May Events

Doors Open 2008 - May 24 & 25
2008's theme: Sacred Spaces and Sacred Circles. Opening ceremonies on May 23 at the ROM wasn't as "tasty" as last year's evening at the Design Exchange but music by Tafelmusik and the lively Pecha Kucha (8 architects, 20 slides each, 20 seconds for each slide) more than made up for JK's sandwiches. On the weekend, I took part in the First Nations' Sweet Grass ceremony at the Don Valley Brick Works (below). Relaxed to Mozart Quartets at Church of the Redeemer (above right) and chamber music at Toronto's public labyrinth. I also stepped into Toronto's rail history at the Roundhouse, home of Steamwhistle Brewing and a future rail museum.
Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre - May 17, Sony Centre
Simply splendid. The opening number Love Stories set to the dreamy music of Stevie Wonder's You and I established just the right tone. The ubber-modern Groove to Nobody's Business, set in and around public transit was inspired and amusing. Anyone who's ever been on a metro will understand the "joys" of rush hour.

My Fair Lady - May 11
This production brings to Toronto all that is good about London theatre: sets, costumes, voices and staging. All are in fine form at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. While it’s hard to go wrong with Lerner and Loewe’s magical score, the addition of a dance number straight from the stage of STOMP! brought the house down.
“Why can’t a woman be more like a man?”

Iron Man – May 4 & 10, Fantastic! I contributed to the opening weekend statistics plus the ongoing second weekend stats. This much-ballyhooed flick deserves every complementary phrase uttered about it, including the fact that much of the credit lands squarely on the capable talents of Robert Downey, Jr. Iron Man is wholly satisfying on so many levels, including the pleasure of watching him return to the starring spotlight where he belongs. Welcome back, Robert!

Wonderful Town - May 3, Shaw Festival
Fun musical about sisters and their career aspirations, mistaken identities, kind hearted blokes and happy endings. Music by Leonard Bernstein and movie version titled My Sister Eileen, with Bob Fosse kicking up his heels.

An Imperfect Offering book launch with Dr. James Orbinski
May 1, Church of the Holy Trinity
Dr. Orbinski offered many stories from his book (and film, Triage) including chosing the lesser of two evils and trying to explain why medication wasn't flowing to the area of greatest need. Remarks were followed by on-stage conversation with Gillian Findlay from CBC's Fifth Estate. Just enough time for a few questions, including "What can I do?" from an eager young lady.