Take in a trifecta of theatre winners

Byron Toben

May, 2010

“Another Opening, Another Show!” is still ringing in my head after seeing the fine student production of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate at John Abbot College last month. The tune, which opens that show, augurs well for some promising pieces in the merry month of May.

The highly regarded Nadia Verruchi, who has starred in serious plays (at Centaur), funny plays (Fringe) and musicals (McCord), has started a company, In Your Face Entertainment.

Its first show, Sing!, will be sung at the Studio of the Segal Centre and features cabaret-style theatre, with tunes from Chicago, South Pacific, Guys ’n’ Dolls and West Side Story. Verruchi produces and directs. Sounds like a “Don’t Miss.” I won’t. May 27-30, 514-845-0908.

Harvey, fresh from the rewarding classic at the Segal Centre, whispered in my ear not to miss the Rabbit in a Hat production of Mission Drive at Mainline Theatre (see story at right). It promises an “irreverent journey into the mordant realms of sex, murder and religion.”

Author Ned Cox is fresh from writing Hellavator and Duplicity Girls. Paul Van Dyck, a local favourite for Haunted, Paradise Lost, Sahara Crossing and more, directs and acts. Add Paula Costain, who starred in Duplicity Girls, and this play is a “Can’t Miss.” May 5-15, 514-849-3378.

We have a “Don’t Miss” and a “Can’t Miss.” We conclude with a “You Should Not Miss if You Still Miss P.E. T.”

Over at the Centaur, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is remembered in Trudeau Stories. This is through the eyes of writer/performer Brooke Johnson, who, while a student at the National Theatre School in 1985, chanced to meet and befriend the then-out-of-office politician.

This show played to great reviews in Toronto. May 4-June 6, 514-288-3161.