Michael Torontow

Torontow was born in Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Bell High School.{{cite web |title=Michael Torontow |url=https://www.cmtdb.ca/creators/michael-torontow |website=Canadian Musical Theatre Database |access-date=30 August 2024}} While in high school, Torontow played Joseph in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which motivated him to pursue a career in acting. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a Certificate in Arts Administration.

In 2001, Torontow made his professional stage debut in the first North American tour of Mamma Mia! as a member of the ensemble and an understudy in the role of Sky.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

In 2004, Torontow played the role of Link Larkin in the first Canadian production of Hairspray. The musical ran at the Princess of Wales Theatre from April to November 2004.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=Hairspray Ends in Toronto Nov. 28 |url=https://playbill.com/article/hairspray-ends-in-toronto-nov-28-com-122774 |website=Playbill |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=28 November 2004}}

Torontow was a member of the ensemble for the stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=Toronto's Dirty Dancing Finds Its Baby and Johnny; Full Cast Announced |url=https://playbill.com/article/torontos-dirty-dancing-finds-its-baby-and-johnny-full-cast-announced-com-142481 |website=Playbill |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=25 July 2007}} The first Canadian production played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, opening in July 2007. In 2010, Torontow played Giuseppe Naccarelli in a Toronto production of The Light in the Piazza presented by the Musical Stage Company and the Canadian Stage Company.{{cite web |last1=Kaplan |first1=Jon |title=The Light In The Piazza |url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/the-light-in-the-piazza/ |website=Now Toronto |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=8 February 2010}} In 2016, Torontow reprised his role of Giuseppe in a production of The Light in the Piazza at the Max Bell Theatre, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the 2016 Calgary Theatre Critics Awards.{{cite web |last1=Hobson |first1=Louis B. |title=Calgary theatre critics award nominees unveiled |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/calgary-theatre-critics-award-nominees-unveiled |website=Calgary Herald |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=24 May 2016}}

In 2019, Torontow performed Every Brilliant Thing, a one-man show written by Duncan Macmillan. The production was presented by Talk is Free Theatre at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie, before it transferred to the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.{{cite web |last1=Schmidt |first1=Joff |title=From ice cream to Christopher Walken, Every Brilliant Thing celebrates what makes life worth living |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/theatre-review-every-brilliant-thing-rmtc-1.5439203 |website=CBC |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=24 January 2020}} In 2020, the production was presented at the Adelaide Fringe Festival with Torontow again performing the show.{{cite web |last1=Wild |first1=Stephi |title=Acclaimed Canadian Theatre Company Heads To Adelaide Fringe |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/adelaide/article/Acclaimed-Canadian-Theatre-Company-Heads-To-Adelaide-Fringe-20200112 |website=BroadwayWorld |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=12 January 2020}} This production won the BankSA Best Theatre & Physical Theatre award.{{cite web |title=2020 BankSA Adelaide Fringe Weekly Fringe Award Winners |url=https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringefeed/news/week-two-banksa-award-winners-announced |website=Adelaide Fringe |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=28 February 2020}}

Since 2019, Torontow has served as an artistic director for Talk is Free Theatre (TIFT), which is a professional theatre company based in Barrie that has produced theatre across Ontario, Canada, and internationally.{{cite web |last1=Szekeres |first1=Joe |title=Profiles: Michael Torontow |url=https://www.ourtheatrevoice.com/items/michael-torontow |website=Our Theatre Voice |access-date=30 August 2024}} In 2021, he directed his first musical, a TIFT production, of Into the Woods, in Barrie and at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto.{{cite web |last1=Hoile |first1=Christopher |title=Into the Woods |url=https://www.stage-door.com/3/2021-Reviews/Entries/2021/10/into-the-woods-1.html |website=Stage-Door |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=31 October 2021}} At the 2022 Dora Awards, Torontow was nominated for Best Direction.{{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=Jessica |title=2022 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners |url=https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/news/2022-dora-mavor-moore-award-winners/ |website=Intermission Magazine |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=20 September 2022}}

In 2022, Torontow starred as Sweeney Todd in a production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which was presented by Talk is Free Theatre.{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Aisling |title=Sweeney Todd at Talk Is Free Theatre |url=https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/reviews/review-sweeney-todd-at-talk-is-free-theatre/ |website=Intermission Magazine |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=13 June 2022}} For his performance in the role, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical at the 2022 Dora Awards.

In 2023, Torontow played Kevin J. and others in a production of Come from Away in Gander, Newfoundland, where the musical is set.{{cite web |last1=Masseron |first1=Meg |last2=Putnam |first2=Leah |title=Get a 1st Look at the Homecoming Production of Come From Away in Gander, Newfoundland |url=https://playbill.com/article/get-a-1st-look-at-the-homecoming-production-of-come-from-away-in-gander-newfoundland |website=Playbill |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=23 July 2023}} When the musical returned to Gander in the summer of 2024, Torontow returned, this time playing Kevin T. and others.{{cite web |last1=Buchwald |first1=Linda |title=Original Broadway Cast Members Return to Come from Away in Gander |url=https://www.theatermania.com/news/original-broadway-cast-members-return-to-come-from-away-in-gander_1733974 |website=Theatremania |access-date=31 August 2024 |date=14 March 2024}}

Torontow is currently playing Cal in the original Canadian production of Titanique.{{cite web |last1=Gans |first1=Andrew |title=See Who's Starring in Canadian Production of Titanìque Musical |url=https://playbill.com/article/see-whos-starring-in-canadian-production-of-titanique-musical |website=Playbill |access-date=5 November 2024 |date=16 September 2024}} The musical premiered at the Segal Centre in Montreal, where it is playing between October 27 and November 24, 2024. It will then transfer to the CAA Theatre, where it will play between December 5, 2024 and January 12, 2025.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|id=1966271}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torontow, Michael}}

Category:Living people

Category:1977 births

Category:Male actors from Ottawa

Category:Canadian male musical theatre actors

Category:Canadian male stage actors

Category:Canadian male television actors

Category:21st-century Canadian male actors