Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of January 9, 2012: ** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Wayne, our Managing Editor, wish he could exist in multiple parallel universes so he could check them all out.

Already covered by MoT

**AMERICAN IDIOT by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool and Michael Mayer (Dancap Productions). Three boyhood friends search for meaning in a post-9/11 world in this musical based on Green Day’s 2004 album. Previews Dec 28. Opens Dec 29 and runs to Jan 15, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mats Sat-Sun and Wed 2 pm, plus Dec 29-30 at 2 pm and Jan 8 at 7 pm. $62-$180.Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge. 416-644-3665, dancaptickets.com.

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE! (AND OTHER LIES) Second City presents its latest sketch revue about the things we tell ourselves to get through life. Wed-Thu 8 pm, Fri-Sat 8 & 10:30 pm, Sun 7 pm. $24-$29, stu $15. 51 Mercer. 416-343-0011, secondcity.com.

**LIVING WITH HENRY by Christopher Wilson (Beyond Boundaries/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This musical drama explores the fear, complications and realities of living with HIV/AIDS today. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Mainspace, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

LOVE IS A POVERTY YOU CAN SELL by Justin Haigh (Soup Can Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This 1920s Berlin cabaret features a theatrical tribute to the music of Kurt Weill. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $10, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Upstairs Bar, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

LOVESEXMONEY by Kat Sandler (Theatre Brouhaha/Next Stage Theatre Festival). A woman sells her virginity online in this comedy-drama about intimacy in the information age. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Studio, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

LOVING THE STRANGER OR HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN INVERT by Alistair Newton (Ecce Homo Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This play looks at sexuality, spectacle and satire from the cabarets of 1920s Berlin to the horrors of the Third Reich. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Mainspace, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

**MODERN LOVE by Jessica Moss, Eric Double, Julia Nish-Lapidus and Kyle Purcell (Theatre Caravel/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This solo show looks at the ways we connect and disconnect from each other. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Studio, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

MORRO AND JASP: GO BAKE YOURSELF by Heather Marie Annis, Byron Laviolette and Amy Lee (Up your Nose and In your Toes (U.N.I.T.) Productions/Next Stage Theatre Festival). The Fringe-fest famous clown sisters go on a culinary adventure in this new show. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $10, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Upstairs Bar, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

MY MOTHER’S ITALIAN, MY FATHER’S JEWISH & I’M IN THERAPY by Steve Solomon (Philip Roger Roy/Dana Matthow/Bud Martin). Solomon performs his solo show about growing up in a wacky, bi-ethnic family. Opens Oct 12 and runs to Feb 26, Wed 7 pm, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 5:30 pm, mats Sat-Sun and Wed 2 pm. $51.50-$56. Bathurst Street Theatre, 736 Bathurst. 1-855-985-2787, italianjewish.ca.

THE LAST FIVE YEARS by Jason Robert Brown (Clearwater Theatre). Different views on a relationship are revealed in regular and reverse chronology in this musical. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 14, daily at 8 pm, mats Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $25, stu/srs $20. Tarragon Theatre, Extra Space, 30 Bridgman. 416-531-1827, clearwatertheatre.com.

THE TIKI BIKINI BEACH PARADISE PARTY A-GO-GO by Allison Beula (Allison Beula Productions/Next Stage Theatre Festival). A live band accompanies this comedic play about beach party films of the 60s. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Mainspace, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

THE WASHING MACHINE by Radha S Menon (Red Betty Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). A bereaved mother and wife tries to wash away the past with fancy renovations at her ancestral plantation home in India. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Studio, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

TOMASSO’S PARTY by Jules Lewis (Rooftop Creations/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Preparing for a party exposes a couple’s tempestuous and comic relationship. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Studio, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

UNCALLED FOR PRESENTS: HYPNOGOGIC LOGIC (Uncalled For/Next Stage Theatre Festival). The improv/sketch troupe presents a trip through the world of dreams. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for schedule. $12-$15, passes $48-$88. Factory Theatre, Mainspace, 125 Bathurst. 416-966-1062, fringetoronto.com.

And the rest

A TINY PIECE OF LAND by Joni Browne-Walders and Mel Weiser (TEATRON Theatre). A recently widowed American makes a tumultuous trip to Israel to visit his estranged brother. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, Tue-Thu and Sat-Sun 8 pm, mats Sun 2 pm (and Jan 4 preview at 1 pm). $31-$48, stu/srs $26-$30, preview $19. Toronto Centre for the Arts, Studio Theatre, 5040 Yonge. 416-733-0545, teatrontheatre.com.

