Toxic Avenger comedy musical coming to Toronto
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 | 1:36 PM ET
CBC News
The Toxic Avenger, an eco-monster musical comedy based on the 1984 Lloyd Kaufman classic cult film, will open at The Music Hall on Halloween. (Dancap Productions)Dancap Productions will bring The Toxic Avenger, an off-Broadway rock musical that began life as a 1984 B-movie, to Toronto this fall.
It is the first new production announcement in more than a year for Dancap, which is still running the popular musical Jersey Boys at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in North York.
The Toxic Avenger will begin Halloween night at The Music Hall, a 998-seat theatre on the Danforth in east Toronto that is more often used for rock concerts.
The Toxic Avenger won a 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for best new off-Broadway musical and continues its New York run at New World Stages.
Described as a musical comedy, it will have its Canadian premiere in Toronto.
The story, based on a movie of the same name, is about a New Jersey boy who transforms into a mutant freak with superhuman strength after being dumped into a vat of radioactive waste.
He begins a crusade to clean up the town, turf out the mayor's bullies and win the love of his life
John Rando, who directed Urinetown and The Wedding Singer, will direct an all-Canadian cast, Dancap announced Tuesday.
The Toxic Avenger features music and lyrics by David Bryan, a former Bon Jovi member, and book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, who has worked on musicals such as Memphis, All Shook Up, and Over the River and Through the Woods.
Taking a new theatre production to the Danforth is a gamble for Dancap.
However, the theatre company has had difficulty scheduling its productions in downtown theatres since rival Mirvish bought the Canon and Panasonic theatres last year.
