DIXON ROAD

A new Canadian musical with book, music and lyrics by Fatuma Adar. DIXON ROAD tells the story of a Somali family who immigrate to Canada in 1991 as the civil war begins to tear their homeland apart. They settle in Dixon Road, in a neighbourhood near Pearson airport that is still the heart of Toronto’s Somali community today.

Combining R&B, contemporary verse and traditional Somali melodies, DIXON ROAD is an exhilarating journey about dreams, displacement, and finding a new sense of home. Join The Musical Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre Company at the outdoor High Park Amphitheatre for one of this summer’s hottest musical events!

Congratulations to Fatuma Adar and DIXON ROAD for being the recipient of Outstanding New Musical at this year’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards!

VIDEOS

PHOTOS

The cast and crew smile at the camera as they pose together outside a brick building. In the back row, Aadin Church, Jordan Laffrenier, Ray Hogg, Michael Clarke, Travae Williams, Haneul Yi, Jonathan Corkal-Astorga, and Chris Barillaro stand with arms around each other. Sitting on a bench or kneeling in front of them are Krystle Chance, Starr Domingue, Germaine Konji, Michael-Lamont Lytle, Kat Chin, and Farnoosh Talebpour. Sitting on stone steps in front of them are Marissa Trott, Rose-Mary Harbans, Danté Prince, Fatuma Adar, and Shakura S'Aida. Behind the group are green double doors, above them a black sign with yellow letters that reads “Rehearsal Hall”.

Aadin Church is seen from the waist up. Aadin is a Black person wearing sunglasses, a black sweater, a black and white patterned scarf, a black mask, and a grey hat. He looks down at a binder with a blue cover sitting on a stand in front of him. Behind him, Michael Clark is out of focus.

Eight Black artists, Michael-Lamont Lytle, Danté Prince, Michael Clarke, Travae Williams, Rose-Mary Harbans, Krystle Chance, Germaine Konji, and Shakura S'Aida sit or stand on a black stage in front of a brick wall. Each looks at a script set on a music stand in front of them.

Germaine Konji is seen seated and wearing a black leather jacket over a black shirt and a black face mask. In front of them & framing Germaine, Travae Williams & Danté Prince are out of focus.

The cast of Dixon Road, Danté Prince, Travae Williams, Michael-Lamont Lytle, Michael Clarke, Germaine Konji, Aadin Church, Rose-Mary Harbans, Shakura S'Aida, Starr Domingue, and Krystle Chance, stand on the stage of the rehearsal hall behind music stands. In front of them, Farnoosh Talebpour, Kat Chin, Haneul Yi, and Jonathan Corkal-Astorga sit behind two tables with open scripts and laptops. Between the tables, Chris Barillaro is playing a keyboard.

Three Black artists; Travae Williams, Rose-Mary Harbans, and Germaine Konji, are seen from the waist up. They are standing outside on a sunny day. Travae, is dressed in a matching red coat & durag and wearing a black mask, looking at Germaine, who has short black hair and is wearing a black leather jacket and black mask. Between them, Rose-Mary smiles wide, dressed in a bright yellow sweater with her full dark hair pulled back.

Fatuma Adar and Ray Hogg smile in the sun, sitting on a green bench in front of green doors and a sign that reads “Rehearsal Hall”. Fatuma, a Black woman with long black locs to her hips, wears black sunglasses, a grey-green jumpsuit, and black leather boots. Ray, a Black man with close cropped black hair & a goatee, wears an orange shirt under a dark blue button-down and jeans.

A Musical Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre Co-Production, performed at Canadian Stage’s High Park Amphitheatre.

Credits

A Musical Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre Co-Production, performed at Canadian Stage's High Park Amphitheatre.

Originally developed as a part of Obsidian Theatre’s Playwright Unit. Additionally commissioned with funding by The Musical Stage Company with funding from The Aubrey & Marla Dan Fund For New Musicals.

