Can \u2018Pinocchio\u2019 change Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s mind about ballet?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure why they call it March Break since there are so many shows opening in Toronto this week.<\/p>\n
Officially opening tonight, Shifting Ground Collective\u2019s The Drowsy Chaperone<\/a> brings the golden-age homage screwball musical back home to Theatre Passe Muraille. Easily one of the most anticipated indie productions of the season, its arrival got me wondering about how long it\u2019s been since Drowsy has played here in the city where it all began. Though it appears that the last major production at the Elgin Theatre was in 2007, there was a more recent pair of smaller-scale stagings a decade later in 2017 \u2014 one presented by No Strings Theatre<\/a> in the Tarragon Mainspace, followed only a few months later by another from the extracurricular theatre troupe Victoria College Drama Society<\/a> on University of Toronto campus. Ironically, a similar pairing is happening now a decade later, with Shifting Ground\u2019s staging soon to be followed later this month by another student production at Sheridan College<\/a>. Maybe this will become a regular tradition every 10 years or so.<\/p>\n But Drowsy isn\u2019t the only play about a wedding opening this week. Actors Repertory Company (ARC) is unveiling A Mirror<\/a> by acclaimed U.K. playwright Sam Holcroft, asking you to save the date for opening night on Thurs., March 12. On the same evening, Nautanki Bazaar revives their 2022 hit blend of Bollywood aesthetics and immigration law, An IMM-Permanent Resident<\/a>, written and performed by Neha Poduval and Himanshu Sitlani, now being presented at Factory Theatre. You may have also heard whispers that the Off-Mirvish production of Virginia Gay\u2019s Cyrano<\/a> begins previews on Sat., March 14.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Queen Maeve<\/a> opens tomorrow night at Tarragon Theatre. It\u2019s always an event whenever legendary Canadian playwright Judith Thompson comes out with a new piece, but this one is made even more exciting by starring equally legendary Canadian performer Clare Coulter, showing off her dramatic range as both a nursing home patient and an Irish warrior queen. As much as I can\u2019t wait to see it, I\u2019ve deliberately postponed my own attendance until a week from today, since this particular story\u2019s Celtic flavouring struck me as too perfect of a St. Paddy\u2019s Day plan to pass up.<\/p>\n For anyone whose kids are on March Break and are too young to behold Little Willy<\/a>\u2019s dancing sausages, there are two age-appropriate puppet shows opening this week. On Thurs., March 12, WeeFest starts early this year with the Hemingwayesque Old Man and the River<\/a>, presented at Etobicoke\u2019s Assembly Hall and starring an adorably tiny fisherman. Then, beginning on Sat., March 14, Theatre TO\u2019s The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show<\/a> inches its way into the Al Green Theatre, offering a similar tributary anthology of Eric Carle\u2019s catalogue of picture books as Young People\u2019s Theatre\u2019s Love You Forever And More Munch<\/a> has provided of Robert Munsch\u2019s.<\/p>\n And speaking of puppets (from a certain point of view), National Ballet of Canada opens Pinocchio<\/a> on Fri., March 13. Now more than ever, we all need to prove Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet wrong<\/a> by showing our support for some not-quite-dead-yet artforms. Though, let\u2019s be real: Chalamet is to ballet and opera what Quentin Tarantino is to Paul Dano<\/a>. Sometimes it takes an arrogant comment from a celebrity to remind the public how much they love something that they didn\u2019t realize needed to be defended.<\/p>\n As for what\u2019s closing this weekend, don\u2019t miss your last chances to see Some Like It Hot<\/a>, The Neighbours<\/a> and Toronto Sketchfest<\/a>, as well as the shorter runs of The Herald<\/a> and Syndrome<\/a>. There\u2019s also still time to see The Surrogate<\/a>, Shucked<\/a> and (as always) & Juliet<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can \u2018Pinocchio\u2019 change Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s mind about ballet? 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