Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of December 9, 2019
Winter is not my season. It is starting to get cold and windy outside, and my hibernation instincts are kicking into high gear. All I want to do is make a blanket fort with my kids and snuggle in until spring! So when I do leave my house, I want to go somewhere warm. And my favourite warm place to go is the theatre.
Lucky for me there is just so much going on this holiday season that it’s easy to get out to see a great show. There are so many family-friendly options that I can bring the whole family along with me if I wish, or just plan for a great date night out! Check out my own ‘reds‘ below for the shows that have caught my attention and tempt me to get out of the blanket fort and into the snowy air.
Latest Ross Petty show tackles Robin Hood and education, now on stage in Toronto
After laughing through Lil’ Red Robin Hood as a family, we had tons to talk about on the way home. It’s a show that’s fun to relive, whether it’s going back to the catchy songs or asking about jokes we didn’t all get. While last year’s Ross Petty show, The Wizard of Oz, played at the Elgin Theatre like the 20 odd shows before it, this year’s Lil’ Red Robin Hood has moved upstairs to the Winter Garden Theatre. The upper venue, with the leaves hanging from the ceiling, is conveniently compatible with the “Sherway Gardens Forest” of Robin Hood.
Unique adaptation of A Christmas Carol makes use of immersive environment at Campbell House
Most people who have grown up in our yuletide-obsessed culture know the story of A Christmas Carol, but as a Jewish chorister weary of performing in nonstop Christmas concerts every December, I’ve largely steered clear of it. My interest was piqued, however, by The Three Ships Collective/Soup Can Theatre’s promise of an immersive version that explores Toronto’s lovely, period-appropriate Campbell House.
As it turns out, Justin Haigh’s adaptation of Dickens’ classic, which leans more heavily on its human relationships and less on its religious aspects, helps to prove why the piece and its moral message are so enduring. Christmas or not, who hasn’t dreamed that the rich and powerful might suddenly see their way toward upholding their share of the social contract?
Peter Pan is a “musical, high-energy, fast-paced romp” now playing in Toronto
Latest Ross Petty show tackles Robin Hood and education, now on stage in Toronto
Play tackles the precarity and uncertainty of life and love in Gaza
Unique adaptation of A Christmas Carol makes use of immersive environment at Campbell House