Samantha is both a writer and a fan of the arts and has been able to find numerous ways to pair the two. Aside from being an editor here at Mooney on Theatre, she's a photojournalist for Been Here Done That, a travel, dining and tourism blog that focuses on Toronto and abroad and previously for Lithium Magazine, which got her writing and shooting about everything from Dave Matthews Band to Fan Expo. She's passionate about music, theatre, photography, writing, and celebrating sexuality -- not necessarily in that order. She drinks tea more than coffee, prefer ciders over beers, and sings karaoke way too loudly. You can follow her on various social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Tom Murphy’s famed play of illusions and mental illness, The Gigli Concert, takes to the Young Centre
A washed-up quack of a self-help therapist startles awake in his apartment-office to the sound of the doorbell and the arrival of a possible client, his second one ever. Which is perfect because the bills are piling up. There’s just one interesting problem, this guy demands to sing like an opera tenor in six easy sessions. Is he insane or a virtuoso waiting to be discovered? Either way — he’s paying in cash up front.
And thus Soulpepper‘s The Gigli Concert begins in what will be a heavy hitting two-and-a-half hour piece of structurally dynamic and eye-opening theatre. It’s a piece of theatre that has just the right amount of well-placed laughs without turning it into a full on comedy, the right amount of tender moments to be touching and heartfelt without being overdrawn, and most importantly the right amount of well-written and intriguing dialogue and commentary between characters to keep you enthralled.
This is a fantastic week to check out some top-notch inexpensive theatre in Toronto. Though the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival wrapped on the weekend doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of side-splitting comedy to be had. Bad Dog Theatre Company still has their regular shows ready to tickle your funny bone at under $15 a ticket. Check out their website and keep an eye out for Final Frontier, Book Club, and People City. If you’re still itching for more laughs, The Comedy Bar has a whole slew of other sketch and improv shows also at under $10.
If you’re looking for something of a different ilk, there’s plenty of wallet-friendly dance performances, staged readings, magic and variety shows to be had. Check our weekly play listings for more.
Still unsure of what to see? Read below the cut for some that have caught our eye, all for $20 or less.
A dark love story of codependency and drug use takes centre stage in Blackbird at Toronto’s Hub14 Theatre
When I first heard that Blackbird was being staged here in Toronto, I became quite excited. Granted I did mistake playwright Adam Rapp with his brother Anthony Rapp who everyone knows as Mark from RENT. Though the comparison isn’t too far off. Unlike RENT, Blackbird is not filled with music and nostalgic, happy moments. There is no La Vie Boheme or Tango Maureen. However, there is drug use aplenty — heroin to be exact, it is Christmas Eve in New York City, and cutting through all of that is love.
Big league sketch troupes took to the stage in one of the final days of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival
The Comedy Bar was packed as hordes of comedy-ravenous theatregoers descended the steps for one of the final nights of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. Arriving with my friend Paul, an old-school sketch and improv performer himself, we milled around the crowd before finding our seats for our triple bill of the evening — Ladystache, The Majors, and Alley of Nightmares.
The Toronto Fringe launches new crowdfunding initiative
The Toronto Fringe Festival (returning again this summer) launched a new project today that into the viral resources of crowdfunding to help support independent artists of all disciplines across the country. Fund What You Can (FWYC) functions similarly to Indiegogo and Kickstarter by allowing artists to manage their own fundraising campaigns.
