Shows That Caught Our Eye This Week
Nostalgia for classics is where it’s at this spring, with new takes on old tales. I hope they will strike your fancy, too. Or perhaps you’re curious about the South African theatre in town. I’ve highlighted the shows we’d love to see this week with two asterisks ** and in red text.
Already Reviewed by Mooney on Theatre:
The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini (Canadian Opera Company). A barber helps a nobleman woo his true love in this Italian comic opera. Sung in Italian with English subtitles. Opens Apr 17 and runs to May 22, see website for schedule. $12-$424. http://coc.ca/
Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley (Sterling Theatre Company). A kitchen in the deep South and a 30th birthday for the eldest is the setting for this Chekhovian play about three sisters. Opens Apr 18 and runs to May 2, Tue-Sat 8 pm. $15-$20. http://sterlingstudiotheatre.com/
Glengarry Glen Ross – Female Version by David Mamet (Jet Girls Productions). The drama about cutthroat real estate salesmen pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers is staged with an all-female cast. Previews Apr 15, opens Apr 16 and runs to Apr 26, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20, preview $15. http://redsandcastletheatre.com/
Hooked by Carolyn Smart (TPM). Smart brings the stories of female poets to life onstage. Previews Apr 16-19, opens Apr 21 and runs to May 10, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $17-$33, mat pwyc at the door. http://artsboxoffice.ca/
How to Kill a Comedian Second City presents its Spring 2015 Mainstage revue. In previews, opens Mar 9, Tue-Thu 8 pm, Fri-Sun 7:30 pm, plus Sat 10 pm. $25-$45, stu $16-$18. http://secondcity.com
Infinity by Hannah Moscovitch (Tarragon Theatre/Volcano Theatre). A young mathematician explores the seeming impossibility of love. Previews from Mar 25, opens Apr 1 and runs to May 3, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm (and some Sat). $29-$55, previews $23-$27. In the Extraspace. http://tarragontheatre.com/
Odysseo (Cavalia). Theatre artists and horses create a spectacle combining equestrian arts, stage arts and special effects. Opens Apr 8 and runs to May 10, see website for schedule. $34.50-$264.50. http://cavalia.net/
** Once by Enda Walsh, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (Mirvish). An Irish musician and a Czech immigrant are drawn together by their shared love of music. Previews Feb 10-21, opens Feb 22 and runs to May 31, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sat-Sun and Wed 2 pm. $29-$130. http://mirvish.com/
And the rest…..
** Anna Karenina Show One Productions presents the Eifman St. Petersburg Ballet performing Boris Eifman’s adaptation of Tolstoy’s tragic novel. Apr 23-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $55-$145. http://www.sonycentre.ca/home/media/Media-Details.aspx?evtID=1216#.VTK4zNfSG4U.google
Amelia Ehrhardt Harbourfront Hatch 11 presents Traditional Dance or This Dance is in Commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of the Rite of Spring. Apr 21-26, see website for details. http://harbourfrontcentre.com/
Béatrice & Bénédict by Hector Berlioz, adapted by Rob Herriot (Metro Youth Opera). This family opera is based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Apr 24-26, Thu – Fri 7:30 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $30, srs $25, stu $20. Aki Studio. http://www.metroyouthopera.ca
Boston Marriage by David Mamet (Campbell House/Headstrong Collective). Two women hatch schemes around money and relationships in Victorian England. Previews Apr 7-8, opens Apr 9 and runs to Apr 26, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $20. http://bostonmarriageto.bpt.me/
Emily’s Piano by Mark Cassidy (Young People’s Theatre). A search for a family’s piano reveals the healing power of hope in this adaptation of Charlotte Gingras’s novel. Opens Apr 13 and runs to May 2, see website for schedule. $15-$30. http://youngpeoplestheatre.ca/
George F. Walker Double Bill: After Class (Crazy Lady). Two plays – Parent’s Night and The Bigger Issue – are presented as part of a new play cycle by Walker. Previews Apr 21-22, opens Apr 23 and runs to May 17, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $17.50-$42.50, Sun pwyc at the door. http://crazylady.info/
Gingers in Loveby Bri Waters and Erik Kopacsi (The WatersEdge Theatre Collective). This original Canadian folk musical tells a cautionary tale of two redheads falling in love. Apr 23-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $25. Visit Event Website
How a Cup of Coffee Got Me Fired (Laura Salvas). A data entry clerk seeks revenge when someone in the office starts drinking her coffee in this comedic look at cubicle culture. Apr 23-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $10. Visit Event Website
I Am Marguerite by Shirley Barrie (Alumnae Theatre). A woman is banished to an island off Newfoundland for choosing love over duty in 16th-century Canada. Opens Apr 10 and runs to Apr 25, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20, Wed 2-for-1, Sun pwyc. http://alumnaetheatre.com/
