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Browsing: Musical Theatre

Soundstreams: Offering a Way In

By Catherine Kustanczy on 2 February 2026 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Choral, Classical Music, Musical Theatre, Opera, Toronto

Soundstreams founding Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney admits the ensemble’s current season has its share of “big themes,” but he’s equally excited about the music by which they’ve been inspired. The Toronto-based company is presenting a series of ambitious spring concerts that mix big ideas and deep musicality. Soundstreams was founded in 1982 with a mandate “to strengthen public engagement with new Canadian music and music theatre/opera through commissioning, developing, producing, and disseminating that music.” Throughout its history, the organization has introduced audiences to a variety of new voices, showcasing Canadian composers and performers within innovative and often inspiring contexts. Much…

Vanessa Sears (Juliet) and cast in Mirvish's & Juliet. Photo: Dahlia Katz

Musical Theatre Calendar (February 2026)

By Emma Yee on 2 February 2026 Guides, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Ottawa, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

TORONTO Mirvish: & Juliet Through May 31. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. West, Toronto. $59–149. Read more in our feature on George Krissa. www.mirvish.com Mirvish: Shucked March 3–April 5. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto. $59–199. The Tony-winning original musical country-pop comedy, Shucked, tells about Maizy, who must travel to Tampa to save her hometown of Cob County. Hilarity—and corn puns—ensue, starring Canadian Danielle Wade (a Toronto favourite), alongside Miki Abraham and Nick Bailey. www.mirvish.com Shifting Ground Collective: The Drowsy Chaperone March 7–21. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave., Toronto. $15–65. The three-time Dora-Award-winning Gen-Z-run company,…

George Krissa (Shakespeare) and Company in & Juliet. Photo: Dahlia Katz

George Krissa: Toronto’s Musical Theatre Heartthrob

By Emma Yee on 2 February 2026 Interviews, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

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…

Louise Pitre. Photo: Trish Lindstrom

Louise Pitre: Canada’s First Lady of Musical Theatre in Her Most Perfect Role

By Emma Yee on 10 November 2025 Interviews, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Toronto

Louise Pitre—Canada’s First Lady of musical theatre—has made audiences fall in love with her for decades. Best known for originating the role of Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! on Broadway, Pitre will star as the titular Kimberly Akimbo in Montreal (Nov. 23–Dec. 21) and Toronto (Jan. 15–Feb. 8) this winter. Pitre’s first big show was the 1989 Toronto production of Les Misérables in which she played Fantine. “It was the only show my parents came to the opening. I didn’t have to explain the story,” says Pitre. She went on to perform the role in Montreal, and then, Paris. For…

Mécénat Musica | Crowdfunding Grant Recipients

By Hal Kowalewski on 28 October 2025 Arts Industry, Education, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Opera, Strings, Winds

INFUSION BAROQUE Mécénat Musica’s support of Infusion Baroque culminated in the group’s 2024 album East is East. According to the group’s violinist, Sallynee Amawat, the album is a “dynamic, intercultural collaboration of artists from Western European, Persian and Indian traditions.” Since its inception in 2013, Infusion Baroque has aimed to draw new audiences to early music. Its four members—violinist Amawat, as well as Alexa Raine-Wright (baroque flute and recorder), Andrea Stewart (baroque cello) and Rona Nadler (harpsichord)—prioritize historical accuracy. “Infusion Baroque’s practice has been to champion rare and underheard voices in the field of early music through research and close…

Aren Okeymasim (Napew), Krystle Pederson, Tai Amy Grauman (Iskwewo), Rebecca Sadowski and Carmen Alvis in You used to call me Marie… (York Theatre, 2024). Photo: Emily Cooper

Review | Rooted in Story, Carried by Song: You used to call me Marie… at the Arts Club

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 October 2025 Concert Reviews, Indigenous, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Vancouver, West

Playwright Tai Amy Grauman wrote her first draft of You used to call me Marie… in the Arts Club’s LEAP Playwriting Intensive about eight years ago. The play now returns at the intimate 237-seat Olympic Village Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12. A Savage Society & NAC Indigenous Theatre production, You used to call me Marie… celebrates the love stories of Alberta’s Métis women—beginning with Marie Callihoo—from the 1930s to today as the Métis Nation rises across the plains. The play begins in the world of the stars. Actors dressed in cream and beige…

Youth 2025-2026: A Season of Programs for the Younger Set

By Heather Weinreb on 4 September 2025 Dance, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Orchestral, Ottawa, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

Montreal Jeunesses Musicales Jeunesses Musicales’ 2025-26 season is full of original children’s programming. Opéra Bon-Bon, an operatic retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel, will be performed on Oct. 26. On Nov. 16, Rythmo-Rigolo, an interactive percussion concert, will get children drumming in a variety of ways. Penguin musicians set the stage for this year’s Christmas concert, Le grand bal de Noël, on Dec. 7. On Feb. 8, La forêt des mélomanes takes children on a musical walk through an enchanted forest. On March 22, three musicians and their puppets help children navigate the complex world of friendships—and the…

Anglophone Theatre: The Season Begins

By Nathalie de Han on 3 September 2025 Montreal, Musical Theatre, Ottawa, Theatre, Toronto

Montreal The result of Centaur Theatre’s first Indigenous artist residency, Stone and Bone Spectacular is written by Ange Loft. The play brings a profound yet entertaining perspective to the history of Tioh’tià:ke, also known as Montreal, featuring long-lost lovers and dancing beavers. Rooted in the long years of colonialism and the heritage of the Kanien’kehá:ka people—also known as the Mohawk—the show invites the audience to discover many aspects of Montreal’s heritage. Centaur Theatre, Oct. 15-26 www.centaurtheatre.com Four very different women meet in a department store. They begin to joke about their hot flashes, memory lapses, mood swings, wrinkles and sugar…

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Calgary Philharmonic 2025/26 Season Kicks Off Sept 5

By Newswire on 14 August 2025 Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Film, Movie soundtrack music, Multimedia, Musical Theatre, Newswire, Opera, Piano, Popular Music, Strings, Theatre, Violin, West

Calgary AB (August 14, 2025) — World-renowned stars, epic classics, thrilling collaborations, rockin’ pops, family fun, blockbuster movies, and more — the Calgary Phil heads into its 70th anniversary season with concerts for all ages and tastes. Celebrating seven decades as Calgary’s Orchestra, the Calgary Phil is more committed than ever to making orchestral music accessible to everyone. September alone demonstrates the exciting variety that audiences can expect throughout the season. We officially get things cooking on September 5 at The Big Four Roadhouse for the Canadian premiere of SYNTHONY: EDM Meets Orchestra, which sees the Calgary Phil, along with…

John Riddle (L) as George and Marina Pires as Dot (far R) with the Ensemble in the 2025 Glimmerglass Festival Production of Sunday in the Park with George. Photo by Brent DeLanoy/The Glimmerglass Festival.

Glimmerglass Celebrates 50 Years with a Season in Red!

By Charles Geyer on 29 July 2025 Classical Music, Musical Theatre, Opera

Yes, Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York has reached its half-century mark. What began in 1975 as a plucky community-based initiative to mount a production of La bohème in a high school auditorium has effloresced in the course of five decades into one of North America’s premier summer opera repertory companies. And no, the referenced “Season in Red” emphatically does not denote financial deficit. In fact, the company’s latest fundraising campaign has handily attained its goal of $5,000,000, and is reportedly on course to reach its next target of $7,500,000. Red Alert Rather, the red in question is “Conklin Red”…