Music

Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Annie Hodgins — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 20:49:21 +0000

Subtitle:

Creative song-and-dance tribute to Canadian artist hits Toronto

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Presented by Theatre 20 with the support of Theatre Passe Muraille
A Firehall Arts Centre Production
Directed and Conceived by Tracey Power
Musical Direction and Arrangements by Steven Charles

Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen has entertained audiences out west since its Vancouver debut in in 2012, and this February sees its Toronto premiere at Theatre Passe Muraille. The two-act musical begins in a paper-strewn room of the Chelsea Hotel, as a young Cohenesque character (Jonathan Gould) struggles with the writing process, haunted by memories and visions.

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Show Dates:

Wed, 2016-02-03 - Sun, 2016-02-21

Theatre:

Theatre Passe Muraille

Q&A - Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 20:13:54 +0000

Subtitle:

Tracey Power on celebrating Canadian work and touring her show across the country

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

Presented by Theatre 20 with the support of Theatre Passe Muraille
A Firehall Arts Centre production
Directed and conceived by Tracey Power
Musical direction and arrangements by Steven Charles

Since premiering at Vancouver's Firehall Arts Centre in 2012, Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen has made stops in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria, Vernon, Banff, Fort McMurray and Edmonton. This month, the critically-acclaimed cabaret lands in Toronto at Theatre Passe Muraille.

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Show Dates:

Wed, 2016-02-03 - Sun, 2016-02-21

Theatre:

Theatre Passe Muraille

Donny & Marie Christmas in Toronto

Victoria Bégin — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

Donny and Marie offer Toronto audiences the gift of entertainment this season

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Presented by David Mirvish
Conceived and created by Donny & Marie Osmond

She’s a little bit country, he’s a little bit rock and roll, but together they are one of the most beloved brother-sister acts of the past 50 years. Donny and Marie Osmond, each with their own musical style and individual quirkiness, have reunited for a Christmas show that is outrageously entertaining and heartwarming. Donny & Marie Christmas in Toronto is a production akin to an overflowing Christmas stocking full of treats, surprises, and plenty of holiday cheer.

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Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-12-09 - Sun, 2014-12-21

Theatre:

Princess of Wales Theatre

Q&A: The TSO Presents Celtic Christmas

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 03:16:15 +0000

Subtitle:

Donnell Leahy on fun, family and performing holiday favourites with Natalie MacMaster and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

Presented by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Steven Reineke
Featuring Donnell Leahy, Natalie MacMaster and family

The holiday season is upon us and Juno Award-winning fiddler Donnell Leahy is ready to party—with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This week, the TSO presents Celtic Christmas, a celtic holiday music party featuring the Leahy family and guest performer Natalie MacMaster under the baton of TSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke.

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Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-12-09 - Wed, 2014-12-10

Theatre:

Roy Thompson Hall

Q&A: The Second City Guide to the Symphony

Lauren Gillett — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 05:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

Producer Klaus Schuller on The Second City's comic collaboration with the TSO

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

Hosted by Colin Mochrie
Musical Director: Peter Oundjian

Theatregoers are in for a rare treat this month: The Second City is paring up with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) to present The Second City Guide to the Symphony, a unique comedy-meets-classical music show, on stage for two performances only (Nov 29 & 30) at Roy Thomson Hall.

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Show Dates:

Sat, 2014-11-29 - Sun, 2014-11-30

Theatre:

Roy Thompson Hall

Global Cabaret Festival

Jennifer Harvey — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 04:45:18 +0000

Subtitle:

Soulpepper's quirky cabaret (re)Birth: E.E. Cummings in Song launches a music-filled weekend at the Young Centre

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Presented by Soulpepper
Created and developed by Ins Choi, Tatjana Cornij, Raquel Duffy, Matthew Kabwe, Ken MacKenzie, Gregory Prest, Karen Rae, Mike Ross, Jason Rothery and Brendan Wall

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance." ― E.E.Cummings

The Global Cabaret Festival’s seventh annual celebration of music and theatrical excellence kicked off on Thursday night with (re)Birth: E.E. Cummings in Song, a cabaret that brings the poetry of E.E. Cummings to life in an eclectic collection of music that sparkles with magic.

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Stars:

4.5

Show Dates:

Thu, 2014-10-23 - Sun, 2014-10-26

Theatre:

Young Centre for the Performing Arts

Life, Death and The Blues

Jennifer Harvey — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 04:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

Raoul Bhaneja brings the house down with blues tribute at Theatre Passe Muraille

Headline:

Review

Credits:

A Theatre Passe Muraille Production In association with Hope & Hell Theatre Co.
Written and conceived by Raoul Bhaneja
Directed by Eda Holmes

Raoul Bhaneja leads the audience through the history of blues, and tells the story of some of his heroes in Life, Death and The Blues, a fusion of conversation, theatre, live music and multi-media, now on stage at Theatre Passe Muraille. Bhaneja's banter with Canadian R&B/Soul singer Divine Brown brings laughter and tears as they explore stereotypes and different cultural experiences and Bhaneja talks about what made/makes him a bluesman.

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Show Dates:

Thu, 2014-09-25 - Sun, 2014-10-19

Theatre:

Theatre Passe Muraille

Q&A: Life, Death and The Blues

Lauren Gillett — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 19:39:11 +0000

Subtitle:

Raoul Bhaneja pours his heart and soul into a new show with Theatre Passe Muraille

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

A Theatre Passe Muraille Production In association with Hope and Hell Theatre Co.
Written and conceived by Raoul Bhaneja
Directed by Eda Holmes

The style and substance of Blues music takes centre stage this season in a new show created by actor and musician Raoul Bhaneja at Theatre Passe Muraille (opens September 27). An innovative concert/theatre hybrid, Life, Death and The Blues combines autobiography, interviews, live music, and multimedia to explore the power, passion and meaning of The Blues.

