First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Nina Kaye

Play at a Glance: A mash-up of numerous beach party films from the 1960s, Tiki Bikini Beach Party is a vitamin-D infused flashback that's a perfect remedy for the winter blahs. The musical is a self-referential recreation of 1960s beach party flicks, with pop culture references to Scooby Doo, Gilligan's Island and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer to bring it up to date. Jeanette Funicello, her steady, Freddy, and the gang all want to throw a beach party to mark the end of the summer. Unfortunately, the local leather-clad bully, The Big Tuna, is hogging the best part of the beach. The only solution: a surfboard contest with lots of hotdogging, shimmying, hula dancing, grass skirts... and of course bikinis!

First Impressions: Tiki Bikini Beach Party, in a remount at the Next Stage Festival, circumvents the Fringe-imposed lighting and set restrictions by relying on inventive costumes, live music, exposition, strong visual choreography and a sense of humour. The musical numbers were well-rehearsed and executed, if not particularly original, consisting mostly of covers such as "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini". The costuming was excellent, as it was visually pleasing and established the beach setting. The five-piece band was talented, never missing a beat. The actors were great, they cheerfully hammed up their roles and were always fully present onstage.

The Highlights: When technical complications led to a too-early black-out, The Big Tuna (Evan Dowling) and his sidekick, Mini Minnow (Stephen Dickson) saved the day with a quick witted improvisation in which they shared a comic confession about their fear of the dark.

The Nitpicks: Unfortunately, the gentle parody and good humour of Tiki Bikini wasn't enough to transcend the misogyny, stereotyping, and bizarre repressive/exploitative sexuality of the 1960s source material. Additionally, while intentionally bad jokes and puns accurately reflect the Archie comics humour found in the Beach Party movies, it does quickly grow stale. Still, running for 60 minutes, the show cut itself off before it became tiresome.

Audience reaction: The audience, ranging from children to seniors, all seemed to love the show, laughing and applauding after each dance number. The show's sunshine seemed a vacation from the cold winter weather.

Reviewers reaction: 4/5

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Kyle Turner

Play at a Glance: What do you get when you mix a little bit of 60s surf icons Frankie and Annette, a dash of the wacky mystery-solving team led by Scooby Doo, and a pinch of Gilligan’s Island? A pretty nifty afternoon at the theatre, I’d say. The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! spins a fun, upbeat web of song, dance and carefree beach antics as a group of young Hawaiian surfers and their girlfriends’ plans for an end of summer beach party is met with opposition from the leather-clad ‘tough-guy’, The Big Tuna, and his sidekick, Mini Minnow.

First Impressions: Freddie Babbleon, played by Thomas Duplessie and Jeannette Bowlajello performed by Sarah Kuzio were a lively duo mingling with a cast of cheerful and often absent-minded young adults in the throes of youthful innocence and humourous naiveté. Strong performances were also given by Nick Nasrallah as the lovable and audaciously eccentric Slim Melvin and his summer crush, the Widget, played by Amelia Sirianni.

Highlights: The Von Drats musical accompaniment and the cheerful dance numbers accentuated the bubbly atmosphere at the festival matinee performance. The colourful costuming reminiscent of the 1960s surfer culture and an era redolent of youthful bliss on a white, sandy beach captures and exploits the very visually-engaging aspects of the dance numbers and, of course, finds humour in a bygone era’s obsession with those characters who lived, perpetually, under the sun. The performances were strong and engaging – definitely a warm welcome on this cold Toronto afternoon.

Nitpicks: For those of us in the front row, the songs and visual aspects were clearly audible and visible, but for some further back, the fast-paced nature of the party-themed music seemed a bit strained and unavoidably incoherent. The professor’s role, played by Stan MacDonald, also seemed to be superfluous, and although the part was strongly acted, seemed to be an aside that the main plot could do without.

