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| - This place is obviously a well-kept secret - two months since my visit to The Theatre Centre and still no FTR. It's been a while since my last epic review, and my trusty keyboard and I have been dying for a good reason to let the horses out on the open road. Buckle your seatbelts, kids - this Queen West indie hipspot is a secret to yelpers no more!
This was stop 12 on the Epic Birthday Bender, a journey that led me through the streets of Toronto in search of new adventures with new and old friends alike. When I was invited by Emily "Taking in Toronto like Johnny 5" H. and told that the evening's show was not only an independent musical comedy production of Debbie Does Dallas* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Does_Dallas), but was also the show's closing night, I couldn't possibly say no.
The venue.
Set at the corner of Queen West and Dovercourt, The Theatre Centre is carved out of a ground floor and basement belonging to a hulking relic of what can only be 19th century Victorian architecture.** Save an eight-foot-wide perimeter walkway, the main floor has been entirely gutted to accommodate a full basement-level theatre, complete with bleacher seating, set lighting and some basic stage rigging. I was truly amazed that such an impressive setup had been achieved in such an old building in the middle of Toronto.
The beauty of small, independent theatre is that it's always an intimate performance. The bleacher seating accommodates perhaps 150, with overflow on the main floor perched on barstools or standing along the railing (a decent view is still available). If you want a truly up-close-and-personal experience, get there early and grab lower-level seating.
The venue was licensed that night, and served bottles of Wellington beer, which I thought was cool. Only after buying our beers and heading into the stage area were we advised (by paper signage, at that) that we were not allowed to take our beverages downstairs. This, I thought, was not cool. We begrudgingly parked upstairs for the show, but as noted, the view was still pretty good. One thing to note about the upstairs seating: it's at the same height as the set lighting, which give off a lot of heat. It's a bit toasty.
The performance.
Entertainment for the evening was, as mentioned, a musical comedy version of the well-known but not-so-critically-acclaimed Debbie Does Dallas. I'm not sufficiently familiar with the original to speak to plot adherence, but I suspect from what I saw in the Queen West version that efforts were made to preserve the original, albeit scant, storyline. On stage, however, the sex scenes were replaced with playfully-choreographed dance routines that hinted naughtily at what they might be filling in for.
The performance was delivered by local (read: talented and professional) actors and actresses. It was brilliantly tongue-in-cheek without a hint of awkwardness, a considerable feat given the nature of the production and the rather compromising positions our heroines found themselves in. The troupe made excellent use of the space they had, and kept us engaged even at the very back of the house.
Final Thoughts.
All in all, this is a great spot to see or host a local, independent production. The Theatre Centre is a non-profit organization started in 1979 to promote the development and creation of new performance.
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* Don't Google this at work.
** I'm not an architectural history buff - help me out if I'm outta line here.
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