq al-Hakim, AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, Toronto

10. Champions of Magic by Alex Jarrett, Starvox Entertainment, Toronto

11. Man and Superman by G.B. Shaw, Shaw Festival

12. Nathan the Wise by G.E. Lessing, Stratford Festival

13. Billy Elliot by Elton John & Lee Hall, Stratford Festival

14. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2 (2018) by Jack Thorne, Palace Theatre, London, GBR

15. Private Lives (2001) by Noël Coward, Stratford Festival

16. Girl in the Goldfish Bowl (2002) by Morris Panych, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto

17. Birds of a Kind by Wajdi Mouawad, Stratford Festival

18. A Huron County Christmas Carol, by Gil Garratt & John Power, Blyth Festival

19. Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, Drayton Entertainment, Grand Bend

20. The Last Ship by Sting & Lorne Campbell, Mirvish, Toronto

21. Almighty Voice and His Wife (2009) by Daniel David Moses, Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto 

22. The Birds and the Bees (2016) by Mark Crawford, Blyth Festival

23. Lunenburg (2017) by Norm Foster, Norm Foster Theatre Festival, St. Catharines

24. The Lion King (2001) by Elton John & Tim Rice, Mirvish, Toronto

25. Henry VIII (2019) by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival

26. Private Lives (2019) by Noël Coward, Stratford Festival

27. The Front Page by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur, Stratford Festival

28. Fool for Love by Sam Shepard, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Toronto

29. 7 Stories (2009) by Morris Panych, Canadian Stage, Toronto

30. The Writer by Norm Foster, Norm Foster Theatre Festival, St. Catharines

31. Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken & Harold Ashman, Stratford Festival

32. Betrayal (2000) by Harold Pinter, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Toronto

33. Where the Blood Mixes (2010) by Keven Loring, Factory Theatre, Toronto  

34. The Pigeon King (2017) by Gil Garratt et al., Blyth Festival

35. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, Shaw Festival

36. Corteo (2018) by Daniele Finzi Pasca, Cirque du Soleil, Toronto

37. Volta (2017) by Bastien Alexandre, Cirque du Soleil, Toronto

38. Idomeneo (2008) by W.A. Mozart, Opera Atelier, Toronto

39. La Voix humaine by François Poulenc, Against the Grain Theatre, Toronto

40. Mother’s Daughter by Kate Hennig, Stratford Festival

41. Walking on Bombshells by The Second City, The Second City, Toronto

42. Henry VIII (2004) by William Shakespeare, Stratford Festival 

43. Things I Know to Be True (2018) by Andrew Bovell, Lyric Hammersmith, London, GBR

44. Beside Myself by Steve Thomas & Norm Foster, Norm Foster Theatre Festival, St. Catharines

45. Hilda’s Yard by Norm Foster, Norm Foster Theatre Festival, St. Catharines

46. Girl from the North Country by Conor McPherson & Bob Dylan, Noël Coward Theatre, London, GBR

47. The Komagata Maru Incident (2017) by Sharon Pollock, Stratford Festival

48. Ed’s Garage (2012) by Dan Needles, Grand Theatre, London, ON

49. The Neverending Story (2012) by David S. Craig, Young People’s Theatre, Toronto

50. Jumbo by Sean Dixon, Blyth Festival

Photo: Nicolas Desfossés and Frédérique Thérien in Zone. © 2012 Sylvain Sabatié.