Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of October 24th.
Are you a fan of Shakespeare? There are a variety of Shakespeare-written plays on Toronto stages this week. As befits the season, there’s also a huge selection of Halloween-themed events happening this week. Our assistant editor Jess is here to choose a few shows that caught her eye in red text. Check them out below the cut:
Already Reviewed by Mooney on Theatre:
Spirit Horse by Drew Hayden Taylor (Roseneath Theatre/Young People’s Theatre). This play about two First Nations children who’s lives are changed by a special gift is based on Greg Banks’s Tir Na N’Og. Oct 18-28, see website for schedule. $10-$34. At Young People’s Theatre. Show Info.
Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (Canadian Opera Company). A secret love affair brings two enemies together in a time of war in this bel canto opera. Opens Oct 6 and runs to Nov 5, see website for times. $35-$350. At the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.
The (Post) Mistress. Théâtre Français de Toronto and Pleiades Theatre present a play by Tomson Highway, known in French as Zesty Gopher s’est fait écraser par un frigo. A postal worker shares her small town’s gossip and secrets in this solo musical comedy. Performances in English, French and Cree with surtitles (see website for details). Previews from Oct 12, opens Oct 14 and runs to Nov 6, Wed-Fri 8 pm (additional show Tue Oct 25, no show Wed Oct 26); mat Sat 3:30 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $19-$49. At Berkeley Street Theatre. Show Info.
The Watershed by Annabel Soutar (Crow’s Theatre/Porte Parole/La Coop Fédérée). This play follows an artist and a nation struggling to chart a sustainable course between economic growth and environmental stewardship. Previews from Sep 20, opens Sep 28 and runs to Oct 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm (see website for other matinee dates and times). $22-$65. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.
The Numbers Game by The Pulp Collective (The Pulp Collective/Storefront). This six-part serial looks at the gang and race war that tore through Harlem after prohibition ended and organized crime turned from booze to gambling. Opens Sep 29 and runs to Nov 6, see website for schedule. $20 per episode, $35 for two episodes. At The Storefront Theatre. Show Info.
Frolick in the Face of Certain Death. Frolick presents an interactive theatre experiential tour of their haunted “wherehouse” featuring clowns, dancers, swashbuckling pirates, art puppets and more. Opens Oct 8 and runs to Nov 5, Wed-Sun 6-10 pm (no shows Oct 9 or Oct 21). $30, stu/arts worker $15. At Frolick Studio Theatre. Show Info.
All But Gone. (Necessary Angel/Canadian Stage). Contemporary musical exploration of the absurd and evocative imagery of Samuel Beckett through a selection of his short plays. Oct 11-Nov 6. Previews Oct 11-12, opens Oct 13 and runs to Nov 6, Tue-Thu & Sat 8 pm, Fri 7 pm, mat Wed, Sat-Sun 1 pm. $39-$69. At Berkeley Street Theatre. Show Info.
Mouthpiece / Quiver. Nightwood Theatre (with Quote Unquote Collective) present a double bill. Mouthpiece by Norah Sadava & Amy Nostbakken/by Anna Chatterton (Nightwood Theatre/Quote Unquote Collective). A woman tries to find her voice after her mother’s death. Quiver by Anna Chatterton (Nightwood Theatre). A single mother and a teenage daughter collide when a love interest comes between them. Opens Oct 21 and runs to Nov 6, plays run in rep, Tue-Sat 7 & 8:30 pm, Sun 2 & 3:30 pm. $20-$35. At Buddies in Bad Times. Show Info.
Ariodante by George Frideric Handel (Canadian Opera Company). The three-act opera about of love, honour and deception is performed in Italian w/ English surtitles. Opens Oct 16 and runs to Nov 4, see website for times. $35-$350. At the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley (Toronto Irish Players). Longtime farm neighbours struggle with fading youth, unrequited love, a land feud and facing their fears. Previews Oct 20, opens Oct 21 and runs to Nov 5, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $25, stu/srs $22; opening night reception $50; preview pwyc ($10 minimum). At Alumnae Theatre. Show Info.
And the rest:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Kindling Collective) This production will not only contain the powerful words of Miller, it will also include portions of text from Maryse Conde’s I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, allowing the historical character of Tituba to tell her story and give her perspective on the events of the Salem Witch Trials. Oct. 28-30 at 7:30PM. Students and seniors $15, regular $20. At The Attic Arts Hub. Show Info.
Night of Dread. Clay & Paper Theatre present the 17th annual Halloween spectacle of pageantry, revels and mockery. Parade assembly from 4-6 pm, followed by a parade featuring puppets, fire spinners, marching bands and more, 6-7 pm, followed by more musical and theatrical revelry. Dress code: Black & White & Dreadful. Oct 29 from 4-10 pm. PWYC ($10 suggested). At Dufferin Grove Park. Show Info.
Acquiesce by David Yee (Factory Theatre/fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre). A young man goes to Hong Kong for the first time to bury the father he barely knew. Previews from Oct 29, opens Nov 3 and runs to Nov 27, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $25-$55, previews $2-$15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Lennon Through A Glass Onion by John Waters (Strut Entertainment). Part-concert, part-biography two-hander (starring Daniel Taylor and Stewart D’Arrietta) that showcases the music and mythology of Lennon and Lennon/McCartney. Oct 28-29 at 8 pm. $39.50-$49.50. At Isabel Bader Theatre. Show Info.
Piya Behrupiya (Twelfth Night) by William Shakespeare (Soulpepper Theatre/Why Not Theatre). High-energy, musical adaptation of the Bard’s comedy, Twelfth Night. Oct 27-29, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $25-$60, rush $5-$25. At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (Seven Siblings Theatre). The story of betrayal, lust, revenge and honour is staged with full-sized puppets and actors. Previews Oct 27, opens Oct 28 and runs to Nov 6, Wed-Sun 8 pm, mat Nov 5 at 2 pm. $20-$25, preview $10. At The Citadel. Show Info.
