Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of January 4th, 2015
Toronto’s theatre scene is officially back from its love affair with the holidays, just in time for the Next Stage Theatre Festival! We’re going to be all over that this week, but there’s still plenty of non-festival fare to cut your teeth on this week. Our most anticipated picks are provided in red text as usual under the cut:
Already Reviewed by Mooney on Theatre:
** Click-bait and Switch The Second City presents its Fall MainStage Revue featuring sketches, songs and improv. Indefinite run, Tue-Thu 8 pm, Fri-Sun 7:30 pm, late shows Fri-Sat 10:30 pm. $16-$35. Show Info.
** Kinky Boots by Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper (Mirvish). A man inherits a shoe company and teams up with a drag queen in this musical based on the 2005 film. Previews from Jun 16, opens Jun 28 and runs to Mar 6, 2016 (extended from Dec 20), Tue-Sat 8 pm, see website for other times. $35-$130. Show Info.
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Mirvish presents the Tony-award winning Broadway musical based on the fairy tale. Dec 1-Jan 10, see website for times. $35-$200. Show Info.
Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (LOT). Judas makes a choice between Jesus and the Roman rulers in this musical. Opens Dec 3 and runs to Jan 17 (extended from Dec 27), Thu-Sat 7:30 pm , mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm (no shows Dec 24-26, Dec 31, Jan 1). Show Info.
Fancy Nancy: The Musical by Susan DiLallo and Danny Abosch (Lower Ossington Theatre). Stage adaptation for families of the picture book Fancy Nancy And The Mermaid Ballet by author Jane O’Connor. Opens Nov 7 and runs to Jan 31, Sat 11 am, Sun 11 am & 1 pm. $25-$45, family packs $84-$124. Show Info.
** The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe (Cameron Mackintosh). Super-sized staging of the iconic musical about love and obsession in 19th century Paris. Opens Dec 8 and runs to Jan 23, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 6:30 pm, mat Sat 2 pm, Sun 1 pm (see website for holiday schedule). $59-$210. Show Info.
And the Rest:
** Spy School!: Mission Ridiculous. Written by Danny Wengle, Ken MacDougall, Brian Caws & the Cast, presented by Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre. James Bond and other secret agents go back to school in this interactive dinner-theatre show. Runs to Mar 26, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm (dinner from 6:30 pm), see website for other matinees & shows (no shows Dec 25-26). $45-$87. Show Info.
Avenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty (Lower Ossington Theatre). A college grad moves to NYC and copes with grown-up problems in this adult musical puppet play. Nov 12-Jan 10, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm. $50-$60. Show Info.
Love Me Forever, Billy H. Tender by Jesse LaVercombe (Videofag). LaVercombe plays three members of the Tender family in this lyrical, near-future drama. Jan 5-12, daily at 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $15, stu/srs $10. Show Info.
** From Judy to Bette: The Stars of Old Hollywood. (Rebecca Perry Productions/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Rebecca Perry and Quinton Naughton perform a show about trailblazing ingenues in the golden age of cinema. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $10, passes $48-$90. Antechamber. Show Info.
** Agamemnon by Nicolas Billon (Theatreworks Productions/The Agamemnon Collective/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Clytemnestra waits for Agamemnon with murder in her heart in this contemporized re-imagining of the opening chapter of Aeschylus’ Oresteia. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Mainspace. Show Info.
** A Man Walks into A Bar by Rachel Blair (Circle Circle/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This meta-theatrical two-hander skewers the dialogue surrounding men, women and feminism. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Studio. Show Info.
** Mockingbird by Rob Kempson (timeshare/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Rumours of a teacher-student relationship intensify when a teacher is removed from the school. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Mainspace. Show Info.
Stuck! by Natasha Boomer (Take Your Mark Productions/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Audience selection of location drives an exploration of characters and relationships under the duress of being stuck. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $10, passes $48-$90. Antechamber. Show Info.
Three Men in a Boat by Mark Brownell (Theatreworks Productions/The Agamemnon Collective/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Three intrepid bachelors and their dog spend a disastrous weekend on the River Thames. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Show Info.
Heart of Steel: A Steel Plant Musical Comedy by Wesley J Colford (Aim for the Tangent Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Cape Breton women crank out steel during WWII in this musical featuring East Coast folk and 40s boogie woogie. Opens Jan 7 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Mainspace. Show Info.
Blood Wild by Paul Van Dyck (Rabbit in a Hat Productions/Next Stage Theatre Festival). The leader of a gang of bandits goes missing – along with the cash from the robbery – in this Wild West play. Opens Jan 7 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Studio. Show Info.
** All Our Yesterdays by Chloe Hung (AnOther Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Two sisters kidnapped by Boko Haram journey through memory of their captivity and other struggles. Opens Jan 7 and runs to Jan 17, see website for schedule. $15, passes $48-$90. Studio. Show Info.
The Gay Heritage Project by Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn and Andrew Kushnir (BIBT). Theatrical exploration of the playwrights’ connections to queer people and events in the past. Previews Jan 6, opens Jan 7 and runs to Jan 31, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $27-$37, preview $20, Sun pwyc. Show Info.
Within the Glass by Anna Chatterton (Tarragon Theatre). Two very different couples meet after a critical mistake at a fertility clinic. Previews from Jan 6, opens Jan 13 and runs to Feb 14, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2:30 pm (see website for Wed & Sat mats). $28-$60, rush $15. In the MainSpace. Show Info.
** Byhalia, Mississippi by Evan Linder (Cue6 Theatre). An extra-marital affair and the birth of a mixed-race child sparks turmoil in a small Southern town. Previews Jan 7, opens Jan 8 and runs to Jan 17. $22-$35, preview $15-$20, opening night $50. Show Info.
** Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp (Unit 102 Actors Company). Things take a dark turn when a depressed playwright returns to NYC from his holiday in Amsterdam. Opens Jan 8 and runs to January 23, Tue-Sat 8 pm. $25, Tue pwyc.
Peter Pan (DuffleBag Theatre). Family show about the boy who wouldn’t grow up. Jan 9-10 at 11 am & 2 pm. $16. Show Info.
Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings