George Krissa: Toronto’s Musical Theatre Heartthrob

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If you’ve taken the TTC or walked around downtown Toronto any time from last May until now, chances are high that you’ve seen a poster featuring George Krissa. The Saskatchewan-born actor has had a busy season. He played the dashing rogue Anatole in the Crow’s Theatre and Musical Stage Company co-production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 in its Mirvish transfer this past summer. He was also the romantic Jimmy Ray Dobbs, in the Garner Theatre Productions and Mirvish co-production of Bright Star this fall—and now, until May 31, he will appear in the reimagined William Shakespeare musical & Juliet, also for Mirvish.

Krissa’s summer engagement, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, was a phenomenon in Toronto theatre. Shows often transfer from Stratford to Toronto, or do a pre-Broadway tryout in the city. But companies like Crow’s or Musical Stage Company can usually expect a fleeting but brilliant six-week run, like the show’s titular comet. Due to popular demand, however, after opening on Dec. 5, 2023, the show—an immersive, electropop opera based on a slice of War & Peace—extended seven times before also transferring to Mirvish, selling nearly 100,000 tickets in the process.

“That was the biggest surprise ever,” says Krissa, “I think that it really connected with a lot of people, because you don’t get to see things that powerful that close. …It’s just really exciting to be part of a little slice of Toronto theatre history.”

Julia McLellan (Anne) and George Krissa (Shakespeare) in & Juliet
Photo: Dahlia Katz

Currently, in & Juliet, Krissa loves “getting to hear an audience laugh every day,” and “watching everybody deliver this at a 10/10 every night.” The musical asks what would happen if Juliet never killed herself, using the iconic pop hits of Max Martin. Krissa’s partner saw the original version in the West End, and immediately went back for a second night, telling Krissa: “It’s perfect for you.”

For his last two callbacks, Krissa had a chest and sinus infection, but still managed to get the role. He credits his background, explaining that “in Canadian theatre, you often don’t have an understudy … so I have a lot of experience just making it work.” The musical, by Martin and Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read, has been a journey of discovery for Krissa, with “lines that you didn’t recognize at first to be a Shakespeare quote or in iambic pentameter [that]sneak up on you.”