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The Fantasticks is often fantastic, and quite delightful

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There are monster musicals, with giant orchestras and expensively-costumed casts, and then there is The Fantasticks. This is a sweet, unassuming, almost Our Town-type of musical, with a piano and harp as its “orchestra,” a cast of eight, an invisible wall, a ladder and a sun-and-moon on two sides of a piece of balsa wood.

Pizza Gigi makes comeback, so do oregano jokes

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Earlier this month, fans of Harbord Street’s Pizza Gigi probably thought they’d never see the place open again. Its legacy would be comprised of an endless tirade of oregano jokes, with some pizza nostalgia on the side. Well, Pizza Gigi is back and ready to serve. Apparently, the place wasn’t closed down due to the now-infamous police raid, but because of renovations, which are now complete.

The Dressing Room: Cocktail attire worthy of coveting

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As someone who shares a star with Charlie Brown, working at a fashion magazine — a job characterized by the unpredictable, owing to its particular combination of deadlines, travel and egos — has been an education in Murphy’s Law. And, as the trusty adage would have it, the day the office is in a mad scurry to create order out of chaos, it is almost guaranteed that I will have an event — work-related or social — that requires looking like I took more than 10 minutes to get ready, when 20 is all I can spare.

Coffee prices rising; waking up sucks even more

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Get ready to start paying more for coffee. According to The Wall Street Journal, increased demand for high-quality coffee combined with some poor harvests has meant that coffee prices are skyrocketing. The price of Arabica coffee, for example, has increased 48 per cent in the last six months alone. It’s a trend that’s almost certain to affect prices at coffee shops in Toronto and elsewhere.

Sears gets some attitude with Jay Manuel

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Sears Canada is getting a new kind of attitude, thanks to Toronto’s Jay Manuel. Manuel (of America’s Next Top Model fame) has just been named creative director for ATTITUDE Jay Manuel, a Sears Canada private label collection. He’ll be involved with all aspects of the new line, including product development, design, fit, in-store retail and marketing.

CycleCouture brings Copenhagen cycling to Toronto

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Where some Torontonians see a frame and two wheels, Jeff Scullion sees personality. Which is why he’s opening CycleCouture, his salute to the high culture of urban cycling. “In Europe, in Asia, biking is incorporated into everyday life … it’s part of your personality, the transportation you use,” he says. “I’m really trying to bring this to Toronto.”

New shot glass saves money, sticks it to imperial system

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A groundbreaking new shot glass known as the Can-Pour looks exactly like a standard shot glass. A drink poured with it tastes exactly the same as any other drink. It feels the same and works in the same way. But it could save Canadian bars and restaurants thousands of dollars per year.

The ladies love Lando: Billy Dee Williams at Comic Con

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There is more to Billy Dee Williams than his role as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back: in addition to numerous other acting roles – including his long-time stint as the spokesperson for Colt 45 beer – he’s an avid painter and often shows his work in town at the Liss Gallery. But for those heading down to Toronto Comic Con (a pop-culture convention at the Direct Energy Centre, March 18-20) dressed as imperial guards, Wookies and Jedi Knights, it is all about Lando.