Press Release
New Triple Threats on the Scene 
— December 4, 2012
The Randolph Academy Presents Nine — November 2, 2012
Randolph Academy Celebrates 20th Year, introduces Randolph Theatre — Septembre 27, 2012
College Program Boasts 36 New Graduates — August 2, 2011
Rocky Horror revives cult musical tradition at Bathurst Street Theatre —June 15, 2011
College Program Alumni Accepted into Leading U.K. Masters Program —April 12, 2011
Sixteen New Triple Threat Performers Graduate —December 15, 2010
Press Mentions
Randolph Academy celebrates twentieth anniversary
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Celebrating 20 Years: In Conversation With George Randolph, Founder of Toronto's Randolph Academy For the Performing Arts
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| George Randolph with David Mirvish |
Chances are, if you’ve gone to the theatre anywhere in North America lately, you’ve witnessed something of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts in action. Since its founding in a Toronto church basement 20 years ago, the performing arts school has produced two generations of theatre professionals modeled after the old Hollywood tradition of the Triple Threat – that is, a performer who, in equal measure, can sing, dance and act. First coined by the likes of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney when they were kids performing in musicals some 70-years ago, the Triple Threat was a relatively unused term in Canada until George Randolph, an American-born hoofer, came to Toronto to literally shake things up. Trained at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the former dancer with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal arrived in Toronto in the 1980s at time when the city was being transformed into Broadway North. The big shows of the Great White Way were then crossing the border in record numbers, lured by local theatre impresarios like Garth Drabinsky and Ed Mirvish. Audiences were hungry for them, but the country didn’t have the manpower to sustain them. Theatre professionals here were either dancers or singer or actors. Rarely were they all three at once. They hadn’t had the training. Spying an opportunity, Randolph threw himself headlong into the void, eventually creating a signature Triple Threat program that is today the envy of much of the theatre world as he explained recently in conversation with Deirdre Kelly. Read on to find out how the Randolph Academy started and where it’s going next.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Paul Nolan to Lead Broadway Resurrection of Jesus Christ Superstar; Full Cast Announced
Complete casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. The cast will feature Paul Nolan...reprising [his] role as Jesus Christ, .... Rounding out the cast will be … Mary Antonini as Elizabeth, … Mark Cassius as Matthew, … Katrina Reynolds as Esther.
~ Broadway.com, December 22, 2011
Mark Cassius is a past faculty member of the Randolph Academy
Katrina Reynolds is a graduate of the Randolph Academy
Cabaret is Dressed to the NeinsA recent Randolph Academy graduate, [Courtney] Lamanna has always had a passion for the arts. She knew her home was on the stage since starting music theatre classes at the age of seven. “I always knew I’d be doing something creative. I toyed with journalism for a bit; but when it came time to make my career choice, I really couldn’t see myself doing anything else [than theatre]. And I still can’t, really,” Lamanna said.
~ the newspaper (the University of Toronto's Independant Weekly), January 12, 2012
Music Review Of The Day: Lynzie Kent - Something Wild
“Lynzie Kent has just released her disc, called Something Wild, and features a parcel of excellent singing on what we used to call rock songs. Produced by Jann Arden vet and Juno winner Russell Broom, the disc has an in-your-face boldness, without any trickery, just strong tunes with good stories, and a singer who makes you want to hear them.”
~ Bob Mersereau, Top 100 Canadian Blog, January 2, 2012
Last summer’s hot shows through January eyes
“Tiki is a parody of beach-party movies of the 1960s, as well as – why not? – South Pacific, Gilligan's Island and Scooby-Doo. Written, directed and choreographed by Allison Beula, an instructor at Toronto’s Randolph Academy, the unapologetically silly show's cast is mainly comprised of shirtless and bikini-clad young graduates of that Toronto musical-theatre school. “
~ J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail, January 6, 2012
Getting the party started
“The title Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it certainly gives a good indication of what viewers are in for when they go see the hit Fringe Festival musical. Writer and director Allison Beula spontaneously blurted out the title while standing in her boyfriend’s living room. She’d been mulling over the idea of creating an homage to the beach party movies of the 1960s.”
~ Ian Gormely, Metro Toronto, January 5, 2012
Review: Motown Gold calls for dancing in the streets
“diminutive powerhouse, Karen Andrew, rocks the joint with Midnight Train to Georgia. … Louise Camilleri* adds a gorgeous mixture of class and sass to every number she touches.”
~ Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, Dec 17, 2011
*Louise Camilleri was a faculty member in the Fall 2011 Term
Will Flashdance step through Toronto on its way to Broadway?
Toronto's Sergio Trujillo has indeed signed on to direct and choreograph an overhauled version of [Flashdance]. … Trujillo has talked about wanting to return to work in the city where he grew up in interview after interview
~ J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail, December 15, 2011
Artist is in the limelight: Arlene Paculan
Performing comes naturally to Mississauga singer Arlene Paculan. After 10 years of acting, dancing and singing, she's honing her skills as a singer/songwriter. She finished her first EP, I'm Worth It, last year and is performing at a number of venues across the Greater Toronto Area while she works on her next EP.
~ Julia Le, Mississauga News, December 12, 2011
Trujillo toasts 'Memphis' in Toronto
It's been a heady stretch for the Toronto-raised choreographer, who recently set a record by having four of his shows play simultaneously on Broadway for several months.
~ Andrea Baillie, The Canadian Press, December 8, 2011
REVIEW: Memphis
But if there’s a real star it’s Canadian choreographer Sergio Trujillo of Jersey Boys fame. He lays down an endless medley of creatively funky movement, from the supple dirty dancing of the club’s patrons to a symbolic game of double-dutch involving black and white teens.
~ Martin Morrow, The Globe and Mail, December 8, 2011
BWW Interviews: Toronto's Sergio Trujillo Comes Home for Memphis
“Mr. Trujillo is responsible for the choreography in some of the biggest hit shows of the last few years, including Jersey Boys and Next to Normal. He is returning to his hometown of Toronto for the show’s opening night, and spoke to BWW about what makes Memphis so special, how he balances so many incredible projects and what he thinks about the future of musical theatre in Toronto”
~ Kelly Cameron, Broadway World, December 4, 2011
Review: Memphis
"Sergio Trujillo's choreography adds coals to the inferno, with movement that plain just doesn't stop. We know from Jersey Boys that he can capture this style, but in Memphis, he kicks it up towards art, playing with the authentic touches to add some hits of Fosse, or riffs from modern dance that take us just that extra step we need."
~ Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star, December 7, 2011
Review:Jesus Christ Superstar
“Paul Nolan offers intriguing levels of engagement and detachment, always leaving us once removed from understanding him in full. In that, he consciously evokes the remote superstars of our age: James Dean; John Lennon; Bowie and Jagger - all those enigmas on which we could eagerly project whatever we fancied.
~ Bob Verini, Variety, December 4, 2011
Theater review: Jesus Christ Superstar at La Jolla Playhouse
“a quietly charismatic Paul Nolan … brings a kind of beatific sensuality to the role … broods over his destiny with a rock star’s ambivalence in “Gethsemane.”
~ Charles McNulty, Los AngelesTimes, December 2, 2011
Superstar radiant and retro
The production, …., is electric in other ways: …, the vocal pyrotechnics of … Paul Nolan (as Jesus) … the quietly affecting Nolan … punctuate(s) some of the more raw songs with searing, rock-god falsetto(es); Nolan’s impassive, even serene mien through most of the show makes for a stark contrast with his suffering at the Crucifixion.”
~ James Hebert, San DiegoTribune, Dec. 1, 2011
Jesus Christ Superstarat the La Jolla Playhouse: A masterful version of a masterpiece
“Paul Nolan is a haunted, pondering, preoccupied Christ, … bringing an awesome poignancy to Christ’s anguish.”
~ Welton Jones, SanDiego.com, Dec 1, 2011
THEATER REVIEW: Playhouse's electric Superstar is clear, focused, well-sung
“Paul Nolan's Jesus Christ is quiet, still and mysterious ---- a secretive, passive vessel used by the swirling masses around him as a repository for their own needs (spiritual, medical, political). He sings with searing high notes as he's betrayed and suffers nobly in the final scenes.”
