When You Close Your Eyes: An Original Horror Musical

When You Close Your Eyes, an original horror musical from Pepper's Ghost Productions, runs from November 5 to November 15, 2026, at VideoCabaret's Deanne Taylor Theatre, 10 Busy St.

The setup is pure small-town dread. In a bleak town where no one ever comes and no one ever leaves, a group of young women are stuck inside the only life they have ever known. Then a newcomer arrives, promising them a way out. What follows explores what it costs to get everything you see when you close your eyes, and how far people will go to escape.

The show is written by Jessa Richer, with additional compositions by Jason Kokkovas. It is directed by Jacqui Sirois and choreographed by Alli Carry. This full production follows a sold-out workshop staging in 2024, and the company is promising that this version will be bigger and bloodier than ever.

Horror and musical theatre are a better match than they might sound. Think of the lineage of Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd and Evil Dead: The Musical, where songs make the tension and the dark comedy land harder. A homegrown new work in that vein, landing in the week after Halloween, is a nice way to stretch out spooky season, and supporting new Canadian musicals at this scale is exactly how the next big one gets made.

Practical notes: tickets are $35 through Eventbrite. VideoCabaret's Deanne Taylor Theatre is at 10 Busy St., a small laneway off Queen Street East near Broadview in Riverside. The 501 Queen and 504 King streetcars are the closest transit, both a short walk away. It is an intimate venue, so seats are limited; book ahead, especially for the closing weekend. Given the subject matter, expect stage blood and mature themes, so this is best for teens and adults. Riverside's bars and restaurants along Queen East make it easy to turn this into a full night out.