Urban Planner: April 7, 2009

Photo from Glengarry Glen Ross by Cylla von Tiedemann, courtesy of Soulpepper.

THEATRE: It's a tough choice between two excellent productions, both happening in the Distillery District. At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Soulpepper will celebrate the official opening of their production of Glengarry Glen Ross. Director David Storch's adaptation of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize–winning drama features a powerful cast including Peter Donaldson and William Webster (seen pictured above). Check out Soulpepper's website for additional rush ticket and student discount information (55 Mill Street, Building 49, 7:30 p.m., $34–$68). Over at the Fermenting Cellar, Birdland Theatre's popular 2005 production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot will return tonight for the first of several revival performances. Last Days is directed by David Ferry and will star some of Canada's finest performers, including Louise Pitre, Ted Dykstra, and Diego Matamoros (55 Mill Street, Building 58, Suite 200, 8 p.m., $40).

WORDS: Tonight marks the return of popular open-mic show-and-tell series Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids, taking place at the Tranzac. Adults bring in their old journal entries, poems, book reports, and the like, read them aloud to a room full of strangers, and hilarity ensues. The rules are as follows: participants must have written their "piece" themselves, they must also read it themselves, and it has to be less than five minutes. If you're interested in participating, you can sign up here, although space is sparse, so you might have to wait for the next event to read your own stuff. Tranzac Main Hall (292 Brunswick Avenue), 8 p.m., FREE.

BENEFIT: There is a benefit tonight at the Revival, with proceeds benefitting the Sick Kids Foundation. Rock4theKids is a Rock Band competition that will see seven quartets that think they have what it takes duke it out technology-style. Bands will be rated on their stage presence, skill, and audience reaction. The best group of the night will take home the grand prize of "bragging rights," since being able to play Rock Band does not make you a real musician and renders you unworthy of any stipend since it's a benefit for SickKids. The $5 admission includes a raffle ticket for door prizes. Revival (783 College Street), 7:30 p.m., $5.

COMICS: As part of Keep Toronto Reading Month, the Beguiling are hosting a discussion between some of Toronto's graphic novel creators this evening at the North York Central Library. "Graphically Speaking" will feature Ryan North, Brian McLachlan, Kate Beaton, Willow Dawson, and Emily Horne, discussing how to create, publish, and distribute your own web comics. Christopher Butcher will moderate tonight's discussion. North York Central Library (5120 Yonge Street), 7:30 p.m., FREE.