There are so many incredible things happening in Toronto this December! I wish I could make it to it all!
Alice in Wonderland – Bad Hats Theatre and Soulpepper Theatre Company
The smash-hit family musical returns this Holiday season! Bad Hats Theatre’s contemporary spin on Wonderland takes us down the rabbit hole with Alice, a girl with a lot of questions. Get ‘curiouser and curiouser’ with a musical reimagining of the classic tale that has captured hearts for generations.
Winner of 6 Dora Awards Including Outstanding Musical Theatre Production & Outstanding New Musical!
December 12 – 31
Soulpepper Theatre – 50 Tank House Lane
Soulpepper Theatre – Plays, Concerts & Musicals
On A Night Like This – Soulpepper Theatre Company
The Holidays are a time filled with music. But what makes a Holiday classic?
Beau Dixon and a group of Soulpepper regulars would love to add some rum to your eggnog this December with a concert experience like no other. Creating a merry mashup of classic carols and rock and pop hits, this enchanting and entrancing exploration of songs and stories will walk you through a winter wonderland…and then some.
From Irving Berlin to Beyonce let our group of world-class musicians introduce you to your new festive faves.
December 20 – 31
Soulpepper Theatre – 50 Tank House Lane
Soulpepper Theatre – Plays, Concerts & Musicals
A Christmas Carol – John D. Huston
Now in its 32nd season, John D. Huston performs A Christmas Carol narrating and playing all the characters from Scrooge to Tiny Tim in the traditional staging that Charles Dickens himself used.
Huston will be joined by the vocal talents Abby Zotz; a classically trained singer and silver medal voice award recipient at the Royal Conservatory of Music who is said to have “the voice of a nightingale.” (Uta Birnbaum).
You can find my review of this stunning production here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/2022/12/22/john-d-hustons-a-christmas-carol/
December 23 & 24
Red Sandcastle Theatre – 922 Queen Street East
A Christmas Carol with John D. Huston – Dec 23 – 24, 2023 (ticketscene.ca)
The Nutcracker – The Toronto International Ballet Theatre
The Nutcracker is running for two performances only on December 23, 2023 at 2pm and 7pm at Meridian Hall – now featuring the American Ballet Theatre’s Elisabeth Beyer, one of the world’s most promising young stars.
Under the guidance of Artistic Director Tatiana Stepanova, TIBT’s The Nutcracker has become a timeless tradition reimagined in Toronto, enchanting audiences for over a decade. This unique version of The Nutcracker creates a new type of intrigue for Canadian audiences, offering a different storyline from the National Ballet of Canada’s version. In TIBT’s Nutcracker, the story centers around Clara, a young girl with a vivid imagination who embarks on a transformative journey with her Nutcracker doll, which becomes a prince. Their adventure through a winter wonderland and the Castle of Sweets is portrayed as a story of innocent, childlike love, encapsulating a young girl’s dream of her ideal prince.
December 23 at 2pm and 7pm
Meridian Hall – 1 Front Street E
TO Live – Event Details Page – The Nutcracker 2023
Slava’s Snowshow – Show One Productions
Having been staged over 12,000 times in 225 cities across 40 countries since its inaugural performance in 1993, “Slava’s Snowshow” is a visual and musical extravaganza that presents a dream-like atmosphere overflowing with theatrical magic and over-the-top antics. The production is set within an absurd and surrealistic world of “idiots on the loose,” a work of art in which each scene paints a picture: an unlikely shark swimming in a misty sea; performers and the audience tangled up in a gigantic spider’s web; heartbreaking goodbyes with a coat rack on a railway platform; and an out-of-this-world snowstorm that’s sure to leave audiences spellbound.
December 22 – 31
Elgin Theatre – 189 Yonge St
Slava’s Snowshow – Show One Productions
12th Annual Human Rights Film Festival – JAYU
JAYU Canada is thrilled to announce its 12th annual Human Rights Film Festival+ 2023 (HRFF+). This year from December 7-10, 2023, HRFF+ is excited to present 4 feature-length documentaries including 3 Toronto premieres, as well as accompanying Q&As, and 4 short films.
This year’s festival is accompanied by We Grow Together in partnership with White Owl Native Ancestry Association and Wisahkotewinowak. This exhibition features the work of six Indigenous youth who have completed a painting program led by iAM Program Alum Aneel Vyas with creative writing exercises led by JAYU’s Desiree Mckenzie to explore how their personal growth is tied to land. The 5-day workshop intensive also included a session on mental well-being and expression led by Meghan Yuri Young of the Sad Collective.
December 7 – 10
Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor St. W) and The Ace Hotel (51 Camden Street)
Human Rights Film Festival + — JAYU
Extra/Beautiful/U – Centaur Theatre
The Infinithéâtre team is excited to present the world premiere production of Michaela Di Cesare’s Extra / Beautiful / U as part of Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks Selection for 2023/2024.
Lara’s beauty was her one-way ticket out of St Leonard, even bringing her fame on reality TV. That is until a violent car crash interrupts Lara’s stardom and leaves her disfigured. Desperate to help, her overwrought mom reaches out to a prodigal craniofacial surgeon, who promises to restore Lara’s face in a groundbreaking clinical trial. A nurse at the hospital offers to work on the case even though it means delaying her own gender-affirming surgery. Meanwhile, Lara’s supportive younger sister with Down Syndrome pursues her own dreams of independence. As Lara’s face is rebuilt, all the outward appearances these characters have been clinging to are demolished.
November 30 – December 9
Centaur Theatre – 453 Saint Francois-Xavier St, Montreal
Extra/Beautiful/U | Centaur Theatre
A Christmas Carol – The Three Ships Collective with Soup Can Theatre
Now in its fifth festive year, the immersive and award-winning production will once again transform the historic and picturesque Campbell House Museum, filling it with mirth, music, and merriment!
This unique theatrical experience invites audience members to step into the world of Victorian England and follow flinty miser Ebenezer Scrooge on his ghostly journey of redemption. Written by Justin Haigh (Love is a Poverty You Can Sell, Behold the Barfly!), directed by Sare Thorpe (No Exit, Marat/Sade, Heretic), and brought to life by a stellar cast (including audience favourite Thomas Gough in his critically-acclaimed role as Scrooge), this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story features original scenes, characters, songs, and dialogue, making it a re-imagining of the beloved holiday tale unlike any other.
This production is already sold out for this year, but there is a waitlist for tickets which you can join here: Christmas Carol TO
To All A Good Night – Art of Time Ensemble
Art of Time Ensemble, led by Founding Artistic Director Andrew Burashko, is pleased to announce the eighth and final holiday presentation of To All A Good Night, as part of its 25th anniversary final concert season. The program will feature the best of the best taken from the last seven years.
This unique holiday concert is a celebration of the holiday season with the joy and irreverence audiences have come to expect. Featured performers include: Thom Allison, Jessica Mitchell, Jackie Richardson, Julian Richings, David Wall, Tom Wilson and a stellar Art of Time Ensemble.
The program will feature music by: Tom Waits, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Tom Lehrer, Steve Earle, Harry Connick and others.
December 7 – 19
Harbourfront Centre Theatre – 231 Queen Quay W
To All A Good Night 8 — Art of Time Ensemble
Pollyanna The Musical – Theatre Aquarius
FIND YOUR JOY Pollyanna The Musical marks the return of the holiday family musical! Based on the classic 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna The Musical is an uplifting tale of hope triumphing over adversity, and how the power of one young girl’s positivity can – and does – change the people around her. Showcased at the 2016 ‘From Page to Stage’ Festival in London, England and shortlisted for the Playwrights Guild of Canada – Best Musical, the World Premiere of Pollyanna The Musical is not to be missed!
