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Live Theatre in Toronto

Clybourne Park is a good play for UTers, I should think.

Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning play looks at issues of "race, class, property ownership and community... (in a) satirical look at demographics, history, home and heart" (so says Studio 180's description of the play).

The first act takes place at the same time as A Raisin in the Sun, but from the perspective of the white Chicago neighborhood that the black family in Raisin is about to move into. There is fear of the "other," of declining property values, of strange cooking smells, of a changing neighborhood... fears we could think of happening in Toronto today.

The second act takes place many years later when the neighborhood is predominantly black. Now, a white couple (with a baby on the way) wants to move into this desirable neighborhood (with close proximity to downtown) and replace the existing house with a much larger one. Now it's the black residents who are objecting to these changes and gentrification of what has become their neighborhood. Again, we can easily imagine these issues in a Toronto context.

While the play starts slow, it builds and becomes quite outrageously funny in the second act.

Studio 180 produced an excellent version of The Normal Heart last year, and they've followed up nicely with Clybourne Park this spring. And note, the play is almost simultaneously opening on Broadway, following success off-Broadway and in the West End.
http://www.studio180theatre.com/productions/clybourne-park
http://clybournepark.com/
 
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Studio 180 is offering half-price tickets for the remaining performances of its remount of The Normal Heart. I saw this production last year and it was excellent. Use discount code NH20 for $20 general admission tickets (reg. $40).

http://www.studio180theatre.com/
 
I also missed it. Next time. Looking forward to seeing 1812 at the Young Center. I love Video Cabaret. I would highly recommend it
 
Soulpepper is being quite adventurous and ambitious this spring/summer/fall. In addition to the Kim's Convenience remount, they are doing Angels in America, parts 1 and 2, and Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy, The Norman Conquests. Also, the third Joe Orton play they've done in recent years, Entertaining Mr. Sloane (I'm looking forward to this: Loot and What the Butler Saw were a bit too farcical for me, whereas Sloane is more darkly comic) and an adaptation of Great Expectations and The Barber of Seville.

And Mirvish has got a lot of recent Broadway musical hits rolling through town this year, including The Book of Morman, Anything Goes, Les Miserables, Aladdin (pre-Broadway) and Once.
 
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I believe that was performed at Stratford last year too, no? I'd be curious to see it too.
 
Saw Soulpepper's production of Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Liked the in-the-round staging--it worked well for this play. The play revolves around a middle aged brother and sister barely disguising their obvious lust for an amoral young ruffian with a violent past, Sloane. Fiona Reid was an expected delight as Kath--a woman both sympathetic and pathetic.

http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/13_season/entertaining_mr_sloane.aspx
 
Saw the touring production of the musical Once (now playing at the Royal Alex), which was very good (I've previously seen the original Broadway production). It’s based on the indie film of the same name, involving an Irish singer-songwriter and a Czech immigrant and their bittersweet love for each other. It’s a simple story and a simple production, but with lovely music performed by the cast on stage (there is no orchestra in the pit). Audience members can visit the functioning bar on stage (the set is designed to resemble a bar in Dublin) at intermission and during the pre-show performance.

http://www.oncemusical.com/
 
I'm hoping to see it. Everyone I know likes the show. And Paul Nowlan from Stratford is doing the lead in NYC. Also free reading this week at the Tarragon



CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS MESSAGE AS A WEB PAGE

Hello,

We’d like to take a moment to remind you about Tarragon’s upcoming reading of Cruise Control by Erika Ritter this Saturday, December 14th. Join us and our all-star cast and creative team for the first ever public presentation of Erika’s sequel to her Chalmers Award-winning play, Automatic Pilot.


