Mirvish presents the new definitive production of the international hit musical Les Misérables in Toronto

Les Misérables is a bonafide phenomenon of the stage. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo; a story of one man’s journey to redemption set against the backdrop of class-struggle and political unrest in post-Napoleonic France, Les Mis is hugely ambitious in scope and scale. It’s a grand, sweeping epic and an iconic mega-musical.

Les Mis originally opened in London’s West End in 1985 and has played there ever since making it one of the longest running musicals in history. The show has been so prolific that chances are, even if you haven’t seen it, you’d still be able to recognize some of its iconic songs like On My Own, I Dreamed a Dream, Do You Hear the People Sing, and Bring Him Home.

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Just in time for Halloween is George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead Live – a hilarious and well-done take on a classic horror film playing at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead Live is a humorous theatrical take on the classic horror film Night of the Living Dead. The show examines the movie itself, the time period in which it was produced (the 60s), and the film’s influence on the horror genre.

For those who haven’t seen the film, Night of the Living Dead follows eight people from a variety of backgrounds on a terrifying night where the dead rise to feast on human flesh. The strangers end up fighting for their lives in an abandoned house surrounded by zombies. The situation escalates as tensions rise and fear and prejudice take over. The entire plot of the film is act one of the play.

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Shrek the Musical brings to life your favorite characters from the movie playing at Toronto’s Lower Ossington Theatre

Shrek the Musical is a delightful romp that will take you back to the first instalment of the Shrek film franchise, but with more foot-tapping musical numbers. This theatrical take on the popular film about an ogre who decides to blow fairy tale convention out of the water and write his own story is dynamically produced by the Lower Ossington Theatre and performed on the stage of the Randolph Theatre.

This was my first time seeing a LOT production and while I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, I was incredibly surprised at the quality of the show’s performances. I saw Shrek the Musical a few years ago on a visit to New York City, where I was lucky enough to see the original cast. Not having heard anything about it beforehand, I was struck by how catchy the music was and how seamless it felt to watch the Shrek story told in musical format.

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Tavistock Art’s Tempo is a show full of jaw-dropping performances not to be missed at Toronto’s Storefront Theatre

Ibsen didn’t write Tempo (presently at the Storefront Theatre), so it was necessary for Michael Batistick to do the heavy lifting. And it’s a damn good thing he has.

Tempo is one of those marvellous plays that sneaks up behind you. On the surface, we’re watching a comic tragedy unfold: Jim, an unlovely drug rep, swings wildly from scene to scene, mood to mood, watching his life unravel before his eyes. And the train-wrecky aspect of this show is what draws an audience in.

We don’t feel pity for this guy. He’s quite possibly the most repulsive and atrocious manifestation of psychopathic greed this side of Glengarry Glen Ross, tolerable only because he’s so bad at exploiting others. This is a man so pathetic that he can’t even succeed at being a shitty human being.

Yet he’s the fulcrum over which this entire show flips. And flip, it does.

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