Want to know what's on when you're in the city? Search Toronto Life's event listings.
King Street West is home to most of Toronto's off-Broadway-like musicals and is surrounded by great restaurants and trendy shopping. Venues include:
- Princess of Wales Theatre - newer theatre, typically shows large-scale musicals
- Royal Alexandra - historic theatre, shows plays and musicals
- Roy Thomson Hall - large symphony and concert hall
- Hummingbird Centre - nearby, on Front St.; another large performance hall
Yonge Street, near the Eaton Centre still holds some of the other popular theatres for shows and concerts.
- Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres - this historic site is the last operating double-decker theatre in the world; see web site for tours
- Canon Theatre - hosts large travelling productions; box office is on Victoria Street
- Massey Hall - just off Yonge on Victoria Street, this 1894 concert hall looks unimpressive but is renowned for its warm acoustics
Elsewhere in the city:
- Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts - brand new opera house, near City Hall
- Young Centre for the Performing Arts - new theatre in a converted warehouse in the Distillery District
- Glenn Gould Studio - concert venue often used for CBC Radio recordings, near the CN Tower
- Air Canada Centre - hockey/basketball arena also used for major concerts, next to Union Station
- Molson Amphitheatre - large open-air concert venue at Ontario Place
Two of Toronto's best known comedy clubs are found in the Entertainment District, within a few blocks of each other:
- Second City - alumni of the Toronto location include Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, and Mike Myers
- Yuk Yuk's
Many TV shows are taped in Toronto with a live studio audience, though some of these do take breaks over the summer. For the CBC (Canada's government-funded TV and radio broadcaster), check their Toronto Events Calendar or look directly at the tickets page for Rick Mercer Report, The Hour, Royal Canadian Air Farce, and The Gill Deacon Show. Elsewhere, you can also get tickets to CityLine and various shows on MuchMusic (Canada's equivalent of VH-1).
Tickets to Toronto theatres are generally available through Ticketmaster or TicketKing. TOTix offers both regular-price tickets and same-day/same week discounted tickets online and at a booth in Dundas Square.
Looking for a particular theatre or music company? Some of the best known are:
- Soulpepper - classical repertory theatre company
- CanStage (The Canadian Stage Company) - plays and musicals
- Acting Upstage - contemporary musical theatre company
- Toronto Symphony Orchestra
- Canadian Opera Company
- Opera Atelier - In 1995, to the consternation of some French glitterati, this Baroque Opera company from the backwoods of Canada was chosen to reopen the Royal Theatre at Versailles for the first time since before the French Revolution. Opera Atelier's production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas received a standing ovation.
- National Ballet of Canada