Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of March 7th, 2016
This week we’ve got festivals and a good number of puppets, works by Chekov and some beloved musicals returning for a limited time! Managing Editor Wayne has kindly highlighted his picks for the week in red under the cut, so check them out!
Already Reviewed by Mooney on Theatre:
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.
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 May 15th, 2016 (extended from Dec 20), Tue-Sat 8 pm, see website for other times. $35-$130. Show Info.
Mustard by Kat Sandler (Tarragon Theatre). A teen deals with her drinking mother and an imaginary friend who lives under her bed in this darkly comic fairy tale. Previews from Feb 2, opens Feb 10 and runs to Mar 13, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2:30 pm (see website for Wed & Sat mats). $28-$60, rush $15. ExtraSpace. Show Info.
Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (LOT). A stowaway and a nightclub singer get in trouble aboard an ocean liner in this musical. Opens Feb 11 and runs to Mar 20, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm. $50-$60. Show Info.
Fancy Nancy: The Musical by Susan DiLallo and Danny Abosch (LOT). Stage adaptation for families of the picture book Fancy Nancy And The Mermaid Ballet by Jane O’Connor. Feb 13 to May 1, Sat 11 am, Sun 11 am & 1 pm. $25-$45. Show Info.
Salt-Water Moon by David French (Factory Theatre). A young man returns home to woo a former sweetheart who has moved on in 1926 Newfoundland. Previews Feb 23-25, opens Feb 26 and runs to Mar 13, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $35, preview $25. Show Info.
And the Rest:
Great Balls of Fire. Famous People Players presents a black light dinner theatre show featuring iconic rock n’ roll anthems. Opens Jan 15 and runs to May 31, see website for times. $40-$65 (includes lunch/dinner). Show Info.
Anne Boleyn by Howard Brenton (East Side Players). Henry VIII’s second wife takes on the vicious world of Tudor Court politics. Opens Feb 25 and runs to Mar 12, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $24, stu $17. Show Info.
Foxfinder by Dawn King (Village Players). Personal tragedy, social paranoia and scapegoating are themes of this dystopian drama. Opens Feb 26 and runs to Mar 19, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Mar 6 & 13 at 2 pm. $22, stu/srs $18. Show Info.
Munsch Mash adapted by Michelle Gram and Bill Martyn (SSCT). Robert Munsch stories performed as one play for ages 3 and up. To Mar 20, Sat-Sun 11 am & 2 pm (and March Break: Mar 14-18 at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm). $16. Show Info.
Port Authority by Conor McPherson (Fly on the Wall Theatre). This portrait of three generations of Irish men portrays interwoven stories of love and missed opportunities. Previews Mar 1, opens Mar 2 and runs to Mar 13, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $25, Sun $20, preview $15. Show Info.
Blood Wedding. Soulpepper Theatre presents the play by Federico García Lorca, translated by Guillermo Verdecchia. A young couple’s engagement rekindles buried passions and threatens a deep-seated blood feud in a small rural town. Mar 2-Apr 9, see website for details. Show Info.
Pyaasa by Anusree Roy (TPM). The playwright performs her solo show about an 11-year old untouchable girl dealing with India’s discriminatory caste system. Previews Mar 3-6, opens Mar 7 and runs to Mar 27, see website for schedule. $17-$38, mat pwyc at the door. In the TPM Backspace. Show Info.
Jitters by David French (Soulpepper Theatre). This play-within-a-play looks at the comedic catastrophes of opening night. Mar 2-Apr 6, see website for details. Show Info.
Chelsea Moor Castle (Or, The Contract to Marry) by Arthur Sullivan, Barb Scheffler and Michael Harms (North Toronto Players). This original show based on music from Gilbert & Sullivan operettas takes place in an English manor house and includes a mysterious curse, ghosts, a plotting butler and more. Opens Mar 4 and runs to Mar 13, Mar 4, 11 and 12 at 8 pm, Mar 5 gala show at 7 pm, mats Mar 6, 12 and 13 at 2 pm. $25, srs $22, stu $15; add $10 for Mar 5 gala. Kids under 14 free for all performances. Show Info.
The Just. Soulpepper presents the play by Albert Camus in a new translation by Bobby Theodore. Terror stalks the Russian elite in this play based on the true story of the assassination of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in 1905. Mar 5-26, see website for details. Show Info.
Gertrude and Alice by evalyn parry and Anna Chatterton and the collective (Independent Aunties/BIBT). This theatrical show looks at the lives, love and legacy of queer icons Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Mar 5-27. Previews Mar 5-9, opens Mar 10 and runs to Mar 27, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $20-$37, Sun pwyc at the door. Show Info.
Richard III by William Shakespeare (Wolf Manor Theatre Collective). Staging of the Bard’s classic story of family, power, love and revenge. Opens Mar 2 and runs to Mar 13, Wed-Fri 8 pm (and Mar 12 & 13), mat Sun 2 pm (and Mar 5). $22. In the Workspace. Show Info.
