Toronto theatre listings
A list of shows currently playing or opening soon in Toronto theatres, with links to reviews and features where available
Currently playing
✅BLACKBIRD by David Harrower (Talk is Free Theatre). Dean Deffett directs Cyrus Lane and Kirstyn Russelle in Harrower’s intense play about a woman and a man confronting their complicated and painful past after a secret and inappropriate relationship. See my review here. Runs to October 18 at Hope United Church (2550 Danforth Ave). tift.ca ✭✭✭✭
MJ THE MUSICAL by Christopher Wheeldon and Lynn Nottage (Mirvish). The tour of the Tony Award-winning musical about the making of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour moonwalks into town. See my review here. Runs to November 2 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria). mirvish.com ✭✭✭
OCTET by Dave Malloy (Crow’s/Soulpepper/Musical Stage Company). Chris Abraham directs the Canadian premiere of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 composer Malloy’s a capella chamber opera about eight internet addicts in a support group. See my review here. Runs to October 26 (extended) at Crow’s Theatre’s Guloien Theatre (345 Carlaw). crowstheatre.com ✭✭✭
ROMEO ET JULIETTE by Charles Gounod (Canadian Opera Company). Amy Lane directs Gounod’s sumptuous version of the classic tale of doomed love. Runs to October 18 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen West). coc.ca
THE SANKOFA TRILOGY by d’bi.young anitafrika (Watah Theatre Production presented by the Theatre Centre). Young stars in remounts all three plays — blood.claat, benu and word! sound! powah! — in her trilogy spanning three generations in the lives of Sankofa women. Runs to October 12 at the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West). theatrecentre.org
✅SLAVE PLAY by Jeremy O. Harris (Canadian Stage). Jordan Laffrenier directs the Canadian premiere of Harris’ explosive play about love, race and relationships. See my review here. Runs to October 19 at the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). canadianstage.com ✭✭✭✭
Related story: 10 artists to watch this fall
✅TELL TALE HARBOUR by Adam Brazier, Edward Riche, Bob Foster and Alan Doyle (Mirvish/Confederation Centre for the Arts). Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle stars in this new musical about a small Maritime town that tries to convince a young physician to live there to save a factory. See my review here. Runs to November 2 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre (260 King West). mirvish.com ✭✭✭✭
✅THE VEIL by Keith Barker and Thomas Morgan Jones (Thought for Food Productions, in association with Crow’s Theatre and the Guild Festival Theatre). Helen Juvonen directs this world premiere horror drama about a cursed lawyer who must confront every bad deed he’s committed in his life. Runs to October 19 (extended) at Crow’s Theatre’s Studio Theatre (345 Carlaw). See my review here. crowstheatre.com ✭✭✭✭
✅WAITING FOR GODOT by Samuel Beckett (Coal Mine Theatre). Kelli Fox directs Ted Dykstra, Alexander Thomas, Jim Mezon and others in a revival of Beckett’s existential classic. See my review here. Runs to October 12 at Coal Mine Theatre (2076 Danforth Ave). coalminetheatre.com ✭✭✭✭
Opening this week (October 6 to 12)
THE MUSH HOLE by Santee Smith (Kaha:wi Dance Theatre/Young People’s Theatre). Smith directs this remount of her award-winning theatre/dance show about Indigenous children forced to live at Brantford’s Mohawk Institute Residential School, drawn from testimonies from two generations of survivors. Recommended for ages 11 and up. October 6 to 17 at Young People’s Theatre (165 Front East). youngpeoplestheatre.org
BRIGHT STAR by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (Donna Garner, Tricia Soltys and Andy Cohen/Off-Mirvish). Jacob Wolstencroft directs an all-Canadian cast in this musical about love and redemption set in the American South of the 1920s and 40s. In previews, opens October 8 and runs to November 2 (extended) at the CAA Theatre (651 Yonge). mirvish.com
✅BREMEN TOWN by Gregory Prest (Tarragon). Nancy Palk stars as a housekeeper in a small German town who is fired after 45 years of service and attempts to visit her estranged son in Prest’s moving allegory, which received a fine workshop production several years ago at the Next Stage Festival. In previews, opens October 8 and runs to October 26 at the Tarragon Mainspace (30 Bridgman). tarragontheatre.com
ORFEO ED EURYDICE by Gluck (Canadian Opera Company). Robert Carsen’s stunning production of Gluck’s Baroque masterpiece returns, featuring Iestyn Davies and Anna-Sophie Neher in the title roles. October 9 to 25 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen West). coc.ca
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (TheatreTO). Jeremy Hutton directs a revival of the campy musical comedy about a meek florist, the woman he loves and a strange plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. October 10 to November 16 at the Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina). theatre.to
Send theatre listings info or questions to SoSumiContact@gmail.com
Opening soon
THE MAGIC FLUTE by W.A. Mozart (Opera Atelier). The period opera company remounts its lavish production of the beloved Mozart opera, featuring Colin Ainsworth, Stephen Hegedus, Meghan Lindsay, Douglas Williams and others. October 15 to 19 at the Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge). operaatelier.com
CONCORD FLORAL by Jordan Tannahill (Suburban Beast, presented by Why Not Theatre). Tannahill’s reimagining of Boccaccio’s The Decameron is set in an abandoned greenhouse in a Toronto suburb, where 10 teens have fled a mysterious plague. Previews from October 14, opens October 17 and runs to October 25 at the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West). theatrecentre.org
DOUBT: A PARABLE by John Patrick Shanley (Wren Theatre). A principal in a Bronx Catholic school in the 1960s suspects a Priest of having improper relations with a male student in Shanley’s acclaimed drama. October 17 to 25 at the Annex Theatre (730 Bathurst). wrentheatre.com
LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO (Show One Productions). New York’s brilliant, campy and technically accomplished all-male ballerinas group returns for its 50th anniversary tour, which includes a new contemporary work by Sean Curran. October 18 to 19 at the Winter Garden Theatre (189 Yonge). showoneproductions.ca
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak (Carousel Players/Young People’s Theatre). This interactive staging of Sendak’s enchanting book returns after last year’s sold-out run. Aimed at children 3 to 7. October 18 to November 2 at Young People’s Theatre Studio (165 Front East). youngpeoples theatre.org