I've sort of let this slip, though most of the events are slated for the fall or after. While I could simply list the upcoming seasons of the various companies, as I already intimated I don't really think there is a single company where I feel so in tune with their season's offerings that I will be subscribing, compared to this past season where I subscribed to both Soulpepper and Tarragon. If I was going to subscribe at all, it would probably be to Remy Bummpo, which is a Chicago-based company! I actually came close to subscribing to Tafelmusik, but their exchange policy was stupid and unworkable for someone like me who sometimes has to travel for work on short notice. I will say the Amici Chamber Ensemble season looks good, though I am torn between seeing three shows where it might be worth subscribing or just two where it wouldn't. Given the shows are all Sunday matinees, I shouldn't be forced to have to skip one due to work. I think for now, I'll just list the two shows I am most likely to make.
Anyway, this is very much a work in progress, and I expect to add -- and occasionally subtract -- concerts and shows, as I get more information. It's more to keep this straight in my own head, though anyone else is welcome to join me on one of these outings.
June - Sept The Comedy of Errors Bard on the Beach (Vancouver) Apparently, this steampunk flavoured production has already opened, but it should still be running when I make a work trip out to Vancouver in September. I should be able to adjust the dates of my trip to make sure I see it. Now the bigger question is whether I really want to see it again, as I will have just seen it in High Park in July or August. I'm not sure of that, but I am leaning towards going again, since the concept seems intriguing. Still, I will scan the reviews a bit closer to the time I have to decide. Bard on the Beach is also doing Love's Labour's Lost, which I will see at Stratford this summer, but that one I will probably skip.
July-early August The Creation of the World by Arthur Miller 9th Hour
Theatre (Ottawa) Now this is interesting, and might merit a trip to
Ottawa, though I have to say the summer is already looking kind of
booked up.
July-August A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally Eclipse (Chicago) I had actually kind of forgotten about this play running in the late summer, but I may make an effort to go see it. Of course, now if I add that and Lookingglass's Moby Dick, I probably can't make all the shows during my very short stay in Chicago. This is a show that had a relatively long run in Manhattan while I was just starting to explore the city and Greenwich Village in particular. I sometimes regret skipping the show at that time, though it's a relatively minor regret, as these things go.
Sept. Yours Forever Marie-Lou by Michel Tremblay Soulpepper (Toronto) I already have my tickets for this, though I may try to switch dates as it overlaps with Nuit Blanche. No idea what Soulpepper is thinking about doing in 2016, but I'll probably check out at least a show or two.
Sept. Antigone (adapted by Jean Anouilh) Alumnae Theatre (Toronto) I've been reading a bit of Anouilh recently and I might see about making this production. (Someone just pitched it at the SFYS and made it sound worth checking out.)
Sept-Oct We the Family by George F. Walker Hart House (Toronto) Somehow I missed that this was a brand new play by Walker. I'm definitely going. It turns out that Walker is going to be giving a talk at UT, though I suspect I won't be able to go -- it would require leaving work at 3:15 or so.
early Oct. Musik Mania concert by Tafelmusik
Oct Love and Information by Caryl Churchill Remy Bummpo (Chicago) (We came close to making this trip, but it just seemed too much money, particularly for a play that is more clever/cerebral than truly earth-shattering. There are hints that Canadian Stage will tackle it in the 2016-17 season. Fingers crossed.)
late Oct Beckett Trilogy at Canadian Stage (This replaces
something that wasn't nearly as interesting to me. I'm sure I've seen
these 3 all performed in various combinations, but I'll go again
anyway. Tickets are getting scarce though, so I'll probably book
tomorrow.)
late Oct-early Nov Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire East Side Players (Toronto)
Nov Hamlet by Shakespeare Hart House (Toronto) I will probably pass on this, expecting to be Hamletted-out by the fall. (I'll almost certainly see two productions this summer!)
Nov. Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde George Brown (@ Soulpepper's theatre). I've actually never seen this, and it's probably time I did.
Nov 25 Shostakovich Symphony 10 The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal takes over Roy Thompson Hall from the TSO and puts on perhaps the most rewarding show of the season. While I really do like Toronto and its art scene, I often wish we could swap symphonies with Montreal...
late Nov-Dec. The Castle by Howard Barker RedOne (Toronto) While RedOne has an extremely ambitious line-up for the fall, this is the first one that I am likely to go to, though perhaps if I get a bit more integrated back into their community through Sing-for-Your-Supper, I might go to a few more of the shows.
Dec. 4 Lowest of the Low - Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto). I guess this is one of those occasional reunion shows. I never saw them live in the 90s when they were reasonably big here in Toronto, so I might go. I work fairly close to the Horseshoe Tavern, which is also a positive factor.
Dec Incident at Vichy Redtwist (Chicago) I'm sure I won't make it, but I am keeping my eye out for future productions of this and A View from the Bridge, which will complete my goal of seeing all the major Arthur Miller plays live at least once. But as it turns out Soulpepper will do this.
Dec The Chasse Galerie RedOne (Toronto). Inspired by the legend of a flying canoe paddled by men who had made a deal with the devil, this is supposed to be a bit of an anti-holiday show to close out the year. Sounds intriguing.
mid Jan. Remount of 3 Men in a Boat Factory Theatre (Toronto). This is part of WinterFringe. I might see one or two others, since I work fairly close to Factory Theatre.
Jan. 24 2016 Ludwig concert by Amici (Toronto)
Feb 2016 Mustard by Kat Sandler Tarragon (Toronto) This actually sounds inspired by/lifted from Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade, so I am not entirely sure I will go, but I might if reviews are good.
Feb 2016 Les Belles Soeurs by Tremblay (Peterborough) I just found out about this show (which is the last major Tremblay play I am really itching to see), and it is more or less in my backyard, and there is not that much going on in February. So fingers crossed that the weather is cooperative and I can rent a car and drive out or worst case take the bus (there is apparently no commuter rail service from Toronto to Peterborough). Ideally, I will be able to go to a Sat. matinee (Feb. 7 or 13) and also check out the Art Gallery of Peterborough, which has apparently just returned to its main space after they made extensive repairs/renovations.
Feb 28 2016 Jazz concert by Amici (Toronto)
It turns out there is a conflict with Goodnight Desdemona playing at the same time. While I suspect that the production in Calgary is going to be more polished, it is just far more likely that I can get to this one (only takes a $20 Megabus return ticket to St. Catherine's). And while I am just trying to justify a decision I have basically already made, the main feature of this Amici concert is Darius Milhaud's La Création du Monde is a reduced version for piano and string quartet, and I think it would sound better with full orchestra. As it happens, however, there is an excellent opportunity to hear both versions, if you turn to March 31.
early March Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti Hart House (Toronto) A bit of a trifle, but I'd much rather see this at student production rates than the quite pricey tickets for the Vancouver production last year.
mid March-April The Crowd by George F. Walker (Studio 58 at Langara College, Vancouver). When does George Walker ever rest. He's had something like 4 new plays produced in the last 2 years. I've managed to catch 3 of them (and am now kicking myself for not going to see more of the Suburban Motel series when I had the chance). This is the 4th -- a world premiere at Langara College, just down the street from where we used to live. I suspect it will make it over to Toronto fairly soon, but I should be doing some work in Vancouver in 2016, and if there is travel involved, I'll see if I can arrange it so I fly out towards the end of March.
March 31, 2016 Esprit Orchestra, Koerner Hall (Toronto) Milhaud La Création du Monde. I just learned about this, and think I will go to it rather than the Amici version, though both will surely be interesting. I've probably heard Milhaud's piece live before, but it would take a lot of searching to confirm.
March-April 2016 The Life of Galileo by Brecht Remy Bummpo (Chicago) -- I've wanted to see this for a long time, and I'm sure I would find this a solid production, but is it really worth the time/cost of traveling to Chicago?
April 14, 2016 Steve Reich at 80 concert (Soundstreams @ Massey Hall, Toronto) This is one show I probably ought to book soon, as I do think it will sell out.
