18♦19 Diamond Season Line-Up Announced for Flato Markham Theatre 

Live performing artists are redefining Canadian diversity at York Region’s Premier Cultural Destination!

In harmony, movements, words, and spectacles, the 18♦19 Diamond Season of the Flato Markham Theatre is the perfect space to be inspired and entertained. This year, the theatre is redefining Canadian diversity as the wealth and depth of the various Canadian artists and their programs are unparalleled.

 “The 18♦19 Diamond Season line up promises to amaze. Flato Markham Theatre is a premier cultural destination where creativity and imagination inspire, lifting us on wondrous journey.”

– Mayor Frank Scarpitti, City of Markham

 “This year’s Canadian mosaic gives a new meaning to live performing arts, enriched by yet another impressive contingent of international artists and productions.”

– Eric Lariviere, Flato Markham Theatre General Manager

The 18♦19 season focuses around ten different entertainment series: Festival of Illusionists, Special Attractions, Comedy, Fabulous Footwork, Nostalgia, Great Canadian Performers, All That Jazz!, World Stage, Totally Classical!, and Family Fun!.

This season promises unforgettable performances from amazing Canadian talent, such as quintessential legend Gino Vannelli, opera superstar Ben Heppner performing with the Toronto Mass Choir, Juno Award-winning artist Serena Ryder, and Torontonian hip-hop icon Kardinal Offishall. Celebrated Canadian band Lighthouse will be performing on their 50^th Anniversary Tour. Launching in the 18♦19 season is the Festival of Illusionists, bringing together some of the world’s best magicians, including Jason Bishop, Ted and Marion Outerbridge, and Spidey, presenting his show Make Believe.

Mind-blowing mental demonstrations and exclusive grand illusions promise to shock the audience. Guaranteed to leave you in awe of their flexibility and contortion are the New Chinese Acrobats with their new show under the artistic direction of Cirque Éloize, and internationally renowned company of dancer-illusionists, MOMIX. If you’re in for a laugh, you won’t want to miss Saturday Night Live star, Kevin Nealon. Families will not be disappointed with Popovich Comedy Pet Theater as a former Moscow Circus veteran juggles with his performing pets.

This year’s impressive global and diverse performances include the thirteen members of KUNÉ – Canada’s Global Orchestra, who all hail from different corners of the globe. Canadian band Sultans of String celebrate global unity through the music of Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, and Jayme Stone performs American roots music for his Folklife Tour. The season also includes a Celtic invasion by the Tartan Terrors and authentic flamenco company Noche Flamenca. There is a special Cuban focus this year with performances from incredible contralto Yaíma Sáez, the superb dancers of Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, trumpet Master Arturo Sandoval, and a unique evening of jazz where Brazil meets Cuba with Diego Figueiredo strumming his guitar and Chuchito Valdés performing on the piano.

Classical favourites include the Markham debut and Ontario-exclusive recital of Juno Award-winning pianist and composer Alain Lefèvre, and Markham’s favourite conductor Kerry Stratton with the Toronto Concert Orchestra, in a family-friendly and narrated presentation of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. All That Jazz Series fans will love seeing Bria Skonberg perform, as well as an impressive trio of Canadian Jazz Divas, headlined by Carol Welsman. This year’s Fabulous Footwork series includes local dance company Ballet Creole, and one of China’s most distinguished dance companies, the Beijing Dance Theater.

The theatre continues its commitment to audience development. YouthTIX offers $15 tickets to all Diamond Season shows, aside from the Discovery Gala. The theatre also engages the community in multiple arts education and outreach initiatives through the Discovery program, including its Every Child, Every Year (ECEY) initiative, for which children enrolled from grades 1 to 6 in a Markham school will have the opportunity to see multidisciplinary live performances for free. Productions such as Kattam and his Tam-Tams and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea are offered in both English and French to serve the large number of French Immersion students in Markham. The Discovery program is primarily funded with the support of the Annual Discovery Gala, which will feature legendary Canadian band Blue Rodeo this year.

On Monday May 14, 2018 at 7pm, the theatre hosts a public launch to give patrons the official release of the full season and the first opportunity to purchase tickets and subscriptions. The launch audience will also be treated to live performances from select artists from the new season and a post launch light reception.

Tickets to the 18♦19 Diamond Series season can be purchased beginning May 15 online at markhamtheatre.ca, by visiting the Flato Markham Theatre Box Office located at 171 Town Centre Boulevard or by calling 905-305-7469 (SHOW). Subscribers can choose their own shows to build a package and save! Choose 3 – 4 shows and save 15%. Choose 5 – 7 shows and save 30%. Special limited time offer, choose 8 or more shows and save 40% until September 30, 2018. Plus as a new benefit this year, subscribers will receive 10% off on additional purchases throughout the season.

Founded in the 1790s, today Markham is Canada’s most diverse community, enjoys a rich heritage, outstanding community planning and services, and a vibrant local economy. Markham has received the Excellence Canada Gold Award for Organizational Quality & Healthy Workplace®, and multiple heritage and environmental awards.