Great news was released for Toronto theatre lovers this week as Mirvish Productions announced its highly anticipated 2021-2022 Season!
Toronto’s beloved commercial theatre company released a line-up of ten shows, seven in their Main Season, and three in their Off-Mirvish Season.
Blindness
Currently running through August 29th, 2021 with an extension for September 24th-October 24th, 2021 at The Princess Of Wales Theatre
As the lights change at a major crossroads in a city in the heart of Europe a car grinds to a halt. Its driver can drive no more. Suddenly, without warning or cause, he has gone blind. Within hours it is clear that this is a blindness like no other. This blindness is infectious. Within days an epidemic of blindness has spread through the city. The government tries to quarantine the contagion by herding the newly blind people into an empty asylum. But their attempts are futile. The city is in panic.
Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, for which he won both the the Tony© and Olivier Awards for Best Play) has adapted Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago’s dystopian novel Blindness as a sound installation directed by Walter Meierjohann with immersive binaural sound design by Ben and Max Ringham. Juliet Stevenson voices the Storyteller/Doctor’s wife in this gripping story of the rise and, ultimately, profoundly hopeful end of an unimaginable global pandemic.
Subscribers can choose to include Blindness as their first show of the Off-Mirvish Season for dates in the fall. You will be contacted by email for more information.
Come From Away
Begins December 7th, 2021 at The Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Come From Away is the smash-hit musical that has taken the world by storm, with continuing sold-out, record-breaking engagements on Broadway, in London’s West End, Melbourne, and on tour across North America.
This joyous musical shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 airplane passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland in the wake of 9/11, and the small community that invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives.
Written by Tony®-nominated Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and featuring Tony®-winning direction by Christopher Ashley, Come From Away “takes you to a place you never want to leave!” (Newsweek).
Jesus Christ Superstar
Begins December 2021 at The Ed Mirvish Theatre.
Jesus Christ Superstar is an iconic musical phenomenon with a world-wide fan base. In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, a new mesmerizing production comes to North America. Originally staged by London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and helmed by the acclaimed director Timothy Sheader (Crazy for You, Into the Woods) and award-winning choreographer Drew McOnie (King Kong, Strictly Ballroom), this production won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival garnering unprecedented reviews and accolades. Appealing to both theatre audiences and concert music fans, this production pays tribute to the historic 1971 Billboard Album of the Year while creating a modern, theatrical world that is uniquely fresh and inspiring.
Featuring award-winning music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. Reflecting the rock roots that defined a generation, the legendary score includes I Don’t Know How to Love Him, Gethsemane and Superstar.
Boy Falls From The Sky
January 2022 at The CAA Theatre.
Jake Epstein’s been “that guy from Degrassi”, starred in the US National Tours of Spring Awakening and American Idiot, played Spider-Man on Broadway and originated the lead role of Gerry Goffin (Carole King’s husband) in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Not bad for a kid who dreamed about performing on Broadway in the back seat of his parents’ minivan on their annual family road trip to NYC.
But the thing about dreams is, they don’t always go as planned. Through a series of entertaining and soul-baring stories and songs, ranging from touring the US, to surviving Spider-Man, to withstanding steroid shots and Broadway boos, Epstein shares the rejection, stage fright and heartbreak behind a seemingly successful career in this showbiz tell-all. Boy Falls From The Sky is a must-see for anyone who’s ever tried to go after their dreams.
Leopoldstadt
January - March 2022 at The Princess of Wales Theatre
Leopoldstadt is the Olivier Award-winning new ‘masterwork’ (Evening Standard) by Tom Stoppard which opened to overwhelming critical acclaim and to sold out houses last year/in early 2020 in London’s West End. Now, Stoppard’s ‘unforgettable play from the heart’ (The Telegraph) makes its North American premiere in Toronto!
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna. But Hermann Merz, a manufacturer and baptised Jew married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. Gathered in the Merz apartment in a fashionable part of the city, Hermann’s extended family are at the heart of Tom Stoppard’s epic yet intimate drama. By the time we have taken leave of them, Austria has passed through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and – for Austrian Jews – the Holocaust in which 65,000 of them were murdered. It is for the survivors to pass on a story which hasn’t ended yet.
A ‘masterpiece’ (Independent) directed by Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt is Tom Stoppard’s most humane and heart-breaking play.
Room
February - April 2022 at The CAA Theatre
Emma Donoghue’s bestselling novel Room has now been adapted as a new play with songs by Scottish songwriters Kathryn Joseph and Cora Bissett. Previously adapted by Donoghue for the screen, the film won Academy Awards®, Golden Globes and BAFTAs.
Kidnapped as a teenage girl, Ma has been locked inside a purpose built room in her captor’s garden for seven years. Her five year old son, Jack, has no concept of the world outside and happily exists inside Room with the help of Ma’s games and his vivid imagination where objects like Rug, Lamp and TV are his only friends. But for Ma the time has come to escape and face their biggest challenge to date: the world outside Room.
You will not want to miss this “story that is in some ways a harrowing one, that brings many in the audience to tears. Yet is also a tremendously beautiful, vivid and uplifting show about the power of a mother’s love.” (The Scotsman)
A co-production with Covent Garden Productions and the Grand Theatre, London, Canada.
Subscribers holding both a Main and Off-Mirvish subscription can choose to purchase additional tickets to Leopoldstadt or Pressure at the subscription price (for the same number of Off-Mirvish seats held), or receive a credit on their account for a future subscription purchase or renewal. This option is also available to subscribers holding only an Off-Mirvish subscription.
2 Pianos 4 Hands
March - May 2022 at The Princess Of Wales Theatre
After performing to standing ovations around the world since 1996, Ted and Richard will slip on their tuxedos for an exclusive presentation of their smash hit comedy.
2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS (2P4H) is a warm and funny musical entertainment about two lifetime obsessions with 88 piano keys. It’s a story of aspiring talents, teachers, lessons and competitions – of disappointment and triumph.
If you caught 2P4H in its earlier sold-out Toronto runs, you will want to see it again to enjoy its hilarity and charm. You may also want to introduce this homegrown hit, that has dazzled audiences in New York, London, Tokyo and dozens of world capitals, to family and friends – the show is perfect for everyone!
Pressure
April - June 2022 at The CAA Theatre
D-Day, June 1944. The Allied forces led by General Eisenhower are poised to launch. 350,000 lives are at stake and the decision of whether to attack comes down to the most important weather forecast of all time.
Award-winning director John Dove (Farinelli and the King, Broadway starring Mark Rylance) directs Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey, Royal National Theatre) as Scottish meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg, in this true story and critical smash hit direct from London’s West End.
Olivier nominee Malcolm Sinclair (Casino Royale, Royal National Theatre) and Laura Rogers (Shakespeare’s Globe, West End) reprise their roles as General Eisenhower and Kay Summersby to bring this remarkable story to life. You will not want to miss, Pressure!
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
Begins June 2022 at The Ed Mirvish Theatre
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child originally cast a spell over the world as an epic two-part event. Now, the show has been boldly restaged as one singular performance by the award-winning creative team. With just one ticket in hand, audiences will enjoy all the adventure the continuation of Harry's story entails in one magical afternoon or evening.
19 years after Harry, Ron and Hermione saved the wizarding world, they’re back on a most extraordinary new adventure – this time, joined by a brave new generation that has only just arrived at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Prepare for spectacular spells, a mind-blowing race through time, and an epic battle to stop mysterious forces, all while the future hangs in the balance.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child features movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison, music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe. Canadian casting by Dayton/Walters Casting CSA, CDC with additional consultation by Jim Carnahan Casting, CSA.
The Toronto production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by David Mirvish, Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.
& Juliet
July 2022 at The Princess Of Wales Theatre
You will roar with joy at the multi award-winning & Juliet, London’s “dazzlingly brilliant” (Evening Standard) new musical that’s packed with some of the biggest pop anthems of our time.
“A kind of raucous Shakespeare comedy in itself” (The Stage), & Juliet asks: what if Juliet’s famous ending was really just her beginning? What if she decided to choose her own fate? And what if she got over Romeo by running off to Paris with her best friends on a whirlwind journey of self-discovery and second chances? This is Juliet’s story now.
Brought to life by the iconic music of the internationally acclaimed songwriter Max Martin, & Juliet features some of the most successful songs of the last three decades including Hit Me Baby One More Time, I Want It That Way, Teenage Dream and many more. Experience the songs you know and love in thrilling arrangements by the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning orchestrator Bill Sherman and story by David West Read (Netflix’s Schitt’s Creek) as & Juliet offers a brilliant new take on the world’s greatest love story.
The show explodes into life through a fusion of electrifying styles across a dynamic and diverse creative team led by director Luke Sheppard (In the Heights). He brings together the raw energetic choreography of Jennifer Weber, costume design by the Tony® Award-winning Paloma Young and set design from the acclaimed Soutra Gilmour.
“One of the best new musicals in a while and then some” (WhatsOnStage) and with a soundtrack so good “no other production can compete” (The Sun), & Juliet proves that when it comes to love, there’s always life after Romeo.
Also announced was the Canadian premiere of Hamilton, which had to postpone it’s Toronto run due to COVID-19. The show will be returning to The Ed Mirvish Theatre in February 2023!
Mirvish also shared that all artists and workers involved with these shows will be fully vaccinated. Audience members will also need to be fully vaccinated to attend these productions. Kids under the age of 12 and those with exemptions have the option to provide a negative COVID test, taken 72 hours before the show.
I am SO thrilled for this incredible lineup of shows, and will definitely be getting tickets to see as many of them as I can.
You can find more information here: https://www.mirvish.com/whats-on
Which productions will YOU be seeing this season? Leave a comment letting us know!
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