Musical Theatre in Toronto, Spring 2009
Musical Comedies, Operas and Operettas on Toronto Stages
Jan 30, 2009
Jersey Boys, The Sound of Music, Happy Days, Dirty Dancing and The Color Purple are among the top tickets in Toronto theatres in February, March and April 2009.
First, the long-running Toronto musicals:
- To at least March 31: Jersey Boys, the Broadway hit about the career of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons presented by Dancap Productions, continues its run indefinitely with a new Canadian cast at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts on Yonge Street in North York. Prix-fixe dinners are available at the theatre before the show.
Mirvish Productions also presents three long-running shows:
- To at least March 1: We Will Rock You, the musical based on the songs of rock group Queen, at the Panasonic Theatre on Yonge Street.
- To at least March 29: The Sound of Music, starring Elicia MacKenzie (How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?), the musical about the Von Trapp Family Singers and their escape from Nazi-dominated Austria at the Princess of Wales Theatre on King Street, and Dirty Dancing, based on the popular movie, which runs at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street
The following shows are being presented for limited runs; there is little chance that any of these will be extended.
Operas and Operettas
- The Canadian Opera Company presents its spring double bill of Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, from January 24 to February 24 and Rusalka, the tragic tale of a water nymph who falls in love with a human, from January 31 to February 23. Performances take place at the elegant Four Seasons Centre at Queen and University.
- February 18 to 22: A Knickerbocker Holiday by Kurt Weill, presented by Toronto Operetta Theatre at the St. Lawrence Centre. Later in the season, the same company presents the hilarious and frothy Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sulivan, in which a band of fairies flirts with the British House of Lords (April 17 to 26).
- April 17 to 24: Another Canadian Opera Company production, La Bohème, one of the world's most popular tragic love stories about Mimi, the little French seamstress, and her artist lover in the garrets of 19th-century Paris.
- April 25 to May 2: The Coronation of Poppea, presented by Toronto's acclaimed Baroque opera company Opera Atelier at the Elgin Theatre. This is Claudio Monteverdi's opera of ancient Rome.
Broadway-style Musical Comedies
- February 2 to March 11: The Forbidden Phoenix by Marty Chan, about the Asian hero Monkey King, told with music, martial arts and stage magic at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People
- February 3 to 15: Happy Days, A New Musical, based on the beloved TV series, at the Elgin Theatre; read an interview with the show's songwriter Paul Williams on Suite 101.
- February 10 to March 14: The Colour Purple at the Canon Theatre, based on Alice Walker's book and Steven Spielberg's film of the same name
- February 12 to March 1: A New Brain, a James Lapine & William Finn musical about a songwriter whose stroke unlocks previously unrealized musical creativity at 26 Berkeley Street (downstairs)
- March 26 to April 19: Rob Roy–The Musical, a new production about Scottish hero Rob Roy MacGregor at the Elgin Theatre
- May 7 to 31: Anne of Green Gables, The Musical, also at the Elgin Theatre, the perennial favourite about the red-haired orphan Anne Shirley
Photo details:
- The Color Purple / First National Tour: Mysterious Ways featuring Trent Armand Kendall (Preacher) and Bridgette Bentley (Church Soloist)
- The Sound of Music / Elicia MacKenzie (Maria) - [centre] and the von Trapp Children in the Toronto production
Read on to find out more about Broadway musicals in New York, Chicago or Toronto.
The copyright of the article Musical Theatre in Toronto, Spring 2009 in North American Musical Theatre is owned by Sarah B. Hood. Permission to republish Musical Theatre in Toronto, Spring 2009 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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