In Theatre,

There’s a number of interesting shows closing this weekend, including “Katherine Mansfield“, “And Up They Flew“, and “Blackbird“. If you only have time to see one, my pick would be “Katherine Mansfield”. A revamp of last’ year’s Theatre Smith-Gilmour production, it’s funny, touching, and sublimely economical in its precise physical storytelling; not a single flick of a finger or intake of breath is wasted.

In opening, continuing, and this-week-only shows, there are several interesting pairings. Both theatrical powerhouse Soulpepper and scrappy independent company Column 13 open productions of profane playwright David Mamet’s plays (”Glengarry Glen Ross” @ the Young Centre, “American Buffalo” and the lesser known one act “Edmond” at Theatre Passe Muraille). Small Wooden Shoe’s theatrical lecture show “Dedicated to the Revolutions” has much in common with the immensely popular communal lecture series “Trampoline Hall“, at Sneaky Dee’s on Monday. And two past Fringe solo works are on display this week; Lauren Harris gives a performance of her solo show “Pitch Blond“, followed by a reading of her newest work “My Darlin‘” (about film icon Tallulah Bankhead) on Wednesday, and Matthew Gorman begins a two week run at the Cameron House of “Rum and Vodka“, a powerhouse Connor McPherson monologue, that Gorman performed to acclaim at the Toronto Fringe last summer.

(Theatre, comedy, film and music recommendations, as well as the weekly listings, continue below).

Finally, the hottest show opening this week that I’m listing on the update is the most expensive, but you get a hell of a lot of theatre talent for your money; Birdland Theatre’s remount of their hit “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” features vets like Diego Matamuros, Ted Dykstra, Louise Pitre, and Morris Panych, as well as maturing independent theatre artists like Janet Green and Chris Stanton.

In Comedy,

Comedy Bar has the 3rd edition of “Don’t You Forget About John Hughes“, featuring an all star cast of improvisers playing with the plot of Hughes’ cliched teen drama “Pretty in Pink”; that show is followed later in the evening on Saturday by the first full show by sketch duo 7 Minutes in Heaven since they won the Tim Sims award.

Other shows of note include weeklies like Sunday Night Live (hosted by Jim Annan this week), and PROJECTProject (which is happily back at the keep-it-on-the-down-low venue Unit 102, despite what Now’s comedy listings say); monthlies worth checking out this week include the Sunday Night Live precursor show The Assembly, a birthday-enhanced line-up on Tuesday of “Dragons of Comedy” at Rear View Mirror, and the final edition of  “Joke Club” for a few months, as multi-talented host Nick Flanagan is going on tour with his punk band Brutal Knights.

In Film,

The reps (Bloor, Revue, etc.) are still showing critically acclaimed films like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Wendy & Lucy“, which you can see for cheaper than a rental in various ways, like a matinee, or on a Tuesday. Also, the classic Jack Lemmon / Shirley MacLaine comedy “The Apartment” has a brief run at the Revue mid-week.

In Music,

This weekend, the second edition of the all ages showcase DapsLove is at Rolly’s Garage on Saturday, and The Sunparlour Players are the big draw for a fundraiser on Sunday for the upcoming play “Petrichor”, which will feature music by SPP frontman Andrew Penner.

Out of town acts  this week include folksy throwback rock outfit Dr. Dog @ Lee’s Palace, punk rock hooligans Japanther @ Wrongbar, and icy techno act Ladytron and veteran indie rock duo Mates of State at The Phoenix. There’s also two local CD releases late in the week, with Megan Hamilton releasing her second full length album on Thursday at the Riv, and Southern-fried rock collective White Cowbell Oklahoma playing the ‘Shoe at the stroke of midnight next Friday.

Steve’s Weekly Picks for Mar. 27th - Apr. 3rd, 2009:

FRIDAY Apr. 3rd: “She Said What… A Night!“, w/ Carly Heffernan, Megan Deeks, Emma Hunter, host Andrew Johnston, more, @ Comedy Bar, 7:30pm, $12     /     “Crapshoot“, w/ Julia Lederer, Haley McGee, Peter Fulton, more, @ Theatre Passe Muraille, 10pm, PWYRoll ($1-$6)     /     NO SHAME presents… The Whitsundays, w/ Pick a Piper, The Superstitions, @ Sneaky Dee’s, 10pm, $8

SATURDAY Apr. 4th Aft.: DapsLove Vol. 2, w/ Kat Burns, Bonjay Boxes and Bags, more, @ Rolly’s Garage, 12:30-4:30pm, $8 (ALL AGES)

SATURDAY Apr. 4th Eve: Raoul & The Big Time, @ The  Silver Dollar, 8pm, $12     /     “Don’t You Forget About John Hughes: Pretty in Pink”, w/ Anand Rajaram, Christie Bruce, Jim Annan, more, @ Comedy Bar, 8pm, $10     /      Seven Minutes in Heaven, w/ Sarah Hillier, Alex Tindal, more, @ Comedy Bar, 9:30pm, $10 /     Dr. Dog, w/ The Cave Singers, Golden Boots, @ Lee’s Palace, 10pm, $13.50      /     “Edmund“, w/ Scott Walker, Angela Hanes, Luis Fernandez, more, @ Theatre Pasee Muraille, 10:30pm, $20

