WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY?
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $83.75-$107.50 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or
Why: Improv experts Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray (three of whom are known to fans through the Emmy-nominated TV show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?) are are on the road through June, with a massive tour that brings the quartet to Victoria for two shows this week. The content is all based on audience suggestions, and runs the gamut from games to music (Second City veteran Bob Derkach is the musical director), so the possibilities are endless. Some members of the audience will find their way on stage, which makes each appearance by these fan favourites wholly unique.
DOMINIC MILLER
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Sq.
When: Sunday, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $79-$85 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or
Why: Sting has not performed in Victoria since 2013, but help is on the way for long-suffering fans: Grammy Award winner Dominic Miller, longtime guitarist for the former lead singer of The Police. The 64 year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina, plays everything from jazz and pop to classical, and his instrumental The Shape of My Heart Tour will deliver an expansive program that also includes material from Sting performed in jazz-folk fashion. He has more than 30 years of experience recording with and touring alongside Sting, dating back to the release of 1991’s The Soul Cages, so expect some wonderful reinventions courtesy of Miller and his bandmates Ziv Ravitz (drums), Nicolas Fiszman (bass), and Jason Rebello (piano).
JEREMY HOTZ
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Sq.
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $48-$74.50 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or
Why: Ottawa comedian Jeremy Hotz has made misery his stock-in-trade. The comedian is constantly up in arms at the world around him, which should net him a sizeable audience (fellow misanthropes, unite!) for his return to the McPherson Playhouse on Friday — which is billed, fittingly, as the Très Misérables tour. Years ago, his shtick was an acquired taste. But with the state of the world at present, audiences have come to appreciate Hotz’s appetite for emotional destruction.
