Toronto will soon get a brand-new way to pay homage to The Tragically Hip, as a brand new musical featuring the band’s best tunes gears up to hit the stage.
Inarguably one of Ontario’s most beloved musical exports, The Tragically Hip spent over 30 years capturing the hearts of Canadian music lovers up until the untimely passing of frontman and activist, Gord Downie, in 2017.
Even in the years following Downie’s death, the band has remained a driving force across Canada’s arts scene, most recently opening TIFF 2024 with their documentary The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, which later went on to win the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the festival.
Now, day-one fans of the ‘Hip and new devotees alike will soon have the chance to celebrate the band in a new way, with the upcoming debut of It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken; a new musical featuring songs exclusively plucked from The Tragically Hip’s catalogue.
Created by producers David and Hannah Mirvish and Michael Rubinoff (Come From Away, The Last Timbit,) with a book written by Brian Hill and Ahmed Moneka, the musical will reinterpret a series of the ‘Hip’s most popular songs and deep-cuts alike to tell a story that’s all set in Toronto.
Titled after a 2002 song by the Tragically Hip, which will no doubt make an appearance in the script itself, the musical follows a “family in turmoil,” as long-held secrets come to the surface, and the support they find in a group of friends — and it all happens amid the surroundings of Kensington Market.
“Some of the country’s best theatre makers have come together to create a show that honours our music,” say The Tragically Hip in a release about the show.
“It’s exciting to see our songs interpreted in a new way that will continue to connect audiences, while supporting a compelling story for the theatrical stage.”
While the musical is set to premiere at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton in 2026, it will then be headed to Toronto, where it’ll be workshopped further in partnership with The Creative School Chrysalis at Toronto Metropolitan University. The precise opening date and additional details have yet to come.
If you, yourself have been bitten by the theatre bug, you can even have the chance to audition for the show, as Theatre Aquarius is set to host an open casting call on Sunday, March 9 at The Creative School Chrysalis (43 Gerrard East) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