Audience’s Instant Reaction: All in all, the production received a healthy applause, if not for the glimmer of summer it presented on this cold January day, then for the cheerful collection of song, dance and fun for audiences of all ages.

Critics Review: 3/4

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Kelly Lynn Kirk

Play at a glance: This musical is about teenage love and the ultimate beach party. Bikini Beach is the place with the ‘choice’ waves, but the Big Tuna (Evan Dowling) controls the beach and will ‘pound’ those who step foot on it. Freddie (Thomas Duplessie) challenges the Big Tuna to a surf off so his crew can hold the Tiki-tastic party on Bikini Beach.

First Impression: The play is entertaining, but it is overkill on the "woody" jokes – we get it already, it is a surf board. Solos were hard to hear, especially by Freddie, Sugar (Rory Bray) and Jeanette (Sarah Kuzio). Even the speaking voices had me missing lines. The cast was great at keeping up the energy in those fast and peppy dances. While the play is upbeat and energetic, the writing has holes that need to be looked at. The band is absolutely fabulous and does not overshadow the action onstage. I just wish the actors could project their voices over the music.

Highlights: The dances are probably the best part of the play. The cast is great with the upbeat and bouncy moves. Lovely chemistry exists between the Big Tuna and Mini Minnow (Stephan Dickson). Some beautiful little moments occur between these two, especially at the end of the play.

Nit picks: Besides the quiet voices and the overkill of the woody jokes, the cameo of Alvin the Chipmunk is pointless and amateur. There is no point for it, just cheap laughs.

Audience instant reactions: The audience seemed to enjoy the entertainment of the play. Applause at the end was gracious, but not deserving of the second curtain call.

Critic instant reaction: I give it 2 out of 4.

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: Tomasso's Party at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Mark Rochford

Play at a glance: A stunted bedroom exchange between the restless, bath-robed Hugo (Simon Bracken), searching for the last word in a book title, and half-asleep Madeleine (Leah Doz) whose back faces the audience for the entire hour. The birthday party for Madeleine's boss looms, and the couple apparently have a lot to work out before they venture to the event. If Hugo decides to go.

First impressions: An attempted examination of relationship dynamics that throws some winning lines out there, yet gets mired in Hugo's incessant whining and grumbling. Madeleine makes much of her perceived lack of sex appeal, yet displays a comely figure and vocal vivaciousness, and any commentary implied by this disconnect fails to land. After Madeleine makes a rather significant admission, the play ends disappointingly with the two seemingly in much the same place as at the start.

Highlights: Leah Doz does admirable work making her character feel fully fleshed even though we never see her front, her voice conveying an endearing combination of self-deprecation and sensuality; she makes good use of her one free arm without resorting to overdone gesticulations. Hugo's recounting of an afternoon watching the work of an adult film star and the tipsy first meeting between the pair provide some welcome laughs.

The Nitpicks: Lewis works his sniveling nebbish as hard as he can, yet the script leaves him few options to make Hugo palatable or relatable. The askew string-hung window suggests a surrealistic quality that seems unsuitable for the bed-clothed antagonism on display.

Audience's instant reaction: Enthusiastic roars from a consistently amused group around me, yet reserved overall.

Critic's instant reaction: 2/4

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Allison Leadley

Play at a Glance: In an homage to the musical teen comedies of the 1960s, Freddie (Thomas Duplessie) and his “Pineapple Princess”, Jeanette (Sarah Kuzio) want to throw one-last summer shin-dig before returning to school in the fall. Their dreams of a Tiki Bikini Beach party are derailed when the local beach bully Big Tuna (Evan Dowling) refuses to surrender his stronghold - prime beach party real estate with the best waves. The dueling teens end up battling for the beach in a surfing showdown where Big Tuna and Freddie face-off not only for the beach, but for Jeanette’s heart.

First Impressions: The typical television tropes and stereotypes are all present and accounted for (from the muscle head to the geek) as they sing about surfing, parties and summer flings in campy send-up of the beach-party genre. It’s a fun piece that plays up its own stereotypes. While there is only so much dramatic potential one could mine from surfing and bikinis, the script is fully aware of the limitations of their dramatic inspiration mocking the vapid stereotypes of the beach bimbo or wacky professor in a campy homage. While certainly not the most cerebral or challenging theatre I have seen, it’s a fun hour that evoked my nostalgia for the Saturday syndicated television re-run.

Highlights: The lover’s duet “I Think You Think” was certainly the highlight of the show. A sweet ditty between Duplessie and Kuzio, their chemistry was palpable and despite their cheeky take on the trope (narrowly missing death as they cuddle in the car) the moment was surprisingly endearing.

Nit Picks: There were significant projection issues that made it difficult to hear. Furthermore, the “woody” jokes were starting to run a little thin by the end of the hour.

Audience’s Instant Reaction: Judging from the laughs, the audience seemed to be having fun; however, there was no standing ovation or a second curtain call. A definite highlight for audience members was the live band the von Drats who received a significant swell of applause and a shout out from a fan sitting nearby.

Critic’s Instant Reaction (out of four stars): 2.5/4

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Johanna Lawrie

Play at a Glance: In Allison Beula’s “The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go,” beachwear, sun and the surf are re-imagined retro-style, accompanied by a “Sixties Surfer to English Dictionary” in the program to “better help you understand [their] whacked-out lingo Hodads!” To celebrate the end of summer, Jeannette Bowlajello (Sarah Kuzio), Freddie Babbleon (Thomas Duplessie), and the whole gang want to throw the party to end all parties...a-go-go! Unfortunately, they must win a surfing competition against Big Tuna (Evan Dowling) to score the ultimate beach location. With catchy songs and energetic choreography, this show brings summer fun to the dark, cold winter days.

First Impression: Though the jokes and characters were well delivered, the humour gets a little old at times. Buela’s staging and choreography are imaginative and keep the audience entertained during this hour-long performance. This may not be the next Tony-award winner, but the playful show is a lot of fun; a great way to pass the afternoon with some friends.

Highlights: The tight cast maintain their exaggerated characters through the show, drawing jokes out of the cheesy script and their over-the-top stereotypes. Jeffrey Straker’s music is well incorporated, performed live by The von Drats. The ‘keenest’ performance was definitely Kuzio’s Jeannette, demonstrating vocal chops and a charming character. The energy and catchy tunes are contagious, providing a nice relief to the drab winter.

The Nit-Picks: The inclusion of some pointless and repetitive jokes certainly slows down this fast-paced show. The performances are strong but even with the ‘cheesy sixties’ vibe, the script was a little repetitive and predictable. Of course, this is part of the charm of the show, but the painfully large smiles and obvious jokes were at times just that: painful and obvious.

Audience Instant Reactions: Everyone seemed to enjoy being out of the blistering cold, humming and laughing along with this energetic, summer party.

Critic’s Instant Reaction: 3 stars out of 4

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party is A-Go-Go! at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Spencer Smith

Play at a glance: Freddie, Jeanette and the gang sing and surf under the sun and try to throw a copesetic end-of-summer beach party before bearish bully Big Tuna and his loyal henchman Mini Minnow can stomp all over their sand castle.

First Impression: Allison Beula's Director's Notes frankly admit that the Beach Party movies of the 1960s - which this musical attempts to mimic - were terrible excuses to show off bikini-clad teens dancing to the latest tunes and, if that is the case, Beula hits the mark. The show delivers exactly what it sets out to: simple, skimpy, heterosexual fun. The gender stereotypes are ten-fold, but a product of the time, I suppose. With its catchy songs, kitschy dancing and corny dialogue, the aimless plot and 'shmacking' are actually refreshing because the actors so clearly do not take themselves seriously.

Highlights: Nicky Basrallah's show-stealing square, Slim Melvin, and his dedication to over-acting every minute emotion that passed through his tiny frame.

