#1
Posted: 8/29/08 at 4:01pm
So with 4 Theatres owned by Mirvish. What kind of 2009/2010 Season should we expext.
#2
Posted: 8/29/08 at 7:53pm
Priscilla Queen of the Desert (pre-Broadway tour- I think) is the only thing I have heard.
#3
Posted: 8/30/08 at 11:50am
It would be great if we could get Priscilla.
August: Osage County would be nice, too.
August: Osage County would be nice, too.
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
#4
Posted: 8/31/08 at 12:13am
Priscilla is happening 100% but I'm pretty sure it will just be a tour stop.
And regarding August, here is some info that was posted in The Star back in June:
How do you solve a problem like August: Osage County?
And are Toronto audiences ready for this 3 1/2-hour look at a dysfunctional family, which was crowned on Sunday with the Tony for the best play of the year?
That's a question David Mirvish is grappling with at the moment.
"It's definitely a challenge," Mirvish said yesterday.
He has a chance to book it for his 2009/2010 subscription series. But Mirvish subscribers have a history of reacting with their feet to shows peppered with words they consider offensive.
"We have found our subscribers will accept the F-word if it is not repeated all evening long," Mirvish explains.
But they won't tolerate the C-word, which also figures prominently in Osage. You see, the monster mother who terrorizes the other characters is a drug addict, and the fact that she hides drugs in her vagina is frankly discussed by her daughters with zero decorum.
"That's not something easy to digest for our subscribers," says Mirvish. "But we don't want to turn our back on a prestigious drama that won the Pulitzer Prize as well as five Tony statuettes."
The Sound of Music this is not. That is one reason I made it a priority to see this play in New York – and relished every minute of what struck me as the best new American play of the past 10 years.
In the opening scene, the elderly mother from hell dismisses her tormented husband and prospective caregiver with a suggestion that one or both of them have anal sex with a sow – only that is not quite how she phrases it. We quickly realize she is clearly not the type to burst into song about a few of her favourite things.
A possible way out of this dilemma, Mirvish realizes, is to book the play but not on subscription. It could be added as an optional extra for subscribers. But he would be taking a financial risk, sacrificing the guarantee of 40,000 pre-sold seats.
This is not an inexpensive production. The price tag is close to $600,000 a week, which is what Mirvish would normally pay for a big musical. In fact, the show – which originated with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre – has done astonishingly well at the box office on Broadway. It's on the short list of shows that have recouped their investment this season.
And sometimes things are worth doing for their own sake, even if there is no big financial payoff. That was certainly the case with the two-part Nicholas Nickleby, a Mirvish subscription show that ranks in my memory as one of the greatest thrills of Toronto's 2007/2008 theatre season.
And regarding August, here is some info that was posted in The Star back in June:
How do you solve a problem like August: Osage County?
And are Toronto audiences ready for this 3 1/2-hour look at a dysfunctional family, which was crowned on Sunday with the Tony for the best play of the year?
That's a question David Mirvish is grappling with at the moment.
"It's definitely a challenge," Mirvish said yesterday.
He has a chance to book it for his 2009/2010 subscription series. But Mirvish subscribers have a history of reacting with their feet to shows peppered with words they consider offensive.
"We have found our subscribers will accept the F-word if it is not repeated all evening long," Mirvish explains.
But they won't tolerate the C-word, which also figures prominently in Osage. You see, the monster mother who terrorizes the other characters is a drug addict, and the fact that she hides drugs in her vagina is frankly discussed by her daughters with zero decorum.
"That's not something easy to digest for our subscribers," says Mirvish. "But we don't want to turn our back on a prestigious drama that won the Pulitzer Prize as well as five Tony statuettes."
The Sound of Music this is not. That is one reason I made it a priority to see this play in New York – and relished every minute of what struck me as the best new American play of the past 10 years.
In the opening scene, the elderly mother from hell dismisses her tormented husband and prospective caregiver with a suggestion that one or both of them have anal sex with a sow – only that is not quite how she phrases it. We quickly realize she is clearly not the type to burst into song about a few of her favourite things.
A possible way out of this dilemma, Mirvish realizes, is to book the play but not on subscription. It could be added as an optional extra for subscribers. But he would be taking a financial risk, sacrificing the guarantee of 40,000 pre-sold seats.