~ Pam Kragen, North CountyTimes, December 1, 2011
Rockettes are a Triple Sister Act
“Alison is the Broadway Baby of the bunch, getting the bulk of her training at Toronto’s Randolph Academy, where she graduated with honours. Since then, she’s performed in musicals at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, the Manitoba Theatre Centre and many other prestigious theatres. “I was the one who was always interested in musical theatre,” giggles Alison, “but when I saw my sisters doing this, I knew it’s where I had to be. Is there anything more theatrical than the Radio City Christmas Spectacular? Wow!”
~ Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, November 21, 2011
Review: The Addams Family provides ghoulish glee
“And Toronto’s own Sergio Trujillo has redone his choreography totally, showing all the comical invention that we know he’s capable of.”
~ Richard Ouzounian,Toronto Star, November 16, 2011
Hot West Side Story is full of menace
“Cleopatra Williams … was this production’s powerhouse. Lyricist Stephen Sondheim gave Anita some of the fastest, wittiest lines in the show in the ensemble number, America. Williams didn’t waste them.”
~ Globe and Mail, October 24, 2011
Charlie Brown Cast Shows Stratford isn't Kidding Around
"The adorably rubber-faced Ken James Stewart is jumping ship from the Shaw Festival after five years to play Charlie Brown"
~Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star, October 13, 2011
Oshawa native lead actress in The Secret Cross
~ Durham Region News, November 1, 2011
Review: The Great American Trailer Park Musical
(Hart House Theatre)
“[Jennifer] Morris and [Sarite] Harris are graduates of Toronto’s Randolph Academy, …. It’s exhilarating to see such young talent onstage.”
~ George Perry, Mooney on Theatre, September 24, 2011
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - Musical Theatre MA showcase
Victoria Fuller* has a lovely ingenue face and a strong presence in her solo Better from Little Women, also mastering a difficult dramatic scene from The Crackwalker. Her scene partner … Sarah Gibbons* is a great contrast and one of the strongest actresses of this graduating year. … Devin Herbert* bears an uncanny resemblance to Julian Clary in a scene from Osama the Hero, shows good range in his song Larger than life and successfully scene steals to his heart’s content in Show Choir! The Musical.
~ The Stage (UK), September 20, 2011*Class of 2010, Randolph Academy Post-Secondary Program
Musicals, Blitzkriegs, Sex Robots – Oh My! 212 Next Stage Theatre Festival Line-up Announced
A triple threat cast, a live vintage surf band (“The von Drats”) and original tunes written by Composer Jeffery Straker and Director/Choreographer Allison Beula round out the beach party fun!
~ Toronto Fringe Festival, September 12, 2011
Glee 3D: Yes, choir really is the popular kids’ club
George Randolph reviews Glee 3D
~ The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2011
All his life's a stage
Brandyn McKinson can sing, dance and act — and he has the resume to prove it.~ Mississauga News, August 20, 2011
Former Vernonite to appear on Canada Sings
“The cast of TV show Glee may have hit the big time singing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, but for Katherine Wilson, the song has a certain resonance now that she is in a glee club of her own that is about to make its national TV debut.”
~ Vernon Morning Star, August 10, 2011
REVIEW: The Rocky Horror Show
"Like other shows I have seen at The Randolph Academy, there really isn’t a weak link in the production. There’s a fantastic synergy and it’s exciting to watch. It’s obvious that a lot of people spent a lot of time preparing the show, and it pays huge dividends. Kerry Gage’s choreography is outstanding and the talent is a pleasure to witness."
~ Mooney on Theatre, July 29, 2011
Paul Nolan, SuperstarThe Passion of Paul Nolan didn’t begin in the Garden of Gethsemane, but in a Stratford hockey arena.
- Toronto Star, July 22, 2011
In her wildest imagination
'Anne of Green Gables' inspired Kristen Pottle to become an actress - now she has a role in the musical
- Canada East, June 22, 2011
REVIEW: Rent[Kelly] Holiff ('07) gave the most mature performance of the night and has the strongest, most mellifluous female voice I’ve heard on stage in a long time.
- Michelle Barker, Mooney on Theatre, June 15, 2011
Pixar-bound grad among TIFF showcase
“It took Jamie Metzger a stint in musical theatre to realize that her true calling was animation.”
- The Canadian Press, May 23, 2011
Local animator draws own path to Pixar
“(Animation) is just acting on paper or the computer,” [Jamie Metzger] says. “The character won’t feel sad, you have to put that emotion in there.”
