The Lion King, Broadway Across Canada. Photo by Joan Marcus
By Liz Nicholls, .ca
Wakey wakey! It’s your last chance this week to catch …
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•The Lion King. Julie Taymor’s 1997 musical, a non-pareil triumph in conjuring an imaginary world, has been here a couple of times before under the Broadway Across Canada banner, but not for a decade. It magically transforms the 1994 hit Disney Corp movie animation into a stage musical with exclusively animal characters. The music is an original amalgam of African chants from composer Lebo M and others with ballads from the Elton John pop rack. The stagecraft is magical: rod puppets, stunningly inventive headgear and appendage extensions that transform human actors into animals. They come to life in a powerful Shakespearean coming-of-age story of usurpation, dispossession, exile, restoration — the Circle of Life. It runs on the Jube stage till Sunday. Tickets: ticketmaster.ca.
Andrew MacDonald-Smith and Alexander Ariate in The Odd Couple, Teatro Live! Photo by Marc J Chalifoux.
•The Odd Couple. Neil Simon’s 1965 comedy classic gets deluxe treatment from a perfect cast at Teatro Live! The friction of mismatched, and sparring, roommates comes to life in performances from Alexander Ariate as the irredeemable slob Oscar and Andrew MacDonald-Smith as the uptight neurotic neat-freak Felix. And the supporting characters, the poker boys and the Pigeon sisters, are a riot. Have a peek at the review here. It runs through Sunday at the Varscona. Tickets: teatrolive.com.
Louise Casemore in Lucky Charm, Defiance Theatre at Found Festival 2025. Photo by Brianne Jang
•Lucky Charm. Louise Casemore’s fascinating and clever invitation to a séance (and a great story) at Mrs. Houdini’s home has ended its entirely sold-out live run at “a secret residential location in the Hazeldean neighbourhood.” Now through Sunday, you can catch the show, directed by Theatre Yes’s Max Rubin, onscreen. The widow of the world’s greatest magician and escape artist has been enjoined (chained, one might say) by her late husband’s specific request, to try to summon his spirit from beyond the grave. I was lucky enough to have the experience live, and there’s a review of the Defiance Theatre production here. Streaming specs and tickets: commongroundarts.ca or theatreyes.com.
Kelsey Verzotti in Legally Blonde. Citadel Theatre and Theatre Calgary. Photo by Nanc Price.
•And continuing at the Citadel, a rosy comedy prospect: Legally Blonde, the fizzy pink-powered Broadway musical that started as a novel before it became a hit movie. There’s a big whack of girl empowerment and self-belief involved in the story of Elle, the California sorority queen who goes to Harvard Law School in pursuit of her callow boyfriend, followed by her own personal Greek chorus. But it’s light of touch, with a lot of great dancing, and a funny hairdresser. Stephanie Graham’s Citadel/ Theatre Calgary co-production is fun fun fun. The review is here. It runs through Aug. 3. Tickets: citadeltheatre.com.