December 6 – 23
Theatre Aquarius – 190 King William St. Hamilton
POLLYANNA THE MUSICAL – Theatre Aquarius
Candlelight Christmas 2023 – The Lyric Theatre Singers
Artistic and Musical Director Bob Bachelor and 46 Lyric Theatre Singers look forward to welcoming audiences with a rich and varied repertoire of Christmas music from around the world. Bob continues to be in great company with Assistant Musical Director Martin Kaller, and Rehearsal Pianist Chad Linsley, by his side. As tradition would have it, the Singers’ voices and the warmth of their candlelight promise to illuminate the Loyola Chapel over four performances.
Familiar holiday tunes will be sure to stun audiences with their brilliant arrangements by the likes of Kirby Shaw, Mark Hayes, and Andy Beck, to name a few. Audiences can expect a range of carefully selected music from classical songs all the way to Broadway-style showstoppers, offering an inspiring repertoire sure to delight all music-lovers. The Lyric Theatre Singers will be accompanied by 5 talented musicians: Chad Linsley (piano), Peter Colantonio (percussion), Tim Malloch (flutes), Ella Hopwood (cello), Kyra Charlton (harp).
December 7 – 10
The Loyola Chapel at Concordia University – 7141 Serbrooke St. West, Montreal
Upcoming Shows (thelyrictheatre.ca)
Electric Messiah – Soundstreams
Experience an extraordinary modern adaptation of Handel’s Messiah, with music both composed and improvised by a talented cast of singers and instrumentalists, and musical shaping by Adam Scime. Our Electric Messiah riffs on Handel’s beautiful compositions, delivering universal themes of love, betrayal, joy, and redemption that resonate with all audiences.
Join us for Toronto’s newest holiday tradition, now in its 8th year, debuting at the historic Theatre Passe Muraille.
You can check out my review of their performance last year here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/2022/12/22/soundstreams-and-crows-theatres-electric-messiah/
December 14 – 17
Theatre Passe Muraille – 16 Ryerson Ave
Electric Messiah – Soundstreams
Sellers and Newell Concerts
There’s always plenty to check out at Sellers and Newell! They have plenty of awesome concerts coming up this month!
Literary Society – sellersandnewel.com
Christmas Clichés: A Sisterly Cabaret
Get ready to step into the enchanting world of holiday magic as Rachel Delduca and Eva Petris take the stage in their heartwarming holiday cabaret, “Christmas Clichés: A Sisterly Cabaret.” The event is set to spread joyous holiday spirit at El Mocambo. Featuring timeless Christmas classics like “White Christmas,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the cabaret explores the power of family, forgiveness and rediscovering the joy of Christmas. Witness the age-old question: will differences tear them apart, or will the spirit of Christmas bring them closer together?
December 22 at 8pm
El Mocambo – 464 Spadina Ave
Tickets for Christmas Clichés | TicketWeb – The Starlight Room at The El Mocambo in Toronto, CA
Foolish Tales for Foolish Times – A Winter Holiday Show – Puppetmongers Theatre
Following in the ancient tradition of the season’s Lord and Lady of Misrule, four classic tales of misadventure are combined in Foolish Tales for Foolish Times to take the audience on a journey of venerable folk wisdom, in a celebration of our shared humanity. These stories are presented in a deceptively simple, low-tech style that belies the artistry of the Puppetmongers, the play highlights how we humans can overlook the obvious when we worry needlessly about the impossible, take advice without thinking, or use yesterday’s solutions to solve today’s problems: these traditional tales have it all.
Each of the stories in this richly imaginative production is playfully told with Puppetmongers’ trademark witty fashion using a different style of puppetry, from human-sized to hand puppet, table-top to kitchenware.
This show is guaranteed to please the young and young-at-heart alike, aged 4 to 104!
December 27-30 at 2pm & December 28 at 7pm
388 Carlaw Avenue
A View from the Box 