New Orford String Quartet New Orford, made up of current and former principal players of the Montreal and Toronto symphony orchestras, revels in the rapidly changing moods of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15, a work that alternately dances and grieves, without ever losing its grip on a melody that so tugs at the heart. Find out more »
The Book Lover’s Ball If you’re the kind of person who always waits for the lower-priced paperback or routinely scours bookstore remainder displays for deals, this glitzy black-tie gala might not be for you. If, however, you can see yourself ponying up the steep ticket price for the sake of charity and the chance to mingle with dozens of notable Canadian authors, then it may be time to pick out a tux or dress. All proceeds go to the Toronto Public Library Foundation. Find out more »
A critical guide to TV, movies, theatre and music, with daily event roundups to max out your social calendar
Today in Toronto: New Orford String Quartet and The Book Lover’s Ball
The Weekender: Potted Potter, Rhubarb Festival and six other items on our to-do list
The Weekender: Potted Potter, Children’s Story Jam and Hamlet Live
1. HAMLET LIVE
Part post-apocalyptic dystopia (it’s set in 2080, and the set-up name-checks everything from violent solar flares to displaced populations to wartime atrocities), and part Shakespearean classic, this Hamlet adaptation keeps Will’s wording but places the young prince, Claudius, Gertrude and the rest of the gang in a futuristic Denmark. King Hamlet oversees a bloody battle to maintain the country’s borders, only to die at his brother’s hand “at the very height of his glory.” Now his son, the young Hamlet, is out for vengeance. In the interest of accessibility—and achieving as large an audience as possible—the play will be live-streamed online ($5), complete with multiple camera angles and on-air editing. To Feb. 11. $20–$40. The Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst St., hamletlive.com.
2. EROTIC ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR (FREE!) Read the rest of this entry »
Sweetly handmade crafts meet X-rated content at this fair, and it’s the only event of its kind in the country. Think saucy prints, bondage-inspired jewellery and maybe even a choose your own adventure–style zine. Be sure to stick around for the after-show: a cabaret (PWYC or $7) and a sure-to-be raucous after-party. Feb. 11. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W., eroticartsandcrafts.com.
The Pick: Love From Afar, a haunting tale of longing that occasionally masquerades as a circus act
Krisztina Szabó as the Pilgrim and Russell Braun floating above as Jaufré (Image: Michael Cooper)
To say the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Love From Afar has a lot going on would be a bit of an understatement. This particular take on Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s 2000 opera—about a medieval poet who falls in love with a faraway woman he’s never seen—was directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, a Cirque du Soleil alum, and the result is like a less flashy, opera-fied version of the troupe’s Michael Jackson Immortal show. Before the singing even begins, a shimmering sheet of blue silk flies over the audience. Then there are the cartwheeling tumblers, the dazzling video projections, and Russell Braun hanging in a suspended throne that looks like Glinda’s bubble from Wicked. It’s almost enough to distract you from the music.
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Today in Toronto: In the Heights and The Kills
In the Heights This Tony winner has contemporary trappings—freestyle rap, graffiti—but it’s really as old-fashioned a musical as they come. A bodega owner tries to decide whether or not to remain in Washington Heights, torn between the familiar neighbourhood and the long-dreamed-of shores of the Dominican Republic. Find out more »
The Kills After a stint with The Dead Weather, one of Jack White’s many non–White Stripes pickup bands, Alison Mosshart has rejoined her Kills co-conspirator Jamie Hince (a.k.a. Mr. Kate Moss) for more cooler-than-cool Jesus and Mary Chain worship. Though it’s still only the two of them, they’ve added a little more range and depth to their fuzzed-out new wave blues. Find out more »
Today in Toronto: Clifford the Musical and The Great Mountain
Clifford the Musical The Big Red Dog is looking downright sprightly, despite turning 50 this year and being the size of a house. In this new production, the big fella and his canine friends do a lot of singing, dancing, frolicking and—as befits a family show—learning. Ages three and up. Find out more »
The Great Mountain This imaginative play, inspired by an ancient tale, is about curious young Nuna, who hears a mysterious cry for help and sets out on a journey. Guided by her Aboriginal grandmother (and perhaps the spirit of Al Gore), she makes her way to a melting glacier, where a great mountain weeps. Ages six to 12. Find out more »
Today in Toronto: Les Rythmes de la Forêt
Les Rythmes de la Forêt The rhythms of the forest being explored here will have a very non-Canadian pulse. COBA, the Collective of Black Artists, is devoted to the rituals and rites of passage of West African festivals and folklore, and this performance is devoted to works grounded in the Senegambia region. Find out more »
Today in Toronto: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and more
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Formed in 1958, this company changed the face of American dance, revelling in modernism and celebrating the talent of black dancers and choreographers. Alvin Ailey’s iconic 1960 work, Revelations, is on the program, along with more recent pieces by Robert Battle, the company’s new artistic director. Find out more »
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The Pick: Revelations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s gospel-tinged masterpiece
Kirven James Boyd and Rachael McLaren (Image: Andrew Eccles/Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater)
In photos, the dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater seem to never touch the ground. Their barely clad bodies, arched and flexed in graceful silhouette, float in suspension like nymphs, untethered from reality. In the flesh, however, their dancing is anything but ethereal—it’s percussive, muscular and totally tied up in the real world.
