Musical

Weekend Roundup, July 16 to 18

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

A weekend filled with festivals, concerts, theatre and culture! Toronto’s multiculturalism openly displayed right in front of your eyes. Lots to choose from, so little time…

Friday: Revel in Shakespearean derring-do under the stars at High Park (photo by Chris Gallow)

Friday, July 16
Spend your evening at the launch of the annual Beaches International Jazz Festival at Woodbine Park, where you can enjoy some fresh air while listening to top acts like Digging Roots and Jay Douglas & The All-Stars. Bring a blanket or some chairs, recline on the grass and celebrate the weekend with free music. If you like what you hear, be sure to come back Saturday and Sunday for more.

Fall in love with Shakespeare under the stars at the Canadian Stage TD Dream in High Park, which offers a pay-what-you-can performance of Romeo Juliet with a modern twist—the story of the star-crossed lovers is told using iPods and other contemporary props.

Tantalize your taste buds for less thanks to Summerlicious. The popular dining sees restaurants offering three-course meals at a fixed price. Make a reservation to sample the cuisines of the world at such Toronto favourites as Alize (Italian), Bangkok Garden (Thai), Célestin (French), Jaipur Grille (Indian) and Katsura (Japanese).

Or, try a different kind of ‘licious menu at Lee. Its “Susur-licious” menu, named for star chef and owner Susur Lee, is a three-course prix fixe featuring dishes from Lee’s tenure on the Food Network’s Top Chef Masters.

Saturday: See Geddy Lee and the rest of Rush (photo by ceedub13)

Saturday, July 17
Forget the 19-hour flight to the other side of the world. Today you can experience Indian culture on Toronto’s Centre Island, which hosts the annual Festival of India. Your immersion includes Indian music, dance, food and dramatic performances, plus crafts and souvenirs available from the bazaar. An exhibition reflecting the country’s history offers further enlightenment.

Swing by the Distillery Historic District to grab a bite from one of its many restaurants or cafés, then be sure to check out one of two Soulpepper Theatre Company shows at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Turgenev’s romantic comedy A Month in the Country is sure to stir up your emotions, and David French’s original and acclaimed Jitters also draws guffaws today.

Sing along with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart as they bring their Rush classics back to the Air Canada Centre. The legendary Canadian prog rock band’s Time Machine tour is guaranteed to have you reminiscing about the glory days.

Come face to face with some of the world’s most celebrated historical artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum’s landmark exhibition, The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army, featuring full-sized clay warriors from the tomb of Chinese emperor Ying Zheng.

Sunday: Don't forget your earplugs! The Hondy Indy zooms through Toronto

Sunday, July 18
There’s more musical nostalgia on offer at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, as Rock of Ages continues its successful run. This engaging show sets a rock ‘n’ roll love story to a soundtrack of ’80s hits by Journey, REO Speedwagon and many others.

South America’s largest nation gets a showcase this weekend at the Expressions of Brazil festival, part of Harbourfront Centre’s summer-long “world routes” programming. Today’s cultural mix includes samba performances, a drumming workshop, cooking and capoeira demonstrations and much more.

It’ll be easy to find Exhibition Place today—just head toward the sound of revving engines at the much-anticipated Honda Indy car race. Cheer on professional drivers like Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti as they speed toward the checkered flag.

Indulge in a decadent taste from the briny deep at the annual Ontario Oyster Festival hosted by Rodney’s Oyster House. For $30, guests can feast on some exceptional oysters, hear live music, cheer on competitive oyster shuckers and much more. All proceeds go to Environmental Defence, a charitable organization.

| Tags: A month in the country, Alize, Bangkok Garden, Beaches International Jazz Festival, CanStage TD Dream in High Park, Célestin, Concerts, Dario Franchitti, Digging Roots, Dining, Distillery Historic District, Entertainment, Festival of India, Geddy Lee, Harbourfront Centre, Honda Indy, Jaipur Grille, Jay Douglas, Katsura, Musical, Paul Tracy, Rock of Ages, Rodney's Oyster House, Royal Ontario Museum, Rush, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Susur Lee | No Comments »

Hot Date: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

The uproarious musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is currently on in Vancouver. Photo by Jo-Ann Richards

“Quirky” is the word of the day in this Tony Award–winning musical comedy that pits awkward adolescent spellers against each other—and audience members. Word nerds go crazy for musical numbers such as “My Friend, the Dictionary.” At the Granville Island Stage (to Jul. 31).—Sheri Radford

| Tags: Comedy, Entertainment, Granville Island Stage, Hot Dates, Musical, Sheri Radford, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theatre, Vancouver | No Comments »

Hot Date: Saigon Story

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Photo by Matt Polk

JULY 9 TO AUGUST 1 A naïve orphan girl and an American GI fall in love amidst Saigon’s exotic but turbulent landscape in the musical Miss Saigon, inspired by Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In this tragic tale of doomed lovers, Chris, a young soldier about to depart war-torn Vietnam is besotted with the virginal and teenage Kim, who works as a dancer in a seedy club. The themes of sacrifice, hope and motherhood come together in this dramatic and timeless story as Chris, who later marries an American woman, discovers he and Kim have a son together. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Tuesday to Saturday 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m., $28 to $175; call 416-644-3665 or navigate here to reserve.

