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
✅& JULIET by David West Read, Max Martin and others (Mirvish). Vanessa Sears plays the title role in this new Canadian production of the hit musical that imagines what Shakespeare’s Juliet would do if she didn’t die, featuring music from the Max Martin catalogue. See my review here. Runs to May 17 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre (260 King West). mirvish.com ✭✭✭✭✭
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini (Canadian Opera Company). Joan Font’s colourful production of Rossini’s comic opera — adapted from the Beaumarchais play — gets a remount. Runs to February 21 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen West). coc.ca
COPPERBELT by Natasha Mumba (NAC English Theatre/Soulpepper). Nina Lee Aquino directs Mumba’s new play about a Toronto-based woman who returns to her wealthy family in Zambia and must confront some personal and political issues. See my review here. Runs to March 1 at the Young Centre’s Baillie Theatre (50 Tank House Lane). soulpepper.ca ✭✭✭
✅EUREKA DAY by Jonathan Spector (Coal Mine Theatre). Mitchell Cushman directs Spector’s play about how a mumps outbreak forces a private California elementary school with a liberal vaccine policy to do something that won’t please everyone. See my review here. Runs to March 1 (extended) at Coal Mine Theatre (2076 Danforth). coalminetheatre.com ✭✭✭✭
SEARCHING FOR AIMAI by Shirin MacPherson (Cahoots Theatre). Raha Javanar directs the world premiere of MacPherson’s (Erased) solo play about motherhood, ancestry, visibility and cultural inheritance. Runs to March 1 at the Theatre Centre’s BMO Incubator (1115 Queen West). cahoots.ca
SOME LIKE IT HOT by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Matthew López and Amber Ruffin (Mirvish). The touring production of the Tony Award-winning adaptation of the classic screwball comedy set in 1930s Chicago comes to town. Runs to March 15 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria). mirvish.com
SUMMER AND SMOKE by Tennessee Williams (Crow’s Theatre and Soulpepper, in association with Birdland Theatre). Paolo Santalucia directs a revival of Williams’s rarely-performed play about a highly strung, unmarried minister’s daughter and a young doctor who lives next door to her. Runs to March 8 (extended) at Crow’s Theatre’s Guloien Theatre (345 Carlaw). crowstheatre.com
✅THROUGH THE EYES OF GOD by Anusree Roy (Theatre Passe Muraille). Thomas Morgan Jones directs Gabriella Sundar Singh in the world premiere staging of Roy’s play, about a young woman whose daughter has been trafficked in Delhi. See my review here. Runs to February 21 at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson). passemuraille.ca ✭✭✭✭✭
TREE from an idea by Hélène Ducharme (Théâtre Motus/Young People’s Theatre). This interactive multi-sensory show set in a Mama Bird’s nest allows audiences from ages 6 months to 3 years enter a universe filled with puppets, soft lights and gentle melodies. Runs to February 22 at YPT’s Studio Theatre (165 Front East). youngpeoplestheatre.org
WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT by Nassim Soleimanpour (Assembly Theatre in association with One Four One Collective and Nassim Soleimanpour Productions). Soleimanpour’s global theatrical experiment, created when the author was denied a passport for being a conscientious objector in his home country of Iran, features actors (a different one each night) performing from a script they open on the spot, having done no research ahead of time. Runs to February 20 at the Assembly Theatre (1479 Queen West). theassemblytheatre.com (includes schedules and performers).