Andrea Romaldi
Literary Manager
416.536.5018 x 230
andrea@tarragontheatre.com




CRUISE CONTROL by Erika Ritter
directed by Marti Maraden
featuring Chris Earle, Sam Earle, Sheila McCarthy, Nora McLellan, Jeff Meadows

Growing ever older in a young person’s business, female comic Charlie Fischer repeatedly tries and fails to kick the stand-up comedy habit. Finally, at age sixty, resting up between sets at a suburban comedy club, Charlie faces what it truly means to remain hooked on turning real-life disappointment into comedic gold—especially when going for gold inevitably involves spiting herself and those who care about her.

Date: Saturday, December 14 at 8 pm
Location: Near Studio, Tarragon Theatre
Free admission: No reservations necessary. Arrive early to claim your seat!
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Finally saw the “new” production of Les Miserables. It is currently running at the Princess of Wales Theatre and transferring to Broadway in the spring. Although with a new production design and new directors, the show is not radically different from the original production – more complementary, I would say. Enjoyed the performance of Ramin Karimloo, the Iranian-Canadian actor who has achieved great success in the West End (having performed in the London productions of Les Miz, Phantom of the Opera, and others), and is finally playing a leading role on the Toronto stage. He will take the show to Broadway, although many of the other lead roles will be re-cast with American actors or bigger name performers.

http://www.lesmis.com/toronto/
 
Thanks for the review I'm hoping to see it. I saw Musical of Musicals last week. good for $25. There are some good singers, and I especially liked Marcus nance. The show is pretty thin and maybe best as a cabaret pieced. Its a weak version of forbidden Broadway
 
Glad to see people posting here again.

I found the first half of Les Mis dragged a bit, and I didn't care for Fantine (I couldn't understand her half the time -- speaking or singing), but I loved Karimloo. How awesome for those who got to see him with Colm Wilkinson the other night; I get chills just thinking about how it must have sounded when they did the curtain call.

I also found the first half of Once to be a bit draggy -- took a while to figure out what was going on. I'd forgotten that it was a movie and that it had an Oscar-nominated song until they started to play it. Overall it was enjoyable, and I think I may have wiped a tear or two.

Loved Aladdin -- so much fun! The little girl behind me was very sad there was no monkey, but the staging, the performances and the overall camp quality made up for that lack :) I was blown away with how the set changed in the cave -- having spent lots of hours backstage in little theatre productions, I would love to get a look at how they made that happen.
 
I didn't love Alladin. it was well sung, well staged. Great magic carpet ride scene, Loved the ginnie but the story was paper thin. The Jasmine part could have been stronger. The most compelling part of the story was Aladdin and his friendship with the genie. The prince princess story was very basic.

Anyone have a beat on some les mis tix? I don't want to pay $100
 
The story is the story -- it's Disney! The princesses are pretty much all wimpy. I forgot the genie -- he was terrific.
 
Glad to see people posting here again.

I found the first half of Les Mis dragged a bit, and I didn't care for Fantine (I couldn't understand her half the time -- speaking or singing), but I loved Karimloo. How awesome for those who got to see him with Colm Wilkinson the other night; I get chills just thinking about how it must have sounded when they did the curtain call.

I also found the first half of Once to be a bit draggy -- took a while to figure out what was going on. I'd forgotten that it was a movie and that it had an Oscar-nominated song until they started to play it. Overall it was enjoyable, and I think I may have wiped a tear or two.

Loved Aladdin -- so much fun! The little girl behind me was very sad there was no monkey, but the staging, the performances and the overall camp quality made up for that lack :) I was blown away with how the set changed in the cave -- having spent lots of hours backstage in little theatre productions, I would love to get a look at how they made that happen.

I saw both as well. Alladin was really good but somehow the sound people couldn't get a mic to work properly for the genie who clearly wasn't the best part of the show. Alladin might be my favorite Disney movie and other then Mary poppins it wad my favorite Disney musical.

I never heard or scene les mis before but ill put it up there right beside Joseph and the technocolour dreamcoat. If you know me at all that is dang high praise. I watched the movie on the airplane to India this week, and I liked the production much better.
 

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