Nitpicks: Lack of perspective. The subversive possibilities were endless.

Audience Reaction: Hoots, hollers, and whistles.

Critic Reaction: Four stars

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: Tomasso's Party at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Critic: Peter McLaren

Play At A Glance: Hugo (Simon Bracken), a self-loathing, weak man in a bathrobe pathetically demands answers out of his lover, Madeleine (Leah Doz), who reveals a collection of admissions he'd rather not hear.

First Impression: A puzzling, unsettling, meandering dialogue between a man and a woman's back. Lewis draws out the play with a collection of clever, reiterative sentences peppered with a handful of witty lines. Doz, holding all the power, gets as much play out her back, left arm and hand as she possibly can, never revealing her face until the curtain. All the while, Bracken wanders, barks and whines through his teeth, like a mistreated, sorry puppy.

Highlights: Doublessly, the highlight of the play is Doz, who straddles the line between blatant eroticism and playful charm. The play picks up the pace towards the end, the focus shifting towards Doz's oppressive, controlling sensuality, a welcome relief from the histrionics of Bracken's Hugo.

Nitpicks: Unfortunately, the play ends as soon as this new tone has been obtained. It all seems rather unfair for Mr. Bracken, who is clearly trying as hard as he can, but Hugo's insufferable fixations on his own inadequacies get old quickly.

Audience Instant-Reaction: The audience politely giggled at the Lewis's smart, well-executed jokes, but seemed distracted by the stomping feet coming from upstairs (which is absolutely not the fault of the production). Appreciative.

Critics Instant Reaction: 2 Stars

Note from Nestruck: This review was written as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

First Impression review: The Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party is A-Go-Go!

Critic: Rolla Bahsous

Play at a glance: Going up against the tough, leather-wearing Big Tuna, a group of bikini-clad teens decide to have a bees-knees beach party to end the summer in Hawaii in this musical set in the 1960s!

First Impression: Like the actual 1960s beach movies with no real plots, this musical also lacks a significant plot. Breaking out in random songs about pine-apple dances, blue muu-muu's (bikini covers), and partying, this show is exactly what it promises: a simple, fun show parodying the beach party movie genre of the 1960s, including the nifty lingo and wordplay.

Highlights: The cast, especially Kuzio as Jeanette and Duplessie as Freddie were a delight to watch. The lingo breakdown in the opening and closing song was a great way to kick off the party. The choral singing of the girls dressed as trees during the "The Tiki Man" number and the guys' choreography in "Hawaiiannette" was also visually appealing to watch.

Nitpicks: It was a little bit difficult to make out the words in most of the numbers where the accompanying background music drowned out some of the lyrics. The "woody" joke was also way too overdone!

Audience's Instant Reaction: Though there was no standing ovation, the continuous laughter among the audience and the cheers and applause after each song suggests that they enjoyed the party!

Critic's Star Reaction: Though not as sophisticated in plot (as it shouldn't be if it's supposed to mimic a 1960s beach movie), I enjoyed the show and would recommend it for a feel-good, fun night out. I give this production 3 hoola-hoops out of 4!

Note from Nestruck: This review was filed as part of a workshop on theatre criticism and time constraints. Participants were asked to file a review within one hour of seeing a show of their choice at Toronto's Next Stage festival.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Diane D'Aquila's night out with Tennessee Williams

With my interview with Diane D'Aquila in the paper today and Daniel MacIvor's play about Tennesee Williams about to open in Toronto, I was reminded of this interview I did with Diane D'Aquila back in 2005 for the National Post...

STRATFORD, Ont. - "It's a dreadful portrait," admits Diane D'Aquila of the gaudy painting of her that hangs on the wall of her home. "I look like a kind of anorexic Jacqueline Onassis."

But what the oil painting lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in story: The portrait of the Stratford Festival actress was painted by Tennessee Williams during rehearsals for a 1980 production of his play Red Devil Battery Sign at the Vancouver Playhouse.

