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/By / Mar 7, 2024
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Ilana Lucas
WRITTEN BY

Ilana Lucas

Ilana Lucas is a professor of English in Centennial College’s School of Advancement. She is the President of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association. She holds a BA in English and Theatre from Princeton University, an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia University, and serves as Princeton’s Alumni Schools Committee Chair for Western Ontario. She has written for Brit+Co, Mooney on Theatre, and BroadwayWorld Toronto. Her most recent play, Let’s Talk, won the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival’s 24-Hour Playwriting Contest. She has a deep and abiding love of musical theatre, and considers her year working for the estate of Tony winners Phyllis Newman and Adolph Green one of her most treasured memories.

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Dan Mousseau and bahia watson in 'Summer and Smoke.' iPhoto caption: Dan Mousseau and bahia watson in 'Summer and Smoke.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.

REVIEW: Tennessee Williams deep cut Summer and Smoke warms up Crow’s Theatre

I wondered if further following the directive to push upward instead of outward, balancing the corporeal dark with a little more spiritual lightness, might have made this ambitious and heartfelt production spark just a little bit hotter.

By Ilana Lucas
Kate Martin in 'Troilus and Cressida.' Photo by Kyle Purcell. iPhoto caption: Kate Martin in 'Troilus and Cressida.' Photo by Kyle Purcell.

REVIEW: Shakespeare BASH’d brings focus to the mystifying Troilus and Cressida

This spare, thoughtful staging prioritizes a clarity of text that comes through even when the script’s overall trajectory is less than clear.

By Ilana Lucas
Aidan deSalaiz and the cast of 'Company.' Photo by Dahlia Katz. iPhoto caption: Aidan deSalaiz and the cast of 'Company.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.

REVIEW: Talk Is Free’s Company is valiant but imperfect

Playing at The Theatre Centre, it’s an entertaining staging that, like its central character, is still waiting to completely connect.

By Ilana Lucas
Members of the company of 'Narnia.' iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Narnia.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.

REVIEW: Bad Hats’ Narnia is a joyful, heartwarming escape

The spirit of openness and the joy of discovery rule over this Narnia. Open the wardrobe and see.

By Ilana Lucas
Mazin Elsadig in 'The Comeuppance.' Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set design by Shannon Lea Doyle, costume design by Ming Wong, lighting design by Jason Hand. iPhoto caption: Mazin Elsadig in 'The Comeuppance.' Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set design by Shannon Lea Doyle, costume design by Ming Wong, lighting design by Jason Hand.

REVIEW: Soulpepper’s The Comeuppance unpacks high-school reunions with deadly, millennial-aged precision

Macabre and drama-filled yet surprisingly gentle, The Comeuppance will probably be most compelling to the around-40 crowd who share its specific touchstones and millennial angst from a high-school experience bookended by Columbine and 9/11.

By Ilana Lucas
iPhoto caption: Kaylee Harwood with members of the 'Bright Star' ensemble. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

REVIEW: Garner Theatre Productions’ Bright Star coasts on charm and likability

Bright Star covers it all: thwarted love, coming of age, family drama, the power of art, the importance of remaining true to oneself. Yet co-writer Steve Martin’s wit, which blazes in plays like Picasso at the Lapin Agile, merely twinkles here.

By Ilana Lucas