The theatre shows to watch on Toronto stages right now

Playwright Erin Shields has spent most of her career cracking open classic texts — all written by men — and finding the untold, underexplored stories of women buried within them. She’s done it with canonical works like “King Lear” and “The Iliad,” flipping their narratives to become “Queen Goneril” (focusing on Lear’s three daughters) and “Ransacking Troy” (about the wives of the men fighting the Trojan War). And now she’s taken on the granddaddy of them all: the Bible. She’s titled her new work “Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary,” and it’s inspired by the stories of at least four people in the New Testament named Mary. But while many of her previous revisionist plays felt fresh and invigorating, her new play — which you could call “There’s Something about Marys” — feels cryptic and impenetrable. Until May 3 at Crow’s Theatre’s Guloien Theatre. 

Read Glenn Sumi’s full review of “Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary.”

Dance Nation

Don’t be surprised if, after watching Clare Barron’s extraordinary play “Dance Nation,” you leave the darkness of the Coal Mine Theatre feeling invigorated and light in your step. Great art will do that, especially when it’s about a group of complex, contradictory and highly competitive pre-teen girls (plus one boy) who pretty much live and breathe the world of dance. Prodded and pushed by their serious, exacting instructor Dance Teacher Pat (Salvatore Antonio), the lively bunch of hoofers based in Liverpool, Ohio has a clear goal: to win their upcoming regional dance competition and eventually make it to the national championships in Tampa, Fl. Until May 10 at Coal Mine Theatre.

Read Glenn Sumi’s full review of “Dance Nation.”

Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung

Returning to the Canadian Opera Company for the first time since 2015, Canadian director Robert Lepage’s production of “Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung” remains a one-two knockout combo — a blink-and-you’ll-miss, doozy of a double bill, dripping with so much blood that it could give Nicole Scherzinger’s Norma Desmond a run for her money. That Lepage’s staging still works as well as it does, even more than three decades after it premiered in 1993, is a testament to his ability to mine the richness of these modernist works, and mould them into a cohesive program. What’s most intriguing about Lepage’s interpretation is how he intentionally revels in ambiguity. Until May 16 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. 

Read Joshua Chong’s full review of “Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung.”

The Division

Time looms large over “The Division,” a new play at Crow’s Theatre written and directed by Andrew Kushnir, which follows his journey to retrace his grandfather’s footsteps as a Ukrainian soldier during the Second World War. As Daniel Maslany, who portrays Kushnir, says early on in this bracing drama: “Time is merciless.” Indeed, it constantly slips just out of his reach, no matter how hard he tries — valiantly and breathlessly — to keep up. But if one of the few benefits of time is that it offers us some much-needed clarity and perspective, “The Division” displays few of those qualities and is instead lost in the whirlwind of its own urgency. Until May 24 at Streetcar Crowsnest’s Studio Theatre.

Read Joshua Chong’s full review of “The Division.”

A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical

Um, can someone check in on Neil Diamond please? I’ve just staggered out of “A Beautiful Noise,” his lethargic jukebox musical, I’m concerned about that man’s well-being. Because if we are to believe writer Anthony McCarten’s show, then the “Sweet Caroline” superstar has become a gloomy and petulant old man, with a demeanour unlike that of the Lorax. At least that’s how McCarten portrays Diamond in the musical, which opens with the American singer-songwriter in the present (and portrayed by Robert Westenberg) sitting uncooperatively in a therapy session. “This isn’t going to work,” he mutters off the top to his therapist (Lisa Reneé Pitts). “I don’t like to talk about myself.” Pessimistic as he may be, the guy’s right. “A Beautiful Noise” never does work. Forget about scratching beneath the surface; this show barely even tickles the skin. Until June 7 at the Princess of Wales Theatre. 

Read Joshua Chong’s full review of “A Beautiful Noise.” 

& Juliet

David West Read’s irreverent Shakespearean musical rewrite — asking what if Juliet didn’t kill herself at the end of “Romeo and Juliet” — is back in Toronto following its pre-Broadway run in 2022. And while the two productions are nearly physically and materially identical, this Canadian remount somehow feels sharper, funnier and (dare I say) even better than than the one that was here before. Much of that is thanks to this cast, including Vanessa Sears, who delivers a career-high star turn in the title role. She’s a veritable triple-threat performer with powerhouse vocals that make these new arrangements of Max Martin’s hit tunes sound fresh. Until July 5 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. 

Read Joshua Chong’s full review of “& Juliet.”

World’s Gone Wild

If you’re like me and just need a brief escape from *gestures broadly at everything*, may I suggest you see the Second City’s “World’s Gone Wild.” It’s one of the company’s funniest shows in recent years, with a fresh-faced cast that pretty much delivers one comedic slam dunk after another. Yes, the show includes some obligatory political jabs and social commentary — there’s one strong sketch about the Epstein files and another that name-drops Joe Rogan — but one of the primary joys of this revue is that it’s almost entirely filled with nostalgic, escapist fare. Whereas previous Second City shows tended to take their cues from current events (like Toronto’s condo boom or the pandemic-induced inflation crisis), “World’s Gone Wild” draws its inspiration from far more evergreen ideas that, in many ways, feel even more relatable (like, say, how the Leafs always suck). Until July 26 at the Second City Mainstage. 

Read Joshua Chong’s full review of “World’s Gone Wild.”