Lately, D'Aquila has had much occasion to think back on the time Williams spent in Canada near the end of his life. This season, the Stratford Festival is putting on two of Williams's plays: Orpheus Descending and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, in which D'Aquila is understudying Lally Cadeau as Big Mama.

With his career in the doldrums, Williams -- whose classics include The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire -- accepted an invitation to be Distinguished Artist in Residence at the University of British Columbia and consult at the Vancouver Playhouse, which was then under the artistic direction of Rodger Hodgman. "[The university] was paying him something like $2,000 a week, which in those days was a lot of money," recalls D'Aquila, who is starring in The Donnellys: Sticks & Stones and Measure for Measure at Stratford this year. "And the Playhouse was picking up everything else -- the apartment, the chauffeur, the living expenses."

During his first year in Vancouver 25 years ago, Williams chose to co-direct Red Devil Battery Sign at the Playhouse with D'Aquila starring as the oddly named Woman Downtown.

His most political and least naturalistic play, Red Devil Battery Sign had flopped during Broadway try-outs in Boston in 1975. "When the chance came to go to Vancouver, where no one was going to see it except for people from Vancouver, he rewrote it," recalls D'Aquila, who won a Gemini in 2004 for her portrayal of Elizabeth I in the film Elizabeth Rex. "Massive rewrites."

Though she is unsure why, D'Aquila was one of the few cast members who got to spend any time with the ageing alcoholic playwright outside of rehearsals. Their social acquaintance began one night at about 11, when she received a call from Williams's latest chauffeur -- he switched them when he tired of them -- that her presence was requested. Moments later, Williams and his driver picked her up and they drove to a local gay bar, where D'Aquila was the only woman in the place.

"He drank creme de menthe and he ordered me one, too," recalls D'Aquila, imitating Williams's gentle Mississippi drawl. "I hate creme de menthe. I hate it with a passion. But he liked it and drank it over ice. And he just sat and watched everyone in the bar."

The two exchanged few words during what sounds like an awkward night out -- though at one point Williams urged D'Aquila to call him Tenn. "But I never called him Tenn again back in rehearsal," says D'Aquila. "I felt it was the creme de menthe talking."

Soon after, Williams asked D'Aquila to pose for a portrait, a photo reproduction of which is currently on display in the lobby of the Avon Theatre. "He was straight out of Night of the Iguana ... with the smock and the little palette," recalls the actress, who did several sittings for the amateur painter.

According to D'Aquila, Williams -- who misspelled her name as Dianne D'Acquila -- remained artistically open to suggestion even at the end of his career. During one difficult rehearsal, she recalls messing up her lines and shouted "Fuck!" over and over. "By the end, Tennessee was just roaring," remembers D'Aquila, who apologized profusely to Williams. "He said, 'No, that's all right darling.' And the next day, the rewrites came back and 'Fuck' was written in. And it stuck and was in the show."

Williams, despite mixed reviews, was very satisfied with the Vancouver run -- he wrote that it was the definitive production -- and returned the next year to premiere a new play: The Notebook of Trigorin, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in which D'Aquila originated the role of Masha. It was his penultimate script; he died choking on a bottle cap at the age of 71 a year later.

"What I love about him near the end is he was still working, still trying," recalls D'Aquila of her strange encounters with Williams. "Yes, he was drinking too much. Yes, he wasn't taking care of himself. Yes, he was a very lonely and in many ways a sad man. But he didn't let that keep him down."

- From the National Post, June 2, 2005.

Dear Joe Pantalone supporters: Don't vote strategically. Do vote rationally

Strategic voting is a term that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I get it. I'm not a big fan of it myself because I've seen it backfire. Some NDP supporters voting in the 2004 election, for instance, voted Liberal "strategically" and ended up helping a Conservative get elected.

I am a big believer in voting rationally, however, with a full understanding of how the electoral system you are participating in works.