This is not an inexpensive production. The price tag is close to $600,000 a week, which is what Mirvish would normally pay for a big musical. In fact, the show – which originated with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre – has done astonishingly well at the box office on Broadway. It's on the short list of shows that have recouped their investment this season.
And sometimes things are worth doing for their own sake, even if there is no big financial payoff. That was certainly the case with the two-part Nicholas Nickleby, a Mirvish subscription show that ranks in my memory as one of the greatest thrills of Toronto's 2007/2008 theatre season.
#5
Posted: 8/31/08 at 4:02am
Wicked June 2010 i hope that is part of the Subscription package.
#6
Posted: 8/31/08 at 9:57am
Well, Mirvish *is* giving its subscribers Spring Awakening (teen sex, pregancy, abortion, masturbation, homosexuality, physical and sexual abuse, suicide... oh, and Totally F*cked!) and The Color Purple (incest, physical and emotional abuse, homosexuality (lesbians), racism, etc.), so surely those subscribers can put up with a few curse words in the Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County. I mean, how provincial are we?
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
#7
Posted: 8/31/08 at 12:56pm
It isn't that Toronto is all that provincial, but the Mirvish subscribers - many of whom have been subscribers for 20, 30 years or more - are an older crowd with more sensitive sensibilities. These are the people who flock to see SOUND OF MUSIC and would probably prefer Mirvish bring SOUTH PACIFIC or even GYPSY in. Since this group alone can make or break a show The Mirvishes tend to choose shows that subscribers will go for.
If anything I suspect A:OC would be a better fit for Cantage who have done well with edgier shows (PILLOWMAN, ANGELS IN AMERICA). The question is could CanStage afford it given their precarious financial position right now?
If anything I suspect A:OC would be a better fit for Cantage who have done well with edgier shows (PILLOWMAN, ANGELS IN AMERICA). The question is could CanStage afford it given their precarious financial position right now?
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#8
Posted: 8/31/08 at 3:07pm
Umm...they couldn't even touch it. $600,000 a week and CanStage can't even be in the same sentence. Besides that, CanStage doesn't bring in tours.
#9
Posted: 8/31/08 at 6:39pm
Many, many years ago I had a Mirvish subscription. Can't remember the year, but I remember seeing plays like Lily Tomlin's "Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," Kate Nelligan in "the Spoils of War," "Lettice and Lovage" with Julie Harris. I had tickets to Saturday matinees, and I didn't really fit in with the audience which was much older (and I could count the other Asians in the crowd on the fingers of one hand). I think I may have subscribed to CanStage once, but I don't subscribe to any theatre company anymore. I pick and choose.
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
Updated On: 8/31/08 at 06:39 PM
#10
Posted: 9/1/08 at 9:16pm
Sorry Tag, I should have been clearer. I meant for Canstage to do their own production. I know they don't bring in tours. $600K is high for a play on tour but face it, tour opperators just charge what they think they can get.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#11
Posted: 9/1/08 at 10:24pm
Would love to see Xanadu brought in :)
Updated On: 9/1/08 at 10:24 PM
#12
Posted: 9/2/08 at 11:41pm
There is Xanadu tour in the works right now FYI, don't know where it's headed but thats what I've directly heard.
"Now the best way to learn the theater, always, is to be a stage manager" - Stephen Sondheim
#13
Posted: 9/17/08 at 9:11pm
The Priscilla website is saying "Toronto - Planned for late 2009," so I guess it's for real.
http://www.priscillathemusical.com/index.php?id=192
http://www.priscillathemusical.com/index.php?id=192
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
#15
Posted: 9/19/08 at 6:08pm
"$600K is high for a play on tour but face it, tour opperators just charge what they think they can get."
Seriously? Do you know how a show gets booked? Tour operators run bus trips. Booking agents schedule and sell touring shows to presenters like Mirvish. And the amount that presenters paid isn't picked on a whim. It covers the production costs, moving costs, etc, with a bit on the top to go towards recoupment of the investment and then some profit. It's all very carefully calculated.
Seriously? Do you know how a show gets booked? Tour operators run bus trips. Booking agents schedule and sell touring shows to presenters like Mirvish. And the amount that presenters paid isn't picked on a whim. It covers the production costs, moving costs, etc, with a bit on the top to go towards recoupment of the investment and then some profit. It's all very carefully calculated.
