Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of January 28th, 2019.
MoT is here with fabulous suggestions for the theatre-goer in you! The cold weather has finally hit us, so stay warm (and entertained) by enjoying some of the best theatre Toronto has to offer. Assistant editor, Katee has included her top picks in red.
Already Reviewed by MoT:
This Shape, We Are In. Winchester Street Theatre. Toronto Dance Theatre presents an evening length version of the work by Brooklyn choreographer Jeanine Durning. Opens Jan 24 and runs to Feb 2, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $15-$30. Show Info.
Rose: A New Musical. Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Soulpepper Theatre presents a new musical by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson. A quiet kid who sees the world a little differently embarks on an adventure to discover her place in the world. Previews from Jan 17, opens Jan 23 and runs to Feb 24, see website for schedule. $35 & up. Show Info.
Top Girls. Alumnae Theatre. by Caryl Churchill (Alumnae Theatre). A career woman interacts with notorious women from history at a dinner party. Opens Jan 18 and runs to Feb 2, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2 pm (and Feb 2). $25, Wed 2-for-1, mat pwyc. Show Info.
And Everything Else:
Moonlight and Magnolias. Village Playhouse. Village Players present a play by Ron Hutchinson about 1930s Hollywood. Famed producer David O. Selznick, director Victor Fleming and writer Ben Hecht have 5 days to write the screenplay for Gone With The Wind – and Hecht hasn’t read it. Opens Jan 11 and runs to Feb 2, Thu-Sat 8 pm (and Jan 16), mat Jan 20 & 27 at 2 pm. $24, under 30/srs $20. Show Info.
Hook Up. Theatre Passe Muraille. Tapestry Opera (in partnership with Theatre Passe Muraille) presents a new work by Chris Thornborrow and Julie Tepperman. Three friends hit university in this new opera that raises questions of consent, shame and power in the lives of young adults navigating uncharted waters on their own. Previews Jan 29, opens Jan 30 and runs to Feb 9, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Feb 3 and 9 at 2 pm. $25-$55. Show Info
The Tashme Project: The Living Archives. Factory Theatre. Factory Theatre presents a play created and performed by Julie Tamiko Manning & Matt Miwa. Created from extensive interviews with over 30 Nisei (second generation Japanese Canadians) who were children during World War II and subjected to Canada’s strict internment laws, The Tashme Project: The Living Archives traces their childhood, confinement, and post-WWII resettlement east of the Rockies. Opens Jan 29 and runs to Feb 10, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20-$50. Show Info
From Treblinka to Auschwitz: A Dialogue Between Witnesses. Alliance Française. On Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, in collaboration with the International Primo Levi Studies Center and theStudy Center Vasilij Grossman, presents a theatrical reading of extracts from Auschwitz Testimonies by Primo Levi & Leonardo De Benedetti and The Hell Of Treblinka, by Russian writer/journalist Vasily Grossman. Performed by actors Michael Miranda & Martin Julien. Jan 29 at 6:30 pm. Free. Show Info
Canadian Rajah. Campbell House Museum. by David Carley (Canadian Rajah Collective). True story of Esca Brooke, heir of White Rajah of Sarawak (now Malaysia), who was exiled to Canada in 1864. Opens Jan 30 and runs to Feb 17, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $30. Show Info.
Progress: International Festival of Performance and Ideas. Theatre Centre. SummerWorks and the Theatre Centre present progressive and transgressive performances, workshops and conversations from around the globe. This year’s collaborating companies are FADO Performance Art Centre, F-O-R-M, Native Earth Performing Arts, SummerWorks, The Power Plant, the red light district, The Theatre Centre, Uma Nota Culture and Why Not Theatre. Jan 30-Feb 17, see website for details. Single tickets $25, three-show pass $60. Show Info
SKOW. The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance. Citadel + Compagnie present a new show choreographed by William Yong / Zata Omm Dance Projects. SKOW is an acronym derived from ‘Some Kinds Of Wonder’. This choreographic work is inspired by those things in dancer Johanna Bergfeldt‘s life that define a sense of wonderment and fascination. Jan 30-Feb 2 at 8 pm. $20-$25. Show Info.
Mary’s Wedding. Streetcar Crowsnest. by Stephen Massicotte (Solo Productions). A Canadian love story set against the backdrop of the Great War. Previews from Jan 31, opens Feb 1 and runs to Feb 16, Mon-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed 1 pm, Sat 2 pm. $35-$55. Show Info
salt. Theatre Centre. (Why Not Theatre/Progress Festival). Selina Thompson presents her solo show about grief, ancestry, home, forgetting and colonialism. Jan 31-Feb 2, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm. $25. Show Info
Dick Wittington & His Cat. Tranzac. by Ben Crocker (NAGs Players). Magical, musical pantomime features a journey from 14th-century England to Morocco and back. Opens Jan 31 and runs to Feb 9, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat 1:30 pm. $15-$20, kids $5 at mats. Show Info.
PotterProv Book 1. Comedy Bar. PotterProv kicks off the 4th season of this improvised show inspired by the Harry Potter book series. 9:30 pm. $20, adv $15. Last Thursday of every month. Show Info.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre— 60th Anniversary Tour. Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. The company comes to Toronto to showcase the vision of Artistic Director Robert Battle with programming that embraces the tradition of such beloved classics as Revelations and extends the legacy in dynamic new directions. Feb 1-2, Fri-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $62.75-$156.50. Show Info.
Djuki Mala. Bluma Appel Theatre. Direct from Elcho Island, Australia, Indigenous dance troupe Djuki Mala perform a high-energy fusion of traditional culture, contemporary dance and storytelling. Feb 1-3, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $50-$85. Show Info.
B/Rat Pack Cabaret. Cadillac Lounge. Night of drag and burlesque paying tribute to two iconic collectives: the Rat Pack and the Brat Pack. Music and performances from and inspired by the Vegas crooners and the best 80s coming-of-age movies. Feb 2 at 9:30 pm (doors 9 pm). $17-$25. Show Info.
Fierabras. Jane Mallett Theatre. by Franz Schubert (VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert). German opera about the adventures of a Moorish knight and his eventual conversion to Christianity. Feb 3 at 2:30 pm. $20-$50. Show Info.
The Father. Coal Mine Theatre. Coal Mine Theatre presents a play by Florian Zeller (translated by Christopher Hampton). A daughter becomes caregiver to her demanding father who exists in his own lonely and frightening world in this deeply affecting look at the realities of living with Alzheimer’s and being cared for by loved ones who are becoming increasingly unrecognizable. Previews from Feb 3, opens Feb 6 and runs to Feb 24, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $42.50, previews $25. Show Info.
Listings Primarily Based on NOW! Stage Listings