Under the Big Top. Famous People Players presents a black light theatre show for all ages about the magic of the circus. Opens Jun 26 and runs to Oct 28, Tue-Sat, call/see website for times. Show Info.

Toronto Cold Reads. Incubator reading series for new film, TV and theatre scripts. Portions of six scripts will be read by professional actors. Weekly, Sundays at 9 pm to Dec 6. Pwyc. 2nd floor. Show Info.

Defending the Caveman by Rob Becker (I Love It Productions). This comedy looks at the ongoing misunderstandings between men and women. Previews Oct 1-2, opens Oct 3 and runs to Oct 31, Fri-Sat 8 pm. $40, stu $20, previews $15-$20. Show Info.

The Baby.  Screenplay by Abe Polsky, adapted by Dan Spurgeon (Storefront Theatre). A social worker is assigned to a family where an adult male sleeps in a crib and acts like an infant in this “grindhouse” comedy based on a 70s film. Opens Oct 15 and runs to Nov 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20-$25. Show Info.

Finding Funny by Daniel Stolfi (You and Me Entertainment). Stolfi performs his solo show about losing his comedy mojo and seeking to rediscover what drove him to make people laugh in the first place. Opens Oct 1 and runs to Nov 5, Thu 8 pm (no show Oct 22). $15-$20. Show Info.

Pyramus and Thisbe. Canadian Opera Company presents the contemporary opera by Canadian composer Barbara Monk Feldman and two Baroque works by Claudio Monteverdi (Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda & Lamento D’Arianna). Opens Oct 20 and runs to Nov 7, see website for times. $50 and up; under 30 $22-$35, limited standing room $12. Show Info.

The Trouble With Mr. Adam by Gord Rand (Tarragon Theatre). A high school volleyball coach falls in love with his star player in this dark comedy. Previews from Oct 20, opens Oct 28 and runs to Nov 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm (and Sat mats at 2:30 pm on Oct 31, Nov 7, Nov 14). $28-$60, srs $45-$49, stu $29, rush $15. Tarragon ExtraSpace. Show Info.

Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths (Factory Theatre). An ex-suffragette runs a secretarial school in 1885 England. Previews Oct 20-22, opens Oct 23 and runs to Nov 8, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $35, preview $25. Show Info.

Bararm & Snieckus (The National Theatre of the World). Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus perform their hybrid theatre piece incorporating sketch, improvisation and comedy to satirize the male/female dynamic. Previews Oct 21, opens Oct 22 and runs to Nov 1, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $20. Show Info.

Lakeboat Unit 102 Actors Company presents the play by David Mamet. An Ivy League college student takes a summer job with hardened sailors aboard a steel freighter in the 70s. Previews Oct 14, opens Oct 15 and runs to Oct 31, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat. $20, pwyc Tue and Oct 16.

Armide by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Opera Atelier). The doomed love affair of a Christian knight and a Muslim princess plays out against a backdrop of obsession, jealousy and magic. Oct 22-31, see website for schedule. $38-$191. Show Info.

Orestes by Euripedes (Theatre Erindale). Modern version of the Greek play that looks at events that follow Orestes’s murder of his mother to avenge his father. Previews Oct 22, opens Oct 23 and runs to Nov 1, Thu 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm (and Nov 1). $18, stu/srs $12. Show Info.

Legally Blonde: The Musical by Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach (Lower Ossington Theatre). A sorority girl makes it to law school in this musical based on the 2001 film. Opens Oct 22 and runs to Nov 22, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm, Sun 4 pm. $50-$70. Show Info.

Butcher by Nicolas Billon (Why Not Theatre/Butcher’s Block). A mysterious old man appears at a police station wearing a foreign military uniform and a meat hook in this play about a past that won’t stay buried.Opens Oct 24 and runs to Nov 15, see website for times. $22-$30. Part of the November Ticket @ Theatre Centre ($60 for all three shows). Show Info.

Old Jews Telling Jokes by Peter Gethers and Daniel Okrent (Playhouse Productions Inc). One-liners, double-entendres, songs, skits and comedy routines. Opens Oct 14 and runs to Dec 6, Wed-Thu 7 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $45-$65. Show Info.