Which brings us to the Toronto municipal election 2010. Here is a hypothetical situation I would like to ask all Joe Pantalone supporters to consider.

Imagine, please, that we had a more rational electoral system for determining the mayor of Toronto - one involving run-off elections.

In this Torontopia, all candidates would stay in the mayoral race until election day. Then, if no single candidate got more than 50% of the vote, we'd lop off the candidate(s) who got the least votes and head back to the polls. This process would be repeated until a candidate for mayor got more than 50% of the votes - and we'd have a mayor who the majority of voting Torontonians could at least stomach.

OK, now imagine we have this system in place and there was an election today and the results were exactly what the latest Nanos poll suggests:

Rob Ford: 43.9%
George Smitherman: 40.5%
Joe Pantalone: 15%

Now, in this hypothetical Toronto, Pantalone would be removed from the list of candidates for mayor and a final vote would held.

My question to Pantalone supporters is: What would you do in this situation?

Would you go and cast a vote in this final election?

Or would you stay home and not vote for either Ford or Smitherman?

Think it over.

OK, now let's return to real Toronto with its actual, unideal electoral system with your answers.

If you would not vote in Torontopia's final round of voting between Ford and Smitherman, then by all means go out and vote for Joe Pantalone on election day in real-life Toronto.

If, however, you would vote for Smitherman over Ford, or Ford over Smitherman in the Torontopia election, then you really should vote for that person - either Ford or Smitherman - in the upcoming election in real-life Toronto.

In real-life Toronto, there are no run-off elections, but we do have polls that function as unideal substitutes. They're why Rocco Rossi and Sarah Thompson have dropped out.

Polls are not 100% accurate, of course, but it's fair to say that it is almost impossible for Pantalone to actually win this election. Something really significant would have to happen between now and election day.

There's nothing wrong with parking your support with Pantalone and waiting for something really significant to happen in those days, of course.

If nothing really significant does happen, however, then treat this election as a final round of voting after a series of run-offs. You won't be voting "strategically"; you'll be voting rationally.

Now, I would never disrespect anyone who votes for Joe Pantalone fully cognizant of the limitations of our electoral system; a vote is a personal choice and you may get a personal sense of satisfaction out of casting a ballot for him. It may be a protest. It may be a performance. You may just find it more fun than staying home (or a kick in the Pants).

But if you would vote in the hypothetical vote just between Ford and Smitherman that I outlined above, then please don't vote for Pantalone. That would be a waste of your vote.

I won't let the Sun go down on me.

The Sun's Brian Lilley wrote a blog post defending his newspaper chain's coverage of the Homegrown "story" last week against my Tweeted criticism of it. His response is fairly maddening right from the top - saying someone is "ignorant of the realities of the arts" is not the same as saying they're ignorant. To set the record straight on that point, I'm sure Mr Lilley is not ignorant about many subjects and I look forward to discovering which ones now that I've started to follow his Twitter account.

Anyway, I've been trying to post a comment to Lilley's blog post since last week and it hasn't appeared. So I'm posting it here on my long-defunct personal blog rather than my Globe one, because it's was never intended as a full-on blog post and, well, it's a bit dated now.

Mr Lilley, can you honestly tell me with a straight face that, shucks, all the Sun has been doing is reporting facts and asking questions?

The Sun's stories about Homegrown, right from that Saturday cover story titled "Sympathy for the devil", have had an obviously negative slant. They have exaggerated the extent of - and tried to incite outrage over - the trickle of government funding that may have reached Homegrown through funding for the festival that is presenting it and 41 other plays, plus a series of concerts and other events. (The only direct funding was a $6000 grant from the Toronto Arts Council for a workshop of an earlier, fictional version of the play that was never produced.)

Remember how the Sun printed a list of telephone numbers of government and corporate sponsors of SummerWorks last week so readers could let them know how they felt about a play neither they nor any Sun reporters had seen or read? Does the Sun usually provide helpful lists of contacts for the subjects of its stories? How can you deny this was a campaign against the alleged funding of this play?

