Autumn in New York may be fine, but for theatre fans, autumn is pretty good in Toronto too, with Broadway shows like Wicked and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum playing on stages in the city and at the nearby Stratford and Shaw festivals.
Continuing at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals
Until September 25, the revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, starring the puckishly emotive Brent Carver, runs at the Tom Patterson Theatre of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a short drive west of Toronto. The show is a loving tribute to the haunting, often earthy songs of the great Belgian chanteur Jacques Brel.
Running until November 6 is the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber classic Evita, about Argentinean first lady Eva Duarte (wife of President Juan Perón) at the Avon Theatre. Its best known song is, of course, “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”. Cole Porter’s ever-popular Kiss Me, Kate, playing at the Festival Theatre, also closes on November 6.
Meanwhile, in nearby Niagara-On-The-Lake, the Shaw Festival presents One Touch of Venus at the Royal George Theatre until October 10. This elegant vintage musical by Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash and S.J. Perelman brings the goddess of love herself to 20th-century Manhattan; it’s best known for the urgently haunting ballad “Speak Low”. The photo shows the Shaw Festival cast of One Touch of Venus.
Musicals Presented by Mirvish Productions
Rock of Ages continues at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for an indefinite run. This valentine to ‘80s rock was nominated for five Tony Awards on Broadway, including Best Musical. It’s a feel-good story of the “small-town girl” who finds love on the L.A. rock scene, and features such head-banging favourites as "I Wanna Rock" and "Don't Stop Believin'"
From October 12 to November 28, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical runs at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Since its 2006 premiere in Australia, the show has become a worldwide hit. Based on the film of the same name, it’s an unlikely and uplifting buddy story about a traveling troupe of drag queens in a weather-beaten bus in the inhospitable Australian desert. Among its international array of awards, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Musical (Tony Sheldon, who will appear in this production as “Bernadette”.)
From October 20 to November 28, the Canon Theatre hosts the return of the beloved musical Wicked, which sold out in Toronto in 2005 and 2006. Based on the novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire, the award-winning international show tells the back story of Glinda the Good Witch and green-skinned Elphaba, who is destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West. The photo below shows Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda and Donna Viviing as Elphaba.
In December, Mirvish Productions, the Canadian Stage Company and the Sony Centre join forces to present the acclaimed Stratford production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Directed by Des McAnuff, who directed the original Broadway production of Jersey Boys, the hilarious show – part Roman theatre, part Catskills comedy – features songs by the great Stephen Sondheim. The photo shows (left to right) Bruce Dow, Randy Hughson and Cliff Saunders.
Musicals on Other Toronto Stages
The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, which has been closed for major renovations, reopens in the fall of 2010. From October 1 to 9, it’s presenting iD, a creative spectacle that features song, dance and BMX bicycles. From November 4 to 14, it’s The Merchants of Bollywood, a colourful extravaganza that will delight anyone who's hooked on Indian movies. For the Christmas holiday season (December 17 to January 2), the Sony Centre presents a musical version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
From September 22 to October 10, Angelwalk Theatre presents: [title of show] at the Studio Theatre of the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The arch title of this Tony-nominated show by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell refers to the fact that it’s a musical comedy about the creation of a musical comedy.
To close one year and open a new one, Studio 180 Theatre is offering the Canadian premiere of Parade by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, a co-production with Acting Up Stage Company that runs from December 30 to January 22 at the Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs. Set in 1913 Atlanta, the show centres on a rape trial that polarizes members of the community along racial, cultural and political lines. When it debuted in New York, the show won two Tony Awards (Best Book and Score) and the Drama Desk and New York Critics’ Circle awards for Best Musical.
Read on for listings for Broadway musicals playing around Toronto for the summer of 2010.
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Sarah B. Hood - Author of We Sure Can! How Jams and Pickles are Reviving the Lure and Lore of Local Food and Toronto: The Unknown City.
