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01/31/12
In TheatreRUN’s world premiere, two actors and a bassist collide in a schizophrenic world that combines physical theatre with live, jazzy bass. The multi-disciplinary production is dubbed a dark satire, but keep in mind it is adapted from the novella by Fyodor Dostoevski, so, you know, don’t expect jazz hands or anything.
Factory Theatre, Studio, 125 Bathurst Street, 416-504-9971. Feb. 3 – Feb. 19.
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01/30/12
For those of you who have seen any of the wildly daring, stunningly delicate, profoundly memorable shows written, performed, “acted” and presented by Western Canadian-born-and-raised Ronnie Burkett, who creates, designs and brings to life the most astonishing puppets you have ever seen, he is back with a new show, Penny Plain. I treasure his regular appearances in Toronto, his chosen city for over a decade now.
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01/26/12
Are you a recent college grad? Unemployed? Single? Or perhaps you’re still looking for your purpose in life? Then you belong on Avenue Q. There you’ll find confused-yet-hopeful fleshy and furry characters spontaneously bursting into song about their dreams, concerns and, uh, porn. But unfortunately, Avenue Q isn’t a real place. It’s actually a Tony Award-winning musical that opened at the Lower Ossington Theatre last week.
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01/25/12
Joanna Chapman-Smith is a charming and breezy folk singer who mixes sounds from around the world in a hodgepodge of delectable musical delights. She's performed in more than 100 cities in four countries and those travels shine through her music. Recently, she settled in Toronto after a decade-long stint in Vancouver. If you don't know her yet, you're in luck: she's playing at Hugh's Room tonight.
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01/24/12
Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes presents an end-of-the-world romance that includes talking dogs and a cross-dressing banker. Warning: despite the usage of puppets, this show is definitely not for children.
Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St., 416-504-9971. Jan. 24 - Feb. 26.
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01/24/12
Nerds. They’re practically cool these days. And they’re gathering. Last week, Toronto nerds descended on a local community centre for a monthly get-together of learning and nerdy debauchery known as Nerd Nite. In between pints, they got schooling from brethren on just about anything a nerd may want to know about.
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01/23/12
Shoeless, already one of the largest-in-size sketch comedy troupes in the city, got a little larger when acclaimed Toronto comedian Ron Sparks joined the team late last year. In addition to Sparks, the troupe landed another comedic coup: they’re headlining a comedy series at Hard Luck Bar. We talked to Shoeless’ Andrew Kines about the influences and history of this troupe, which could end up becoming the next Picnicface.
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01/23/12
Real Estate has grown up quickly. Just this past summer, the band was playing to a half-attentive Toronto crowd at The Garrison. On Friday night, only half a year later, they quickly sold out Lee’s Palace, and this time around the crowd was completely tuned in.
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01/20/12
Sure, they are still young, but they’ve got old musical souls. B.C. band Current Swell are turning heads following the release of their fourth studio album, Long Time Ago, last October, and then winning a PEAK Performance Project prize in December. The band checks into the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Saturday night opening for Charlie Winston.
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01/20/12
Celebrations for the Lunar New Year kick off this weekend, and Toronto is a-roar with festivities to ring in the Year of the Dragon. So go on and get outside, because regardless of when you traditionally celebrate New Year’s, by the third week of January we all need an excuse to party. Gung hay fat choy!
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01/17/12
Try something different to usher in the Year of the Dragon by taking in Roland Schimmelpfennig’s spicy concoction of a play about a Chinese restaurant’s kitchen staff that is hiding a young illegal immigrant.
Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, 416-531-1827. Jan. 18 - Feb. 19.
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01/17/12
Do you love show tunes? Can’t help but sing along with the radio? Do you ever wish that real life included spontaneous dance numbers? No? Well, for three nights this February, anyone who said yes will be closed up together in a dark room when Sing-a-long-a Grease comes to the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
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01/13/12
“It’s time to get my ass kicked by a Canadian winter,” comedian Demetri Martin says of his aptly titled tour, Telling Jokes in Cold Places. His first official tour of Canada includes a stop in Toronto tonight at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. If his sweeping locks and nonchalant attitude aren’t enough to convince you to see the show, he’s also a very accomplished poet, creating a 224-word palindrome poem.