Here, in this blog post, you correct note that "the federal government and a couple of banks were sponsoring, indirectly, the presentation of this play". Why did you not use the word "indirectly" in your oh-so-objective news report? The lede for the story you contributed to the Sun's coverage was: "There will be no review and no withdrawal of federal funding for a play that gives a sympathetic portrayal of convicted terrorist Shareef Abdelhaleem." Well, how could there be a review or withdrawal of federal funding for the play, where there was never any federal funding for this play?

That's one of the aspects of this "controversy" that irritates me the most. I have a certain understanding of people who say: I can't believe my tax dollars went directly to support X work of art. I've said that myself from time to time. But questioning money going directly to Young People Effing, for example, is a different thing from questioning all of the money that goes to the Toronto International Film Festival because it presented Young People Effing along with a couple hundred other films.

The Sun articles have tried to blur that distinction. At the very very most - and this is based on a no-doubt false assumption that SummerWorks's Canadian Heritage grant was divided equally among the plays - Homegrown could be said to have got $840 or so from the feds, as you've said in your blog post, indirectly.

I might as well write an outraged series of stories about how $3-million in federal tax money went to support the Sun's attack on Homegrown. Indeed, I have seen several ads for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival next to the Sun's articles about Homegrown. The SSF received $3-million dollars from Ottawa's Marquee Tourism Events Program to support its marketing initiatives. That money is what likely paid for those ads on the Sun's website, indirectly. Where's the review and withdrawal of federal funding for Toronto Sun articles?

The Sun's preemptive campaign against Homegrown was unfair from the start, taking two words from an interview with a fairly green playwright - "sympathetic portrayal" - and using them to harass her then-unseen play and impune the SummerWorks festival, one of the most vibrant theatre festivals in the country, the launching point for so many of the most exciting new plays of the past decade, and one of the few artistic endeavours in this country unafraid to take risks.

That sums up my objection to your paper's coverage. Things got a bit better once David Akin was on the story (and it actually became a story when the PMO commented).

As to what you say in this blog post, you've taken one of my tweets out of context and ascribed opinions to me that I don't hold. I certainly don't believe there's "a right to arts funding" or that "just because a play is written it should be funded". Who thinks that? That's certainly not the case right now in Canada, nor should it be.

Our democratically elected governments have chosen to help fund the arts to a limited degree and I agree with that decision - in fact I'd like us to increase funding for the arts.

If someone has a problem with funding, take it up with the politicians - don't attack artists, the vast majority of whom live in or near the poverty level, for applying and getting some of that funding. Why not go after the Prime Minister who is oh-so-concerned about funding plays that "glorify terrorism" (which Homegrown, misguided as it may be, does not), but is too afraid to actually take concrete action on that front for fear of political backlash. He, like the Sun, is just rousing the rabble. Sorry, but I expect more from journalists and politicians.

Dumont and Dumont



No comment necessary.

Help! Should I buy a house/condo in Toronto right now?

Any advice would be helpful. I started looking in May, but stopped when it looked like we might go on strike at the Globe and Mail.

Now I'm starting to look again and... I've lost my nerve a bit.

It some ways it seems like the perfect time to buy: House/condos in the Toronto neighbouhoods I like are more affordable now, interest rates are really low and the market seems to be headed back up.

But I have this friend, we'll call him The Pessimist, who believes Canada's bubble hasn't burst yet. Low interest rates are artificially stimulating the market right now, he says, and when they go up in 2010, demand will drop and house prices will drop too. (He believes another 10%.)

The Pessimist is not the only one. According to a recent Globe story:

[L]ow rates are also one of the reasons analysts are worried about the surprising surge in the housing market. “It's all happening because of the crack cocaine of housing, which is rock-bottom interest rates,” said Garth Turner, author of Greater Fool: The Troubled Future of Real Estate . “They're so irresistible, especially to inexperienced first-time buyers. That's what's propelling the market.”

