Aaron Stern plays the role of Bjarki in the Young People’s Theatre production of Blue Planet, which opened April 8 and runs to May 2 at YPT, 165 Front St. E. The play is recommended for grades 3 to 8. Stern has appeared in numerous YPT productions and is a founding member of DreamNorth Theatre Company, which brings Shakespeare to the Canadian North. www.youngpeoplestheatre.ca
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Names in the News: Congratulations and best wishes to Toronto-born, New York-based freelance writer and photographer Alisha Kaplan, who won the 2013 Yeats Society of New York Poetry Contest and received an award at a ceremony on April 1 at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Union Square. Kaplan, who received an honourable mention for the same award in 2012, is an alumna of Barnard College. She is the daughter of Alan Kaplan and Rochelle Rubinstein of Toronto.
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Paris-Manhattan: The film Paris-Manhattan by French director Sophie Lellouche focuses on a thirtyish Jewish female pharmacist whose parents fix her up with a handsome French gentlemen in an attempt to rid her of her quirk, a fixation for Woody Allen and his films. Opens April 12 at two Cineplex Odeon theatres (Sheppard and Varsity).
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The Pajama Game: Onstage Productions presents the musical comedy The Pajama Game, with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and featuring such popular songs as Steam Heat, Hernando’s Hideaway and Hey There. George Ignatieff Theatre, Trinity College, April 25 to 28. $26, $24, $22. 416-556-9552, www.onstageproductions.org
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Arts in Brief
• Spadina Gothic, a photo essay by Ron Charach, appears in the most recent issue of the journal Descant, which is themed “the hidden city.” Charach and other contributors read at the launch party. The Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. Wednesday, April 10, 7 to 10 p.m.
• Pianist Fern Lindzon performs her original scores for two classic silent films, Sherlock Jr. by Buster Keaton and A Trip to the Moon by Georges Melies. Presented as part of the series Classic Shorts for Young People, with Live Music. TIFF Bell Lightbox, April 12 and 13. Ideal for young people as well as adults. (Lindzon is also playing Tuesdays in April at the Rex Jazz Bar.) www.fernlindzon.com
• Film critic Adam Nayman continues his series on the films of the Coen brothers with a session titled “Remake/Remodel: The Ladykillers and True Grit.” Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, Monday, April 15, 7 to 9 p.m. $12 per class, students $6. 416-924-6211, ext. 606.
• Internationally acclaimed violinist Gil Shaham performs works by Mozart and Smetana with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Roy Thomson Hall, Wednesday, April 17, 8 p.m. and Thursday, April 18, 2 p.m.
• Author Benjamin Hackman leads two new writing workshops for creative writers and poets at the Miles Nadal JCC, Bloor and Spadina. The Art and Craft of Poetry runs Thurdays, April 18 to June 27, 7 to 9 p.m. The Art and Craft of Short Fiction runs Sundays, April 21 to June 23, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m. Each course is $235. 416-924-6211, ext. 154, or [email protected]
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At the Galleries
• Claire Weissman Wilks, who was born in Toronto in 1933, has a current show at the de luca Gallery, 217 Avenue Rd. in the Yorkville district. From the Beginning remains on view until April 28.