Directing Reviews
Mamma Mia
Sensational singing. Check. Captivating choreography. Check.
Creative costumes. Check. Amazing acting. Check. Essential emotion. Check. Superb set. Check. The list goes on.
My, my how can I resist this? Mamma Mia at Chemainus Theatre was even better than I anticipated. Mamma Mia! keeps a smile on your face and a lift in your heart.
Grease
It’s electrifying! From start to finish, Grease delivers laughs, drama, and surprises along with incredible music and dancing.
Under the direction of Barbara Tomasic, this production delves into nuances beyond the pastel hues ascribed by nostalgic memories to find the grit of every day teen realities—the struggle for acceptance, gender and societal expectations, coming-of-age.
Janis LaCouvee
Triumph of Love
Back To You, The Life and Music of Lucille Starr
Triumph of Love is a hilarious ending to a wonderful season.
Olivia Law, The Ubyssey
It’s so well done that the last line will have you hooting with laughter, just as the evening began. .. Bravo!
Mixing multiple song styles and the saucy sexuality of an adult Disney fantasy with witty writing and just enough suggestive jokes to keep us laughing, Triumph of Love has all the bones of a fantastic night out.
Lucille Starr filled with plenty of achy, breaky heart. It's bound to put a big grin on your face.
Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier
Director Barbara Tomasic works hand-in-glove with the musical director to take a complex intertwining of past and presnt and make it work as a melodrama and a musical review.
Vancouver Sun
Music Man
It’s charming. It’s tightly produced....If you want to appreciate the crispness of Tomasic’s direction check out the scene change that sets up “Marian the Librarian”, which takes place, appropriately enough, in the library.
The Music Man still has the ability to brighten up a wet, cold, gloomy December day. Barbara Tomasic’s Gateway Theatre production nicely captures its old-fashioned charm.
42nd Street
Big, show-biz dazzle brings Studio 58's 42nd Street to tap-tastic life
Kathleen Oliver, Georgia Straight
42nd Street on 49th Avenue is a delightful, dizzying triumph. The verve and intelligence of this Barbara Tomasic-directed, feel-good production is cumulatively astonishing.
Crazy for You
Barbara Tomasic's interpretation succeeds in spades.
Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight.
Crazy for You is crazy good.
Jerry Wasserman, The Province
So many Broadway worthy moments in the Gateway Theatre production of Crazy For You, you could be forgiven in thinking you had just stepped out of the theatre onto the Great White Way. Vancouver Presents
Goblin Market
The Goblin Market - A Musical through setting, music, and performance takes us into a magical otherworld away from our common realities.
Plank Magazine
Everything about this gem rings with remarkable clarity. An exquisite outdoor experience.
Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun