Iconic Toronto women, postpunk pioneers and more: what the Star's culture team is obsessed with this week
Exhibition: 'The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto'
Our fair city has been shaped by many fabulous, fascinating women. Now, there's an exhibition where you can learn all about them and their inspiring feats. It features ladies from many fields, including science, arts and culture, politics and sports, both famous and less well-known — from Olympian Penny Oleksiak and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to groundbreaking trans R&B singer Jackie Shane and Canadian Women's Suffrage Association founder Emily Stowe. At Museum of Toronto (401 Richmond St. W.). —Briony Smith
The U.K.'s Chameleons play the Opera House on Monday.
Mick Peek
Concert: Chameleons
Call it postpunk, shoegaze, dreampop. Whatever it is, these guys were among the first purveyors. Emerging from Manchester, England, in 1981, Chameleons blended atmospheric guitars and epic songscapes with thrilling choruses, all while being overshadowed by the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen and the Cure. On Monday, a band that Oasis, Interpol and Slowdive all mention as an inspiration return to the Opera House (735 Queen St. E.), the site of their previous, phenomenal, Toronto appearance less than a year ago. With Twin Tribes and Vandal Moon. —Doug Brod
Theatre: The Bealtaine Theatre Festival
As someone who has relatives by marriage living in and around Dublin, I'm always interested in Irish cultural imports to Toronto. The Bealtaine Theatre Festival, kicking off its inaugural edition this weekend, bills itself as 'the very best of contemporary Irish theatre, music, dance and storytelling.' On Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m., 'The King of All Birds' — psst, according to Irish folklore, it's the wren — occupies the Ontario Heritage Centre (10 Adelaide St. E.), using film collage, music, song and vocoder to explore flight, dreams and our fascination with the sky. Check out canadairelandfoundation.com for information about the festival's other events in May. —Debra Yeo
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Album: 'Operation Mincemeat'
I saw 'Operation Mincemeat' on Broadway over the Easter long weekend and, ever since, I've been more than slightly obsessed with its cast recording. A five-person musical comedy inspired by the Second World War deception operation of the same name, this show is smart, sharp and stupidly irreverent, but also filled with tons of heart. Imagine if 'Hamilton' and 'Spamalot' had a baby; 'Operation Mincemeat' is it. In an extremely crowded and competitive Broadway season, this musical stands out. You should be hearing much more of it in the upcoming awards season. —Joshua Chong
The cast of 'Operation Mincemeat' on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre.
Julieta Cervantes/TNS
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