Mr. Turner's concern is that rising rates will eventually propel the market lower by making houses less affordable. His level of confidence that the boom will last? Zero.

In his book, published in early 2008, Mr. Turner warned that the Canadian housing market was in a bubble just like its U.S. counterpart. After a peak-to-valley decline of almost 14 per cent in Canada's national average price, he's predicting another plunge for home prices that will be triggered in large part by rising interest rates.

“We're now into the housing bubble, Part Two,” said Mr. Turner, a former member of Parliament who now gives financial seminars and promotes his books. “I think this bubble is going to burst later this year. It's going to be short and intense.”

Yikes! That's my concern. And why I'm beginning to think I should rent for another year and see what happens.

But those low interest rates are so irresistable!

ACK!

Any advice?

Billy Bob Thornton pwned by Jian Ghomeshi!

From Willie Nelson:

It has been reported that Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters will not be continuing the Canadian tour with Willie and Ray. At this time, no reasons have been announced but the remainder of the tour will continue as scheduled without The Boxmasters.

FTW! ROTFL! MSTRKRFT!

I resent having to use Google to understand the Times.

The New York Times writes a story about the censorship of an obscene pun in China - but won't tell us what the "especially vile obscenity" being punned is. Isn't the newspaper industry dying quickly enough without these self-inflicted wounds!?!

This may top the time they wouldn't print the word "poo" in an album title. (The Edmonton Journal has no such qualms, obviously.)

Yeah, I joined Twitter.

Tweet.

Five-four those of y'all who wear fanny packs.

Better than the Nixon tapes: Barack Obama swearing

Oh god, these are so good. Someone has digitised the sweary bits from the audiobook of Dreams of My Father... yes, the audiobook that Obama reads himself.

I give it five minutes before the first YouTube video mashing this up with Christian Bale is created...

"You ain’t my bitch, nigga! Buy your own damn fries!"

Now I understand...

... why I couldn't follow any of the action sequences in the last two Batman movies. It's not that Christopher Nolan is a lousy director - it's that Christian "Dark Knight" Bale chased all the lighting guys off the set so he could maintain the concentration needed to sustain that ridiculous growl...

Remix!

Big Peanut: Everybody's enemy now...

From the wires: "There is new information available about the recent salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter from a plant in Georgia.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said at least 12 times over the past two years the Peanut Corporation of America has knowingly sold products that had tested positive for salmonella."

I know at least one anthropomorphic arachide bigwig who just dropped his cane and let his monocle fall out of his eye in rage that his plot to poison America has been foiled...

Thanks, language, for being confusing.

From CBC Arts:

For the first time in the 34-year history of the César Awards, a Quebec actor has been nominated for the French film awards.

Marc-André Grondin is nominated as most promising young male actor for his role in the film Le Premier Jour Du Reste de Ta Vie (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life). ...

Oh, neat! First time ever? But what about...

Marie-José Crozes [double sic!] was nominated as most promising young female actress in 2004 for her role in Denys Arcand film The Barbarian Invasions.

Oh, first Quebec ACTOR, not first Quebec ACTRESS...

OK, so there's nothing, strictly speaking, wrong with what the CBC has done here... But some news sources use actor as a gender neutral term and others use actor and actress, so I was confused... I wish there was a universal style guide for this - and, frankly, I think the old way was much clearer. Can we go back, though?

Headline of the day.

Couple Suing After Being Hit By NES Truck

The long-awaited return of... CBC Arts Headline Watch!

Today's doozy: "Errors are human, says Wikipedia founder"

I look forward to tomorrow's follow-up story on what Jimmy Wales thinks of forgiveness...

(Past editions of CBC Arts Headline and Lede Watch here...)

The death of the newspa-- whaaaaaa?

Will wonders never cease: The National Post turns a profit.