The Kids in the Hall Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson reunite to perform new material, revisit cult characters and revive classic sketches. Apr 23-26, Thu 7 pm, Sat 6:30 & 10 pm, Sun 6:30 pm. $58.75. http://www.ticketmaster.ca
Kingstonia: Up From Under by Ann Holloway (Mummy Productions). Comedy about our women ancestors, who summoned the courage to speak out by deploying laughter as rebellion against misogyny. Opens Apr 17 and runs to Apr 26, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm. $10, Sun pwyc. http://buddiesinbadtimes.com/
Letters to Spain Harbourfront NextSteps presents Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company. Apr 24-26, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $23-$45. http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps/esmeralda-enrique-spanish-dance-company-2/
** Little Death by Daniel Karasik (Little Death Collective/The Riser Project). Confronted with his mortality, a man searches for sex and connection in hotel bars – with his wife’s conflicted blessing. Previews Apr 17, opens Apr 18 and runs to May 3, Tue-Sat 9 pm, see website for other times. $19-$25, preview $15. http://kofflerarts.org/programs-events/2015/03/17/world-premiere-little-death-by-daniel-karasik/
The Love List by Norm Foster (Encore Entertainment). A man questions what he wants after meeting his perfect match. Opens Apr 23 and runs to May 3, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $28-$29.50. http://encoreshow.com/
Mouthpiece by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava (Quote Unquote Collective/The Riser Project). Two performers express the inner conflict that exists within a modern woman’s head using voice, text and movement. Previews Apr 17, opens Apr 18 and runs to May 3, Wed-Sun 7 pm. $20, stu/srs $18, limited Sun pwyc at the door. http://theatrecentre.org/
** MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare (Tarragon). This Bollywood-inspired adaptation of the classic comedy is set in modern-day Brampton. Previews from Apr 22, opens Apr 29 and runs to May 31, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun (and some Sat) 2:30 pm. $27-$55, rush $15. http://tarragontheatre.com
Paratopia DanceWorks and Harbourfront NextSteps present choreography by Bageshree Vaze that explores the parameters of kathak dance and Indian classical dance aesthetics in the 21st century. Apr 23-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $19-$37. http://danceworks.ca
RENT: The Musical By Jonathan Larson (Lower Ossington Theatre). Young artists struggle to survive and create living in New York City’s Lower East Side in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic. Opens Apr 2 and runs to Apr 26, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $50-$70. http://lowerossingtontheatre.com/
** Spotlight South Africa Theatre, music and dance performances celebrate the artistic output of South Africa. Apr 8-26, see website for schedule and prices/packages. Performances also at Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front E). http://canadianstage.com/
Tagged by Dave Deveau (Green Thumb Theatre). A party photo goes viral in this play for ages 13 and up about accountability in the social media world. Previews Apr 21, opens Apr 22 and runs to May 8, see website for schedule. $19-$24. http://youngpeoplestheatre.ca/
Therefore Choose Life by Kathy Kacer and Jake Epstien (Harold Green Jewish Theatre). A Holocaust survivor who made a new life in Canada receives a letter from his first true love. Previews Apr 18-22, opens Apr 23 and runs to May 10, Tue-Thu and Sat 8 pm, Sun 7 pm, mat Wed 1 pm, Sun 2 pm. $tba. In the Greenwin Theatre. http://hgjewishtheatre.com/
Tom At The Farm by Michel Marc Bouchard (BIBT). A man goes to the country for his lover’s funeral and discovers the lies he told his family. Previews Apr 11-15, opens Apr 16 and runs to May 10, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm (all previews at 8 pm). $20-$37, rush $20, Sun pwyc at the door. http://buddiesinbadtimes.com/
The Tragedie of Othello, The Moore of Venice (Ale House Theatre) Shakespeare’s classic Othello. Opens Apr 17 and runs to May 2, Thu-Sun 8 pm, mat Apr 19 and May 2 at 2 pm. $20-$35. http://othellotoronto.brownpapertickets.com/
The Vicar of Dibley by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer (Theatre Columbus). Stage version of the BBC comedy series about a female vicar. Apr 23-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2:30 pm. $25, Thu pwyc. http://www.theatrecolumbus.ca/the-vicar-of-dibley
Wonder Momentum Dance Toronto presents a show based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland. Previews Apr 22, opens Apr 23 and runs to Apr 25, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $25-$30, preview $20. http://www.momentumdancetoronto.com/#!performances-events/c20oy
Listings based on NOW! Stage listings.