The straight dope
If you had Canada’s top pharmacologist, Dr. Harold Kalant, cornered for 10 minutes, what would you ask him?
Category: Culture
If a tree falls in the International Year of Forests . . .
Working to have northern Ontario woodlands declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Loud and proud: Leslie Jordan at Hart House
The name Leslie Jordan might have flown under your radar, but the face of this diminutive 55-year-old comedic actor is well known to fans of Will & Grace (as Beverley Leslie) and Boston Legal. Many years ago, after a warm response to his stand-up performance at a gay and lesbian comedy festival in Toronto, Jordan decided to make a career out of it. This Saturday, he makes his second trip to Toronto for a one-night, one-man show: Laughing Out Loud…and Proud! to raise funds for the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.
Sammy Hagar hits T.O. to take care of business
Legendary rocker Sammy Hagar is in town for Canadian Music Week to promote his new autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. Of course, he wouldn’t make the trek without a little bit of rocking out, too. Keep an eye out for him at The Mod Club tonight – word has it that he’ll be taking care of some business. We chatted with Hagar about his book, Van Halen and tequila. What could be better?
Sandra Shamas’ one-woman show is wondrously funny
Titles are important, and in great theatre they can be highly symbolic. This came to me as I watched, and thoroughly enjoyed, the superior comedian/writer/producer Sandra Shamas – surely one of the great talents of Canada – in her last of a fine trilogy of shows, Wit’s End III: Love Life.
American Idiot coming to T.O.; true punk rockers shudder
Dancap Productions is recruiting the best of Toronto’s wayward, suburban punks for one of its next musicals. Think you fit the bill?
The company held a press conference yesterday announcing an open casting call for Green Day‘s American Idiot, which Dancap is bringing to the Toronto Centre for the Arts in Dec. 2011. The casting call is scheduled for March 26.
The National Ballet of Canada takes on Don Quixote
The National Ballet of Canada begins its run of Don Quixote tomorrow night. This production is known for its dazzling choreography (with some pseudo knight-errant antics thrown in for good measure). Principal dancer Piotr Stanczyk plays the role of Basilio, a poor barber in love with Kitri, an innkeeper’s daughter. We got in touch with Stanczyk for a quick primer of the show.
Cracking into your partner’s phone
Crime of passion or invasion of privacy, perhaps a little bit of both
T.O.’s new tennis star takes his first title
BLISTERING SERVE AND POISE THAT BELIES HIS AGE HAVE MILOŠ RAONIĆ ON THE CUSP OF GREATNESS
Gervais’ provocative gem rankles some American feathers
Golden Globes performance brings back my own memories of U.S. xenophobia
SETI is listening: what to expect when E.T. makes contact
At the Centre for Inquiry’s “The Great Extraterrestrial Debate” at U of T last Friday, Dr. Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) told us what to expect when we finally encounter E.T., which he wagers a cup of “Tim, what is it, Hortons coffee” will happen in the next few decades.
Nix the muzak: Lara St. John comes to T.O.
At the Glenn Gould Studio tomorrow evening, violin sensation Lara St. John‘s concert will be unlike any she’s done before. Her performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla’s Seasons of Buenos Aires will be accompanied with installation art and readings of live poetry. We caught up with St. John to talk about the concert, her recent Juno nomination and the deficiencies of muzak.