Goodnight Moon by Chad Henry (YPT). Musical adapted from the children’s picture book by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. Ages 4 & up. Opens Feb 29 and runs to Mar 19, see website for schedule. $10-$34. Show Info.
A Line in the Sand by Guillermo Verdecchia and Marcus Youssef (Factory Theatre). An unlikely friendship between a Canadian soldier and a Palestinian teen takes a tragic turn. Previews Mar 8-10, opens Mar 11 and runs to Mar 27, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $35. Studio. Show Info.
Oughtism.The Watah Theatre presents a play by Raven Dauda as part of the Audre Lorde Works-In-Progress Festival Part 2. A nonverbal autistic savant falls in love in this play about perceptions of autism and otherness. Opens Mar 8 and runs to Mar 13, Tue-Sat 7 pm, Sun 2 pm. $15-$20. Show Info.
Les Monologues du Vagin by Eve Ensler (Scuderia Productions). Presentation the monologue play in French with English subtitles. Mar 8-9 at 7:30 pm. $20-$25 (partial proceeds to Oasis Centre). Show Info.
The Vagina Monologues. Sandgate Women’s Shelter of York Region presents a benefit performance of Eve Ensler’s monologue show as part of International Women’s Day. Mar 8 at 8 pm. $30, stu $25. Show Info.
You Will Remember Me by François Archambault (Tarragon Theatre/Studio 180 Theatre). A professor and respected intellectual/political figure struggles with dementia. Previews from Mar 1, opens Mar 9 and runs to Apr 10, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2:30 pm (and Saturdays: Mar 12, 19 & 26 at 2:30 pm). $28-$60, srs $45-$49, stu $29, rush $15. MainSpace. Show Info.
New Ideas Festival. Alumnae Theatre presents its annual showcase of new writing, works-in-progress and experimental theatre featuring works by Deanna Kruger, Caitie Graham, Anne Tait, Ramona Baillie, Stacey Iseman, Linda McCready, Carolyn Bennett and others. Opens Mar 9 and runs to Mar 27, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $15, Sat readings at noon pwyc. Show Info.
Sanctuary by Emil Sher (Magalie Rouillard-Bazinet). A woman who goes to the park to be alone meets a man who has come to sketch the scenery in this play about depression and recovery. Opens Mar 9 and runs to Mar 12, Wed-Fri 7 pm, Sat 5:30 and 8 pm. $20. Show Info.
A Man Vanishes by Greg MacArthur (Videofag). A Montreal man disappears, surfaces in Toronto with no recollection of his life and moves in with an artist couple, then disappears again a month later. Feb 10-20, see website for schedule. $25, stu $20. Show Info.
The Best Plan for Living Happily by Julia Lederer (QuestionMark-Exclamation Theatre/Birdtown and Swanville). A woman deals with an existential crisis in the wake of her best friend’s wedding. Apr 5-24, details TBA. Show Info.
The Devil Inside by Louise Welsh and Stuart MacRae (Tapestry Opera/Scottish Opera & Music Theatre Wales). A tale of greed and compulsion inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story The Bottle Imp. Mar 10-13, Thu & Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm. $29-$105. Show Info.
Still by Jen Silverman (Binocular Theatre). A professor, her midwife, a dominatrix and a baby must confront their fears, desires and each other before time runs out. Opens Mar 4 and runs to Mar 13, Thu-Sun 8 pm, mat Mar 12 at 2 pm. $20. Show Info.
The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui. The Arts, Culture and Media Department of the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) presents the play by Bertolt Brecht. A 1930s Chicago gangster ruthlessly disposes of his opposition in this darkly comic satire of Hitler’s rise to power. Opens Mar 10 and runs to Mar 19, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $10, stu/srs $8. In the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre. Show Info.
Rent: the Musical by Jonathan Larson (Victoria College Drama Society). NYC artists struggle to survive and create in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic. Mar 10-12 at 8 pm. $15, stu/srs $10. Show Info.
The Underneath The Above Show No. 1 (Bread & Puppet Theatre). This adult puppet show is inspired by the ongoing U.S. presidential election campaign. Mar 10-12, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $20, stu/srs $10. Presented by The Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies and the Jackman Humanities Institute at the University of Toronto. Show Info.
In Search of Cruise Control by James Gangl (Gangland Productions). Gangle performs his solo comedy show about giving his teenage nephew a sex talk and coming to terms with his own sexual miseducation. Opens Mar 10 and runs to Mar 26, Thu-Fri 9 pm (except Mar 25 at 8 pm), Sat 8 pm. $15, stu $12. 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. Mar 10-Apr 3, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm. $50-$60. Show Info.
Cyrk du Solo. Red Sandcastle Theatre presents a family-friendly variety show with puppets, magic, music and more. Mar 12-19, details TBA. Show Info.
The Public Servant by Jennifer Brewin, Haley McGee, Sarah McVie and Amy Rutherford (Nightwood Theatre/Common Boots Theatre). An idealistic young civil servant prepares to write her first official memo. Previews Mar 13 and 15, opens Mar 16 and runs to Apr 3, see website for schedule. $18-$35. Show Info.
Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings