Review of MJ: The Musical among winners at the 2025 Nathan Cohen Awards
iPhoto caption: Members of the North American touring company of 'MJ.' Photo by Matthew Murphy.
The Canadian Theatre Critics Association (CTCA) has announced the winners of the 2025 Nathan Cohen Awards for Excellence in Critical Writing.
There are three categories: outstanding review, outstanding critical essay, and outstanding emerging critic.
This year’s awards for outstanding review and critical essay were adjudicated by Natasha Tripney, international editor of the Stage. The award for outstanding emerging critic was selected by Joshua Chong and Stephanie Fung, winners at last year’s awards.
The Nathan Cohen Award for outstanding review went to Aisling Murphy for her review of Mirvish’s MJ: The Musical, published by the Globe and Mail on September 20, 2025.
“This review of MJ: the Musical, an estate-approved jukebox musical about an artist with a complex legacy, skilfully walks the line between praising the craft and artistry that has gone into creating the show and highlighting some of its more ethically questionable elements,” wrote Tripney in a press release sent out by the CTCA. “It’s a difficult balance to strike, but the review manages it.”
Tripney cited two more Globe and Mail pieces as runners-up for outstanding review: Murphy’s review of Canadian Stage’s Fat Ham, and Ilana Lucas’ review of Red Like Fruit, a 2b theatre company production presented by Soulpepper Theatre and Luminato Festival.
In the outstanding critical essay category, Murphy won for an article on a production of Come From Away at the Muny in St. Louis. It was published by the Globe and Mail on July 11, 2025.
“[This] elegantly written account… places the show against a backdrop of the shifting relationship between the U.S. and Canada during President Trump’s second term in office,” wrote Tripney.
The category’s runners-up were Lucas, for her piece “Women wait 34 times longer than men for theatre washrooms. Is there finally hope at the end of the line?” published by the Toronto Star; and Robyn Grant-Moran and Emma Paling, for a co-written investigative article, “Nightwood Theatre Shut Down Showcase Supporting Refugees After Fight about Palestine,” published by the Grind.
And the Nathan Cohen Award for outstanding emerging critic went to Divine Angubua, for a pair of reviews published in NEXT Magazine. “Without a doubt, Divine is an emerging writer who is tapped into the texture between contemporary and theatre,” wrote Fung. The prize includes the opportunity to publish reviews and/or longform features at Intermission. Fung and Chong cited writers Lori Ossip and Hafsa Hoosaney as runners-up.
The Nathan Cohen Awards have been given out since 1981. A complete list of past winners may be found here.
This news piece is unrelated to Intermission’s partnered content. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
Liam Donovan
Liam is Intermission’s senior editor. He lives in Toronto. His Substack newsletter is available at loamdonovan.substack.com.
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