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01/13/12
Have you ever wondered what might happen if the characters from Sesame Street actually grew up and moved away? Chances are, they would escape to Avenue Q, the block where humans mix with puppets and monsters. But instead of singing about numbers and letters, the residents here sing about Internet porn and how everyone’s a little bit racist.
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01/13/12
Great Lake Swimmers are readying the release of their new album, New Wild Everywhere, set to be released on April 3. A new single, “Easy Come Easy Go,” is out and available for your listening pleasure. If the first song is evidence, the new album could be a great folk-rock record, with front man Tony Dekker sounding more confident and, dare I say, happy. A tour, including a June 2 date at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall, is imminent, with red-hot singer Cold Specks pegged as the opening act.
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01/12/12
If you’re one of the many cinephiles who thinks that there haven’t been nearly enough Nicolas Cage movies lately, this is your year. Not only does it seem like Cage will star in just about every movie of 2012 (even a Ghost Rider sequel is necessary, apparently), but TIFF Bell Lightbox is launching a new midnight series this month: Bangkok Dangerous: The Cinema Of Nicolas Cage.
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01/11/12
This Saturday night, the rockin’ Lee's Palace will get in full girlie-rumble mode with the return of professional pillow fighting league Bedlam: All Girl Pillow Fight Revue. We caught up with one of the founders of the new league, Crystal Clear (yes, that’s a stage name) to get the inside scoop on all the queen-sized action.
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01/10/12
It’s looking to be a good year for concerts in Toronto, and here are 10 shows to prove it. And yes, The Black Keys will be here on March 14, and yes, you should go. Our other good bets below.
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01/10/12
Robert Lepage, Canada’s own theatrical Renaissance man, returns to Toronto with this multilingual dance theatre spectacle about a Canadian expat living in Shanghai whose life is turned upside down by — what else? — two women.
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King W., 416-872-1212. Jan. 10 – Feb. 19.
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01/09/12
The Second City Training Centre has been the breeding ground for aspiring local comedians for a while, but it’s only in the last few years that it has started hosting public performances, thanks to the launch of its John Candy Box Theatre. Tonight, The Wheel of Improv series, created by comedian and Second City instructor Natasha Boomer, celebrates its third year with the mainstage treatment.
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01/06/12
January is a sad time for live music fans in the city: tour dates shrivel up like George Constanza after a long day at the pool. One local band is putting in the time to generate some hype for the upcoming United States release of its latest album. Elliott BROOD will be playing a string of Ontario and Quebec dates this month, not in Toronto of course, but if you’re keen, they will be playing in nearby locales.
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01/05/12
Edgy, sultry and Polaris Prize-nominated R&B artist The Weeknd is scoping out new players to join the band. Only Torontonians (bass players and guitarists) who can riff righteously will have an opportunity to travel and perform alongside well-versed crooner Abel Tesfaye. It’s the ultimate wet dream for starving artists. The deadline to apply is Jan. 8.
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01/05/12
In late October of last year, mild-mannered Amy Chan, the owner of Captain Video on St. Clair West, loaded up a moving van full of VHS tapes and DVDs. She could no longer afford to maintain the rising rent costs on her store. It follows a string of other video store closures: Blockbuster, obviously, but also smaller ventures like After Dark Video at Bathurst and College and Video 99 on St.Clair.
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01/04/12
You can thank the January blues for Festival of New Formats. Now in its third year, the festival was created by Comedy Bar’s Gary Rideout Jr. to help people get out of their self-imposed winter cocoons with the promise of free (yes, free!) comedy, while also offering local comedians the opportunity to try out new and (hopefully) funny concepts that haven’t been attempted before.
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01/04/12
Suffering from the winter blahs already? Nonsense. Not with all the terrific theatre that’s going on right now. But if you’re one of those diehard thespians who’s seen both American Idiot and Parfumerie already, you might be wondering what else is there to look forward to in Toronto’s theatre scene in 2012. Luckily for us, there’s a lot — including Broadway favourites and, uh, Yanni.
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