Musical Theatre and Dance

Summer’s bounty

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/.

It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken “Beyond the Jukebox”

The “jukebox musical,” for those not familiar with the term, builds a story around the music of some iconic band or artist. – Abba’s music in Mamma Mia, for example. So when I first found out that a new musical, soon to receive its world premiere, was being built around the songs of iconic Canadian band The Tragically Hip, I knew I had to know more.

New Creations & Happy Returns

The musical Piaf/Dietrich is about to open in a new production at the Grand Theatre in London (Ontario). It was a hit in Europe in 2013 when it was first produced (performed in German). The original book by Daniel Große Boymann and Thomas Kahry was subsequently adapted in 2018 for Montreal’s Segal Centre by decorated Canadian playwright Erin Shields, whose new play You, Always is currently wowing audiences at Canadian Stage.

THEATRE AQUARIUS - NCNM inaugural summit

The new National Centre for New Musicals (NCNM) at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton is presenting its inaugural Summit this January 25 to 27. The event promises three days filled with showcases of exciting new musicals in development, panel discussions, “provocations with leading voices in the sector,” and opportunities to meet and mingle with creators, directors, music directors, dramaturgs, producers, and fellow lovers of this art form.

November’s feast, December’s follies - OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FAVOURITES

As I write this column, we are about to bid farewell to two extraordinary musicals that started their runs in September and were extended until November 2 – the Crow’s Theatre/Musical Stage Company/Soulpepper production of Dave Malloy’s Octet at Crow’s, and Garner Theatre Productions’ Bright Star presented by Mirvish Productions at the CAA Theatre. Wildly different shows, they have one thing in common: they are showcases for some of the top musical theatre talent in the country.