s  2  & We were captivated by the Shaw Festival production of High Society. The cast have excellent voices AND the ability to act convincingly. Sometimes the downfall of a musical is the acting and dialogue that serve only as a set up for the next song. Not the case here.

The inventive set allowed for scene changes that were seamless. The choreography was sensational and always appropriate to the moment.

The performances were bang on and there were no apparent weak spots. Neil Barclay as Uncle Willie elicited a chuckle at every turn and Melissa Peters as the young Dinah Lord brought a smile to every face. Dan Chameroy, as Dexter, the ex-husband trying to win his wife back was excellent throughout.

All in all, a terrific night of entertainment. We would give High Society 4 out of 4!

A  2  & Opening night was exciting and full of energy. The thunderous applause at the end of the show for all the actors and particulary for Neil Barclay and Melissa Peters, makes me question whether the critics were even in the audience. I always question critics theatrical credentials and wonder why they are never posted along with their critique. Is it possible they have none or wannabees that envy those that are successful in the industry. How can they ignore the very audience who showed its approval and the positive comments that were flying around at the reception. Oh well, as one patron said as she was leaving the show last week..."I'll never pay attention to what a critic says again". That says it all. If you want to be truly entertained, High Society is the show to see.

<  2  & I Absolutely LOVED This Play! Overall 10/10 performance. The music was free-spirited and fun and I had a great time watching it! I Would go again anytime! Melissa playing as Tracy's sister Dinah was incredible andit is great to know there are still young actresses in the mix. A simply wonderful play with great music!

J  2  & My Wife and I took in High Society at the Shaw May 20th 2006. As always I looked for reviews on the show before purchasing tickets. I found three newspaper critics reviews (JOHN COULBOURN – from Toronto Sun, RICHARD OUZOUNIAN from the Toronto Star, and Gary Smith from The Hamilton Spectator) and the one above from Steve on this site. The three newspaper pundits really gave bad reviews stating that Camilla Scott was not good, that the show was cheap and poorly done, and that the show did not live up to the music of Cole Porter. Needless to say the paid patron hit it on the head. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons these three clowns who call themselves critics do not want people to enjoy this fine show. They could not be more wrong, and should keep their uneducated poor reviews to themselves and to be frank should find work in another field. I mean really, you would think they might be partly right; maybe the show would be weak in some regard. However, a standing ovation at the end of the show was proof enough for me, that the three poorly written critics were wrong. I think if you are going to be a critic you have to look at it from a patron’s point of view as well as an artistic point of view and marry the two ideas to render a properly written review. My guess is these three blind, deaf want a be’s can not be entertained, and have no business telling anyone what entertainment is or is not. Is it the best show I have ever seen? No. Is it worth seeing? Absolutely! If you are looking for a light hearted, fun show with a lot of great performances, I highly recommend, High Society at the Shaw this summer. And that is my review. By the way thanks Steve for a great review I agree with all of your comments.

J  2  & I loved the show!!! The sets, costumes and performers! I wish Shaw was doing a second musical this year though. Oh well, maybe next season.

P  2  & MOst of our group loved the show.. it was fun, lively, upbeat. Neil Barclay and Melissa Peters were terrific as was 'Dexter'. On the down side, the sound quality was somewhat overbearing in the beginning of the show. We thought the setting and scence changes quite inventive... as usual at the Shaw. We always rate the four shows we see and three of the group rated this number one.

M  2  & I usually don't like musicals but this was well done, very enjoyable, good spirit.