Disney on Ice: Frozen
“Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway.” Well, good for you, Idina Menzel (the turbo-charged voice of the Snow Queen of Arendelle in Disney’s animated musical Frozen), but the rest of us have had quite enough of the ice and cold. Then again, perhaps we haven’t quite let it go. A skating and special-effects version of the hit 2013 film and soundtrack comes to town for a dozen snazzy performances. To March 22. $28 to $110.65. Rogers Centre, 1 Blue Jays Way, 855-985-5000 or ticketmaster.ca.
Bach St. John Passion
Here’s a take on history’s most noteworthy crucifixion, this version as remembered by John the Baptist and adapted by Johann Sebastian Bach. First performed on Good Friday in 1724, the oratorio is presented by the Tafelmusik ensemble in a way that allows audiences to experience the Passion as the composers and his contemporaries would have understood it, both on a personal and communal level. To March 22. $39 to $91. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W., 416-964-6337 or tafelmusik.org.
Toronto Storytelling Festival
Did you know that, according to Scientific American, personal stories and gossip make up 65 per cent of our conversations? And did you know that the best of those often end up with the person on the receiving end of the tale exclaiming “get out” while simultaneously shoving, for emphasis, the storyteller? Realizing that Facebook has its limitations, the organizers of a long-running annual event offer up dynamic performers such as d'bi.young anitafrika (above), while encouraging the spoken-word media – the most social of them all.. To March 29. Various prices (some free) and venues, torontostorytellingfestival.ca.
Spoon River
One passed in a fever, one died in jail and one died in shameful childbirth, but “all, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.” So wrote Edgar Lee Masters, the poet whose Spoon River Anthology from 1915 inspired what Globe theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck called an “uplifting hootenanny.” A graveyard-set musical production about the lives of dead small-towners is in repertory for just one more week – you’ll miss it when it is gone. To April 2. $38 to $94. Young Centre, 50 Tank House Ln., 416-866-8666 or soulpepper.ca.
Bellwoods and Leslieville fleas
The notion of spring cleaning is all well and fine, but there is something to be said for rewarding oneself after surviving such an abominable winter. Scratch the shopping-bug itch at a pair of weekend fleas, where kitschy collectables, antique furniture and salvaged doodads are a sure sign of a hoarding season that never ends. Bellwoods: March 21, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. 801 and 831 Dundas St. W., 647-763-5343 or bellwoodsflea.com; Leslieville: March 22, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Fermenting Cellar, 28 Distillery Ln., leslievilleflea.com.