Brandyn McKinson

A lush musical portrait of a seemingly blissful marriage in 1950s suburbia takes centre stage in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti. Directed by Jay Turvey, this season's lyrical lunchtime is a stylish, jazzy mid-day treat. Trouble in Tahiti began previews on June 1, at the Court House Theatre as part of the Shaw Festival and opens tonight, July 7.

A lush musical portrait of a seemingly blissful marriage in 1950s suburbia takes centre stage in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti. Directed by Jay Turvey, this season's lyrical lunchtime is a stylish, jazzy mid-day treat. Trouble in Tahiti began previews today, June 1, at the Court House Theatre as part of the Shaw Festival.

The Shaw Festival embarks on the first season of its next 50 years by proudly initiating a provocative conversation through the Tony Award-winning musical Ragtime. Based on E.L. Doctorow's novel of the same name, Ragtime is directed by Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and brought to life by The Shaw's renowned acting Ensemble. This powerful and complex story of a young America on the cusp of defining itself and the hopes and dreams of its citizens continues to gain resonance today. Surpassing all expectations, early tickets sales to the Shaw Festival's production of Ragtime are nearly 20% above projected totals, while early April and May ticket purchases for special matinees are already 80% sold out. Yesterday's preview performance of Ragtime received a standing ovation.

It's been 22 years since Dr Frank N. Furter last threw a party on the Bathurst Street Theatre stage. The doctor is due to strut his way back into the historic theatre this July in a production of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. The production features the Randolph Academy College Program's Class of 2011 under the direction of Thomas Morgan Jones (The Winter's Tale-Stratford Festival), with musical direction by Jeannie Wyse (The Sound of Music-Mirvish) and choreography by Kerry Gage (Triple Sensation, Camelot-Stratford Festival).