#16
Posted: 9/19/08 at 6:09pm
Oh, and the XANADU tour launches in La Jolla, CA in November for 5 weeks, then goes to Chicago for at least six months. Cities beyond there haven't been announced.
#17
Posted: 10/24/08 at 3:27pm
So, since the last post, has there been any more news on the '09 - '10 Mirvish season?
I want to start getting excited about anything that's stopping by next year!
I want to start getting excited about anything that's stopping by next year!
"You see, I told you so! There's lots of things I know. 'Ponine, she knows her way around."
#18
Posted: 10/24/08 at 7:20pm
Wicked is coming back in 2010. Producer David Stone, said it in an article about a year ago. They are starting a second touring company up soon (I think it will be all of the Chicago sets, costumes, etc. seeing as it is closing early next year)
Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde are two shows that could possibly coming. Disney and Mirvish have a strong relationship, so expect her to fly through T.O. soon. Around the time MP opened on Broadway, an article was written about MP coming in late 2008, early 2009. Not happening. But like I said, there is a strong relationship, so it will come in time.
Other show touring the U.S. without Canadian dates are: the new revival of Grease, like many said; Xanadu, Topol in Fiddler, Ain't Misbehavin' with some American Idol constenants, and the internation tour of Rent wiht Adam and Anthony. So either Mirvish or Dancap could scoop them up.
Also, Chicago is starting up a tour again, so it may be a extra to the subcription like Spamalot, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is this year.
Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde are two shows that could possibly coming. Disney and Mirvish have a strong relationship, so expect her to fly through T.O. soon. Around the time MP opened on Broadway, an article was written about MP coming in late 2008, early 2009. Not happening. But like I said, there is a strong relationship, so it will come in time.
Other show touring the U.S. without Canadian dates are: the new revival of Grease, like many said; Xanadu, Topol in Fiddler, Ain't Misbehavin' with some American Idol constenants, and the internation tour of Rent wiht Adam and Anthony. So either Mirvish or Dancap could scoop them up.
Also, Chicago is starting up a tour again, so it may be a extra to the subcription like Spamalot, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is this year.
Updated On: 10/24/08 at 07:20 PM
#19
Posted: 10/26/08 at 2:31am
They always stick in a Manatoba Theatre show as a fill in. They also seem to favour West End shows over Broadway Shows. So here is my Predictions
1. Pricilla
2. Wicked
3. Some sort of West end show by Andrew Lloyd Webber
4. Another West end show
5. Some Broadway show that won a Tony
6. Manatoba Theatre fill in show to round out the season.
1. Pricilla
2. Wicked
3. Some sort of West end show by Andrew Lloyd Webber
4. Another West end show
5. Some Broadway show that won a Tony
6. Manatoba Theatre fill in show to round out the season.
#20
Posted: 10/30/08 at 5:35pm
Why would they bring Wicked for the third time? The last time it came it wasn't only on the subscription. Also, any word on a [title of show] tour?
#21
Posted: 10/30/08 at 6:10pm
They would bring Wicked because it would make them a lot of money.
And it is rumoured that it will be a Toronto sit-down or extended stay in June 2010.
And it is rumoured that it will be a Toronto sit-down or extended stay in June 2010.
#22
Posted: 11/1/08 at 11:50pm
Tag is right. Both runs of WICKED sold out leaving hundreds to scramble for the lottery tickets. If it is an extended run, I wonder where they will place it?
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#23
Posted: 11/2/08 at 2:24pm
The Rumour is its at the Cannon in June 2010. its safe to say that Wicked will be one of the last shows in the 2009/2010 Subscription season. Maybe other shows will be at the Panasonic and Royal Alexandra. Sound of Music might be booked for a long run at the Princess of Wales.
Updated On: 12/11/08 at 02:24 PM
#24
Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:20pm
#1- Royal AlexandRA, NOT alexandER.
#2- Princess of WALES(like the country) not WHALES (the animal)
#3- wallybag, your show predicitions above are useless.
#2- Princess of WALES(like the country) not WHALES (the animal)
#3- wallybag, your show predicitions above are useless.
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