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

MUSIC | Brain Trust Presents: The Never Evers, The Thinly Veiled Double Entendres, and The True Romantics
The long weekend is over and the only way to cope is with booze and bands. In case you didn't get enough yet, Brain Trust is putting on an awesome show tonight with three indie rock bands. Brooklyn band The Never Evers return to the Big Smoke, joining natives The Thinly Veiled Double Entendres and The True Romantics for a show at The Drake Underground. A little bit folksy, a little bit rock and roll, this will be a great show for just $5 cover.
The Drake Underground (1150 Queen Street West) 9:30PM $5

BOOKS & LIT | FUNNY STRANGE: Satire after Mordecai Richler
New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin and comedian/author Seán Cullen host a live discussion about Canada's most provocative novelist tonight at the ROM. Funny Strange will cover the life and times of Trillin's friend and fellow writer Mordecai Richler and his association with satire and comedy. Moderated by Richler's biographer Charles Foran, the evening will be a meeting of funny minds and compelling idea.
Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park) 7PM $40

PHOTOGRAPHY | Photography in Public
The CONTACT Photography Festival is an excellent arena in which to explore the public's reaction and engagement with the printed image, and the social and political roles photography plays in the daily lives of the viewer. In conjunction with the festival and the Toronto Photography Seminar, U of T opens its art centre to said public to listen in as experts engage in discussion regarding these impacts. Joining panelists Sarah Parsons, Sharon Sliwinski and Andres Zervigón, moderator Matthew Brower will lead the discussions on art, activism and propaganda, which will hopefully shed light on the complex relationship between photography and its audience.
University of Toronto Art Centre (15 King's College Circle) 7PM Free

FILM | 2012 Bootleg Film Festival
Yet another film festival is coming to Toronto. A traveling film festival now in its 4th year, the 2012 Bootleg Film Festival focuses on showcasing international indie films and this is its first year going abroad. With beginnings in the UK, things are done a bit differently at the Bootleg--films are screened in blocks of 6-8 with evening events like karaoke and stand-up comedy happening at the end of each day. The films are gritty, underground and non-conformist; only true cinephiles need apply. The festival runs from today until Saturday.
Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue) 4PM PWYC

THEATRE | How To Disappear Completely
A lighting designer uses his expertise to tell the personal and surprising story of his mother's death in How To Disappear Completely. Itai Erdal has designed for over 170 stage shows but in this new interactive play, he makes his foray into writing and acting. The play features films and photos that tell his mother's unique story in the final months of her life as she comes to terms with her impending death. How To Disappear Completely runs at Factory Theatre until May 13th.
Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst Street) 8PM $25