THE MASTER PLAN
- A Crow's Theatre Production
- Michael Healey
- Chris Abraham
- Sep 5 - Oct 19, 2023
- Tickets start at $50
- Two hours and thirty minutes including intermission
- Guloien Theatre
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Details
WORLD PREMIERE
Commissioned by Crow’s Theatre, THE MASTER PLAN by Michael Healey is a biting satire about the stunning failure to build a smart city in Toronto. Adapted from award-winning writer and The Globe and Mail journalist Josh O’Kane’s best-selling book Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy, THE MASTER PLAN lampoons the corporate drama, epic personalities, and iconic Canadian figures involved in the messy affair between Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto.
Directed by Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham (Uncle Vanya), THE MASTER PLAN exposes the hubris of big tech, the feebleness of government, and the dangers of public consultation with sharp wit and insightful commentary.
Michael Healey is a five-time Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning playwright. The Drawer Boy, his first full-length play, premiered in Toronto in 1999, winning the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, the Chalmers Canadian Play Award, and the Governor General’s Literary Award. His other award-winning works include Rune Arlidge, 1979 and his trilogy on Canadian values and politics Generous, Courageous, and Proud.Director Chris Abraham (Uncle Vanya, Crow's Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing, Startford Festival) has assembled a formidable company, “I have been incredibly lucky to put together a crackerjack team and some of my favourite actors to bring this amazing multi-year saga to life, and to yank with the likes of John Tory, Justin Trudeau, Dan Doctoroff, and others in the boardrooms of Toronto’s political and business class. We can’t wait to welcome audiences behind closed doors and to share this story with you.”The cast features Mike Shara (The Importance of Being Earnest, Stratford Festival, Take Me Out, Canadian Stage) as Dan Doctoroff, CEO Sidewalk Labs; Ben Carlson (Richard III, Stratford Festival, Mary Poppins, Grand Theatre) as Will Fleissig, Philippa Domville (If We Were Birds, Tarragon Theatre, Time After Time: The Chet Baker Story, Crow’s Theatre) as Meg Davis, and Tara Nicodemo (Cringeworthy, Planet 88, The Seagull, Crow’s Theatre and The Company Theatre) as Kristina Verner, the team at Waterfront Toronto; Christopher Allen (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Orphans for the Czar, Crow’s Theatre) as Cam Malagaam, a Sidewalk Labs designer; Yanna McIntosh (Ruined, Obsidian Theatre, Pretty Hard Cases, CBC TV) as Helen Burstyn, Waterfront Toronto board chair; and Peter Fernandes (Fifteen Dogs, Crow’s Theatre, Kelly vs. Kelly, The Musical Stage Company).The award-winning design team includes set and props designer Joshua Quinlan (Uncle Vanya, Crow’s Theatre), costume designer Ming Wong (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Crow’s Theatre), lighting designer Kimberly Purtell (Uncle Vanya, Crow’s Theatre), sound designer Thomas Ryder Payne (Red Velvet, Crow’s Theatre), and video designer Amelia Scott (The Assembly, Porte Parole).PERFORMANCE NOTES
Pre-Show Chat (in the Lobby):
- Sunday, September 17 (also a Pay-What-You-Can performance)
Post-Show Talkback (in the Theatre):
- Tuesday, September 26
Mask Required Performances:
- Sunday, September 10 @ 1:30pm (also a Pay-What-You-Can performance)
- Tuesday, September 19 @ 7:30pm
- Wednesday, September 20 @ 1:30pm
- Tuesday, October 3 @ 7:30pm
- Sunday, October 8 @ 1:30pm (also a Pay-What-You-Can performance)
- Tuesday, October 17 @ 7:30pm
DOWNLOAD THE HOUSE PROGRAMMEREAD THE RAVE REVIEWS!
Four stars“The play every Torontonian has to see.”Critic’s Pick“Chris Abraham directs his impressive cast at high speed."“Crow’s Theatre at its best.”“For the second year in a row, Crow’s Theatre has opened the Toronto theatre season at the highest possible level, with that rare play and production that speak to the present moment with a simultaneous levity and weight.The Master Plan is an astounding piece of theatre. Go.”NNNNN (out of 5)“Expertly directed by Chris Abraham.”“The most fun I’ve had in a theatre in a long time.”“A brilliantly funny, fast paced show with great designs, direction and acting.”“A wickedly witty dramatization oozing with satire and Toronto flair.”“The Master Plan Unravels Brilliantly and Hilariously at Crow’s Theatre Toronto."“‘The Master Plan’ is why we go to the theatre. Glorious.”“Stellar in every single way.”“The Master Plan is an intellectual treat on a hundred fronts.”Subscribe & Save! Purchase a four or six ticket flexible subscription and save up to 30% compared to single tickets!
LEAD SPONSOR
Centre for Digital Rights in memory of Abel Joseph "Jack" DiamondSUPPORTING SPONSORS
Gerald Lunz & Rick MercerGilles & Julia OuelletteThis production has been made possible through The Canadian Literature Adaptation Fund, a program supported by The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation. -
The Team
CAST
- Christopher Allen - Cam Malagaam, Designer, Sidewalk Labs
- Ben Carlson - Will Fleissig, CEO, Waterfront Toronto
- Philippa Domville - Meg Davis, Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
- Peter Fernandes - ...
- Tara Nicodemo - Kristina Verner, Vice President, Strategic Policy and Innovation, Waterfront Toronto
- Yanna McIntosh - Helen Burstyn, Board Chair, Waterfront Toronto
- Mike Shara - Dan Doctoroff, CEO, Sidewalk Labs
CREATIVE
- Michael Healey - Playwright
- Chris Abraham - Director
- Josh O'Kane - Author, Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy
- Joshua Quinlan - Set and Props Designer
- Ming Wong - Costume Designer
- Kimberly Purtell - Lighting Designer
- Thomas Ryder Payne - Sound Designer
- Amelia Scott - Video Designer
- William Dao - Assistant Director
- Lisa Nighswander - Head of Props
- Kathleen Johnston - Head of Wardrobe
- Jennifer Parr - Stage Manager
- Maya Bowers - Assistant Stage Manager