Fueling My Love of Musicals in Toronto

I’ve had a love affair with musicals ever since I was young. When I was ten, my sister took me to see my very first theatre musical.  We took the bus from Toronto to the Stratford Festival to watch The Man of La Mancha.  I was fascinated with the story within the story … where the imprisoned playwright/actor Miguel de Cervantes relates the story of Don Quixote de la Mancha, a madman who believes he is a knight on a mission to “right all wrongs” and “dream the impossible dream”.   Back at home, I would reenact the scenes from the play.  I'd sing “The Impossible Dream” at the top of my lungs as I climbed from my sofa onto the top of a dresser until I could touch the ceiling to “Reach the unreachable star”.  Ok, so I was a geek … still am when it comes to loving musicals.

That first experience watching a live musical has led to a life-long obsession.  Luckily in Toronto, there are ample opportunities ranging from the mega-blockbuster shows, to smaller professional theatres, to semi-pro and community theatres. 

We can thank the Mirvish family for bringing so many great musicals to Toronto, including some of the latest from London or New York.  On a few occasions, Toronto has even presented the world premiere for a new musical before it heads to Broadway or goes on the road.  The latest example of this will be The Lord Of the Rings, coming in February 2006.  (See my previous blog entry titled Epic Musical Les Miserables is Back in Town for more details about the Mirvish subscription series). 

Having seen so many musicals including all the blockbusters, I’ve recently found that some of the smaller shows playing at smaller theatres are more unique, innovative and entertaining.  A few of my recent favorites include The Last Five Years and Urinetown at the CanStage Theatres, and Tick Tick Boom at the Poor Alexandra Theatre.

The Last Five Years depicts 5 years of courtship and marriage that ends in divorce.  The unique twist is that the woman sings of the relationship from the day of divorce remembering back to the day they met, while the man sings from the day they met moving forward.  The only time they are on stage at the same time is when they meet in time and space together on their wedding day.  Urinetown is a hilarious musical comedy about a futuristic town where water rationing has made peeing a luxury for the wealthy.  It is extremely witty and spoofs the musical genre while it revels in it.

I love musicals so much that I watch as many as I can afford.  A nice inexpensive way to get a “musical fix” is to watch semi-pro or community shows, with average ticket prices ranging from $20 to $25.  The two that I go to on a regular basis are the Etobicoke Musical Productions (www.e-m-p.net) and Curtain Call Players (www.curtaincallplayers .com)

Feeling “musical withdrawal” after seeing a play, I’ve found that if I listen to the music again on CD, I can actually see the show replaying in my head.  In fact, when I can, I prefer to listen to the music before I go a show, so that I can familiarize myself with the lyrics.  This way I don’t miss any of the storyline by being unable to make out what words are being sung.

Through the years I have developed an impressive collection of over 100 musical soundtracks, many times buying CDs of musicals that I have never even heard of.  Sometimes this leads to a few duds but most are winners.  I especially like musicals where the songs string together to tell a comprehensive story.  Since I already own all the common CDs that you can get from the local HMV, I have to look harder for the more obscure or newer musicals including the latest ones coming from Broadway in New York or London’s West End.  I’ve found a gem of a store called Song and Script, located the corner of Bay and Bloor, that has just about anything I might be looking for.  I’ve also recently discovered that Amazon.ca carries an impressive collection of musical CDs, sometimes at a significantly discounted price.



My husband has threatened to limit me to storing my CD collection within a single drawer within our wall unit so in desperation, I've been replacing all the full sized CD cases with the thin ones. He makes up my birthday and Christmas lists by checking out the Tony nominations for best musical each year.

So there are many opportunities to feed a musical addiction in Toronto. If you want a review about a musical, ask me .. I've probably seen it, or at very least I probably own the CD!