Frankenstein Live. The Arts Engine presents an immersive reading of a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel set on board an ice-bound ship, adapted by Warren MacDonald. Opens Oct 22 and runs to Nov 8, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm.. $25. Show Info.

Wonder of the World by David Lindsay Abaire (East Side Players). A shocking discovery in her husband’s sweater drawer leads a woman to Niagara Falls on a journey of self-discovery. Opens Oct 22 and runs to Nov 7, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $24, stu $17. Show Info.

Play in a Pub: The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher (Driftwood Theatre). This funder for the company features a film/theatre mashup about what Star Wars would have been like if it had been written by the Bard. Oct 26 at 8 pm. $25. Second floor. Show Info.

Into the Work: Echo. Toronto Dance Theatre presents a preview of an upcoming production with performance excerpts and dialogue with choreographers and dancers. Oct 26 at 7 pm. Free. Show Info.

Forty Carats adapted by Jay Allen (Encore Entertainment) An NYC divorcee meets a younger man on vacation – and again back home when he dates her daughter – in this comedy about love, age differences, family meddling and money. Opens Oct 22 and runs to Nov 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $27-$28.50. Studio Theatre. Show Info.

Groundswell Unplugged: A Festival of Contemporary Women’s Theatre. Nightwood Theatre presents a workshop production of Unholy by Diane Flacks, Write From The Hip Readings from the company’s development program, a staged reading of Trident Moon by Anusree Roy and more. Oct 27-Nov 1. Unholy $23, all other events pwyc. Show Info.

Sherlock Holmes by Greg Kramer (Starvox Entertainment/June Entertainment). David Arquette stars in this stage adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales. Opens Oct 27 and runs to Nov 8, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 7 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $40-$120. Show Info.

Le Long Voyage De Pierre-Guy B. (The Long Voyage Of Pierre-Guy B.) by Pierre-Guy Blanchard, Christian Essiambre and Philippe Soldevila (Théâtre français de Toronto). This autobiographical musical show tells the story of Pierre-Guy’s return to New Brunswick after wandering around the world. Oct 28-Nov 1, Wed-Fri 8 pm, Sat 3:30 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $30-$49, Wed pwyc, Sat rush $20. English surtitled performances on Wed, Fri & Sat. Co-presented with Théâtre Sortie de Secours, Théâtre L’Escaouette and Théâtre Français du Centre National des Arts. Show Info.

Radio Play: An Improvised Old Fashioned Radio Play. Fully realized play with live foley and musical accompaniment, featuring Lisa Merchant, Kerry Griffin, Christy Bruce and Rob Baker. Oct 28 at 8 pm. $10. Show Info.

House at Poe Corner by Michael O’Brien and Eric Woolfe (Eldritch Theatre). Works of Edgar Allen Poe are re-imagined and enacted by twisted little stuffed animals. Opens Oct 29 and runs to Nov 7, see website for times. $25. Show Info.

 Shannon 10:40 by Rob Kempson (Videofag/timeshare). A student and teacher clash in this drama about making a statement and dealing with the consequences in an archaic public school system. Oct 29-Nov 8, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20. Show Info.

The Brush & the Sword. Visual arts, live music and side show acts including fire breathing, sword swallowing, contortionists and more plus body painting and tarot card reading. Oct 30, doors 7 pm (show 8 pm; all ages until 9 pm). $10-$15. Show Info.

The Immigrant: A Musical by Mark Harelik, Sarah Knapp and Steven M Alper (Harold Green Jewish Theatre). A young Jew flees Russia and lands in Texas in 1909. Previews Oct 31-Nov 4, opens Nov 5 and runs to Nov 22 see website for times and prices. In the Greenwin Theatre. Show Info.

Hallowe’en Howl (Solar Stage Children’s Theatre). Alistair Ant and friends perform an interactive musical puppet show for ages 2 and up. Oct 31-Nov 1 at 11 am & 2 pm. $16. Show Info.

Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings