Jess Dobkin’s new solo show The Magic Hour may or may not run 60 minutes, but enchantment of a curious sort is almost guaranteed.
The Magic Hour
Jess Dobkin's new solo show The Magic Hour may or may not run 60 minutes, but enchantment of a curious sort is almost guaranteed. The intriguing Toronto performance artist has been milking her Lactation Station project of late, but here she uses the themes and devices of abracadabra and ritual to explore the transformative power of art on trauma. Jan. 11 to 21 (preview, Jan. 10). $22 to $30. Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W., 416-538-0988 or theatrecentre.org.
Magnificent Mozart
They say 261 is the new 200. They don't actually say that, but there's no reason to wait around for a big, fat round number to celebrate the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in 1756. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Mozart@261 Festival celebrates the excellent Austrian, beginning with a program featuring the composer's Symphony No. 40 and a concerto performed by the 14-year-old Canadian pianist Leonid Nediak.
Jan. 11 and 12 (festival continues to Jan. 20), 8 p.m. $44 to $115. Korner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-598-3375 or https://www.tso.ca/concert/magnificent-mozart.
Canada's Finest
This comedy show is billed as "Canada's Finest," and while the claim is audacious, it is not without some level of truth. Indeed, the triple-header is of the all-star variety, with the charismatic stand-up shenanigans of DeAnne Smith, the improvisational excellence of Becky Johnson and Kayla Lorette (who are the duo the Sufferettes) and the sketch-based repartee of Falcon Powder. Jan. 7, 9 p.m. $15. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor St. W., 416-551-6540 or https://comedybar.ca/show.php?Event_ID=7205.
Sequence
He's a playwright with an eye for, well, eyes, actually. Arun Lakra, you see, is not only a writer, but also an ocular surgeon. The Calgary multitasker is responsible for Sequence, an award-winning play about the interplay between science, faith, odds and, if you catch our optical allusion, blind luck. Jan. 11 to Feb. 12 (currently in previews). $23 to $55. Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave., 416-531-1827 or http://www.tarragontheatre.com/show/sequence.
The Young Girls of Rochefort
If Damien Chazelle's critically beloved La La Land celebrates the Hollywood musicals of the 1950s, the director Jacques Demy was ahead of his time when it comes to song-and-dance nostalgia. In 1967, Demy gave us Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort), an airy, sunlit homage to the same American musicals La La Land adores. Starring dueting sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, the spring-set film is a diversion of sailors, silly hats and sixties French-pop. Jan. 11, 8 p.m. $10. The Royal, 608 College St., 416-466-4400 or http://www.theroyal.to/films/ladies-burlesque-young-girls-rochefort.
Brad Wheeler