Toronto Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 6

Review: HAMILTON's Triumphant Return To Toronto Proves You Need To Be In The Room Where It Happens
by Isabella Perrone - February 28, 2023

HAMILTON takes another shot at Toronto as the production returns as part of Mirvish’s 2022/23 season. The show ran briefly in 2020 before it was forced to close early due to the pandemic, meaning many Canadian audiences who’ve been waiting for it the last three years will finally have the chance to ...

Review: REDBONE COONHOUND at Tarragon Theatre
by Ilana Lucas - February 22, 2023

What did our critic think of REDBONE COONHOUND at Tarragon Theatre? That's the hotly debated question in Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton's new play at Tarragon Theatre, co-produced with Montreal's Imago Theatre. In REDBONE COONHOUND, interracial couple Mike and Marissa (Christopher Allen and Chala H...

Review: ENGLISH at Soulpepper Theatre
by Samantha Wu - February 20, 2023

Soulpepper Theatre launches their 2023 season with English playing at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Set in Iran in the spring of 2009, English follows a small adult ESL class where each student and their instructor have their own push-and-pull relationship with their native tongue Farsi ...

Review: Atom Egoyan's SALOME Is A Dark, Twisted Descent Into Tragedy
by Isabella Perrone - February 14, 2023

The story of a doomed, distorted princess from biblical infamy makes for an uncomfortable, heavy watch. It also makes for incredible operatic moments, and a gripping, sensory experience, all in under two hours....

Review: ARE WE NOT DRAWN ONWARD TO NEW ERA at Bluma Appel Theatre
by Ilana Lucas - February 10, 2023

What did our critic think of ARE WE NOT DRAWN ONWARD TO NEW ERA at Bluma Appel Theatre? The symbolism is pretty clear: if a single red apple hangs tantalizingly from a lone onstage tree next to a sleeping woman, the fruit will be plucked, innocence will be lost, and Eve and Adam will have to leave t...

Review: THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE at CAA Theatre
by Samantha Wu - February 07, 2023

Things I Know to be True is an emotionally driven tale of a family stretched thin. With four adult children, it's not as easy for two loving parents to swoop in and know the right thing to say or do to make their children's crises disappear. Playing at the CAA Theatre for a limited engagement, this ...

Review: THE MAGIC OF ASSEMBLY at Winchester Street Theatre
by Ilana Lucas - February 05, 2023

THE MAGIC OF ASSEMBLY, a vibrant dance show, thrives on making invisible threads visible. With a blend of contemporary and street dance and live music by duo LAL, it’s sometimes bewildering, but mostly, the experience is wild, wacky, and wonderful....

Review: Mozart's Beloved Comic Opera THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Takes A Gloriously Chaotic Turn At Canadian Opera Company
by Isabella Perrone - February 02, 2023

The Canadian Opera Company presents this production of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, originally created by the Salzburg Festival, as part of its 2023 season. Directed here by Claus Guth, some of Mozart's most recognizable operatic works come to life through the COC Orchestra, conducted by Harry Bicket....

Review: PRESSURE at Royal Alexandra Theatre
by Samantha Wu - February 01, 2023

What did our critic think of PRESSURE at Royal Alexandra Theatre? Mirvish Productions presents Pressure playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre until March 5 2023. Fitting to the name, this performance is a pressurized exploration into the days leading up to D-Day in June, 1944. General Dwight Eisenh...

Review: MARTYR at Aki Studio
by Ilana Lucas - January 22, 2023

Marius von Mayenburg’s MARTYR tells the story of a radicalized Christian teenager and his crusade of extremism that damages everyone around him. ARC’s production's sharp, slick direction and assured cast expose some flaws in the idea-heavy script. However, it ultimately succeeds in showing theatre’s...

Review: JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Dazzles in Imaginative New Production
by Isabella Perrone - December 19, 2022

The highly acclaimed production of JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT has made its way to Toronto. Presented now by Mirvish and directed by Laurence Connor, its premise is straightforward - the Narrator (Vanessa Fisher) is retelling the biblical tale of Joseph (Jac Yarrow) to a group of children....

Review: THE NUTCRACKER Brings The Classic Ballet To Life In Toronto This December
by Isabella Perrone - December 14, 2022

The National Ballet of Canada has brought its beloved production of THE NUTCRACKER back to the stage for the holiday season. Originally created in 1995 and now choreographed (with libretto) by James Kudelka, the production is grand, whimsical, and performed beautifully by all cast members to make fo...

Review: PETER'S FINAL FLIGHT Takes Audiences On A Whimsical Adventure in Ross Petty's Farewell Production
by Isabella Perrone - December 13, 2022

Looking for an escape this winter season? Ross Petty’s final holiday pantomime is whisking audiences away to Neverland on a whimsical, musical adventure that’s got something for everyone, no matter their age....

Review: MIRIAM'S WORLD at Theatre Passe Muraille
by Ilana Lucas - December 11, 2022

Inspired by Martha Baillie’s novel The Incident Report, multi-media artist Naomi Jaye has brought MIRIAM’S WORLD to Passe Muraille. In this approximately 20-minute video installation, the theatre is transformed into a library, where interactions between projections of a librarian and patrons make us...

Review: FISHERMANS FRIENDS THE MUSICAL makes for a reel-ly fun night out
by Isabella Perrone - December 05, 2022

While a musician underdog story isn’t a brand new concept, it’s refreshing to see it done so well - and luckily for audiences, FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS THE MUSICAL is packed to the gills with gorgeous music and vocal performances. ...

Review: LITTLE DICKENS at Canadian Stage
by Ilana Lucas - November 29, 2022

Ronnie Burkett's LITTLE DICKENS, a partially-improvised puppet homage to A Christmas Carol set in the bawdy and naughty world of show business, is a metatheatrical, in-joke-filled wonderland that pulls all the right strings....

Review: Holiday Classic WHITE CHRISTMAS Takes the Stage At Shaw Festival
by Michael Rabice - November 29, 2022

Christmas traditions may come and go, but watching the film WHITE CHRISTMAS has always been an obligatory part of the holiday season for me. And for the past 20 years or so, audiences can experience Irving Berlin's classic  live on stage. The Shaw Festival is presenting their joyous version this yea...

Review: OUR PLACE at Theatre Passe Muraille
by Ilana Lucas - November 25, 2022

In Kanika Ambrose’s OUR PLACE at Theatre Passe Muraille, Andrea (Virgilia Griffith) and Niesha (Sophia Walker), immigrants without papers, dream of better lives for themselves and their children back home. Due to the pandemic, the show was postponed twice; now, like a dream deferred, it explodes ont...

Review: POST-DEMOCRACY at Tarragon Theatre
by Ilana Lucas - November 20, 2022

Moscovitch’s POST-DEMOCRACY, a new, tight one-hour drama at Tarragon Theatre, bares the seedy, nepotistic underbelly of the glistening penthouse. The bleak hour is gleefully biting in its criticism of a class invulnerable to consequence. However, it bites off a little more than it can chew in addres...

Review: CHOIR BOY Strikes All The Right Chords At The Bluma Appel Theatre,
by Isabella Perrone - November 16, 2022

As far as coming-of-age stories go, many are predictable and follow a pretty standard template. Thankfully for CHOIR BOY, written by acclaimed playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, the story maintains all the charms of the genre while still embarking on a more unique take....

Review: DOUBT at Church Of The Holy Trinity
by Ilana Lucas - November 08, 2022

John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt claims that doubt may be as enduring a force as certainty. Though I’ll never know if the Broadway production would have been life-changing, I can say that the intimate, intense production by new company B&E, set within The Church of the Holy Trinit...

Review: MEAN GIRLS Gets Fetching Stage Adaptation That'll Thrill Fans of The Film
by Isabella Perrone - November 01, 2022

Mirvish’s production of MEAN GIRLS brings the cult-classic film to life, packed full of iconic lines, loveable characters, and featuring a soundtrack full of funny, new music....

Review: HUMAN MEASURE at Canadian Stage
by Ilana Lucas - October 29, 2022

In Human Measure, artist Cassils’ first piece of contemporary dance choreographed by Jasmine Albuquerque, trans and nonbinary bodies are highlighted. A rejoinder to Yves Klein's Anthropometries paintings, in which naked women were painted blue and then dragged across canvases as living brushes, the ...

Review: CARMEN Burns Bright in Canadian Opera Company's Latest Production
by Isabella Perrone - October 25, 2022

Quite possibly one of the best known opera comiques, CARMEN has returned to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage in a bright blaze....

Review: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN is a Haunting, Stunning Retelling of The Classic Folk Tale
by Isabella Perrone - October 12, 2022

The Canadian Opera Company’s 2010 production of Wagner's THE FLYING DUTCHMAN has sailed back to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage. Originally directed by Christopher Alden, this production sees Marilyn Gronsdal take the helm....