Results tagged “rockyhorror”

On May 29, 2008, the Toronto Cyclists Union was launched. And much as he had done to kick off his earlier group, founder Dave Meslin called on his Torontopian indie-rock buddies to put on a show at the Bloor.

Evil Dead: The Musical has returned to Toronto. Again. It was actually all the way back in 2003 that it made its debut in the Tranzac Club. Back then, it was known as Evil Dead 1 & 2: The Musical, on account of the fact that it took the plot of both of the first two movies in the cult schlock-horror franchise. It was a quirky concept and the budget little-show-that-could found itself an audience. After some successful runs in Montreal and New York, it came back last summer with its new, abbreviated moniker to much fanfare, even winning itself a Dora (The Audience Choice Award). It was still in a venue where audience members could order a beer with the show, but their tickets were a bit pricier over at the Diesel Playhouse. Now, the show is back at the Diesel again, promising new cast members and special effects. Just when you think it's gone, it comes back again, more powerful than ever (much like a reanimated corpse possessed by an evil Candarian demon).

It’s funny that we mentioned in our introduction last week, because it’s showing tonight at 11:30 p.m. at the Bloor. It’s been a while, in our memory, since the last time it showed, which would imply that the fans in Toronto aren't as rabid as elsewhere, but we’d still recommend that you don't head along unless you’re very familiar with the film. Who knows what could happen.

In a strange moment of synchronicity, there are currently two musicals on the Toronto stage about a man who kills people and disposes of their bodies by feeding them to someone/something. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been playing at the Princess of Wales since early November, and closes on December 9. Sweeney tells the story (which we are all likely to become more familiar with after Tim Burton's film adaptation...

Blade Runner is no longer showing at the Regent, which in many ways is lucky, as otherwise it was going to turn into a weekly, Rocky Horror Picture Show-style event for us—well, without all of that tedious audience interaction, which now we think about it, would make it not very like the Rocky Horror Picture Show at all. If you’re still hungry for more vintage Harrison Ford, though, they are showing Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Bloor this weekend. [edit: According to our comments, Blade Runner is apparently still showing at the Regent (we were under the impression it was a two week engagement) which means we may still turn it into a Rocky Horror Picture Show thing. Without all that Rocky Horror Picture Show.]

Last night at the beautiful Winter Garden Theatre, the winners of the 28th Annual Dora Awards were announced in a ceremony hosted by the hilarious Rick Miller (of MacHomer and Bigger Than Jesus fame). The Doras are basically Canada's version of the Tonies, except you can't watch them on TV and see Molly Ringwald and John Stamos jazz-hand their way through a radical new interpretation of Hello, Dolly! As one might expect, the whole affair is generally more sedate and even less people care about the results. But we do! It's also somewhat validating to see shows that Toronto reviewed positively get the respect they deserve (and occasionally shocking to see the same respect lavished on things we thought were crap). Now, there were a lot of awards being handed out last night, so let's be a jerk and ignore the hard work of all the behind-the-scenes people and focus on the flashier trophies.

Canstage's heavily-hyped season-ending production of The Rocky Horror Show has finally opened at the Bluma. Last season, they finished things off with "revolutionary" 60s musical Hair, and this year they have opted for one of the 70s' key "revolutionary" musicals. Fortunately for the audiences, Rocky is an infinitely superior show to Hair in almost every way: the songs are catchier, the characters more memorable, the plot more engaging and Canstage's production, helmed by Ted Dyskstra (co-creator of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands and Toronto's Hedwig), is significantly more finessed.

Canstage's publicity department might have you convinced that the only thing on their plate right now is the upcoming Rocky Horror production heading to the Bluma at the end of the month, but tucked away at the Berkeley is a real theatrical gem that deserves its own audience. Lucy, written by local actor/playwright Damien Atkins, is about a thirteen-year-old autistic girl who has to go live with a mother who abandoned her as a baby so that she can attend special schooling. At first, her mother has no idea how to cope with the demands of caring for an autistic child, but as the play develops, so does their relationship and the mother (played by Seana McKenna) realises she and Lucy may have more in common than she first thought.