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Shana Carroll

Water for Elephants

April 8, 2024

Playwright/bookwriter Rick Elice has written the greatest jukebox musical (so far) in his 2005 Jersey Boys. In his adaptation of Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel Water for Elephants, he may just have written the best stage musical about circuses by making the animals as real as the human characters. The indie folk band Pigpen Theatre Co. has written a varied collection of songs, ingeniously orchestrated, that are always exciting as they both forward the story and reveal the emotions of the people who sing them. However, it is director Jessica Stone assisted with circus design by Shana Carroll who has done the most inventive and original work. [more]

Séquence 8: Les 7 Doigts de la Main (7 Fingers)

April 17, 2015

“A dance of our actions to your reactions. No one knows the steps yet,” explains the charming and funny performer Colin Davis, during his introductory remarks to Séquence 8, a thrilling program of contemporary circus sequences. For 95 minutes, there is one often dazzling number after another, performed by this Montreal- based troupe of eight, athletic, international, youthful performers. Their physical prowess is combined with modern dance choreography, acrobatics, verbal and visual comedy, a lively score of original music and pop songs, and striking lighting. [more]