“Rent,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical that changed the face of Broadway when it premiered more than a quarter century ago, will be part of the Stratford Festival’s 2023 season, the Star has learned. The new production of Jonathan Larson’s magnum opus, slated to play… Read More »‘Rent’ and ‘Spamalot’ slated for Stratford’s 2023 season
Whether you view it as a dream come true or an exercise in pure emotional masochism or both, there’s no denying that the Wild Hearts tour is one of this summer’s hottest concert draws. A formidable triple-bill composed of three of America’s most accomplished and… Read More »Wild Hearts tour hits Massey Hall
QI’ve written to you previously about an off-on relationship that left me devastated. We’re both in our 60s and met on a seniors’ dating site. He’s healthy, hardy, loves camping / canoeing / fishing. I’d never done any of that. He dumped me. But due… Read More »I love him passionately, he broke up with me, and now he’s back: Ask Ellie
Lua Shayenne, known best to Toronto audiences as a dancer and choreographer, is moving out in big and ambitious ways. Shayenne is donning the hat of producer / curator to launch a festival that celebrates Black women dance artists. Shayenne has named it Yensa, drawing… Read More »Yensa festival celebrates Black women dance artists in Toronto
“Florals … for Spring? Groundbreaking. “ Rendered with deadly sarcasm by Miranda Priestley, via Meryl Streep, it is one of the most iconic lines in “The Devil Wears Prada.” And, having only become more imbued in the culture over the years – thanks, partly, to… Read More »The Devil Wears Prada: now a musical with tunes from Elton John
It’s hard to find a photo of Olivia Newton-John not smiling. There she is in 1966 London, just 18, smirking for a publicity shot in white boots as her music career was taking flight. There she is in 2020 Sydney, now 71, performing at Stadium… Read More »Olivia Newton-John was grace and gratitude personified
Dear readerAs I noted in an earlier column, my daughter, Lisi, will be handling the writing duties a few times a week. Enjoy her take on today’s questions. – Ellie FEEDBACKRegarding the woman awakened by her friend and her boyfriend having sex in the same… Read More »Readers say woman also to blame for dirty and embarrassing scene: Ask Ellie
“Be honest with yourself.” “Face your own demons.” “Stop sweeping your relationship issues under the rug.” Readers, these clear, instructive statements are the words of Sanam Hafeez, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist who spent much of the isolating pandemic years addressing its impact on… Read More »A psychologist nudges millennials toward resuming their personal lives in person: Ask Ellie
The United People of Canada, a new organization now operating out of a historic former church in downtown Ottawa, is very keen to talk about last winter’s so-called “Freedom Convoy.” It is so keen, in fact, that TUPOC (as it calls itself) has booked two… Read More »Where has the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ gone?
Contrary to legend, Barbie’s dream house is not in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Rather, it is at least for the foreseeable future, located in another waterfront locale known as Mississauga, Ontario, inside an enormous grayish building overlooking the Square One Shopping Center. I know… Read More »The surreal, revolutionary, very pink world of Barbie