The Simcoe Scene

Originally posted on Barrietoday.com as part of the Scene Setter series (#56 - Oct 14, 2023).  Legacy. It’s something that most people don’t realize they’ve created until they look back on whatever they built, even unknowingly, and it still stands. Legacy is in the work a person creates, a belief they stood and fought for, and in their families.  In the case of Robb Reiner, he has forged a legacy all three ways and his son Tyler is hammering out his own.  As the drummer for Anvil, the iconic Canadian metal band that pioneered the genre in our country, Robb Reiner has been a vanguard of metal. When Anvil began in 1977, they were striding into unknown territory, not knowing that the abuse and alienation they suffered as a band would pave the way for countless artists.  Walking that path in his own way is Robb’s son, Tyler. Also an accomplished drummer, his band Spades GT experiment with nuances within the heavy-side of music and have crafted a debut album with all the qualities that shou

Originally posted on Barrietoday.com as part of the Scene Setter series (#55 - Oct 14, 2023).  A chilling wind blows throughout our city, the sun sets sooner and creates the perfect atmosphere for a thrilling theatrical experience written by one of our country’s most lauded playwrights.  Vern Thiessen, Dora Award winner for Outstanding Play, recipient of the Governor General’s Literary Award, and one of Canada’s most produced playwrights, has penned a thrilling new work that questions if blood is thicker than ice. Set on the icy banks of Barrie in the 1930s, Icemen plunges the audience into a riveting, life-altering moment in time that will keep you on the edge of your seats.  Evidenced by his work to date, including 5 of his plays produced off-Broadway,  Thiessen is a master storyteller whose plays tackle moral conundrums that span beyond any specific time or location. Regardless of what decade or century his plays are set, the struggle within them feels almost too familiar for comfo

  Originally posted on Barrietoday.com as part of the Scene Setter series (#54 - Oct 17, 2023).  If you do a search online for Jake Epstein, the results are filled with credits including television’s Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Umbrella Academy, Hardy Boys, The Wedding Contract, as well as Broadway’s Beautiful: The Carole King Musical , Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark , and national tours of American Idiot, and Spring Awakening to name a few. From the outside, it appears that the dream has gone exactly to plan for Epstein, but there is so much more to his story to be shared.   Boy Falls From The Sky , written and performed by Epstein, offers an intimate look into his journey so far through a series of entertaining and soul-baring stories and songs that take you from Canada, to Broadway, and beyond.  Following a sold-out premiere at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre last year, Boy Falls From The Sky makes a stop in Barrie for a limited-time engagement.  I had the opportunity to