Cast

Ensemble
Krystle Chance

Safiya
Starr Domingue (she/they)

Ensemble
Omar Forrest

Ensemble
Rose-Mary Harbans

Zaki
Gavin Hope

Batoul
Germaine Konji (she/they)

Abdi
Michael-Lamont Lytle (he/they)

Yousef
Danté Prince (he/him)

Halima
Shakura S'Aida (she/her)

Ensemble
Travae Williams (he/him)

Creative Team

Book, Music & Lyrics
Fatuma Adar (she/her)

Director & Choreographer
Ray Hogg (he/him)

Music Supervisor, Orchestrator & Arranger
Adam Sakiyama (he/him)

Music Director & Piano/Conductor
Chris Barillaro (he/him)

Dramaturg
Kimberly Colburn (she/her)

Metcalf Foundation Associate Director & Associate Dramaturg
Jordan Laffrenier (he/they)

Movement & Creative Consultant
Esie Mensah

Associate Music Supervisor & Copyist
Jonathan Corkal-Astorga

Design Team

Set Designer
Brian Dudkiewicz (he/him)

Lighting Designer
Logan Raju Cracknell (he/they)

Costume Supervisor
Alex Amini (she/her)

Costume Designer
Georges Michael Fanfan

Sound Designer
Matteo DeSimone (he/him)

Head of Props
El Patey (they/them)

Head of Softgoods
Alex Gilbert (she/her)

Production Team

Production Supervisor
Leslie Hernandez* (she/her)

Production Manager
Carlos Varela* (he/him)

Associate Production Manager
Matteo DeSimone* (he/him)

Production & Safety Coordinator
Marissa Trott (she/her)

Stage Manager
Kat Chin (she/her)

Assistant Stage Manager
Farnoosh Talebpour

Assistant Choreographer
Rose-Mary Harbans (she/her)

Associate Music Supervisor & Copyist
Jonathan Corkal-Astorga (he/him)

Cultural Consultant
Mayran Kalah

Dialect Coach
Ausar Stewart

Audio Description Services
Rebecca Singh (Superior Description)

*partner & associate members of WxW (WhatbyWhen)

Band

Piano-Conductor
Chris Barillaro (he/him)

Guitars & Oud
John Gzowski (he/him)

Bass
Evan Porter

Drums & Percussion
Aubrey Dayle

Apprentices

RBC Apprentice Sound Designer, as a part of the Kathleen C. Freeman Leadership Development Fund
Maddie Bautista (she/her)

RBC Apprentice Director, as a part of the Kathleen C. Freeman Leadership Development Fund
Kaylee Harwood (she/her)

RBC Apprentice Music Director
Alexandra Kane (she/her)

RBC Apprentice Music Director
Haneul Yi (he/him)

Crew

Head Technician
Everett Dalingwater

Audio 2
Elijah Ouimet

Lighting Operator
Ethan Robinson

Running Crew 1
Ivy Groundwater

Running Crew 2
Sofia Frick

Dresser 1
Hannah Dulong

Dresser 2
Erika Jaudzems

Venue

VENUE LOCATION:

High Park Amphitheatre
1873 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON
Canada M6R 2Z3

Please Note: With the exception of service animals, pets are not allowed in the High Park Amphitheatre.

BY CAR

Please Note: High Park is currently closed to vehicular traffic on Saturdays and Sundays. Parking availability may change without notice.

BY TRANSIT
FROM HIGH PARK STATION (LINE 2, BLOOR-DANFORTH):

From the main entrance, walk east to get to High Park Avenue and walk south to the lights at Bloor Street and High Park Avenue
Continue through the lights, staying on the sidewalk to the left on Colborne Lodge Drive. It is about a 20-minute walk from High Park Subway Station to the amphitheatre.
The pathway to the amphitheatre is across from the parking lot of the Grenadier Café, on the northeast corner of the intersection of Colborne Lodge Drive and Centre Road.

BY STREETCAR:

The 501 Queen streetcar stops along the south side of High Park on The Queensway at Colborne Lodge Drive which you can follow north to the intersection of Centre Road where you will find the path to the amphitheatre.

For questions about getting here by transit, visit the Toronto Transit Commission.

Please Note: While there are several parking areas within High Park, please be sure to check the City of Toronto website to verify whether vehicular traffic is permitted in the park on the day of your performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Show Calendar

PROGRAMME

The Musical Stage Company is going paperless with our digital house programme!
To view the digital programme for DIXON ROAD as a PDF on your computer or mobile device, click here.

Timeline

Oct/Nov 2021: Musical Stage and Obsidian Theatre 12 day Workshop with actors focusing on text (Digital)
Feb 2022: Musical Stage and Obsidian Theatre 8 day Workshop with actors at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, focusing on music
March 2022: Musical Stage and Obsidian Theatre 6 day Workshop with actors at the Elgin Theatre Rehearsal Hall

JUNE 3 - 19, 2022