WITCH by Jen Silverman (Soulpepper). Courtney Ch’ng Lancasters directs Tantoo Cardinal, Oliver Dennis, Nicholas Eddie and others in this satiric update of the Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton, about an ostracized woman who refuses to be bought by the devil. See my review here. Runs to March 1 at the Young Centre’s Michael Young Theatre (50 Tank House Lane). soulpepper.ca ✭✭✭
✅YOU, ALWAYS by Erin Shields (Canadian Stage). Andrea Donaldson directs Maev Beaty and Liisa Repo-Martell in this premiere of Shields’ play about two sisters recounting their 50-year history after receiving some shocking news. See my review here. Runs to February 22 (extended) at the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). canadianstage.com ✭✭✭✭
Send theatre listings info or questions to SoSumiContact@gmail.com
Opening this week (Feb. 16 to 22)
GLENN GOULD SCHOOL OPERA SHOWCASE (Canadian Opera Company). Rising stars of the school’s artist diploma program perform arias, scenes and excerpts from of their upcoming spring double bill of Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Free. February 17 at noon at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen West). coc.ca
NIGHT AT THE GRAND GUIGNOL by Eric Woolfe (Eldritch Theatre). Woolfe directs Jeanie Calleja, Pip Dwyer and Natalia Bushnik in his play set in the 1920s in the infamous Parisian theatre devoted to gruesome horror and depravity. Opens February 18 and runs to March 1 at the Red Sandcastle Theatre (922 Queen East). eldritchtheatre.ca
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE adapted from the Jane Austen novel by Ferron Delcy and Jesse McQueen (Wren Theatre). Tatum Lee directs this new adaptation of Austen’s classic novel about love, misunderstandings and marriage in Regency era England. Opens February 18 and runs to February 22 at the Randolph Theatre (736 Bathurst). wrentheatre.com
LOVE YOU FOREVER AND MORE MUNSCH based on the stories of Robert Munsch, adapted by Stephen Colella and Sue Miner (Young People’s Theatre). This Dora Award-winning show brings five of beloved author Munsch’s classics to life (for ages 4 and up). Opens February 19 and runs to March 21 at YPT’s Ada Slaight Stage (165 Front East). youngpeoplestheatre.org
Opening soon
HAMLET by William Shakesepare (Mirvish). Eddie Izzard performs a solo version of the Bard’s greatest tragedy. February 25 to 28 at the CAA Theatre (651 Yonge). mirvish.com
NEIGHBOURS by Nicolas Billon (Green Light Arts in association with the Tarragon). A couple living on a quiet street discovers their neighbour is hiding a sinister secret in Billon’s new play, directed by Matt White. Previews from February 24, opens February 26 and runs to March 16 at the Tarragon Extraspace (30 Bridgman). tarragontheatre.com
LITTLE WILLY by Ronnie Burkett (Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, presented by Canadian Stage). The master puppeteer returns to present a twisted take on Romeo and Juliet. Opens February 27 and runs to April 5 at the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). canadianstage.com
March
THE SURROGATE by Mohsin Zaidi (Here for Now Theatre, in association with Crow’s Theatre, House and Body, and b current). Christopher Manousos directs Zaidi’s new play about what happens when a gay couple’s surrogate is admitted to hospital with complications. Previews from February 24, opens March 4 and runs to March 22 at Crow’s Theatre’s Studio Theatre (345 Carlaw). crowstheatre.com
SHUCKED by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (Mirvish). The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical comedy about one woman’s attempt to save a town’s corn crop arrives in a national tour. Previews from March 3, opens March 5 and runs to April 5 at the Princess of Wales Theatre (300 King West). mirvish.com
THE HERALD by Jill Connell (It Could Still Happen/Buddies in Bad Times). Connell’s play mixes Greek myth and late-stage capitalism to look at labour, faith and meaning. Previews March 4, opens March 5 and runs to March 14 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (12 Alexander). buddiesinbadtimes.com
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE by Lisa Lambert, Bob Martin, Don McKellar and Greg Morrison (Shifting Ground Collective). The Dora Award-winning indie company remounts the acclaimed, affectionate (homegrown) satire of an old-school musical. March 7 to 21 at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson). shiftinggroundcollective.com
SYNDROME by George F. Walker (Theatre Direct). Lisa Marie DiLiberto directs the world premiere of Walker’s play for young audiences about a high school student who responds to doomsday messaging by trashing his art classroom. Opens March 10 and runs to March 15 (student shows March 3-6) at the Assembly Theatre (1479 Queen West). theassemblytheatre.com
QUEEN MAEVE by Judith Thompson (Tarragon). The legendary actor Claire Coulter returns to the Tarragon in Thompson’s play about a woman in a nursing home who’s been reincarnated from many forms, including the great Irish Warrior of the title. Previews from March 3, opens March 11 and runs to March 29 at the Tarragon Mainspace (30 Bridgman). tarragontheatre.com
A MIRROR by Sam Holcroft (ARC). Tamara Vuckovic directs this new play that interrogates censorship, authorship and free speech. Previews March 11, opens March 12 and runs to March 28 at the 918 Bathurst Centre (918 Bathurst). arcstage.com
AN IMM-PERMANENT RESIDENT by Neha Poduval and Himanshu Sitlani (Nautanki Bazaar, in association with Factory Theatre). Real-life couple Poduval and Sitlani remount their acclaimed, Dora-nominated comedy inspired by Poduval’s attempts to obtain permanent resident status in Canada. March 12 to 22 at the Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst). factorytheatre.ca
(Listings continue through June for paid-tier members only)