Explore Canadian arts and culture in Toronto! Here are 23 can’t-miss theatre, music, dance and comedy performances at venues across town.
Celebrate spring in Toronto! As the weather warms up, now’s the time to stroll among the budding trees, grab a picnic to eat in the park, view cherry blossoms and take in Toronto’s arts and culture scene.
From live music and theatre to dance and spoken word, you’ll find an event or festival to plan around for a wellness day, Mother’s or Father’s Day escape or Toronto weekend getaway.
Here’s what’s coming in hot this April, May and June.
Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical
A madcap production based on Dave Pilkey’s kid-lit graphic novel series, Dog Man, Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical (April 12–May 4, 2025) brings together stalwart characters Cat Kid (a.k.a Li’l Petey) and Molly Pollywog.
Mayhem ensues when the two start a club with the goal of teaching 21 frenzied baby frogs to create their own comics.
This fun-filled, Mirvish Productions musical takes place at downtown Yonge Street’s CAA Theatre, where you can make an afternoon of it with Asian snacks and bubble tea before or after.
Also on deck at Mirvish: Disney’s The Lion King, which continues at downtown’s Princess of Wales Theatre through August.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has more Tchaikovsky coming up this spring, with Pathétique (May 7 & 10, 2025), his profoundly moving final symphony.
And don’t miss Adizokan (May 4, 2025), a dynamic, genre-blending collab (think: vocal, dance, video, electro-acoustic and symphony) that examines Indigenous identity, tradition and spiritual connections with the natural world. This performance is a TSO–Red Sky Performance co-production.
A Strange Loop
Bursting with music, meta-theatrical storytelling, and subversive takes on identity, sexuality, internalized racism, self-expression and the barrier-breaking potential of art, A Strange Loop (April 22–June 1, 2025) was deemed a masterpiece by Vogue magazine.
The story follows aspiring playwright, Usher, as he grapples with reconciling his artistic aspirations with his day job as a front-of-house staffer at The Lion King—a dilemma many creatives can no doubt relate to.
The original production, among other accolades, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and two Tony Awards. This staging is a joint production between Soulpepper, The Musical Stage Company, Crow’s Theatre and TO Live.
Also coming up at Soulpepper, Takwahiminana (April 30–May 11, 2025), a darkly humorous tale of love, identity and cultural collision, starring Dora Mavard Moore Award-winning Métis actor Michaela Washburn.
Randall Goosby with Zhu Wang
The Royal Conservatory of Music presents two of today’s most talented next-gen classical musicians at Koerner Hall, a venue known for its impeccable acoustics.
Up-and-coming violin star—and Itzhak Perlman protégé—Randall Goosby (April 23, 2025) performs works by Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Fauré, Chausson, and Schubert, accompanied by another rising star, pianist Zhu Wang.
And in May, the venue hosts Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Eliades Ochoa (May 10, 2025) as he performs new songs as well as some of his Buena Vista Social Club classics.
Wozzeck
Murder, madness and self-destruction ensue when a humble soldier is betrayed by the person he loves. Wozzeck (April 25–May 16, 2025) is a new production of the 20th-century music classic, and a joint production between The Canadian Opera Company, Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera and Opera Australia.
South African artist William Kentridge’s sumptuous production is staged at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
COC caps its current season with Eugene Onegin (May 2–24, 2025), its first staging of Tchaikovsky’s beloved lyric opera since 2018.
The Center Will Not Hold
With live percussion by world-class drummer John Angeles, The Center Will Not Hold (May 9 & 10, 2025) is a multi-disciplinary celebration of dance and culture.
A collective of singular performers will astonish and inspire with a mélange of house, breaking, hip-hop, tap dance, Chicago footwork, Detroit jit, litefeet, and Memphis jookin.
It takes place at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, where Grammy-winning feminist singer-songwriter Paula Cole (May 21, 2025) has a one-night engagement later the same month.
Nikki Glaser’s Alive And Unwell Tour
Following the success of her last comedy tour and hit podcast, standup star Nikki Glaser shares her struggles with eating disorders, anxiety and depression at Meridian Hall.
Glaser’s Alive And Unwell Tour (May 10 & 11, 2025) finds the veteran comic and Comedy Central Roast alum revisiting cringe moments in a manner that’s both relatable and ultimately empowering.
More laughs: Frank Spadone and Cosimo Tucci bring their social media-famous Live In Your Neighbourhood sketch comedy schtick to The Royal Theatre (June 7, 2025).
Black Ballerina
Black Ballerina (May 22–25, 2025) is based on creator/performer Syreeta Hector’s personal experiences at the intersection of race and classical ballet.
This high-energy dance production staged by Native Earth Performing Arts includes music by Marie Davidson, Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Red and other contemporary artists and bands.
Looking for more boundary-pushing, genre-blending theatre in Toronto? Don’t miss 2-Spirit Cabaret, 9th Edition (June 12, 2025), a co-production between Native Earth Performing Arts and Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. A celebration of queer and 2-spirit Indigenous creators, it features music, drag, performance art and comedy.
Grand National Tour: Kendrick Lamar And SZA
Grand National Tour: Kendrick Lamar And SZA (June 12 & 13, 2025) brings the superstar co-headliners to Rogers Centre during their first all-stadium tour. The labelmates and frequent collaborators will perform their hits, tracks from their most recent albums (GNX and Lana, respectively).
Other big names coming to the Rogers Centre this spring include Post Malone with guests Jelly Roll and Sierra Ferrell (May 26, 2025). Later this summer, Scarborough native The Weeknd touches down for a four-night engagement in July and August.
Toronto Jazz Fest
An annual tradition since 1987, the Toronto Jazz Fest returns (June 20–29, 2025) for 10 days of live musical performances in venues across town. Whether you groove to Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, smooth jazz, blues, funk, fusion, swing or any other style of jazz, make Toronto your jazz HQ this June!
This year’s lineup includes Canadian indie-alternative stars Broken Social Scene (June 21, 2025) and Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (June 28, 2025), a classic jazz ensemble led by the Hollywood actor and musician.
PLUS: don’t miss the Hall of Famer (for blues and rock and roll!), civil rights icon and GRAMMY Award-winner Mavis Staples (June 23, 2025), as she performs at the Elgin Theatre.
If you can’t wait until June, get your jazz fix at Poetry Jazz Cafe, Jazz Bistro, C’est What or these other jazz clubs in Toronto.