- The Record, May 21, 2011
School Ties
Kendall Savage [is] … the kind of actor you can spot a mile away
- The Charlebois Post, May 15, 2011
ScarboroughWalk of Fame inductees unveil stars
“Before being called up to the stage [Lawrence Gowan] was treated to a performance with his own music by the choir from the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. The group sang his hits A Criminal Mind and Strange Animal. He had never heard his music performed by a choir and it left him speechless - almost.”
- Inside Toronto News, May 13, 2011
Browne lands spot in Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama[Rikki] Browne recounted the whirlwind that has been her life the last two years in a coffee shop in Grande Prairie while on break from the Randolph Academy in Toronto. Currently in her last semester at the triple threat school – singing, dancing, and acting – Browne gets three-week breaks every three months as the two-year program runs 12 months a year.
- Daily Herald-Tribune, May 6, 2011
Jake Simons remembers watching Happy Dayson television when he was growing up in the mid-1970s. Like countless kids, he daydreamed of being Arthur (The Fonz) Fonzarelli.
- Mississauga News, February 22, 2011
Sergio Trujillo - Broadway's Quadruple Threat Talks JERSEY BOYS, 'NORMAL,' WHITE NOISE
– Broadway World, January 14, 2011
His challenger, Freddy Benson, is played with stooge-like invention by Evan Dowling ('09). He is the show's funny bone: .... They make a delightful odd couple as they attempt to trump each other.—Inside Toronto/Front Row Centre, January 23, 2011
It was a beautiful moment as the founding members of Theatre 20 blended with students from The Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and showed just how effective our musical theatre talent is when they work together. The audience was visibly blown away by the calibre and quality of the performance.
—BroadwayWorld, January 22, 2011
Then, in a stunning coup de theatre, the front third of the theatre suddenly stood up and revealed themselves as the student body of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, who joined the Theatre 20 ensemble in a stirring rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday"
—Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, January 21, 2011
Sergio Trujillo to Direct and Choreograph Chicago-run of Whoopi Goldberg-
produced White Noise
—TheatreMania, January 19, 2011
Diva Brings Soul Sound Back to Motown
—Calgary Sun, January 2, 2011
Performer on Sunset Strip at Rock of Ages—Inside Halton, November 17, 2010
Francelle Maria sells out Capitol for CD launch—This Week Canada East, October 21, 2010
A career on stage: Shediac native Josée Boudreau now takes aim at TV
and film— Times And Transcript, October 18, 2010
Young and Talented Ensemble Strut Their Stuff at Bathurst Street Theatre Coming
Out Party
KILLING GAME
—Fringe of Toronto Festival 2010
Four stars: ****EYE WEEKLY— Kate Carraway
uber-stylish satire ... a treat to watch unfold.Plank Magazine—Justin Haigh
There’s a lot of things to like about this playMooney on Theatre —George Perry
Rating: 4.5/5
CIUT 89.5 FM : The More The Merrier Arts Radio
—Donna G
Dreams come true for Sault women with debut in Stratford
“Somebody tell Josie Marasco she's not dreaming. She, and fellow Sault Ste. Marie native Jennifer Mote, really are making their debuts at one of Canada's biggest theatre companies, the Stratford Festival, in one of musical theatre's grand dames, West Side Story.”
-- The Sault Star, April 2010
Training A Triple Threat .... —Annex Gleaner
(April 06)
Randolph Academy's high demands for hungry students
When Cute Alone Won't Do...Young Actors bring 'pre-professionalism' to production
of the Wiz
—National Post (March 06)
School for the Arts taking care of business
—Globe & Mail (April 02)
Gotta Sing, gotta dance, gotta act
—Toronto Star (Feb 99)
Quotes
"Randolph Academy operates a very intense program in Stage Arts. It's demanding, both physically and mentally. It's not for everyone."
—Toronto Star
"I'm impressed by you. I appreciate you doing this show for me."
—Gregory Hines thanking the students of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. —Toronto Sun
"Many of our performers have studied with you in the past and I look forward to us finding more members of our future casts from among your students."
—David Mirvish, Mirvish Productions, Producers of Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast and Lion King in Canada.
"In an era of advancing globalization it might seem anachronistic to discuss the emergence of a Canadian artistic voice. But facilitating the birth of that voice is precisely what animates instructors, at Randolph Academy."
—Globe and Mail
