Musical

Canada > Archive by tag 'Musical'

Hot Date: Blonde Ambition

Photo by Joan Marcus

JULY 7 TO AUGUST 8 Go to the head of the class with Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical. In this screen-to-stage adaptation of the movie that starred Hollywood sweetheart Reese Witherspoon as the sassy sorority girl, Elle does what no Delta Nu sister has done before—study. After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Elle, with her stylish sidekick chihuahua Bruiser in tow, heads to Harvard Law School. Amidst sequins, bows, summonses, and cheeky melodies like “Bend and Snap,” Elle learns the importance of being true to herself. Princess of Wales Theatre, Tuesday through Saturday 8 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m., $28 to $124; call 416-872-1212 or click here for further details and tickets.

Hot Dates: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story

Photo of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story by David Cooper

Just try to keep your toes from tapping during this lively show that explores the musical genius of Buddy Holly, one of the original pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll. “Not Fade Away,” indeed. At the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (to Jul. 11).—Sheri Radford

Hot Date: Man Behind the Monster

Young Frankenstein (photo by Paul Kolnik)

MARCH 17 TO APRIL 18 Whether or not you’ve seen the 1974 comedy classic filmed by Mel Brooks, the new theatrical version of Young Frankenstein—also written by Brooks—promises to be fiendishly funny. Watch as a young Doctor Frederick “Fronkensteen” visits his dead grandfather’s Transylvanian estate and attempts to create a living man from a dug-up corpse and pillaged brain. Hilarious intellectual exchanges and musical numbers ensue—just try to keep a straight face as the reanimated monster hoofs it to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Princess of Wales Theatre, Tuesday to Saturday 8 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m., $26 to $120; call 416-872-1212 or check out TicketKing to buy.

Hot Date: Alternative Family Fun

Rosemary Doyle and Lisa Horner in My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding (photo by Lindsay Anne Black)

TO MARCH 21 Imagine being an awkward teenage boy whose divorced mother decides to move across the country and embrace her Jewish heritage while falling in love with a Wiccan woman. That’s what happened to David Hein, who co-wrote the charming My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding with his wife Irene Carl Sankoff. Since its debut at the 2009 Toronto Fringe Festival, the musical comedy, starring Rosemary Doyle and Lisa Horner has entertained audiences with such songs as “Don’t Take Your Lesbian Moms to Hooters,” and the eye-opening “A Short History of Gay Marriage in Canada.” Panasonic Theatre, Tuesday to Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 5 and 9 p.m., Sunday 7 p.m., $25 to $60; call 416-872-1212 or navigate here for tickets.

Hot Entertainment: Monkey King

Prepare to be wowed with Monkey King

What do you get when you take an epic narrative about a monk’s quest to recover a sacred relic and add an original rock score and mesmerizing dance sequences, then throw in kung fu battles? The end result is this high-energy, action-filled musical, which delighted audiences during the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. With a huge cast of singers, dancers, acrobats, musicians and martial artists, the show is sure to entertain all ages. At The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts (Feb. 6 to 27).—Sheri Radford

Hot Date: Broadway’s Best Reunite

Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin (photo by Brigitte Lacombe).

FEBRUARY 9 TO 14 Two of Broadway’s brightest stars reunite
on stage for An Evening with Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin. Appearing together for the first time since their Tony Award–winning performances in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, the long-time friends collaborated in the creation of this original dramatic concert which features 11 heartfelt love songs from popular musicals including South Pacific and Showboat. Choreographed by fellow stage veteran Ann Reinking, the show celebrates the history of musical theatre and the enduring chemistry between its legendary vocalists. Royal Alexandra Theatre, Tuesday to Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m.,
$28 to $150; call 416-872-1212 or visit here to reserve tickets.

Hot Date: Prairie Musical

Steve Blanchard and Melissa Gilbert star in Little House on the Prairie (photo by Michael Daniel).

TO FEBRUARY 28 One of the most beloved stories in American literature is reimagined for the stage in a musical production of Little House on the Prairie. Inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic books, Melissa Gilbert—who played Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls on the long-running Little House television series—stars as the loveable matriarch in this celebration of a family’s pioneering spirit as it endures the joys and hardships of frontier life in South Dakota. Canon Theatre, Tuesday to Saturday 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m., $30 to $99; call 416-872-1212 or click here to purchase.

December Hot Date: Fiddler on the Roof

Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof (photo by Joan Marcus)

OPENS DECEMBER 8 Broadway star Harvey Fierstein offers a stellar performance in the lead role of iconic Tony Award–winning musical Fiddler On The Roof. A philosophical Jewish milkman from the pre-Revolutionary Russian village of Anatevka, Fierstein’s Tevye opines about tradition versus new ways of life and how they conflict. This heartwarming production, with such poignant songs as “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and “If I Were a Rich Man,” depicts that time and place in history. Themes like the oppression of minorities ensure the story is as relevant now as ever. Canon Theatre, Tuesday to Saturday 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1:30 p.m., $60 to $225; call 416-872-1212 or click here to purchase tickets.

Dancing Queen

Lion King dance captain Kendra Moore on becoming a lioness, learning to sing, and returning to Alberta.

By Sally MacKinnon

At the age of five, Kendra Moore found her passion—one that has defined her life for more than three decades. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet came to her hometown of Edmonton, and when ballerina Evelyn Hart took the stage, Moore had a moment of pure clarity.

“I remember it exactly,” she says. “I just thought, ‘I want to do that.’”

This summer, Moore will come full circle. She is returning to Alberta not as a prima ballerina, but a dance captain in Broadway Across Canada’s presentation of Disney’s The Lion King. The musical is based on the 1994 hit movie, about a lion cub named Simba and his journey from exile to king of the jungle.

Moore teaches choreography—which has been set since the show’s inception in 1997—to members of the ensemble, the dancers performing behind main characters. She also takes over when a dancer is sick, injured or on vacation. That means at every performance she is backstage, ready to jump in as a gazelle, lioness or piece of the Serengeti.

Moore doesn’t find her duties stressful, even when she has to take over at a moment’s notice; her transformations give her the same serenity she discovered at five-years-old.

“There is something about it, expressing yourself through movement,” she says. “I’m thinking about nothing else. It’s more than just being in the moment.”

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Your Guide to the 2009 TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival

Ten music-filled days and nights have everyone dancing in the streets during the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival. —By Danielle Milley

Catch Kool & The Gang hit all the right notes on the mainstage at Nathan Phillips Square (photo by Silvia Mautner.)

Catch Kool & The Gang hit all the right notes at Nathan Phillips Square (photo by Silvia Mautner.)

The TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival is sure to have feet tapping and fingers snapping as it slides into town this summer with more than 350 concerts. This year’s event, which runs from June 26 to July 5, brings together more than 1,500 musicians at 40 venues as part of the city’s biggest musical showcase. There’s something for every hep cat and cool chick no matter their taste, with free daytime concerts, ticketed mainstage performances every evening and late-night jazz extending the musical euphoria at some of the hippest venues in the city.

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