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The Weekender: Avenue Q, Super Bowl XLVI Party and six other items on our to-do list
The Weekender: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Love From Afar and Avenue Q
1. AVENUE Q
This hilarious musical is part puppet show for grown ups—it’s essentially a Sesame Street parody—and part spot-on social commentary. What happens when kids are encouraged to believe they’re “special” and destined to do great things? They’re inevitably disappointed when it turns out they’re just like everyone else, as the sweater-vest wearing Princeton finds out when he graduates with a degree in English and no purpose in life. And if puppets for grown-ups wasn’t enough of a pull, the songbook includes gems like “The Internet is for Porn” and “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist.” Best. Musical. Ever. To February 5. $45–$60. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington Ave., 416-915-6747, lowerossingtontheatre.com.
2. SUPER BOWL XLVI PARTY Read the rest of this entry »
We’re more into Friday Night Lights than actual football games, but even we are a little excited for this weekend’s Superbowl. We’re mostly in it for the snacks and Madonna’s halftime show, sure, but it could be fun to witness the epic throwdown between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Instead of watching from a friend’s couch, this year we’re joining other football fans for this official, NFL-approved viewing party, which involves “visits from NFL personalities” (Tebow?!), a musical performance from Big Wreck and a “a sampling of NFL tailgate,” which sounds intriguing. February 5. $40. Sound Academy, 11 Polson St., ticketmaster.ca
Today in Toronto: Marc Audette
Marc Audette Photographer Audette created the tableaux vivants that make up his new show in his classroom at York’s Glendon Campus. The images feature time-honoured practices like still life and figure drawing, but the technique and the underlying concepts are up to the minute. Artwork $3,000–$10,000. Find out more »
Today in Toronto: Cruel and Tender, A Brimful of Asha and more
A Brimful of Asha And you thought your mom had boundary issues. Real-life mother and son Asha and Ravi Jain mine their relationship for this new play about a trip to India that inadvertently turns into a bride-scouting mission. Find out more »
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The Pick: Tosca, the Canadian Opera Company’s sublimely soapy melodrama
Carlo Ventre as Cavaradossi clutches Adrianne Pieczonka as Tosca (Image: Michael Cooper)
Puccini’s Tosca has never been a critical favourite. The melodies are just too schmaltzy, argue its detractors, and the plot is too outlandish. Musicologist Joseph Kerman once called it a “shabby little shocker,” and Gustav Mahler walked out of the performance before it was over. But the famously soapy tale of a singer trapped in a torrid love triangle has always been a popular favourite, prompting gasps, titters and OMGs for over a century.
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The Weekender: Winterlicious, Come Up To My Room and six other items on our to-do list
The Weekender: Goya and Gillray, Interior Design Show 2012 and Come Up To My Room
1. WINTERLICIOUS
It seems like every culinary event these days has “licious” tacked onto the end, but it’s this semi-annual fest that started it all. Back in the tourism-light days of 2003 (thank SARS, bird flu and 9/11), the city wrangled 36 restaurants into offering up super-affordable prix fixe lunch and dinner menus. It was enough to get even the city’s non-foodies to surrender to alimentary obsession every now and again—“now” being the next two weeks for Winterlicious and “again” being another two weeks in July for the summertime version. Cue the competitive reservation making, complaints about tipping and overtired kitchen staff. Check out this year’s best bets here. Jan. 27 to Feb. 9. toronto.ca/winterlicious.
2. GOYA AND GILLRAY: HUMOUR THAT BITES Read the rest of this entry »
Poking fun at the ruling elite is a favourite pastime for smart alecks across the world—it has been for centuries and continues unabated to this day (see exhibit A). But it hasn’t always been easy to mock our elected leaders—take Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, for example, who produced a series of satirical miniatures, Los Caprichos, only to be forced into removing them from the public eye after threats of arrest. In this AGO exhibit, Goya’s paintings are on display alongside prints by an English contemporary, James Gillray. Unlike Goya, the English enthusiastically took to Gillray’s work (they’re so snarky), so it’s interesting to note the similarities between works created in two completely different political landscapes. To April 15. $19.50. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W., 416-979-6648, ago.net.
Today in Toronto: History Wars at the ROM and World Literacy Canada’s Kama Benefit Reading Series
History Wars at the ROM: Tommy Douglas There are some who see the father of our health care system not as a saint, but as socialist evil incarnate. The two sides hash it out live as part of the ROM’s History Wars series, with historian and Douglas disser Michael Bliss going up against Greg Marchildon, the CEO of the Romanow Royal Commission on Health Care. Find out more »
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