These 4 new Canadian musicals disappeared after debuting, but deserve to be hits

This new musical by the married team of Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr, which premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2023, knows what it is and is unafraid to lean into that. Billed as a show that “combines the whimsy of a Hallmark movie with the spectacle of stage,” “Chris, Mrs.” is sentimental, excessively sweet yet thoroughly entertaining. Embracing all the tropes of a made-for-television Christmas movie, it follows a middle-aged widower along with his two children and his scheming new girlfriend. There’s snow, romance and a perfect meet-cute with a charming local woman. (Obviously!) The 2023 run of “Chris, Mrs.” boasted a Canadian cast filled with Broadway veterans and familiar faces from the Mirvish stages. While the musical released a studio album last year with several Broadway stars attached, including Danny Burstein and Adam Jacobs, no future productions have been announced. 

Dancer (A Musical in Ten Furlongs)

Jim Betts and Mark Norman’s rousing new dance show, appropriately titled “Dancer (A Musical in Ten Furlongs),” recounts the true story of Northern Dancer, the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. It first leapt onto the stage at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival, where it was met with much fanfare. Even with a limited budget, director Stacey Tookey’s production was impressive. Perhaps its most inspired choice: the decision to cast actual dancers to play the various racehorses. As well, Tookey’s contemporary choreography helped to elevate the show and made it one of the most memorable dance musicals I’d seen in recent memory. “Dancer” has yet to officially announce another run following its Fringe success. But there may be some hope: Betts said he and Norman are planning to remount the show in Toronto sometime next year. 

Dixon Road

Fatuma Adar’s “Dixon Road,” about a Somali refugee family living in Toronto, broke me when I saw it (twice) in 2022 at the High Park Amphitheatre, programmed as part of Canadian Stage’s outdoor summer series. This semi-autobiographical musical, which draws from Adar’s experience growing up in the city’s Little Mogadishu neighbourhood, so perfectly encapsulates the joys and struggles of the newcomer experience. It’s quite astounding that Adar has no formal musical training and started composing the show’s score by singing into her phone; her foot-tapping melodies are complex and layered, completely original yet also reminiscent of the works of Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Director and choreographer Ray Hogg’s production was intimate and effective, though just begging to be presented on a bigger stage with a full ensemble. Unfortunately, no future runs have been announced.

A Perfect Bowl of Pho

Nam Nguyen and Wilfred Moeschter’s musical “A Perfect Bowl of Pho” celebrates the history and culture of Vietnam through a series of vignettes centred on the Southeast Asian country’s national dish. At times solemn, at other times joyfully exuberant, the work is ambitious and epic in its scope, with an exuberant score that blends hip-hop with a more traditional musical theatre sound. “Pho” debuted at the University of Toronto Drama Festival in 2017, where it won top honours, before being further developed and presented at Factory Theatre in 2019. The show returned in 2022 as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, where Steven Hao’s sharp and high-energy production was the talk of the town — more than ready to be picked up by one of the city’s major theatres. That, however, never came to fruition. “Pho” has no future productions planned, though a cast recording is in the works.