Mirvish 2009 / 2010 — Page 5

Just a note about Little House: Melissa Gilbert is playing the mother which I thought was kind of interesting. Fairly decent creative team, too.

A CBC version of "Any Dream Will Do" does seem to be the plan even though they didn't mention it specifically. I just updated the list of articles (a few posts above) to include the Globe and Mail which discusses this a bit.

But what happened to WICKED? I was very much looking forward to having it in my city. WWRY still open? Seriously?

WICKED was on the 2005 subscription season. Doesn't make sense for them to announce it as a subscription offering within five years.

The show is supposed to return June 2010, but that was announced a year ago by The Star. Things could have changed since then.

There seemed to be an emphesis on value this year. The current season has the most musicals they've ever had and next year will have an additional one without (at least at my price level) an increase in subscription fee. David Mirvish ended the event by invoking his father and saying, "It's the best bargain in town" or whatever the line is.

I think that if they had included another Broadway touring show, they would have had to at the very least limit it to six shows and even then probably increase the price. Also, I think with the current economy they would have been able to hold onto their subscribers, but it would be difficult to get casual (or non) theatre-goers to pay ~$100 for properties most people have never heard of. Remember, last season Dancap had amazing shows and couldn't get the non-theatre crowd to go and that was pre-recession. The general public doesn't know about Avenue Q, Spelling Bee, In The Heights, etc. (They do know about Legally Blonde and Xanadu, though, and I think there's a good chance of those being announced by Dancap.)

On the other hand, both The Harder They Come and Little House (both of which I assume they got pretty good deals on) should have no problem filling non-subscriber seats. I saw The Harder They Come at the Barbican last year before it moved to the West End and thought it would do really well in Toronto, especially considering that Da Kink found its audience. As for Little House, it should bring out non-theatre goers in the same way as Dirty Dancing and The Sound of Music. There's a built-in audience there. It set advance sales records at the Guthrie theatre and surveys showed that fewer than half of that audience had ever been to the Guthrie previously.

I was expecting a severely cut back season this year given the massive number of Broadway closures last month so I was actually kind of shocked that the season is as big as it is (even though there was obviously a plan to ensure that the season is financially viable). Frankly, I think a lot of the expected tours are going to have a difficult time securing commitments and will not get off the ground this year.

Updated On: 2/18/09 at 05:19 PM

Subscriber bonuses. These seem to be for renewals only, not new subscriptions:

RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION & PAY IN FULL BY MARCH 31 AND YOU WILL RECEIVE:

1) 2-for-1 admission to THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Toronto's biggest new hit show! WED 1.30 & 7.30pm, THURS & FRI 7.30pm & SUN 6.30pm PERFORMANCES ONLY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 6. Conditions apply.*

2) A free ticket (one per Subscription seat) to Toronto's longest-running musical, WE WILL ROCK YOU! WED, THURS, FRI 8.00pm & SUN 2.00pm PERFORMANCES ONLY. Conditions apply.*

3) A $50 discount on regular room rates for a night's stay at Toronto's luxurious Sheraton Centre or Westin Harbour Castle!

4) A voucher entitling you to 25% off regular admission prices to a TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA concert at Roy Thomson Hall!

You could win one of Seven round-trip flights for two aboard Air Canada to Seven EXCITING worldwide destinations inspired by the Seven shows of the Season, plus $2,000 in spending cash!

No Jays tickets this year, it seems. But a good package anyway.

I think maybe "trusting" is too strong a word. Hoping, at least.

They mean current run. That's not at all unusual.

Is Boy in the Photograph really happening?

I think if Wicked comes in the 2009-2010 season, it will be like when Hairspray came through "unannouced" for a week at the POW (I think it was last spring). Wicked would probably stay longer than a week, but maybe it will be like this run of Hairspray

you are correct frontrowcentre. and that tour was also miserable.

Mirvish DID present that tour of Hairspray. It was sold/advertised on their website. It caused quite a stir with Equity though, as the tour was non-Equity.

2010 Mirvish show Priscilla a hit in London.

Ouzounian in the Star:
It looks like Toronto is going to have another hit on its hands.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the musical version of the cult 1994 film about three drag queens in the Australian outback, has already been announced as part of the 2009-10 Mirvish subscription season and it opened on Monday night to generally enthusiastic reviews from the British critics.

Nicholas de Jongh, writing in the Evening Standard, proudly announced that, "I welcome it with open arms and a glad rag-bag of positive adjectives. London has never played host to a musical pitched on a higher level of gayness and camp comedy, transsexual barrier-breaking and bitchy, witty drag-queenery, than this ingenious adaptation of the sensational film of the same name."

http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/607753

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