Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of January 9th
As the Next Stage Theatre is well underway, we highlight some of their offerings, as well as some classics, satire, kid-friendly shows, and much more! To help you choose from our extensive listing this week, our publisher Megan is here to highlight a fews shows that caught her eye in red text. Check them out below the cut:
Already Reviewed by Mooney on Theatre:
Avenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty (LOT). A college grad moves to NYC and copes with grown-up problems in this adult musical puppet play. Opens Dec 1 and runs to Jan 29, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm (no shows Dec 24-25, 31, Jan 1). $50-$60. At The Lower Ossington Theatre. Show Info.
Sister Act by Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner, Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (LOT). A wannabe diva hides out in a convent after witnessing a crime. Opens Dec 1 and runs to Jan 29, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 3:30 pm (no shows Dec 24-25, 31, Jan 1). $60-$70. At The Lower Ossington Theatre. Show Info.
Infinity by Hannah Moscovitch (Volcano Theatre/Tarragon). Three brilliant minds – a musician, a mathematician, and a theoretical physicist – smash together like colliding particles in an accelerator in this play about love, sex and math. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $60, srs $49, stu $29. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.
The Death Of Mrs. Gandhi And The Beginning Of New Physics (A Political Fantasy) by Kawa Ada (Everything but the Bard/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Four powerful women – Margaret Thatcher, Imelda Marcos, Benazir Bhutto and Kim Campbell – gather for Indira Ghandi’s funeral in 1984, but are hijacked by Malala, a time-traveller terrorist in this satiric fusion of feminism and politics. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Western, A Play With Music by Matthew Gorman (The Harvey Dunn Campfire/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This part myth, part campfire song theatrical show looks at family, blood and claiming what’s yours. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
My Big Fat German Puppet Show by Frank Meschkuleit (Invisible Inc./Next Stage Theatre Festival). The former Muppets puppeteer presents an adult puppet show/cabaret/circus performance. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
manicpixiedreamgirls (Rock Bottom Movement/Next Stage Theatre Festival). This dance-theatre work by choreographer Alyssa Martin takes a hallucinatory romp through millennial nostalgia and classic indie film. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Silk Bath by Bessie Cheng and Aaron Jan (Silk Bath Collective/Next Stage Theatre Festival). On a bizarre game show, four immigrants do battle for a place in their new country. Opens Jan 5 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Songbuster – An Improvised Musical by the ensemble (Songbuster Inc./Next Stage Theatre Festival). The cast creates an hour-long musical each night from suggestions provided by the audience. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Date Me By the ensemble (Ted&Lisa/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Ted Hallett and Lisa Merchant creates an improvised show inspired by online dating profiles. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $10. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Two Truths and a Lie by Graham Isador, Helder Brum and Rhiannon Archer (Pressgang Theatre/Next Stage Theatre Festival). Actors/comics Graham Isador, Helder Brum and Rhiannon Archer tell unbelievable stories – one of which is made up. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $10. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Blood Ties: The Musical by Anika Johnson and Barbara Johnston (Edge of the Sky/Next Stage Theatre Festival). On the eve of her wedding, a woman and her friends clean up the mess of uncle’s suicide in this darkly comedic chamber musical. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Clique Claque by Mark Brownell (Pea Green Theatre Group/Next Stage Theatre Festival). A woman and her husband manipulate audience applause (and performing artists’ fortunes) for cash in this comedy set in 1880s Paris. Opens Jan 4 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $15. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
And the rest:
Unholy by Diane Flacks (Nightwood Theatre). Four women – a progressive Muslim lawyer, an Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader, an excommunicated nun and a lesbian atheist pundit – debate religion and misogyny. Previews from Jan 15, opens Jan 18 and runs to Jan 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $20-$35. At Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Show Info.
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley (Wolf Manor Theatre). Two dejected and seemingly mismatched souls take a chance on each other in a bar. Opens Jan 13 and runs to Jan 22 at two venues. $15-$22 at nowtickets.ca. Week 1: Jan 13 at 10 pm, Jan 14-15 at 2 & 7 pm – at Imperial Pub (54 Dundas E). Week 2: Jan 19-22 at 7 pm, mat Jan 21 at 2 pm – at Round Venue (152 Augusta). Show Info.
The Ugly Duckthing by Marty Stelnick (SSCT). Re-telling of the Hans Christian Andersen classic using puppetry, music and multimedia for ages 5 and up. Jan 14-Feb 5, see website for schedule. $17. At Solar Stage Children’s Theatre. Show Info.
The Dining Room by AR Gurney (Marion Abbott Productions). A series of vignettes over the span of 50 years satirize the family life of bourgeois America. Jan 13-15, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $20-$25. At The Box Toronto. Show Info.
The Secret Garden by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman (Podium Concert Productions). Concert staging of the musical adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic children’s novel, featuring Erin Fisher, Louise Camilleri, Gabi Epstein, Kevin Forestell, Kyle Golemba, Matthew Nethersole and others. Jan 13-15, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 6:30 pm. $39 & up. At Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. Show Info.
The Wedding Party by Kristen Thomson (Crow’s Theatre/Talk Is Free Theatre). Comedy about two families, a wedding, mistaken identities and love. Previews Jan 12-17, opens Jan 18 and runs to Feb 11, Mon-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $20-$40. At Crow’s Theatre. Show Info.
Alien Creature by Linda Griffiths (TPM). A poet uses magic, stories and rhymes to entice audiences with a glimpse of her life. Previews from Jan 12, opens Jan 17 and runs to Feb 5, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm (and Jan 17), Sat-Sun 2 pm (no Sat mat on Jan 14). $17-$33, mat pwyc at the door. At Theatre Passe Muraille. Show Info.
The Magic Hour (Theatre Centre/Jess Dobkin). Solo performance by Jess Dobkin that uses magic to explore trauma and transformation, asking us to consider who we are beyond the stories we tell about our lives. Previews Jan 10, opens Jan 11 and runs to Jan 21, Tue-Sun 8 pm. $30, stu/srs $22, preview $17. At The Theatre Centre. Show Info.
Next Stage Theatre Festival The Toronto Fringe presents a showcase of Canadian indie theatre artists and companies from past Fringe festivals, featuring plays, sketch comedy, dance works and more. Jan 4-15, see website for schedule. $15 for Mainspace and Studio shows and $10 for Antechamber shows, passes $48-$90. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.
Sequence by Arun Lakra (Tarragon). Two intertwined stories about the interplay between science, faith, probability and luck. Previews from Jan 3, opens Jan 11 and runs to Feb 12, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $22-$65. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.
Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class by Neil Titley (The Wilde Festival). Titley performs his solo show about legendary playwright Oscar Wilde. Opens Jan 6 and runs to Jan 15, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $18-$25. At Red Sandcastle Theatre. Show Info.
Potted Potter by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner (Starvox Entertainment/Potted Productions). Benjamin Stratton and James Percy use costumes, props and music to perform all seven Harry Potter books in 70 minutes. Opens Dec 15 and runs to Jan 15, see website for times. $30-$100. At The Panasonic Theatre. Show Info.
Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings.