STAGE

AS YOU LIKE IT remains not only one of William Shakespeare’s more popular comedies, but also one of his easiest for modern audiences to understand, with a script rife with colloquial prose and a light storyline about romance in the medieval French countryside. Until Oct. 22 ($12.50$135 at 800-567-1600). Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St., Stratford, Ont. BLIND DATE Rebecca Northan’s popular performance piece was conceived in 2007 and has her improvising dates with people she has chosen from the audience. Now, Buddies puts on its own LGBTQ twist on Northan’s concept in a new production of the show, starring Julie Orton and David Benjamin Tomlinson in alternating performances. Northan’s original show has played to sold-out crowds in Calgary, Toronto and New York and made its U.K. debut in 2013. Until Oct. 9 ($25$39 at 416-975-8555). Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. A CHORUS LINE is a classic musical about the perks and perils of show business. It follows the travails of 17 dancers auditioning for a Broadway chorus line, along with director Zach and assistant Larry. The original production won nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, while immortalizing the song “One.” Until Oct. 30 ($25-$175 at 800-567-1600). Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St., Stratford, Ont. COMEDY IN CANADA: OH CANADA! WHAT NOW? Join life-partnersin-laughter Colin Mochrie and Deborah McGrath, and Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram for an intimate, candid evening of apps and libations as they impart the wisdom of their comedic genius. This fundraiser is in support of Reach for the Rainbow — seeing beyond disabilities. Cost includes food and drinks. There are a limited amount of tickets. Tuesday ($125 at 416-503-0088, ext. 120). Private and exclusive event location is to be disclosed only to ticket holders. CONCORD FLORAL is a one millionsquare-foot abandoned greenhouse and hangout for neighbourhood teens. When two friends stumble upon a terrible secret buried there, they go looking for answers and set off a chain of events that can’t be stopped. Told by an ensemble of teenage performers and set in contemporary Vaughan, this play reimagines Boccaccio’s medieval allegory The Decameron, in which 10 teens must flee a mysterious plague they have brought upon themselves. Until Oct. 16 ($35.10-$79 at 416-368-3110). Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E. ENGAGED This comedy follows the exploits of well-to-do bachelor Cheviot Hill, who finds himself engaged to three women at once after his train derails in Scotland, forcing him and his fellow passengers to stay the night in the area. Until Oct. 23 ($28.25-$100.57 at 800-511-7429). Royal George Theatre, 85 Queen St., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. HOSANNA This seminal Tremblay work is celebrated in English Canada as much as it is in French Canada. Hosanna returns from the biggest night of her life, dressed as Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. What follows is a harrowing, often hilarious and revelatory journey towards identity. Mature language and content. Until Oct. 15 ($32-$89 at 416-866-8666). Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. THE HYPOCHONDRIAC is a farce about a rich, bedridden father who tries to make his daughter marry a doctor’s son against her wishes, leading to comedic disguise and intrigue in attempts to change his mind. Until Oct. 14 ($12.50$87.50 at 800-567-1600). Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St., Stratford, Ont. THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE follows the adventures of the Pevensie children, who discover a magical closet in a professor’s countryside house that leads to the land of Narnia. There they meet Aslan, a talking lion, and the White Witch, the evil queen of the land. This play is based on C.S. Lewis’ classic fantasy novel, which has been enchanting children for since its first appearance in 1950. Until Oct. 22 ($12.50-$111 at 800-567-1600). Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St., Stratford, Ont. A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC This new revival of Stephen Sondheim’s popular musical comedy is directed by Gary Griffin. With a book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Sondheim, this new production stars Canuck TV icon Cynthia Dale. Until Oct. 23 ($25-$122 at 800567-1600). Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St., Stratford, Ont. MACBETH Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy returns to the Stratford Festival this season, as festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino brings us a new vision of the Scottish Play. This production stars Ian Lake as the infamous medieval king, along with Krystin Pellerin as his goading wife and Michael Blake as his eventual nemesis, Macduff. Until Oct. 23 ($25$135 at 800-567-1600). Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St., Stratford, Ont. MATILDA THE MUSICAL features exploits of Matilda, a precocious young girl with a vivid imagination trapped in a small town with parents who neglect her and a school that won’t let her express herself. Discovering she has telekinetic abilities prompts her to defend her friends and stand up to the bullies and domineering adults in her life. This musical is based on a children’s novel by Roald Dahl. Until Oct. 16 ($38-$139 at 416-872-1212). Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. NOISES OFF Called the funniest farce ever written, this classic comedy proves what happens onstage is just the tip of the iceberg. Opening night is just hours away as a misfit company of actors juggle their lines, love lives and plates of sardines. Until Oct. 22 ($32-$89 at 416-8668666). Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. OUR TOWN Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece about life in an early-20th-century small town. It follows the lives of several ordinary citizens of the fictional Grover’s Corners, N.H., over the course of 13 years in three stages: Daily Life (1901), Love and Marriage (1904) and Death and Dying (1913). The play focuses on the courtship and marriage between George Gibbs, a young farm boy, and Emily Webb, who marries him when she’s 17 years old. Until Oct. 15 ($28.25-$117.52 at 800-511-7429). Royal George Theatre, 85 Queen St., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Enjoy the North American premiere of the stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning movie. Based on the original screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, this romantic comedy reimagines how the Bard wrote

Romeo and Juliet — with a little inspiration from his secret mistress, Viola de Lesseps. Stratford’s new production stars Luke Humphrey as the young Will, along with Shannon Taylor and Sarah Orenstein. Until Oct. 16 ($20-$116 at 800-567-1600). Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St., Stratford, Ont. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET Starring Benedict Campbell as the infamous Todd and Corrine Koslo as his landlady and accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd tells the gruesome yet amusing tale of how the London barber killed his customers — and the dark connection between these murders and Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop. Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler based the musical on a play by Christopher Bond. Until Oct. 19 ($28.25-$136.73 at 800-511-7429). Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. TIDELINE The first of Wajdi Mouawad’s tetraology and winner of the Governor General’s Award and France’s Prix Moliére, this play explores how a sudden turn in circumstance can change the way one sees themselves in their own life. When Wilfrid’s father unexpectedly dies, he comes face to face with a series of family secrets, unravelling his idea of his identity as he travels through a dream-like landscape to rediscover himself. Wajdi’s tetralogy also includes Scorched, Forests and Heavens. This production is directed by Ken Gass. A pre-show artist chat is scheduled for Saturday at the 1 p.m. performance. Until Saturday ($28 at 416978-8849). Hart House, 7 Hart House Cir. A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Wilde is perhaps best-known today for this satire of the Victorian upper class. First staged in London in 1893, this play takes place at the opulent country estate of Lady Hunstanton, where a party of wealthy socialites is going on, full of witty gossip about the unmarried Lord Illingworth and others. But characters’ hidden pasts catch up with them when a respectable widow reveals Lord Illingworth’s shocking secret. Until Oct. 22 ($28.25-$125.43 at 800-5117429). Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.