**CABARET by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb (Hart House Theatre). An American writer falls for a nightclub singer in Nazi-era Berlin. Opens Jan 13 and runs to Jan 28, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Jan 28 at 2 pm. $25, stu/srs $10-$15. 7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-8849, harthousetheatre.ca.

CHINESE TRADITIONS: THEN AND NOW The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre presents classical and contemporary dance by the Little Pear Garden Collective. Jan 10 at noon. Free. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen W. coc.ca.

DISCO FEVER (Famous People Players). The blacklight theatre company presents a dance party musical show. Opens Dec 31 and runs to Jan 21, Tue-Sat noon and 6:45 pm. $62, srs $56, child $40 (includes meal); New Year’s Eve Gala $70-$125. 343 Evans. 416-532-1137, fpp.org.

FOUR DOGS AND A BONE by John Patrick Shanley (Lyric Artist Alliance Co-op/AK Productions). Two female actors, a producer and a screenwriter vie for control of an art-house film in this satirical comedy. Previews Jan 9 at 8 pm. Opens Jan 10 and runs to Jan 21, Tue-Sat 8 pm. $20, preview $10. Unit 102 Theatre, 376 Dufferin. fourdogsandabone.com.

HENRI FABERGÉ’S HELIGOLAND FOLLIES (Stages). This monthly six-part performance series features music, comedy, film and narrative theatre about an 1820s community trying to reach a utopian ideal. Oct 6 at 9 pm. Nov 3 at 9 pm. Dec 1 at 10 pm (doors 9 pm). Jan 12 at 9 pm. Feb 2 at 9 pm. Mar 1 at 9 pm. Pwyc. Hart House, Arbor Room, 7 Hart House Circle. harthouse.utoronto.ca/arts/stages/henri.

IT’S A WONDERFUL STRIFE Second City Conservatory 6 Class presents a sketch comedy show to benefit the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada w/ Katie Beahen, Jeff Clark, Yitzi Gal, Deborah Ring and others. Dec 18 3 pm, Jan 12 11 pm. Pwyc. Second City, 51 Mercer. itsawonderfulstrife.com.

**KIM’S CONVENIENCE by Ins Choi (Soulpepper). A Korean family in Toronto struggles with a bitter past and reconciliation. Previews Jan 12-18. Opens Jan 19 and runs to Feb 11, see website for schedule. $51-$68, stu $32. Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Mill. 416-866-8666, soulpepper.ca.

RED SNOW by Diana Tso (Red Snow Collective). This story of love and struggling to reconcile the past with the present is inspired by stories of survivors of the Rape of Nanking. Previews Jan 12-13. Opens Jan 14 and runs to Jan 28, Jan 19-21 and 23-28 at 7:30 pm, mats Jan 21, 25 and 28 at 2 pm (see website for other times). $30, stu $15, Sat mat pwyc. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson. 416-504-7529, redsnowcollective.ca.

**THE BLUE DRAGON by Robert Lepage (Mirvish). The life of a Canadian expat living in Shanghai is turned upside down by two women in this multilingual dance-theatre piece. Previews Jan 10. Opens Jan 11 and runs to Feb 19, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mats Sat-Sun and Wed 2 pm. $25-$99. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King W. mirvish.com.

**THE GOLDEN DRAGON by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Tarragon Theatre). A restaurant’s kitchen staff help an illegal immigrant search for his lost sister. Previews Jan 10-17. Opens Jan 18 and runs to Feb 19, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mats Sun 2:30 pm (and Jan 21, 28, Feb 4). $20-$51. 30 Bridgman. 416-531-1827, tarragontheatre.com.

**THE PENELOPIAD by Margaret Atwood (Nightwood Theatre). This response to Homer’s Odyssey comes from the perspective of Odysseus’s wife and is told through classical tragedy, Victorian melodrama, burlesque and song. Previews Jan 10-11. Opens Jan 12 and runs to Jan 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mats Sat-Sun 2 pm, Wed 1:30 pm. $22-$46. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander. 416-975-8555, nightwoodtheatre.net.

THE PLAY’S THE THING by Ferenc Molnar, adapted by PG Wodehouse (Stage Centre Productions). A playwright schemes to save a relationship and his operetta in this romantic comedy. Opens Jan 12 and runs to Jan 21, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun (and Jan 21) at 2 pm. $27.50, stu/srs $22. Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall. 416-299-5557, stagecentreproductions.com.

*Listings based on NOW stage listings*