Today in Toronto: The Silicone Diaries, Beauty and the Beast, Studies in Motion and more

The Silicone Diaries A fixture on the queer arts scene, transsexual Nina Arsenault is best known outside of it for her resemblance to Barbie. After 60 surgeries over eight years, Arsenault is intimately familiar with the challenges of looking inward—and outward, which she does in this mesmerizing show that had a sold-out run last fall. Find out more >>

Studies in Motion—The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge One of the best productions of 2009 was Electric Company Theatre’s trippy No Exit, brought to Toronto by Nightwood. The Vancouver troupe returns with Studies in Motion, the story of Eadweard Muybridge, the film pioneer famous for his studies of animal and human locomotion. Find out more >>

Beauty and the Beast The tale as old as time is the latest fable to get a tap from Ross Petty’s farcical wand. Ted Dykstra directs former Canadian Idol champ Melissa O’Neil, Degrassi heartthrob Jake Epstein, Kid in the Hall Scott Thompson and, of course, Petty himself. Find out more >>

Hansel and Gretel Student opera productions at U of T are a treat: inventive staging, youthful enthusiasm and excellent singing. Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera is a slightly conventional pick for the faculty, which leans toward more offbeat works. Find out more >>

Melanie Authier This Ottawa-based painter makes the trip to Georgia Scherman with a solo show of new paintings. Authier is able to tease abstraction into vivid life, leaving you with the sense that a flower garden has just blown up in your face. Find out more >>