Finish on a thumping high note
MONDAY Jay Cocks on The Age of Innocence
Watch this if: You want to know what it takes to please Martin Scorsese. For the first night of a doubleheader for TIFF’s Books on Film, host Eleanor Wachtel sits down with veteran screenwriter Jay Cocks to get the skinny on one of Scorsese’s greatest movies (it’s also his most genteel). Nominated for five Oscars in 1993 (it won for costume design), The Age of Innocence is Scorsese and Cocks’ skilful adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel about the troubles faced by an upper-crust New York family. You can also catch Cocks for a look at
Silence, his latest collaboration with his pal Marty. (TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W., 7 p.m.) — Jason Anderson Dora Mavor Moore Awards
Watch this if: You want to celebrate the best of Toronto theatre, opera and dance. The Monday night the Toronto performing arts community waits all year for has arrived. Organized by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, the Dora Mavor Moore Awards are the city’s biggest accolade for theatre, opera, dance and design artists. This year, they’re hosted by Astrid Van Wieren, one of the original cast members of
Come From Away who’s now performing in the Broadway production. Come for the awards, stay for the ice cream and hotdogs at the after-party. (Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, 189 Yonge St., 7:30 p.m.) — Carly Maga
WEDNESDAY
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Watch this because: Voices like hers come around “once in a generation or two,” says Wynton Marsalis. With Jill Scott, Gregory Porter, Bettye LaVette et al in town this jazz festival season, it makes for difficult choices when you’re looking for a heavenly singer. Then there’s Salvant, the fast-rising rocket of the lot. Her easy wit and way of faithfully serving the song while breathing new wit and nuance into it put her in the front ranks among more seasoned performers and, at the age of 28, she’s got a lot of room to grow. Her Gershwin/ Jelly Roll Morton “Jelly and George” project with Aaron Diehl on piano was one of Koerner Hall’s highlight nights last year. For this TD Toronto Jazz Festival show, she’s accompanied by three of her New York regulars in Kyle Poole, Paul Sikivie and Adam Birnbaum on piano. (Trinity-St Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W., doors 8 p.m.)
— Chris Young
A Tribe Called Red, Keys N Krates, Iskwé
Watch this for: A big blowout finish to Indigenous History Month. Now this should build to a fine thumping party and it’s free, downtown and outdoors, a co-present from the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. Start with Hamilton artist Iskwé’s triphop-rooted electropop. Next comes Toronto electro trio Keys N Krates, who in 10 years have honed a dramatic sample-heavy sound that blows up whether in the club or in a festival slot like this one. They’ll set the table for A Tribe Called Red’s powwow beats to finish it off. Appropriately enough, they started this celebratory month off June 1 in Ottawa. (Yonge-Dundas Square, 7 p.m.)
— CY
Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block
Watch this if: You like a show that’s scary but also relatable. The third season of this horror anthology series based on internet “creepypastas” has already aired in the U.S., where it gained a 100-per-cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The main characters are sisters Alice and Zoe (Olivia Luccardi and Holland Roden): one suffering from schizophrenia; the other fearful it will afflict her, too. The AV Club called it “one of the best TV depictions of the fear about the potential onset of mental illness.” Rutger Hauer and Krisha Fairchild also star. (Showcase at 9 p.m.) — Debra Yeo
THURSDAY
Shakespeare in High Park Watch this if: You want fresh air and fresh talent. Thirty-six years ago, Canadian Stage began its grand tradition of open-air Shakespeare productions with, naturally, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Dream” might not be in the title of the series anymore since it became known as “Shakespeare in High Park,” but that play is returning to the amphitheatre this summer under the direction of Tanja Jacobs, alternating with Frank CoxO’Connell’s take on Romeo and Juliet, another Bard staple. Performing these two plays, two of Shakespeare’s most popular, is an impressive cast of exciting up-and-comers, including Rachel Cairns (Tarragon Theatre’s Bunny), Peter Fernandes (Canadian Stage’s Love and Information, Outside the March/The Company Theatre’s Jerusalem) and Jakob Ehman (Soulpepper’s Idomeneus). (High Park Amphitheatre, 1873 Bloor St. W., 8 p.m., on until Sept. 2) — Carly Maga
FRIDAY
Letterkenny
Watch this if: Your Canada Day weekend includes Hicks, Hockey Players and Skids. The residents of fictional Letterkenny, Ont., are back for another six pack of episodes. The new adventures include the Hicks (series creator Jared Keeso, Nathan Dales, Michelle Mylett, K. Trevor Wilson) attending a wedding; the Hockey Players (Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr) switching to coaching; and the Skids (Tyler Johnston and Evan Stern) exploring the dark web. Among those being skewered by the series’ fast-talking, foul-mouthed wit are “citiots,” people from L.A. and the hard right. (CraveTV) — DY Rock Rubber 45s
Watch this if: You’re all about sneakers, hoops and hip hop. The name of Bobbito Garcia may mean nothing to you now, but that’ll change when you see this high-energy doc about a man who’s been a legendary figure on the streets of New York for more than three decades. A DJ, streetballer and breakdancer in the Rock Steady Crew, Garcia would qualify as a standardsetter for style even if he wasn’t one of the world’s most revered sneaker collectors and designers. He’ll surely be the coolest man in the room when he visits Toronto for the Canadian premiere of this film profile, which includes interviews with fans and friends like LinManuel Miranda and Spike Lee. (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W., 8:30 p.m.) — JA