Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of April 2nd, 2018
Toronto live theatre for the week of April 2nd, 2018. This week’s selections feature some noise, some naughtiness, and a few new shows. Our Assistant Editor Jess is on hand with a few of her top picks in red. Check them out below the cut:
Already reviewed by Mooney on theatre:
Animal Farm by George Orwell, adapted by Anthony MacMahon (Soulpepper Theatre). How long will the animal utopia last when a charismatic new leader emerges? An innovative new adaptation of Orwell’s classic satire about tyranny and equality. Previews from Mar 9, opens Mar 15 and runs to Apr 7, see website for times. $32-$96. At Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.
Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein (Mirvish). Newfoundlanders open their homes to stranded passengers following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Previews from Feb 13, opens Feb 18 and runs to Sep 2, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed 1:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $69 and up. At The Royal Alexandra Theatre. Show Info.
What A Young Wife Ought To Know Crow’s Theatre presents a 2b theatre company production of a play by Hannah Moscovitch. Set in 1920s Ottawa, the play looks at the destructive shame enacted upon women in western society for centuries via the withholding of knowledge about sex and birth control. Previews from Mar 20, opens Mar 22 and runs to Apr 7, Mon-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $20-$45. At The Streetcar Crowsnest. Show Info.
And everything else:
Paprika Playback. Paprika Festival fundraiser featuring an evening of monologues, music and spoken word performances. Apr 7 at 7 pm. $10. All ages & accessible. At Glad Day Bookshop. Show Info.
Piece of Mind. Colleen Taffe presents her play about mental illness and the effects of stigma. A tragedy shakes the life of a young Black man in this play about mental illness and the damaging effects in the community. Apr 7 at 6:30 pm. $35-$40. At Al Green Theatre. Show Info.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Peter Parnell, music by Menken & Schwart (Alexander Showcase Theatre). Musical based on Victor Hugo’s gothic novel about love, acceptance and what it means to be a hero. With songs from the Disney animated feature. Opens Apr 6 and runs to Apr 14, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Apr 8 & 14 at 2 pm. $32-$35, stu/srs $27-$30. At Fairview Library. Show Info.
Opera Pub: Eat Drink Man Woman. Against the Grain Theatre presents a social night of operatic arias and ensembles. Apr 5 at 9 pm. Free. At The Amsterdam Bicycle Club. Show Info.
Rhinoceros. Douze Citrons Productions present the play by Eugène Ionesco. An idyllic French town is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a strange sight: a rhinoceros running full-tilt through the town square. Or was that two rhinoceroses? The town is thrown into chaos as the residents start turning into horned pachyderms, one by one. Clever and darkly funny, Rhinoceros is an absurdist take on the the European political climate in 1940s and the rise of fascism. Apr 5-7, Thu-Sat 7 pm, mat Sat 2:30 pm. $20-$25. In the Aki Studio. Show Info.
Toronto Burlesque Festival Wine and Tease. Toronto Burlesque Festival fundraiser for the upcoming summer festival, headlined by Montreal’s Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière. Apr 5 at 8 pm (doors 7 pm). $25-$65, available online. At Revival. Show Info.
Noise by Maria Milisavljevic (Randolph College). Various stories look at war and fear, forgiveness. Noise is a play with a happy ending, in a world that has learned not to trust in happy endings. Opens Apr 3 and runs to Apr 7, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $22. At Annex Theatre. Show Info.
Secret Shakespeare: The 6ix. The sixth instalment of the Secret Shakespeare Series: a thoroughly prepared team meets at 10 am and performs that evening for an audience who knows not which play they’ll be seeing. Apr 2 at 8 pm. Reserve at eventbrite.ca. Pay-what-you-can ticket proceeds benefit the Jon Kaplan Legacy Fund. Directed by James Wallis. At The Theatre Centre. Show Info.
Mixie and the Halfbreeds by Julie Tamiko Manning and Adrienne Wong (fu-GEN Theatre). Two estranged neighbours tackle issues of culture, identity and being mixed race in Canada. Previews from Apr 3, opens Apr 5 and runs to Apr 15, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $35, stu/srs/arts workers $20, previews $15. At Pia Bouman School for Ballet. Show Info.
Punk Rock. The Howland Company presents a play by Simon Stephens. Fear, anger and self-loathing bubble under the surface of the adolescent fantasies of a group of private school students in the UK. Previews from Mar 29, opens Apr 3 and runs to Apr 14, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm (and Apr 2 preview), mat Sat Apr 7 and 14 at 1:30 pm. $15-$35. At The Streetcar Crowsnest. Show Info.
The Overcoat: A Musical Tailoring. Adapted from Nikolai Gogol’s short story by Morris Panych and James Rolfe (Canadian Stage/Tapestry Opera). An office worker’s life is turned upside-down when he’s robbed of his new coat. Previews from Mar 27, opens Mar 29 and runs to Apr 14, Tue-Thu and Sat 8 pm, Fri 7 pm, mat Sun 1 pm. $39-$99. At Bluma Appel Theatre. Show Info.
An American in Paris. Mirvish presents the musical by George and Ira Gershwin, book by Craig Lucas. An American soldier and a mysterious French woman find each other in at the end of WWII in this musical based on the film. Opens Mar 27 and runs to Apr 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed 1:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $59-$175. At The Princess of Wales Theatre. Show Info.
Bloom. Modern Times Stage Company presents a play by Guillermo Verdecchia, inspired by TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. A war orphan and a war veteran live on the fringes of a ruined world – one is trying to remember, while the other is trying to forget. Previews Mar 23-25, opens Mar 27 and runs to Apr 8, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $18-$30, preview $15, Sun pwyc at the door. At Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Show Info.
Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings.