If you are wondering why the new owners of the Lyric Theatre Hamilton (formerly the Westside on King Street West) elected to rename the original Kenmore movie house and one time CHCH-TV studio the Lyric Theatre, you need to start by exploring the history of live performance in Hamilton. Flash back to Vaudeville era venues like the Grand, Griffin, Temple, Savoy and Lyric. These grand theatres once defined live performance in Hamilton, but have since slipped through our hands leaving us only with nostalgic memories. This is where it all starts with the new owners of the Lyric Theatre Hamilton.

VARIETY THEATRE  

J'ADORE  Sat, Feb 18th, 2012.  Hamilton's greatest cabaret artists, musicians and circus burlesque performers. The Lyric's Burlesque troupe delivers a gorgeous and glittering VALENTINE featuring exhilarating acts performed by aerial silk artists , torch singers, magicians and of course dancers. The Lyric house band provides the glue that anchors each performance. J'Adore! promises to celebrate l'amour with good humor, style, and a healthy dose of dazzle! Bring a friend, a lover, a family member, or a secret crush, and celebrate with the Valentine's Burlesque spectacular that will leave you shouting: "J'ADORE...... Lyric Burlesque!"

CONCERT

FRIGHTENSTEIN PARTY  Fri, Apr 13th, 2012. The Lyric's Frightenstein Parties every Friday the 13th features a live band and unique entertainment in keeping with the namesakes glorious past. See some of the original CH lighting equipment at the new Lyric. Have fun being a star on the Lyric's version of the 'Hilarious House of Frightenstein!' You will be videotaped in front of the 'TV-Studio Green Screen'. Just dance the night away!

MUSICAL THEATRE    

 SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD  Feb 3 through 11, 2012. Just in time to shake you out of the winter blues! Transported from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue, audiences meet a startling array of characters, ranging from a young man who has determined that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto, to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a souless marriage.   PROMOTION: (1) Special $5.00 saving on Matinee and Thursday Evening Performances. (2) Table of Six Saving!

INTO THE WOODS   Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2012. One of Stephen Sondheim's masterpieces, INTO THE WOODS intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Sondheim weaves together Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and more. What happens after 'Happily Ever After'? Only McMaster Musical Theatre will provide the answer.

HAIRSPRAY  Apr 20 through May 5, 2012. Hairspray delights audiences by sweeping them away to 1960's Baltimore, where the 50's are out -- and change is in the air. Loveable plus-size heroine Tracy Turnblad has a passion for dancing, and wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show." Overnight she finds herself transformed from outsider to teen celebrity. Can a larger-than-life adolescent manage to vanquish the program's reigning princess, integrate the television show, and find true love (singing and dancing all the while, of course!) without mussing her hair?  PROMOTION: (1) Special $5.00 saving on Matinee and Thursday Evening Performances. (2) Table of Six Saving!

DANCE THEATRE

PASSAGES Thu-Sat, Mar 29,30,31, 2012. An inter-disciplinary performance that fuses live music, dance and film projections in order to examine our relationships and the act of remembering. How do we share the ineffable weight of our memories with others? How can we express the human need to both carry on and let go of our past? The path is never clear.

FASHION SHOW

REV WEAR  Fri-Sat, Mar 23-24 , 2012. A fashion event unlike any other: all the clothes are made of reused materials, and contrary to the messages promoted by many fashion shows, the theme is Respect. Fashion, music, dance and spoken word will help tell the stories of working for a better world.