Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of May 20th, 2019.
MoT is here with fabulous suggestions for the theatre-goer in you! Spring has finally arrived, and so has Toronto’s busiest theatre season. Take a look at our list below and we guarantee you’ll find your next theatrical obsession! Our editor Samantha is on hand with her top picks in red.
Already Reviewed by MoT:
Welcome To My Underworld. Young Centre for the Performing Arts. (Soulpepper/Rare Theatre Company). Short works written and performed by new Canadian dramatists, including Bilal Baig, Maddie Bautista, Grace Campbell, Samson Brown, Ellen Ringler and others. Previews May 8, opens May 9 and runs to May 25, see website for schedule. $25-$40.
Lilies; Or, The Revival Of A Romantic Drama. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. by Michel Marc Bouchard (lemonTree creations/Why Not Theatre/BIBT). Two schoolboys fall in love performing a play about Saint Sebastian in 1912 in this look at love, lies and colonialism. Previews from May 4, opens May 9 and runs to May 26, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $20-$40, some pwyc available.
I Swallowed A Moon Made of Iron. Berkeley Street Theatre. by Njo Kong Kie (Music Picnic/Point View Art/Canadian Stage). Song cycle about life on an assembly line in an electronics factory, based on the poetry of Xu Lizhi. Opens May 16 and runs to May 26, Tue-Thu & Sat 8 pm, Fri 7 pm, mat Wed 1 pm, Sun 2 pm. $29-$59.
Shanawdithit. The Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre. Tapestry Opera and Opera on the Avalon present a new opera by Dean Burry and Yvette Nolan. Shanawdithit retraces a story seldom told of the title character who, at the time of her death, was thought to be the last known member of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Beothuk Nation. Opens May 16 at 8 pm, and runs to May 25: May 21-23 and 25 at 8 pm, mat May 18 at 4 pm. $75-$99, opening night $150.
And Everything Else:
Paprika Theatre Festival. Aki Studios. Paprika Festival and Native Earth Performing Arts present the 18th edition of the annual youth-led performing arts festival. Following a year of professional theatre training and mentorship programs, Paprika Festival showcases creations from the next generation for one full week in Aki Studio. May 20-26, see website for schedule and more details. Pwyc $5-$20, pay-it-forward tickets $7, Indigenous Arts Program & Playwrights Unit readings free.
1991. Theatre Centre. by Cole Lewis (Guilty by Association/Why Not Theatre RISER Project). Reports of a serial killer in her town lead a 12-year-old to seek safety with her boozy dad in this drama. Previews May 22, opens May 23 and runs to Jun 1, see website for times. Pwyc $12-$60.
Against Nature. The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance. Citadel + Compagnie presents a music/dance/theatre pieces by James Kudelka, featuring original music by James Rolfe, libretto by Alex Poch-Goldin and inspired by a book of the same name by author Joris-Karl Huysmans. Opens May 22 and runs to Jun 1, Wed-Sat 8 pm. $20-$25, at eventbrite.ca
Flowchart. Dancemakers. Dancemakers presents an evening of short works by Kate Nankervis/Ann Trépanier and Jon McCurley. May 22 & 23 at 8 pm. $20, stu/srs/arts workers $15.
Marienbad. Winchester Street Theatre. Toronto Dance Theatre presents a work created and performed by Christopher House and Jordan Tannahill about two queer men in a landscape of shifting meanings and intentions. May 23-June 1,Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20-$30.
Outside Looking In: Indigenous Youth Dance Show. Come and support Indigenous youth as they showcase dances they have been working hard to master since the fall. For our 2019 performance, we will have 150 youth onstage from 13 communities, representing four provinces and oneterritory from across Canada. May 23 at 11 am and 7 pm. $5-$25.
Newsies. Theatre Passe Muraille. Mainstage Theatre Company presents the musical by Alan Menken, Jack Feldman and Harvey Fierstein. The musical tells the story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what’s right. May 23-26, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 1:30 pm. $35, stu $20.
The Silent Goodbye. The Common. High Society Cabaret presents a jazz & burlesque revue inspired by the film noir genre. May 23-25 at 8 pm. $35-$45.
PlayMe Past: Montgomery’s Inn. Montgomery’s Inn. by Rose Napoli, Marjorie Chan and Andrew Moodie (Expect Theatre/PlayME Podcast). This live radio drama features three short plays about three distinct historical periods at the Inn. The plays will be recorded live at Montgomery’s with the help of the audience creating sound effects. May 3, 10 and 24 at 7 pm. Free.
Light Years. Fleck Dance Theatre. Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents a cutting-edge program of five contemporary dance works. May 24-25 at 8 pm. $38, stu/srs $22.50.
Princess Meera Dancing. Robert Gill Theatre. Janak Khendry Dance Company presents a new creation as well as 2006 piece Chandrakauns. A celebrated saint, mistreated by her in-laws, sang devotional songs to Lord Krishna for solace. Seven of these songs will be the basis of this extraordinary new dance creation. May 24-25 at 8 pm. $32, stu/srs $22.
The Fairy Doll. Bluma Appel Theatre. Stepanova Ballet Academy presents the production that premiered at the Vienna Court Opera on the 4th October 1888, composed by Josef Bayer. May 25 at 7 pm. $40-$55.
11:11. Theatre Centre. AVO Collective and Why Not Theatre present a show by Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, part of the RISER Project. This solo show explores the other side of fear through the eyes of a young, Black transman struggling to obey the ancestral messages saturating his dreams. Previews May 26, opens May 27 and runs to Jun 1, Sun-Mon 7 pm, Tue, Thu & Sat 6 pm, Wed & Fri 9 pm. Pwyc $12-$60.
Pivotal Moments — Relaxed Show. Al Green Theatre. PushPULL Dance Toronto presents a Relaxed Performance of Pivotal Moments, in addition to our full show. The Relaxed Performance will offer 10 dance numbers in a sensory-friendly, relaxed environment that we hope will be comfortable for neuro-diverse folks on the autism spectrum, people with sensory processing differences, or anyone who would like to see the show in an open and accepting setting. May 26 at 1 pm. Pwyc, with a suggested donation of $10. This show will be interpreted in ASL. The Al Green Theatre is a fully accessible space.
To Kill A Mockingbird. Fairview Library. Stage Centre Productions presents Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about honour and injustice in the deep South and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred. Opens May 16 and runs to May 25, see website for days and times. $25-$30.
August: Osage County. Young Centre for the Performing Arts. by Tracy Letts (Soulpepper Theatre). A family must confront its secrets when its alcoholic patriarch disappears in this darkly comic drama. Previews from May 18, opens May 24 and runs to Jun 19, see website for schedule. $35 & up.
Prophecy Fog. Theatre Centre. Paper Canoe Projects, Nightswimming & Theatre Centre present a show created and performed by Jani Lauzon. A girl in the mountains of BC searches for a sacred site. Previews from May 14, opens May 16 and runs to May 26, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $30, stu/elder/srs/arts workers $22, preview $17.
Listings Primarily Based on NOW! Stage Listings