Theatre Calgary Tickets

This musical was hilarious. The group of misfit spellers was well cast and totally believable. The definitions and sentence usage of chosen words was quite funny.

My wife and I were impressed with the quality of acting. The cast did a wonderful job of keeping the action both interesting and amusing. The changing of the sets on stage was slick and very effective.

It's hard to blame the acting, the direction or the set designers for this one - although they were all pretty thin. There is not much to work with in this play and it is a mercifully short one act.

Betrayal kept my interest from beginning to end. Unfortunately, some hearing difficulties prevented me from catching some of the more intimate lines. If you have hearing problems, try to get close to the stage.

The play was funnier than I expected and exquisitely acted. It was a great night out!

A really stark play with little in terms of set design to get in the way of the actors, who were wonderful. They portrayed their characters with all of the awkwardness and restrained emotion necessary, without seeming awkward and restrained themselves. In typical Pinter fashion, the mundane became humourous as the audience observed everyday events with an ironic viewpoint. Really enjoyable!

The entire production of Beyond Eden was so well put together: sound, lights, costumes, music, vocals, acting, set design. A true work of collaboration to bring the story of the Haida totem poles to the awareness of all of us who were fortunate enough to be taken to this "Otherworld". Magical ...

All Calgary students should see this play! From the acting, to the singing, to the set, to the script writing... this play was the best I have EVER seen in my life. So poignant, profound, historical and at the same time contained some very witty moments and GREAT MUSICal moments. All my hats off to each and everyone who collaborated on this endeavour, named BEYOND EDEN!!!! Thank YOU - Thank YOU - Thank YOU. Real pow-wow and white man material :-) :-)

Beautiful music, beautiful voices, beautiful set, wonderful costumes,brilliant acting, funny, and brought me to tears. Wonderful story to be told, so meaningful and heartfelt. Thank you.

Sigh. My mother-in-law told me that Beyond Eden was the best thing she's seen in Calgary (and she sees shows in NY all the time), so my wife and I figured we'd better see it. I don't regret having gone, because it reminds me why I have been repeatedly disappointed by TC. Where do I start? The positives, perhaps. The story is interesting and thought-provoking; my wife and I had lengthy and heated discussions during the intermission and afterwards about Lewis' struggle and how one makes decisions about artifact preservation. Also, the program (yes, the printed program) is gorgeous - brilliant layout, lovely design. Which makes the downside that much harder to swallow - it's obvious that TC has time, money and resources, they just continue to mishandle them. The downside. Music: Bill Henderson's score is unoriginal, uninspired, unmusical, and monochromatic - it was transparent to me where he made conscious decisions to try and be "edgy" or discordant, and the limited range of most of the songs, paired with unending repetition made me physically irritated, especially in the second act. It was inspiring, in a way - if such a lackluster, mediocre product can receive such attention, then we should all write musicals. Also, for a show about such a lovely, isolated and haunting location, not to mention the obvious ties with aboriginal history (and perhaps their music?!), there was FAR too much high-hat. The most appropriate musical choice Mr. Henderson made was in the opening notes of the show - before the curtain was raised. Blocking: With such an interesting set, why be so unimaginative with its use? Why are almost all the songs sung from a stationary position, center stage? Book: In opera, the recitative exists to forward the plot, because when we hit the arias, all forward movement ceases. In musicals, generally speaking, there is much more "recit", and while the plot slows down during the songs, it doesn't often stall. In Beyond Eden, the songs actually reverse the direction of the plot. My chief example is "Mystery". Prior to this song, it has been established that Lewis is obsessed with the totems and their creators, so when he sings Mystery (...I want this mystery, it seduces me...shudder...), we're beaten over the head with it - it felt like musical theatre for the remedially challenged. Props: After seeing "The Lion King" last year, my eyes were opened to the wonders of puppetry - successful use of props can enhance a live performance immeasurably. The floating canoe trees in Beyond Eden are beautiful, but once the novelty of them wears off (around the time they reach the stage), our director needs to do something with them, rather than just waving them in the air. They did not look like they were floating on the sea. And at least one of them was hung upside down. Amateur. I think I'll stop there - it was nice to see John Mann and Tom Jackson on stage, and all of the singers were polished; Jennifer Line has a lovely voice. But at $62 plus/ticket, that's a minimum expectation. Not only will I steer people away from this production, I won't return to TC.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Queen Charlotte Islands last summer and I most enjoyed my holidays. Upon meeting new friends I shall return to island again this summer along with my daughter. We absolutely loved Beyond Eden and I did purchase the John Mann CD and love it. Can't wait to tell my friends on the island all about BEyond Eden.

A beautiful story enhanced by incredible singing and set design.

Moved to tears by Beyond Eden. The story! The music! The acting! John Mann's performance was riviting, his voice reverberating with passion, intensity and the sadness inherent in this sacred tale. I am so grateful to all who helped to tell the story of this mythic journey. It was a beautifully executed glimpse of the long road to understanding and healing the complex issues in Canadian history. Lifted me up for days! Thank you.

The set was fabulous, the voices amazing, the story very powerful, the acting superb!!! The only downside? No CD of the music!!

How lucky we are to see a world class musical in Calgary. Beyond Eden is surely bound for Broadway!!

Outstanding Tom Jackson, he is so sweet! What a voice!!!! Beautiful scenography and lights. Refreshing young talent was the main character's son, awesome! Don't miss it, a great Canadian story.

Simply stunning effects, stage presence and performances. John Mann was outstanding. Although I found the first act a little slow moving, this is where the stage effects were most noticeable. The second act moved along very well and took the audience through the agonizing emotions of Lewis Wilson.

I was more than impressed with the set, costumes, and other computer-generated visual effects. Someone behind that is incredibly innovative and creative. Much appreciated by the audience! For the rest of it, I found that this play approached a very serious subject, cultural assimilation, too relaxed. I thought that a lot of the music took away from the main theme (i.e. love songs) and I often felt like I was in a Haida High School Musical.

Excellent play. Quality vocals, music and set design. Great to read about the play first and know a little bit about the characters. As this is based on actual events, I found that I appreciated the play even more.

Way better than I anticipated, the internet preview doesn't do it any justice. Tom Jackson was an incredible asset to the play but did not steal the show. Beyond Eden made me laugh, swoon with delight, and even become teary; a far cry from the "documentary" I was prepared to see!