Our arts critic saw 141 shows this year. Here are the 10 musicals, plays and operas that stood out

As always, this list is limited to the Star’s coverage areas of Toronto, along with the Stratford and Shaw festivals. (If it included New York City and London, the new musicals “Operation Mincemeat” and “Real Women Have Curves” would’ve easily made the cut.) It also includes only new productions and revivals being presented for the first time. (So no remounts like Mirvish’s brilliant “& Juliet” and the Canadian Opera Company’s extraordinary “Orfeo ed Euridice.”)

1. The Winter’s Tale (Stratford Festival)

“The Winter’s Tale” is often considered one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” because it can’t neatly be categorized as a tragedy or comedy. But that’s an unfortunate misnomer, especially if you caught the Stratford Festival’s flawless revival earlier this year. Director Antoni Cimolino’s production, staged on a white set with nothing more than a few cube blocks, placed complete trust in the material and the skill of its cast. It also proved that this work — about jealousy and redemption, betrayal and forgiveness — is one of the great plays in Shakespeare’s canon. And as King Leontes, swinging from fiery rage to boyish vulnerability, Graham Abbey delivered a performance that ranks among the best I’ve ever seen in my 10 years of attending the Stratford Festival. (Read our full review.)

2. Enormity, Girl and the Earthquake in Her Lungs (Nightwood Theatre)

Chelsea Woolley’s latest work was the most ambitious new play of the year, and it did not miss its target. Packed with alliteration, rhythm and luscious rhyme, this psychological drama drops audiences into the mind of a young woman (Vivien Endicott-Douglas) fleeing abuse and entering the shelter system, and who’s constantly badgered by the cruel yet comforting thoughts in her head (personified by an incredible ensemble of Philippa Domville, Bria McLaughlin, Sofía Rodríguez, Liz Der, and Emerjade Simms). With this latest work, Woolley cemented herself as a playwright to watch. And director Andrea Donaldson’s warm embrace of a production marked a blazing new era for Nightwood Theatre at the new Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre. (Read our full review.) 

3. Slave Play (Canadian Stage)

Jeremy O. Harris’s “Slave Play” isn’t merely controversial. It’s incendiary. But you wouldn’t expect any less from a riotously funny satire that uses BDSM role play to explore issues of race in America. (Yes, you read that correctly.) If you’re able to accept that premise, however, Harris’s 2018 work reveals itself to be a subversive, riveting barn-burner of a drama, slowly picking apart the I-don’t-see-colour brand of “progressivism” that has pervaded our society. At Canadian Stage, director Jordan Laffrenier’s supercharged production, with a smouldering performance by Sophia Walker at its centre, tore me apart from the inside out, forcing me to reevaluate everything I know about the construct of race and how we choose to see each other. (Read our full review.)

4. Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper)

More than a decade after its premiere (and following a hit TV series later), Ins Choi’s “Kim’s Convenience” still packs an emotional wallop. Director Weyni Mengesha, who’s been associated with the show since its inception, offered a completely new take on the material in this latest Soulpepper revival, now touring across North America. One of its most beautiful touches comes right at the beginning, when images of real Korean store owners, collected from an outreach campaign, are projected onto Joanna Yu’s set. Another highlight of this production: seeing Choi’s nuanced and heartfelt performance as Appa, the ageing proprietor of the show’s titular convenience store who is forced to confront what it means to leave a legacy. (Read our full review.) 

5. Anne of Green Gables (Stratford Festival)

I entered Kat Sandler’s new adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables” somewhat prejudiced. I didn’t think we needed yet another adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic story. I also wasn’t much of a fan of the original book. (Blasphemy, I know, I know.) But Sandler’s wildly imaginative play, which she also directed, won me over in mere minutes. Charming, tender and heartfelt, this adaptation paid beautiful homage to its source material, while breathing contemporary resonance into the original tale. And as the curious, confident and wide-eyed title character, Caroline Toal delivered a performance that felt lived-in and grounded in every regard. This is an “Anne of Green Gables” that more than deserves to be a new Canadian classic. (Read our full review.) 

6. Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical (Mirvish)

Forget about us critics. Kids are the most difficult audiences to please. In fact, I’d argue that writing a show for children is the most challenging thing a playwright can do. Brad Alexander and Kevin Del Aguila, however, were completely up to the task with “Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical,” their spinoff of “Dog Man: The Musical,” which itself is based on Dav Pilkey’s irreverent children’s book series of the same name. Watching this at the CAA Theatre, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of young audience members so enthused by a show before. But then again, how could you not be after experiencing this colourful, rambunctious romp filled with toilet humour galore and bop-worthy songs (which are still stuck in my head)? (Read our full review.) 

7. La Reine-Garçon (Canadian Opera Company)

I was left awestruck by Julien Bilodeau and Michel Marc Bouchard’s “La Reine-Garçon” when I saw it at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in February. Here is a mature, new Canadian opera, filled with luscious melodies and a compelling story, that feels more than ready to take the world by storm. Based on a true story, its Aida-esque tale follows a 17th-century Swedish queen who was raised as a boy, and is torn between her duty to her country and her love for her lady-in-waiting. Director Angela Konrad’s ravishing production played out like a psychodrama, anchored by scintillating performances from Kirsten McKinnon as the title character and breakout star Queen Hezumuryango. (Read our full review.) 

8. Measure for Measure (Crow’s Theatre)

Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” could not feel more relevant today — its themes of power, moral ambiguity and the difference between appearance and reality slicing through like a sharpened knife. Christopher Manousos’s riveting adaptation, however, somehow heightens those themes even further. Presented as a play-within-a-play, we follow five actors as they record a radio production of the Bard’s work. Soon, for these artists, life imitates art. And behind the scenes, out of earshot of the microphones, a subtle yet undeniable power struggle ensues. Manousos, who also directed the production, managed to avoid all the clichés of backstage drama, while also drawing out richly nuanced performances from the ensemble cast. (Read our full review.) 

9. Life After (Mirvish)

I saw Britta Johnson’s “Life After” more than any other show this year. (Three times.) Director Annie Tippe’s slick production — far larger than the 2017 version last seen in Toronto, and with clear, if tacit, Broadway intentions — certainly isn’t perfect, Particularly toward the end of the 90-minute chamber musical, Tippe’s staging feels too frenetic, never offering the characters or the audience a moment to breathe. But there was something about Johnson’s Sondheimian score, probing yet poetic, and revealing new layers with each listen, that drew me back to the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre again and again. The show’s story, a gorgeous meditation on how we process grief, also lands with newfound resonance in the wake of the pandemic. (Read our full review.) 

10. Waiting for Godot (Coal Mine Theatre)

Never have I felt a greater urge to give a big bear hug to Vladimir and Estragon than after seeing Coal Mine Theatre’s emotionally resonant production of “Waiting for Godot.” As Beckett’s pair of hapless vagabonds, Alexander Thomas and Coal Mine artistic director Ted Dykstra (returning to the stage for the first time in years) possessed palpable chemistry that infused everything from their characters’ upbeat banter to their shared looks of frustration and dismay. Hopelessly pathetic, and even at times infantile, the pair were sensational in director Kelli Fox’s unfussy staging, which let both the text and this fine ensemble shine. Beckett’s play also holds up remarkably well in 2025. (Read our full review.) 

Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order): “A Public Display of Affection” (Crow’s Theatre), “A Strange Loop” (Soulpepper), “Bremen Town” (Tarragon Theatre), “Child-ish” (Tarragon Theatre), “Cock” (Talk is Free Theatre), “Echoes of My Silence” (Toronto Fringe Festival), “Murder-on-the-Lake” (Shaw Festival), “Sense and Sensibility” (Stratford Festival), “The Frogs” (Shaw Festival), “The Veil” (Crow’s Theatre)