A roundup of the best productions from 2020 and a reflection on the season.
First, there was a single masked audience member at a mid-February performance of Caroline, or Change. I didn't think much of it. No one back then could imagine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of Torontonians – from the hundreds who have succumbed to the virus, to the thousands of others who are struggling through the crisis, both financially and emotionally.
Toronto's performing arts scene has not been spared from the pandemic's path. Theatres: dark. Artists: out of work. Ten months into the shutdown and there is still no clear indication of when audiences can enter theatres again. The performing arts sector may very well be the last part of society to fully reopen.
Between that performance in mid-February and the eventual province-wide lockdown a month later, more masks began to appear, audiences thinned, and there was a sense of tension in the air. You know something is awry when the sole topic of conversation among audience members at intermission is not the show itself.
But for me, it was at the March 11 performance of Romeo and Juliet when I saw the writing on the wall.. The audience was barely at 60 per cent capacity – unheard of at an opening night performance at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts – and masks peppered the auditorium. On the subway ride home, patrons were using their programs as a barrier so that their hands didn't touch the handles.
For myself and the other seven individuals in the National Ballet of Canada's Emerging Arts Critics' programme (which I encourage all young performing arts critics to apply for, when the program restarts), Romeo and Juliet was supposed to be the ninth show in a program of 16. But that night, many of us knew that we'd likely not be able to finish the season. Ontario entered a lockdown less than a week later on March 17.
Okay, but enough with all the negativity. For me, I saw 30 productions in 2020, including live performances, livestreams, and stage recordings from theatres across Canada and around the world. In spite of the pandemic, theatre persevered. And in doing so, we threw out archaic theatre traditions and pushed the envelop as to what theatre can do.
Is it theatre if it is not live? Is it theatre if we are watching it on a screen, and in my case, lying in bed with my pyjamas on? That's a debate for another time, but in my opinion, the answer is yes.
Two theatre companies that adapted to the times are based out of Vancouver. Though missing the mark, Rumble Theatre's production of Pathetic Fallacy was an audacious solo show that required an unrehearsed actor use improvisation, physical theatre, and a sometimes glitchy green screen to give a theatrical account of how weather is portrayed in visual art. I also saw two more traditional livestreams of productions from the Arts Club Theatre Company: No Child and the dark comedy Buffoon.
But the definite highlight of the pandemic season was Messiah/Complex, a co-production between Against the Grain Theatre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, that subverts the original version of Handel's Messiah and allows Indigenous artists and other Canadians from diverse backgrounds to shape the piece so that it takes on new forms. Catherine Daniel's "Why do the nations so furiously rage together?" is a cry for peace amid the racial tensions that are shaking society, while Diyet's ethereal "O thou that tellest good tidings", sung in Southern Tutchone, celebrates the beautiful mountains that brush the Yukon horizon.
Before the pandemic, I was fortunate to see eight live productions – a mix of straight plays, musicals, ballets, and operas – including the touring production Hamilton and Joel Ivany's reimagined Hansel & Gretel. Yes, Hamilton is as good as everyone says it is, and as always, Ivany never disappoints.
Both shows feature prominently in the 2020 Ghost Light Awards, which celebrate excellence in the performing arts. You may notice, however, some differences between this season's awards and the inaugural version of the awards last year. Due to the altered season this past year, eligible productions will also include operas and ballets – in addition to musicals and plays. Some categories, such as the acting categories for musicals and plays, have been combined due to the small number of eligible nominees. And though I watched 30 productions this past year, some were stage recordings released before 2020. So I'm only considering live productions, livestreams, and stage recordings that were released in 2020. In all, there are 13 eligible productions: two musical, six plays, three operas, and two ballets. Click here to view more information on all the productions I saw last year, along with my reviews for some of them.
In summary, Hamilton was the top production of the year, picking up five wins from 11 nominations. Caroline, or Change and Hansel & Gretel also walked away with two wins, out of seven and six nominations respectively.
Eligible Productions
Musicals
Caroline, or Change
Hamilton
Plays
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train
Mother’s Daughter
The Persians*
No Child*
Pathetic Fallacy*
Buffoon*
Opera
Hansel & Gretel
The Barber of Seville
Messiah/Complex*
Ballet
Romeo and Juliet
Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand
*Livestreams or filmed productions released in 2020.
Awards
Best Production
Buffoon
WINNER: Hamilton
Hansel & Gretel
Messiah/Complex
Mother’s Daughter
Outstanding Achievement in Music
WINNER: Speranza Scappucci for Conducting The Barber of Seville
Alex Lacamoire for Orchestrating Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda for the Music and Lyrics in Hamilton
Le Choeur Louisbourg for Singing in Messiah/Complex
Best Book of a Musical
Tony Kushner – Caroline, or Change
WINNER: Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton
Best Direction
Thomas Kail – Hamilton
Joel Ivany – Hansel & Gretel
WINNER: Reneltta Arluk and Joel Ivany – Messiah/Complex
Alan Dilworth – Mother’s Daughter
Best Choreography
Wayne McGregor – Chroma in Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand
WINNER: Andy Blankenbuehler – Hamilton
Frederick Ashton – Marguerite and Armand in Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand
Konstantinos Rigos – The Persians
Best Leading Actor
Andrew McNee – Buffoon as Felix
WINNER: Jared Dixon – Hamilton as Aaron Burr
Daren A. Herbert – Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train as Lucius Jenkins
Guillaume Côté – Romeo and Juliet as Romeo Montague
Best Leading Actress
WINNER: Jully Black – Caroline, or Change as Caroline Thibodeaux
Greta Hodgkinson – Marguerite and Armand in Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand as Marguerite
Shannon Taylor – Mother’s Daughter as Mary
Elena Lobsanova – Romeo and Juliet as Juliet
Best Featured Actor
Siphesihle November – Angels’ Atlas and Chroma in Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand as Feature Dancer
Stewart Adam McKensy – Caroline, or Change as The Dryer and The Bus
WINNER: Marcus Choi – Hamilton as George Washington
Russell Braun – Hansel & Gretel as Peter
Piotr Stanczyk – Romeo and Juliet as Tybalt
Best Featured Actress
Alana Hibbert – Caroline, or Change as Dotty Moffett and The Radio
WINNER: Vanessa Sears – Caroline, or Change as Emmie Thibodeaux
Catherine Daniel – Messiah/Complex as Featured Soloist
Diyet – Messiah/Complex as Featured Soloist
Lydia Koniordou – The Persians as Queen Atossa
Best Scenic Design
Michael Gianfrancesco – Caroline, or Change
David Korins – Hamilton
WINNER: S. Katy Tucker – Hansel & Gretel
Kimira Reddy – No Child
Best Lighting Design
Jay Gower Taylor and Tom Visser – Angels’ Atlas in Angels’ Atlas with Chroma & Marguerite and Armand
Itai Erdal – Buffoon
Howell Binkley – Hamilton
WINNER: JAX Messenger and S. Katy Tucker – Hansel & Gretel
Best Costume Design
Alex Amini – Caroline, or Change
Paul Tazewell – Hamilton
Ming Wong – Hansel & Gretel
WINNER: Eva Nathena – The Persians
Best Sound Design
WINNER: Joelysa Pankanea – Buffoon
John Gzowski – Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train
Various – Messiah/Complex
Debashis Sinha – Mother’s Daughter