April The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar George Brown (@ Soulpepper's theatre). I did consider checking this out at Stratford in 2014, though that year I went to Lear and Lear only. It will be good to see a second time, particularly at the slightly lower rates of a student production. Though what I am really hoping to see (and George Brown is probably the most likely to put it on) is Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. The most recent time this has been fully staged in Toronto is 2009. I'm also hoping they do some of the Thomas Middleton plays I've not seen produced.
April 2016 August: Osage County by Tracy Letts Alumnae Theatre (Toronto) This is a production I will encourage others to see, but I will be skipping myself, as I saw the original Steppenwolf production and just don't want to get the two blurred, which occasionally happens to me.
April 2016 Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph Pacific Theatre (Vancouver) This is actually a remount of the production that was playing last summer, and I just could not make it due to packing woes (and the fact that my movers turned up a day late!). Unlikely that I will make it, but if it works out, then I'll try to go.
April 2016 Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar (Toronto) This is just about the only thing I am likely to see at Mirvish this next season. I'm just not a fan of the type of show they bring in to town. What is also somewhat interesting is that the same top tier of relatively new shows are playing in Chicago and Toronto and occasionally Vancouver. It happened with Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike and The Other Place, and now it is happening with Disgraced. I guess it's a good thing for audiences in each city, but it lends to the impression that the theatre world is a bit insular and always focused on the same authors and hot plays.
May 1-4 {Denver} I hope to be in Denver a few days at a TRB conference. I'll try to sneak back over to the Clyfford Still Museum and see if there are any plays or concerts going on at that time.
mid May Tales of Two Cities concert by Tafelmusik
May Instructions to any Future Socialist Government Proposing to Abolish Christmas, Coal Mine (Toronto) I'll have to see exactly what this is about, but it sounds at first glance like something I would like.
May The Summoned by Fabrizio Filippo Tarragon (Toronto) I will probably pass on this one, which is a SF fable about a man who puts his brain into a computer, unless the reviews are truly outstanding. This strikes me as something one could explore in a 10-15 minute skit and a full length play is just overkill.
May 2016 Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald The Shakespeare Company (Calgary). I probably won't be able to make this performance, just as I just missed a strong production at Hart House in 2014 and a staged reading or something in New Westminster, but we do have an office in Calgary, so never say never. I'm sure I will eventually get to see this play. If it was a summer production, I would probably make 2016 the year that we visit Calgary and Drumheller and perhaps Banff, but I can't fit that much into the one or two days the kids are likely to have off from school next May.
late Spring 2016 Video Cabaret -- they have not totally settled on the show for next season but were leaning towards a remount of The Great War, which seems like it might have just a bit in common with the last season of Blackadder. The following season, they were hoping to have a blow-out bash of 5 to 7 shows, since 2017 is the sesquicentennial anniversary of Canada's Confederation in 1867. Expect lots of history shows on tv and so forth. Anyway, this will be quite an exciting opportunity to catch several of the shows in Hollingsworth's History of the Village of the Small Huts history cycle.
May-June Wasserstein - The Heidi Chronicles Soulpepper (Toronto)
May-June Arthur Miller Incident at Vichy Soulpepper (Toronto) -- finally!
July-August Lori-Parks Father Comes Home From the Wars Soulpepper (Toronto)
Update (8/7) It now looks as though the turmoil at TransLink is terminal, and I won't be going to Vancouver in September after all. Too bad, though I enjoyed the production of Comedy of Errors in High Park quite a bit (almost but not quite enough to go a second time).
I did make it to the Arthur Miller play in Ottawa. It was interesting, though not as good as Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, which is sort of the same thing -- a revisiting of Genesis with a particular focus on Cain and Abel. It also was not as professional a production as I expected. I don't regret going up to Ottawa, but it didn't quite match my expectations.
All of the Halcyon shows this season look at least a bit interesting, though I doubt I will be in Chicago to catch any of them. If I could only make one, it would probably be Dreams of the Penny Gods by Callie Kimball, which will be showing next March-April. (Well, that does line up with the Galileo play. Hmmm.)
Update (11/8) They have confirmed that Video Cabaret will be doing The Great War, but more exciting is that Soulpepper is doing Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy.
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