THEATRE | RENT
New York City's gritty lower east side meets Toronto's gritty West Queen West with the opening of RENT at the Lower Ossington Theatre tonight. A rock musical based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme, RENT follows a group of poor, young musicians as they navigate life in New York and all the sex, drugs and disease circulating the city in the '90s. The Tony Award winning play will be performed seven times weekly at the Main Theatre until June 16th.
The Lower Ossington Theatre (100A Ossington Avenue) 8PM $45-$60

MIXED MEDIA | Itamar Jobani: People of the 21st Century
Brooklyn artist and contemporary sculpturist Itamar Jobani combines traditional craftsmanship with technology in his work, and his latest exhibit, opening tonight in Toronto, combines these forces with the portraits of German photographer August Sander. A mixed media assembly of sculpture, People of the 21st Century uses Sander's project of capturing an era in portraits to comment on the global condition and the identity crises that technology causes. The opening reception begins at 6PM tonight at Julie M. Gallery and Jobani will be present for an artist talk at the gallery this Saturday at 2PM to delve further into his themes.
Julie M. Gallery, Distillery District (15 Mill Street) 6PM Free

THEATRE | The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is the classic Henry James tale we all read in grade nine (or so) English class and it returns to the stages of Toronto tonight to haunt us like the governess of Essex. A story about an unnamed governess who sees the dead while caring for her two young charges, this performance of The Turn of the Screw is an edgy opera presented by Against The Grain Theatre. Performances run at U of T's Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse until Sunday, but don't get screwed out of tickets by waiting too long to purchase!
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (90 St. George Street) 7:30PM $40

ART | Laura Thipphawong: Preconscious
Oil paintings which subvert the conscious state by diving into that space between the subconscious and reality are Laura Thipphawong's specialty. Thipphawong's Preconscious, her fourth solo show, explores symbols, dreams and other clues to reach the thoughts, memories and emotions we repress. Ethereal and dreamlike paintings will be on display with the artist present at this evening's reception. The show runs until June 9th.
#Hashtag Gallery (801 Dundas Street West) 7PM Free

THEATRE | Paul & Marie
Paul and Marie are an average married couple who risk their stable lifestyle in favour of befriending stranger folk, abandoning all they know and ultimately becoming artists in Roberto Angelini's original Canadian theatre piece. Paul & Marie is a comedic journey towards fulfillment, which includes an impressionable husband and his fiery wife, and the quirky and loudmouthed friends they make as they change the course of their lives. The play opens at the George Ignatieff Theatre tonight and runs until June 2nd.
George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place) 8PM $25

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Bob Dylan 12th Annual Birthday Tribute
• Movie Night for Kids
• Ontario's Artisan Food and Wine
• BEN UFO with SEAN ROMAN and VLSONN

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by jonathancastellino in the blogTO Flickr pool