POST ALICE
“Taylor Marie Graham has written an arresting and funny play about women and their friendships, coping with a troubled past and supporting each other” – Lynn Slotkin
“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Taylor Marie Graham’s new play Post Alice, now receiving its world premiere at Here For Now Theatre’s 2021 New Works Festival, is one of the most exciting new Canadian plays I’ve seen for some time . . . The result is a lyric, Chekhovian meditation on the loss of the past and the loss of the people we once thought we were . . . What is so masterful about Graham’s play is how in only an hour she uses the simple reunion of four friends to open up a contemplation of enormous themes . . . This is a profound, beautifully crafted play. I hope it has a long life after the Festival.” Christopher Hoile, Stage Door
“Powerful, powerful, and courageous . . . ‘Post Alice’ is one of those plays that needs to be discussed later to see how others responded to such fine work. Outstanding and true ensemble work.” – Joe Szekeres, OnStage Blog
Photo: Aubree Erickson, Heather Marie Annis, Ellen Denny and Siobhan O’Malley in a 2021 production. (Claire Scott, York Lane Art Collective)
THE VIRGIN CHARLIE
An opera comedy in one act where an unexpected recipient bears an immense responsibility!
Nominated: Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Opera / Musical
“A charmingly twisted tale of a drag singer being told by the Virgin Mary that he / she is the bearer of the Second Coming… All hail new opera!” – John Terauds,The Toronto Star
“Props to Comic Opera… The most successful of the comedies… skillfully blends dramatic and musical tones… delivering notes of comedy, irony and real feeling.” – Jon Kaplan, Now Magazine
Photo: Scott Belluz and Krisztina Szabó (Michael Cooper)
COTTAGE RADIO
Inspired by the true events of the 2011 Goderich tornado, Cottage Radio investigates our ties to home and asks: who are we when a part of us is caught in a storm? The fictional Marley clan crams together in a small family cottage on the outskirts of town in the aftermath of the F3 tornado. Over the course of three days, the family deals with losses both material and emotional, both in the past and the present. Combining song and stories from the community through a live radio broadcast from the cottage’s living room, the Marleys collect their demons, fight to find truth, and discover what the storm has left behind.
“Cottage Radio is a dynamic, complex, and very funny play with fabulous music set in beautiful and historic Goderich. Taylor Graham has written such rich and delicious characters, people who are familiar and yet presented in an utterly unique way. I am thrilled to see such a powerful play set in small town Ontario – true Canadiana, and yet, universal!” – Judith Thompson
“Cottage Radio stands out . . . searingly written . . . A major emotional and theatrical production on an appealingly personal subject . . . A significant accomplishment!” – Bill Mandel
WHITE WEDDING
Lisa and her brilliantly analytical mind are having trouble understanding why we spend so much time celebrating painful emotions like love. Will attending her childhood best friend’s wedding at her old high school help clear things up? Maybe she should just hide upstairs.
White Wedding is a site specific play written and directed by Taylor Marie Graham. This bizarre comedy explores those inevitable life questions that come up after all the anticipation of a wedding is over. Who are we really? And what is the point of it all?
“White Wedding was such an uncommonly cool theatrical experience. Playing in the upstairs hallway of the Artscape Youngplace, this Toronto Fringe show is a site specific piece that used its space to its advantage. The show explores unrequited love, the ways in which nostalgia can affect our choices and memories, and whether or not love actually conquers all . . . If you’re looking for a unique, lively evening, please come check out this show — its sure to get a wonderful reception.” – Jackie Mahoney, Mooney on Theatre
Photo: Daniel Cristofori and Ermina Pérez (GG)
FROG SONG
Frog Song is a fairy tale opera for children which follows young Navdeep and Wyatt on a journey of self discovery, finding their true voice, both inside and out.
“Charming, sweet, funny and thoughtful . . . Taylor Marie Graham and her equally brave creative partner composer William Rowson have created a kid’s opera that tackles subjects that occupy young minds, and it does it with wit, humour, kindness, intelligence and respect.” – Lynn Slotkin, Slotkin Reviews
“Frog Song offers an all too rare opportunity to introduce pre-teens to the special magic that is opera. The kids at the show I attended were rapt.” – OntarioStage
“In her program note, Here For Now’s artistic director Fiona Mongillo writes that “we are all in the muck of our humanity and doing the best we can with the tools that we have.” Frog Song asserts that this is as true for young people as it is for adults, recognizing both the complexity of their life experiences, and their capacity for appreciating story.” – Intermission
CORPORATE FINCH
It’s midnight in St. Jacob’s, Ontario, and two local teenagers are breaking into an old abandoned factory. Will both of them make it out alive?
“Graham’s script and the persuasive performances meander gently through a subtly haunting interaction . . . had me on the edge of my seat. This is a tender, disturbing mediation on youthful connection and the precarious phenomenon of trust.” – Istvan Reviews
“A show you simply have to see” – View From The Box
“Grade A – A moody, twisty drama from playwright Taylor Marie Graham that plays beautifully with space, light, and sound, Corporate Finch was the highlight of our first day at Fringe – My Entertainment World
Photo: Rainbow Kester and Matthew Ivanoff (GG)
MAGGIE’S SUNFLOWERS
OPERA
Composer: Stephen Taylor
Librettist: Taylor Marie Graham
“A nice ironic edge in librettist Taylor Graham and composer Stephen Taylor’s Maggie’s Sunflowers . . . A fantasy piece about the possibility of human resurrection in the vegetable world.” – Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine
TAYLOR MARIE GRAHAM 