Toronto Newsdesk - Page 2

Anybody expecting a 'museum piece' from the Peter Pasyk-directed production of The Trojan Women at the 2014 Toronto Fringe Festival will be disappointed. While based on Euripides' 2,500-year-old classical text, the 1978 adaptation by celebrated poet Gwendolyn MacEwen also examines faith and individual choice through the experiences of the survivors. Dora-nominated director Pasyk and 16 emerging artists will honour the universal--and startlingly contemporary--themes inherent in the work but present it in a world that audiences find familiar: the here and now or, as Pasyk describes it, 'tomorrow'.

It was like a scene from Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys." `I came from the people; they need to adore me /So Christian Dior me from my head to my toes.' What kind of a lyric is that?" kvetched lyricist Fred Ebb as he got into the taxi. "You remembered it," quipped his songwriting partner, composer John Kander, with a shrug. The song? "Rainbow High." The show? "Evita."

It was like a scene from Neil Simon's “The Sunshine Boys.” `I came from the people; they need to adore me /So Christian Dior me from my head to my toes.' What kind of a lyric is that?” kvetched lyricist Fred Ebb as he got into the taxi. “You remembered it,” quipped his songwriting partner, composer John Kander, with a shrug. The song? “Rainbow High.” The show? “Evita.”

In a blend of sharp writing and improvisation 52 PICK UP swerves from romantic comedy to heartbreak at the drop of a card, as two people navigate through their relationship. How it works: 52 scene titles are written on an ordinary deck of playing cards. At the top of each show two actors toss the cards in the air and the story unfolds in the order in they are picked up. No two shows will ever be the same!

'You don't know what a call is going to be like until you get there,' says Anna the paramedic. The same can be said of playwright Rosamund Small's new one-person drama Vitals, produced by Outside the March with support from Theatre Passe Muraille. This site-specific show about the arduous work of paramedics is not for the faint of heart. There are three ways in which Vitals is not easy for the audience. First, you don't just sit there; you are on-site and at various points you must be on your feet or climb stairs. Second, you are not pointed at a stage having the performance spoon-fed to you; for a period, you are swimming in the experience, which can be disorienting but also mind-expanding. Third, the subject matter-disturbing experiences that a paramedic encounters on the job-is traumatic even just to hear about.

Last night Theatre20 hosted A Tase of 20: A Speakeasy Social at The National Club. The venue was transformed into a Speakeasy ('Singeasy') lounge where patrons got a 'taste' of what's coming up next for Theatre 20! Performers included founding artists Adam Brazier, Brent Carver and Nora McLellan, a Sondheim Jazz Project, Cadence, the Upper Canada Chorus and Theatre 20's 2014 Emerging Artist Ensemble.

Join us for a one night only musical tribute to Colm Wilkinson featuring Broadway stars Adam Brazier, Chilina Kennedy, Aaron Walpole, Tony nominee Josh Young, internationally acclaimed Jennie Such, and more artists performing the gorgeous songs he made famous.

Three emerging theatre companies have come together to present "3 Shows", three separate new works of physical theatre, each about an hour long, playing in rotation at The Theatre Centre until May 18th Business as Usual depicts a "corporate Twilight Zone" of big business insiders trying to carry on in a "post-crash world". The bouffon-inspired satire Death Married My Daughter (Best of Fringe 2013) brings Shakespeare's Ophelia and Desdemona back from death to take on the patriarchy. In Ralph + Lina, Christina Serra and her co-star tell the charming true romance of her Italian grandparents.

Sex can be a touchy subject, something many people have trouble talking about. The topic can get messier when discussing sex as a profession and, more so, the murky industry of sex tourism in which privileged westerners exploit the egregiously disadvantaged youth of the third world. This is the subject of Soliciting Temptation, the newest play by Governor General's Award winner Erin Shields, a two-hander now having its world premiere at Tarragon Extra Space.

Toronto gets one more blast of snow as I settle in at Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs to watch blustery Chekhov characters spend a summer holiday in the Russian countryside. A group of actors called The Chekhov Collective formed a year ago and began developing this production of The Seagull using the methods of Michael Chekhov, nephew of Anton Chekhov. The Seagull, which is heavy on theme and light on levity, is a self-referential play wherein Chekhov's characters examine what makes good theatre, good art, and good life.

After 10 months of playing in the frigid cold of Toronto, Canada, our cast of The Wizard of Oz began a touring experience that currently has us situated in Costa Mesa, California. I had no idea it was so warm here, even in winter. The joy of packing all of my winter clothes into a box in middle of January is comparable to a second Christmas morning. It's my first national tour, and I've picked up a few tips and experiences I'd love to share with you over the coming weeks. For starters, let me tell you a bit about what I do in the show!

Toronto Discount Watch brings you the latest discounts from the top theatres all over the city! Follow BroadwayWorld Toronto on Twitter or like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all of the latest discounts!

Toronto Discount Watch brings you the latest discounts from the top theatres all over the city! Follow BroadwayWorld Toronto on Twitter or like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all of the latest discounts!

Mirvish is offering three different family day weekend family packs for some of the hottest tickets in town this weekend! The special Family 4 Pack offer starts at just $139 dollars. Take advantage of these awesome discounts to take in some first class theatre over the long weekend!

Mirvish Productions has released a brand new video preview of they're latest show, ARRABAL! ARRABAL, an exciting World Premiere, is an explosive story told entirely through dance and the music of multiple Academy Award® winner Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel) and his band Bajofondo.

On last night's episode of The Rick Mercer Report, host Rick Mercer attempted to conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The Rick Mercer Report, a weekly half-hour topical comedy, debuted on CBC Television in January 2004 and is now in it's 11th season. The most-watched Canadian television comedy, the show garners well over a million viewers every week.

Stepping in to this show is a big deal for me. How do you take a role that has been immortalized by amazing talents such as Joel Grey, Alan Cumming, and Adam Pascale? No matter how good of a job I do, there are comparisons that are going to been drawn. How do you make a role your own when it has already belonged to so many talented men?

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the 2014/15 season. The season features the Canadian premiere of The Tempest by Alexei Ratmansky and the return of Kenneth MacMillan's Manon, after an absence of 16 years. Alice's Adventures in Wonderlandby Christopher Wheeldon and Nijinsky by John Neumeier are back due to popular demand and Principal Dancer and Choreographic Associate Guillaume Cote will create a new work. The 2014/15 season will continue the company's touring activity with performances in Los Angeles and Ottawa.

A lively stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1994 Disney film, The Lion King is the story of a young lion prince living in the flourishing African Pride Lands. Born into the royal family, precocious cub Simba spends his days exploring the sprawling savanna grasslands and idolizing his kingly father, Mufasa, while youthfully shirking the responsibility his position in life requires. When an unthinkable tragedy, orchestrated by Simba's wicked uncle, Scar, takes his father's life, Simba flees the Pride Lands, leaving his loss and the life he knew behind. Eventually companioned by two hilarious and unlikely friends, Simba starts anew. But when weight of responsibility and a desperate plea from the now ravaged Pride Lands come to find the adult prince, Simba must take on a formidable enemy, and fulfill his destiny to be king. A vibrant and exciting tale from the great creatives at Disney, The Lion King is a story of love and redemption that nobody should miss.

After months of rampant public speculation, Drayton Entertainment's Artistic Director Alex Mustakas today announced Les Miserables as the organization's flagship production for the 2014 Season. The coup is the result of Mustakas trying for years to secure the rights to one of the biggest and most successful productions in Broadway history. The epic musical will take centre stage at the Dunfield Theatre Cambridge June 11th to August 2nd, and theHuron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend August 7th to August 30th.