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Show Dates:

Thu, 2014-09-25 - Sun, 2014-10-19

Theatre:

Theatre Passe Muraille

Q&A: Ashkenaz Festival | Lilith, The Night Demon in One Lewd Act

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 04:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

Yiddish opera singer Anthony Russell talks about his role in Veretski Pass's edgy new folk opera at the Ashkenaz Festival

Headline:

Interview

The Ashkenaz Festival, North America's premier festival of international Jewish music and culture, returns to Toronto this week (Aug 26 - Sept 1) at the Harbourfront Centre. Featuring artists from across the globe, the festival's programming includes music, film, theatre, cabaret, dance, literature, panel discussions, crafts and visual arts—with the majority of events offered free to the public.

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Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-08-26 - Mon, 2014-09-01

Q&A: Glenn

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 01:24:41 +0000

Subtitle:

Jeff Lillico gets his hands on the role of a lifetime playing piano prodigy Glenn Gould

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

Presented by Soulpepper Theatre
Written by David Young
Directed by Diana Leblanc

How well do you know legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould? This season, Soulpepper explores the man behind the composer, writer and broadcaster in a new production of David Young's Glenn directed by Diana Leblanc (on stage Aug 26). The play divides Gould's character into four distinct aspects or personas: the Prodigy, the Performer, the Perfectionist and the Puritan.

Here, performer Jeff Lillico talks about his experience playing the Prodigy in this highly anticipated composition.

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Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-08-26 - Wed, 2014-10-01

Theatre:

Young Centre for the Performing Arts

YARN

Lauren Gillett — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 04:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

Alex Eddington unravels his soul in this offbeat solo show at SummerWorks

Headline:

SummerWorks Performance Festival

Credits:

Written composed and performed by Alex Eddington
Direction and dramaturgy by Tyler Seguin

Superstition and sheep collide in Alex Eddington's YARN, a tale of sacrifice and self discovery now playing at The Majlis Art Garden as part of the SummerWorks Performance Festival. Using an arrray of instruments and props, the charismatic Eddington tells the story of a long and lonely summer spent working in a hotel on the Scottish Isle of Mull. He hopes the craggy landscape will inspire an operatic masterpiece...if only he could silence the bleating voice in his head.

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Stars:

3.5

Show Dates:

Thu, 2014-08-07 - Sun, 2014-08-17

Arrabal

Victoria Bégin — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 20:05:10 +0000

Subtitle:

Argentina's thrilling tango show explodes onto the Toronto stage

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Presented by BASE Entertainment
Directed and co-choreography by Sergio Trujillo
Book by John Weidman

If you think you know tango, think again.

The stage at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre has been transformed into a tango bar featuring both seasoned tango dancers and audience members learning new steps. This is the interactive pre-show before the curtain is raised for Arrabal, a new political dance musical now playing at the Panasonic Thetare. Based on a true story, Arrabal is sexy and dramatic, reinventing tango for a new generation.

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Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-02-04 - Sun, 2014-04-20

Theatre:

CAA Theatre (Formerly The Panasonic)

Heartbeat of Home

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 05:00:00 +0000

Subtitle:

A multicultural mashup of music and dance lands in Toronto

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Presented by Mirvish Productions
Producer Moa Doherty
Conceived of and directed by John McColgan
Composed by Brian Byrne
Choreography/musical staging by David Bolger
Irish dance choreography by John Carey

Irish dancing meets salsa, flamenco, tango and other Afro-Cuban rhythms in Heartbeat of Home, a new show from the producers of Riverdance, now making its North American Premiere at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

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Stars:

3.5

Show Dates:

Tue, 2014-01-21 - Sun, 2014-03-02

Theatre:

Ed Mirvish Theatre

Q&A: Arlecchino Allegro

Lauren Gillett — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:09:22 +0000

Subtitle:

Performer Diana Kolpak on mixing clowns with chamber music for Toronto Masque Theatre's 10th anniversary season

Headline:

Interview

Credits:

Presented by Toronto Masque Theatre
Created by Larry Beckwith, Diana Kolpak & David-Benjamin Tomlinson

For their annual cabaret and 10th anniversary celebration, Toronto Masque Theatre is staging Arlecchino Allegro, a reimagining of Tears of a Clown, a show from the company's first season, at Enoch Turner Schoolhouse (Jan 23-25).

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Show Dates:

Thu, 2014-01-23 - Sat, 2014-01-25

Theatre:

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse

I Love Lucy: Live on Stage

Victoria Bégin — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 16:25:20 +0000

Subtitle:

Relive the golden age of television with this fun-filled staging of an American classic

Headline:

Review

Credits:

Adapted for the stage with new material by Kim Flagg and Rick Sparks
Staged and directed by Rick Sparks

The early 1950s were a time of great optimism among American consumers eager for ways to make their lives more enjoyable, and ready to spend money to do so. With the introduction of the television came the broadcast of American sitcoms into the family home, and one of the earliest sitcoms was I Love Lucy, which became the most-watched and best-loved television show in the United States over its six-year run.

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Stars:

4.5

Show Dates:

Tue, 2013-10-15 - Sun, 2013-11-03

Theatre:

Royal Alexandra Theatre