10 Toronto theatre and opera productions our critic is most excited to see this fall

Fall is always the busiest time of year for Toronto’s performing arts scene. And this season is no exception. After the usual summer lull, when the focus shifts away from the city and toward the numerous arts festivals across the province, local companies are now kicking into high gear and preparing to launch their upcoming seasons. 
In the weeks and months ahead, Toronto audiences will be spoiled for choice. This fall will see the return of several blockbuster shows — “Come From Away,” “The Lion King” and “The Master Plan,” to name a few — along with a bevy of new productions featuring some of Canada’s top talents and up-and-coming stars. 
Here’s a rundown of the top new shows that should be on your radar this fall. 
Henrik Ibsen has had quite the year in Canadian theatre. The Norwegian playwright received not just one but two high-profile productions of his tragedy “Hedda Gabler” — the first at Coal Mine Theatre, followed closely by another that’s currently running at the Stratford Festival. This fall, Ibsen will figuratively tread the boards again when Crow’s Theatre presents “Rosmersholm,” his haunting 1886 drama about a former clergyman who’s forced to confront his wife’s suicide and an impending wave of political turmoil. The play, in a new adaptation by Duncan Macmillan, will be directed by Crow’s Theatre artistic director Chris Abraham. His in-the-round production will feature a who’s who of Canadian theatre stars, including Jonathan Young, Virgilia Griffith, Ben Carlson and Kate Hennig. Sept. 3 to Oct. 6 at the Streetcar Crowsnest’s Guloien Theatre, 345 Carlaw Ave. 
“Life of Pi” began as a novel. Then, in 2012, it was turned into an adventure film directed by Ang Lee. Now Canadian author Yann Martel’s timeless story has been adapted for the stage in a production arriving in Toronto this month. In a fall season for Mirvish that’s largely filled with remounts, this new show is a welcome addition to its lineup. The play follows a 16-year-old boy who’s stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after his cargo ship capsizes. Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by Max Webster, the production won the Olivier Award for best new play in 2022. Sept. 3 to Oct. 6 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St.
Over the past decade, Coal Mine Theatre has become the de facto Canadian home for the American playwright Annie Baker. Two of her plays — “The Aliens” and “The Antipodes” — were mounted at the indie company to critical acclaim. Now, for its 10th-anniversary season, Coal Mine will present the Canadian premiere of “Infinite Life,” Baker’s latest drama that follows a group of women at a mysterious health retreat who philosophize and grapple with their individual suffering. Directed by former Shaw Festival artistic director Jackie Maxwell, this production features Brenda Bazinet, Ari Cohen, Nancy Palk, Christine Horne and Jean Yoon, the latter returning to the stage for the first time since starring in CBC’s “Kim’s Convenience.” Sept. 6 to 29 at the Coal Mine Theatre, 2076 Danforth Ave. 
This neo-noir, true crime drama, written by the celebrated French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès in 1988, unfolds like an epic Greek tragedy. At its centre is the play’s titular anti-hero, a murderer poet who escapes from prison and is overrun by his darkest impulses. The character is inspired by the real life serial killer Roberto Succo, who murdered his parents and later went on a killing spree after breaking free from a psychiatric hospital. Buddies in Bad Times artistic director ted witzel will direct this new production, which features Daniel MacIvor and Oyin Oladejo. Sept. 15 to Oct. 5 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexandra St. 
Tarragon Theatre’s 2024-25 season kicks off with an irreverent take on Shakespeare. “Goblin:Macbeth,” a new work by Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak, follows a trio of goblins who mount their own interpretation of “Macbeth,” filled with a blend of improvisation, fantasy and tragedy. The show has toured across Canada, playing at the Stratford Festival last fall, where it was well received by critics and audiences alike. This production should serve as the perfect primer for what should be a far more serious take on the Bard’s Scottish play at the Stratford Festival next season. Oct. 3 to 27 at Tarragon’s Mainstage Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. 
Never before seen at the Canadian Opera Company, “Nabucco” is one of Verdi’s earliest works and also one of the Italian composer’s masterpieces. Loosely inspired by the biblical story of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II and his subjugation of the Israelites, the four-act opera is filled with impassioned arias and a rousing score. At its centre is the tyrant Nabucco and his two daughters, who both love the same man and are vying for their father’s throne. This COC production, from the Lyric Opera of Chicago, stars Britain’s Roland Wood as the titular king, American soprano Tamara Wilson as Abigaille and Tunisian-Canadian mezzo soprano Rihab Chaieb as Fenena. Oct. 4 to 25 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
Canadian actor Maev Beaty and director Jackie Maxwell are set to join forces for the Canadian premiere of “My Name Is Lucy Barton.” Based on Elizabeth Strout’s bestselling novel of the same name, the solo work explores the thorny relationship between a woman and her mother. In Rona Munro’s stage adaptation, Beaty stars as the titular character, who awakes from an operation to discover her mother at the foot of her hospital bed. “My Name Is Lucy Barton” premiered in London in 2018, in a production starring Laura Linney that transferred to Broadway two years later. Oct. 18 to Nov. 3 at the Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E.
Handel’s pastoral opera “Acis and Galatea” has been a popular part of the musical canon since it premiered in 1718. Based on a section of Ovid’s Latin narrative poem “Metamorphoses,” the work follows the doomed love story of a water nymph and an Arcadian shepherd. French tenor and rising star Antonin Rondepierre will play the shepherd Acis, while Opera Atelier stalwart Meghan Lindsay will star as Galatea in this production, sung in English, which will also feature the Artists of Atelier Ballet. Oct. 24 to 27 at the Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St. 
In a genius bit of programming, Soulpepper and Nightwood Theatre have scheduled Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me” so it coincides exactly with the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5. The solo play, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, could not arrive at a better time. After all, Schreck’s work explores themes of citizenship, democracy and our shared rights, earning critical acclaim and two Tony Award nominations when it premiered on Broadway in 2019. This upcoming run will be directed by Soulpepper artistic director Weyni Mengesha and will star Amy Rutherford, who recently recreated her award-winning performance in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Oct. 31 to Nov. 9 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts’ Michael Young Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane.
Michael Ross Albert is a Canadian playwright to watch. Just two years ago, a pair of his works were featured in this paper’s year-end “best of” list. Later this fall, Crow’s Theatre will premiere Albert’s latest play, a dark comedy exploring Toronto’s ballooning housing crisis in a story that imagines what would unfold if the city’s last affordable home finally hit the market. Director Paolo Santalucia’s world premiere production features an ensemble cast of performers, including Aurora Browne (“Baroness Von Sketch Show”) and Peter Fernandes (“One Man, Two Guvnors”). Nov. 12 to Dec. 15 at the Streetcar Crowsnest’s Guloien Theatre, 345 Carlaw Ave.