Séance of the Century. Outside the March theatre company presents a costume party fundraiser for its upcoming productions, hosted in a former funeral home and featuring storytelling, a fortune teller, silent auction, food and drink and communing with the spirits (black attire recommended). Oct 27 from 7:30-11:30 pm. Tickets $90, under 30/arts worker $30. At The Aorta. Show Info.
Disenchanted! by Dennis Giacino (Starvox Entertainment). Snow White, Cinderella and other storybook princesses go rogue and reveal what they really think about how they’ve been portrayed in this musical. Opens Oct 20 and runs to Nov 5, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm. $22.45-$69.95. At Randolph Theatre. Show Info.
Bonds Beyond by Colleen Osborn (Glass Reflections Theatre Collective). In a future dystopian society, people trade worrying and grieving over death for a chance at a beta version of a digital afterlife in this play about technology, love, family and death. Oct 27-29, Thu (preview), Fri & Sat 7:30 pm. $15. At Array Space. Show Info.
All Kidding Aside by Christel Bartelse. A woman explores her thoughts on fertility, pregnancy and motherhood in this solo show. Oct 27-28, Thu 7:30 pm, Fri 9 pm. $15 (in double bill w/ Love With Leila $25). At the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Show Info.
The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy by Eric Woolfe (Eldritch Theatre). This horror play tells the tale of a grifter, unholy larceny and Klondike gold using puppets, con games and dark parlour magic. Opens Oct 27 and runs to Nov 13, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 3 pm. $25 advance, $35 at the door. At The Red Sandcastle Theatre. Show Info.
Like Mother, Like Daughter. Koffler Centre of the Arts/Why Not Theatre/Complicite). At each performance, four different pairs of real-life mothers and daughters (no professional actors) engage in a game of answering questions randomly chosen by the host from a big stack of cards on stage, followed by talkback session and community meal. Opens Oct 26 and runs to Oct 30, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $20 stu/srs $15. At 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture & the Arts. Show Info.
Joyful Noise by Tim Slover (East Side Players). After his last opera flopped and preachers called it blasphemous, composer George Frideric Handel hopes his oratorio “The Messiah” can save him from the disapproval of King George II and the church. Opens Oct 21 and runs to Nov 5, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $24, stu $17. At Papermill Theatre. Show Info.
Love You to Death – A Murder Mystery Cabaret. A handsome millionaire is murdered and all of his lovers are suspects in this musical whodunit. Previews Oct 26, opens Oct 27 and runs to Oct 30, Wed-Sun 7 pm, mat Sat 2:30 pm. $22, preview $17. At Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Show Info.
Bloodclaat. The Watah Theatre celebrates the 10th anniversary of the play by d’bi.young anitafrika, part one of The Sankofa Trilogy. A reimagined, site-specific production of the solo play about a young girl coming of age through menstrual rights of passage and her survival through childhood sexual assault. Opens Oct 26 and runs to Nov 20, Wed-Sat 7 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $30, Wed. PWYC. At the Watah Theatre. Show Info.
King Lear by William Shakespeare (Mortar & Pestle Productions). The old king gradually descends into madness after foolishly dividing his kingdom based on flattery. Opens Oct 25 and runs to Oct 29, Tue-Fri 8 pm, Sat 5 pm. $15. At Gerrard Art Space. Show Info.
Porgi, Amor: The Operatic Music of Mozart. (COC) Artists from U of T Opera present a compilation of scenes from works by WA Mozart. Oct 25 at noon. Free. Part of the Free Concerts Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.
Breathing Corpses by Laura Wade (Coal Mine Theatre). Encountering death in life, and feeling dead while still alive, Amy has found another dead body in a hotel bedroom. Previews from Oct 23, opens Oct 26 and runs to Nov 13, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. Tickets $35, previews $25. At the Coalmine Theatre. Show Info.
Toronto, Mississippi by Joan MacLeod (Panfish Productions). The lives of a teen, her mother and their tenant are disrupted when the teen’s Elvis-impersonator father comes to visit. Opens Oct 20 and runs to Nov 6, Mon and Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $25, stu/srs $20, Mon PWYC. At The Box Toronto. Show Info.
Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell (Opera Atelier). Tragic opera based on Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid. Oct 20-29, see website for times. $39-$184. At Elgin Theatre. Show Info.
Faith by Ben Heyward (Theatre by Committee). This play looks at a teenager and her complicated relationships with God, her father and the minister at the church she no longer attends. Opens Oct 19 and runs to Oct 30, Wed-Sun 8 pm. $15 advance, $20 at the door. At St. Luke’s United Church. Show Info.
The Circle by Geoffrey Simon Brown (Tarragon). A high school party features a drug dealer, a runaway, a kid with ADHD, and the son of a priest. Oct 18-Nov 27. Previews from Oct 18, opens Oct 26 and runs to Nov 27, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm (see website for other matinee dates and times). $22-$65. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.
Legends of Horror. Host Dracula leads an immersive theatrical 1.5 km indoor/outdoor walk through the bowels of the historic castle to encounter classic horror figures. Opens Sep 30 and runs to Oct 31, daily every half hour from 7 pm-midnight. $40-$45. Children 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult. At Casa Loma. Show Info.
Mary Poppins by Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman and Julian Fellowes (LOT). This musical is based on the PL Travers book and the 1964 film. Opens Oct 1 and runs to Nov 20, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm. $55-$65. At Lower Ossington Theatre. Show Info.
Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings.