Playlistings in Toronto for the week of January 2nd

Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of January 2nd

Happy New Year, Toronto! We hope that everyone had a relaxing holiday. As welcome 2017, we also welcome the Next Stage Festival. We have a lot of show to choose from, but our assistant editor Jess 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:

Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein (Mirvish). Newfoundlanders open their homes to stranded passengers following the Sep 11 terrorist attacks. Nov 15-Jan 8. Opens Nov 15 and runs to Jan 8, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $35-$150. At the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Show Info.

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.

And the rest:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sleeping Beauty: The Deliriously Dreamy Family Musical by Jeremy Diamond (Ross Petty Productions). Family-friendly fractured fairy tale set in Toronto. Previews from Nov 25, opens Dec 1 and runs to Jan 7, see website for times. $27-$99. At The Elgin Theatre. Show Info.

The Pirates of Penzance by WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (Toronto Operetta Theatre). A young pirate apprentice must choose between love and duty in this comic operetta. Opens Dec 27 and runs to Jan 8: Dec 27, 30, Jan 6 at 8 pm, Dec 31, Jan 7 & 8 at 3 pm. $49-$95. Tickets at stlc.com. At the Jane Mallett Theatre. Show Info.

Treasure Island by Katie Leamen (SSCT). Original adaptation of the quintessential pirate adventure tale by Robert Louis Stevenson. Opens Nov 26 and runs to Jan 8, Sat-Sun 2 pm (no shows Dec 10, 24, 25, 31 and Jan 1; additional shows Dec 26-30 and Jan 4-6). $17. At the Solar Stage Children’s 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.

The Illusionists – Live From Broadway. (Mirvish). Theatre, magic, comedy and illusions by Darcy Oake, Yu Ho-Jin, Dan Sperry, Jeff Hobson, Andrew Basso, Kevin James and Colin Cloud. Opens Dec 13 and runs to Jan 8, Tue-Fri 7:30 pm (see website for other times, no show Dec 25-26 or Jan 1). $49-$139. At The Princess of Wales Theatre. Show Info.

Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings