A burgeoning spring of non-stop creation and reinvention is leading into what looks like being an equally flourishing summer season across Ontario.
New creation will be continuing at the Toronto Fringe Festival with the Alliance for Canadian Musicals taking over Theatre Passe Muraille once again for a slate of eight Canadian musicals, with at least 12 more musical and dance shows around the Fringe including CAMP! at Soulpepper from Ben Kopp and Margot Greve, the team behind last year’s hit Iris (says goodbye), and an interactive musical mystery meets scavenger hunt Many Happy Returns at Society Clubhouse. June 30-July 12. www.fringetoronto.com. More new musicals and more will follow by the Hamilton Fringe later in July https://hftco.ca/.
Stratford and Shaw: On the classical front the Stratford Festival celebrates the return of two monster musical hits both directed and choreographed by Donna Feore: Something Rotten skewering bardolatry (the veneration of all things Shakespeare) with Jeff Lillico inhabiting the exaggerated version of our favourite Renaissance playwright; and the classic Guys and Dolls in a new staging and new cast but based on Feore's earlier production, this time with Dan Chameroy as heartthrob gangster Sky Masterson, Mark Uhre as Nathan Detroit and Jennifer Rider-Shaw taking on the comedic high notes of Adelaide. www.stratfordfestival.ca.
Playing until October 3 at the Shaw Festival is a superb production of classic musical Funny Girl brilliantly directed by Eda Holmes and choreographed impeccably true to period by Parker Esse. Sara Farb is wonderful at the centre as that funny girl herself, Fanny Brice. Definitely worth the trip to NOTL just for this, but there are other wonderful offerings as well, both musical and non throughout the season. https://www.shawfest.com/playbill/funny-girl/
At Blyth: At the Blyth Festival, which is dedicated to new Canadian plays, and plays particularly about the part of the country around this small Ontario town, two new musicals are making their debuts: Curveball: The Fast-Pitch Ladies From The Factory Floor by Kelly McIntosh, Andy Pogson and Stacy Smith with original songs by Dayna Manning, celebrates the true 1950s story of the women of the Kroehler Furniture Factory who built furniture by day but ruled the baseball diamond by night. July 8 to August 22; and The Last Mayor Of Rusty River by David Scott and Gil Garrat with original songs by John Powers, which follows, a contemporary bluegrass musical comedy about peers, persistence and a community forced to ask who really deserves their vote. July 29 – September 13 | Opens July 31. www.blythfestival.com
DANCE
Wolfe Island: Summer is what is known as the "off season" for most dance companies. Taking advantage of this fact, and in fact celebrating it, is the brand new "Off Season: Wolfe Island’s Dance Festival” near Kingston, making its debut on July 24 & 25 for several performances as well as workshops and panel discussions.
The festival celebrates contemporary dance with some very impressive choreographic catches including first Nations choreographer Jera Wolf known for his work with Red Sky Performance, who just had a smash hit with the debut of his Kismet for the National Ballet of Canada. Founding Artistic Director, James Street, a 21 year old graduate of the National Ballet School and current student at Juilliard in New York City is the visionary behind this new venture that he describes as “an invitation to experience Canadian dance in a completely different way”. https://www.offseason.live/
Tap Dance fans will be delighted that the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival (TITDF) will return to four downtown venues August 21-23 with workshops and performances reflecting a multiplicity of histories, aesthetics, and perspectives. https://www.toffanrhythmprojects.com/tap-fest. And for fringe devotees, August also picks up the experimental mantle with the return of the SummerWorks festival in Toronto, offering a wide range of curated works in various stages of development around the city. August 6-16. www.summerworks.ca.
Mirvish: Under the Mirvish marquee this summer, there is exciting Canadian talent to watch in the recent Broadway musical hit The Outsiders, inToronto until July 26 at the Princess of Wales Theatre, complete with award-winning choreography by a pair of Toronto brothers Rick & Jeff Kuperman. Meanwhile, down the street at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the all-Canadian company of & Juliet continues to delight audiences with this joyful musical contemporary reworking of Romeo & Juliet until August 30.
Speaking of Canadian content, this is the first year that the rights to now iconic Canadian musical Come From Away are available for companies to present in their own stagings, and there are productions popping up all over the country including all over Ontario this summer. The Grand Theatre in London’s production just finished; the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope presents its own version in July as does Yes Theatre in Sudbury. How nice it is to see a Canadian musical being picked up this way - sold-out houses, extended runs, and all.
Jennifer Parr is a Toronto-based director, dramaturge, fight director and acting coach, brought up from a young age on a rich mix of musicals, Shakespeare and new Canadian plays.