SUNDAY Apr. 5th Aft.: Theatre Smith-Gilmour presents “Katherine Mansfield” (closing show), w/ Dean Gilmour, Claire Calnan, Adam Paolozza, more, @ Factory Theatre, 2:30pm, $10

SUNDAY Apr. 5th Eve: “Petrichor” fundraiser, w/ The Sunparlour Players, Henry Svec, more, @ The Sixth ( 1642 Queen St. W.), 7-10pm, $5-$10 (includes raffle tickets) /      “The Assembly“, w/ Bob Banks, Julia Hladkowicz, Makesi Arthur, more, @ Comedy Bar, 8pm, $5 ($8 paired with Sunday Night Live) /      “Sunday Night Live”, w/ Brendan Halloran, Carly Heffernan, Daryn MacIntyre, host Jim Annan, musical guest Peter Van Helvoort, more, @ Comedy Bar, 9:30pm, $8 ($8 paired with The Assembly)     /     Japanther, Meligrove Band, Ninjasonik, @ Wrongbar, 10pm, $10

MONDAY Apr. 6th: Soulpepper presents “Glengarry Glen Ross“, w/ Eric Peterson, Jordan Pettle, William Webster, more, @ The Young Centre, 7:30pm, $34-$68 ($5-$20 rush tickets 1 hr b4 show)     /     “Trampoline Hall“, w/ Peter Stevens, Sara Peel, Andrew Gardner, curator Becky Johnson, more, @ Sneaky Dee’s, 8pm, $6     /     “Honk If You Can Hear Me!” fundraiser, w/ Chelsea P. Manders, Bryce Kulak, Sara Farb, host Laura Burns, more, @ Bread and Circus, 8pm, $10      /     Ladytron, w/ The Faint, Telepathe, @ The Phoenix,  8pm, $28.50 (ALL AGES)

TUESDAY Apr. 7th: “Wendy & Lucy“, @ The Bloor Cinema, 4:30pm, $5     /     Cart/Horse Theatre presents “Rum & Vodka” (preview show), w/ Matthew Gorman, @ The Cameron House, 8pm, PWYC     /       “Dragons of Comedy“, w/ Dave Barclay, Evelyn Reese, Levi Macdougall, hosts Steve Scholtz & Deborah Robinson, more, @ Rear View Mirror,  8:30pm, PWYC     /     “Pontypool“, @ Carleton Cinemas, 9:15pm, $7.95

WEDNESDAY Apr. 8th:  “The Apartment“, @ The Revue Cinema, 7pm, $6.50     / Thunderheist in-store performance, @ Sonic Boom, 7pm, FREE (w/ non-perishable food donation, ALL AGES)     /     “Pitch Blonde” & “My Darlin‘”, w/ Laura Harris, @ Tapestry (Distillery District, Cannery Building 58), 8pm, FREE     /     PROJECTProject presents “The Kid is Hot 2Night!“, w/ Aurora Browne, Tom McKay, Eric Toth, host Julie Dumais, more, @ Unit 102 (46 Noble St.), 9pm, PWYRoll ($1-$6)

THURSDAY Apr. 9th: Birdland Theatre presents “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot“, w/Aviva Armour Ostroff, Christopher Stanton, Janet Porter, more, @ The Fermenting Cellar (Distillery District, Bldg 58), 8pm, $40     /     Megan Hamilton CD release, w/ Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, Kathleen Phillips, @ The Rivoli, 8:30 pm, $7     /      “Joke Club“, w/ Dinkus, Dawn Whitwell, Jimmy Hogg, host Nick Flanagan, @ Comedy Bar, 10pm, $6

FRIDAY Apr. 10th: The Ark Collective presents “Mourning Dove“, w/ Kimwun Perehinec, Colin Doyle, Vickie Papavs, more, @ the Tarragon Theatre, 8pm, $20-$29     / Mates of State, w/ Black Kids, Sunbears!, @ The Phoenix, 9pm, $20 /     “Haas Goes Hollywood“, w/ Charity & Chastity, Laura Cilevitz, Andrew Johnston, more, @ Comedy Bar, 9:30pm, PWYC     /     White Cowbell Oklahoma (12am) CD release, w/ Grimskunk (11pm), more, @ The Horseshoe Tavern, 10pm, $15

Fine Print:

- All prices listed are advance ticket prices (where applicable). With many of these shows, especially music and theatre, if you show up at the door, you run the risk of being turned away due to a sell out.

- All times are start times, NOT door times. If you show up after the posted time, the show will likely already be underway.

- I typically cap the listed performers at three mentioned per show. The bill of bands / acts / performers is often much larger (particularly for comedy and theatre).

- Theatre and Comedy events are ALL AGES, unless otherwise noted. Music events are 19+, unless otherwise noted.

Filed under: GTS Update by Steve