| Tags: Dancap Productions, Entertainment, Four Seasons Centre, Madama Butterfly, Miss Saigon, Musical, Theatre | No Comments »

Hot Date: Blonde Ambition

Monday, July 5th, 2010

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.

| Tags: Entertainment, Legally Blonde, mirvish productions, Musical, princess of wales theatre, Reese Witherspoon, Theatre | No Comments »

Hot Dates: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story

Monday, June 7th, 2010

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

| Tags: Buddy Holly, Hot Dates, Musical, Sheri Radford, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, Theatre, Vancouver | No Comments »

Hot Date: Man Behind the Monster

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

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.

| Tags: broadway, Entertainment, Mel Brooks, mirvish productions, Musical, princess of wales theatre, Theatre, Young Frankenstein | No Comments »

Hot Date: Alternative Family Fun

Monday, March 1st, 2010

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.

| Tags: Entertainment, Lisa Horner, mirvish productions, Musical, My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, Panasonic Theatre, Rosemary Doyle, Theatre | No Comments »

Hot Entertainment: Monkey King

Monday, February 8th, 2010

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

| Tags: Beijing 2008 Summer Games, Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, Hot Entertainment, Monkey King, Musical, Sheri Radford, Theatre, Vancouver | No Comments »

Hot Date: Broadway’s Best Reunite

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

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.

| Tags: Ann Reinking, broadway, Concert, Mandy Patinkin, Musical, Patti Lupone, Royal Alexandra Theatre | No Comments »

Hot Date: Prairie Musical

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

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.

| Tags: Canon Theatre, Entertainment, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert, Musical | No Comments »

December Hot Date: Fiddler on the Roof

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

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.

| Tags: Canon Theatre, Fiddler on the Roof, Harvey Fierstein, mirvish productions, Musical, Theatre | 3 Comments »

Dancing Queen

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

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.”

(more…)

| Tags: broadway, broadway across canada, Calgary, calgary lion king, Entertainment, kendra moore, Musical, the lion king | No Comments »

Your Guide to the 2009 TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival

Monday, June 1st, 2009

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.

(more…)

| Tags: Art, Canon Theatre, Entertainment, four seasons centre for the performing arts, gary burton quartet, Harbourfront Centre, June, Musical, nathan phillips square, pat metheny, sonny rollins, steve swallow, Summer, td canada trust, toronto jazz festival | No Comments »

Make Your Way to Green Gables—It’s the Place to Be!

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Anne of Green Gables marquis at Elgin Theatre. (Photo by Linda Luong.)

Anne of Green Gables marquee at Elgin Theatre. (Photo by Linda Luong.)

Last night I attended opening night of Anne of Green Gables—The Musical, and even if you don’t have the same childhood nostalgia for Anne as I do, you’ll still be endeared by her plucky charm and find yourself rooting for the red-headed orphan girl.

Although this is Canada’s longest-running musical—2009 marks the production’s 45th year—and has enjoyed an international tour to places such as Japan and the U.K., this cherished Canadian tale is making its debut in Toronto now with the support of Dancap Productions.

I admit to being a bit apprehensive about how one of my favourite books would be translated onto the stage. (It’s a book I read every year still in a nod to my childhood, and there are passages I can recite by heart.) Sure, the show had been running for 45 years, but could it translate Anne’s nuanced spunk and innocence into song and dance? How would some of the events that shaped Anne and made her so special be adapted for the stage?

Fortunately, as it turns out, the 3.3 million people who have seen the show before me last night turned out in droves with good reason. Anne’s spirit, so colourfully depicted by Lucy Maud Montgomery, leapt off the page and onto the stage of the Elgin Theatre with all of its old-fashioned yet timeless charisma. Amy Wallis as Avonlea’s youngest heroine does the role more than justice with her exuberance, and Sandy Winsby as soft-spoken Matthew Cuthbert, serves as a counterpoint with his humble, folksy nature.

One unexpected aspect of the show that surprised me but which I absolutely loved were the dance numbers, such as “Back to School Ballet” and Nature Hunt Ballet.” Decked out in layered petticoats and pinafores, the actors still moved gracefully across the stage. They leap-frogged over each other, and swung around in circles with their hooped skirts floating weightlessly around them with such ease.

Anne of Green Gables—The Musical is in Toronto through May 24. So get your tickets and acquant—or re-connect—with a kindred spirit.

| Tags: Anne of Green Gables, Dancap Productions, Elgin Theatre, Entertainment, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Musical | No Comments »

Musical Feature—Anne of Green Gables

Friday, May 1st, 2009

The childhood classic Anne of Green Gables is melodiously brought to life.
—By Amy Baker

Vancouver-born actress Amy Wallis embodies the mercurial spirit of young Anne Shirley

MAY 7 TO 24 A beloved east coast tradition arrives this month in Toronto, as Anne of Green Gables—The Musical enlivens the Elgin Theatre’s historic stage. Telling the heartwarming tale of Anne Shirley, a spunky, redheaded orphan who journeys to Prince Edward Island in search of a place to call home, the show premiered more than 40 years ago in Charlottetown, P.E.I., yet its timeless characters and story are sure to delight theatregoers even today.

(more…)

| Tags: Anne of Green Gables, Dancap Productions, Elgin Theatre, Entertainment, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Musical | 1 Comment »

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