Where Toronto November December 2017 | Page 12

Where / What / hoW focusing on Rock’s strengths: making jokes about race relations, politics, and relationships—in particular the dissolution of his marriage in 2014. Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St., chrisrocklive.com The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime To Nov. 19 Grease: The Musical EntErtainmEnt The SeASoN’S hoTTeST ShowS the top music, comedy, theatre and dance Bat out of hell To Dec. 24 Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman’s operatic 1977 album, Bat Out of Hell, meets its stage musical roots head on in this energetic post- apocalyptic extravaganza. Set in dystopian Manhattan, the show follows a young man named Strat who falls in love with Raven, the daughter of a powerful tyrant. Rock out to Meat Loaf ’s greatest hits, like “Paradise by the Dash- board Light,” “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St., mirvish.com Grease: The Musical Nov. 1–Dec. 10 Fans of the John Travolta–Olivia Newton-John film know the 12 where Winter 2017/2018 subtitle of this production is redundant. What’s Grease without its signature songs like “You’re the One That I Want” and “Greased Lightning”? This new performance takes its characters back to the Chicago setting of the original 1971 musical, but otherwise it’s the same story you grew up with. Grease is still the word. Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St., greaseonstage.com Chris Rock Nov. 11 It’s hard to believe the Total Blackout Tour is Chris Rock’s first time on the road in nine years. The comedian has received rave reviews to date, with an act Christopher Boone—the lead character in Simon Stephens’s stage adaptation of Mark Hadden’s popular novel—is a highly intelligent 15-year-old boy who’s gifted at math but who has trouble making sense of everyday life. When he becomes a suspect in the death of a neigh- bour’s dog, he begins an inves- tigation to find the real culprit. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W., mirvish.com A Christmas Carol: The Family Musical with a Scrooge Loose Nov. 24–Dec. 31 Ross Petty Productions has been staging family friendly Christmas pantomimes (musical comedies loosely based on a traditional fairy tales that employ slapstick, cross-dressing and topically based jokes) for 22 years, and