Mirvish 2009 / 2010 — Page 7

I am in August!

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Does anyone know anything new about Wicked in 2010? Is it a no go?

Did you see it yesterday? I attended the mat. I must agree that I did not enjoy The Harder They Come. It is a horrible way to start off the 2009-10 Mirvish season. The cast was decent and seemed to get worse as the show went on and the book was really bad (even though it was based on the "iconic" film). I never came to the point where I cared about the characters. Let's hope the rest of the season gets better... since I subscribed before they cancelled the two shows I wanted to see.

PS. Is anyone else somewhat annoyed with the fact that the Canon now smells like a cheap movie theatre now that they sell popcorn? Maybe I just never noticed it before...

What was the house capacity like at the Saturday mat of THTC?

Saw it a couple weekends ago for a Sat matinee. Many empty seats, even more empty seats after intermission. I could barely understand a word of what was going on. Very disappointing opening to the season.

Updated On: 8/17/09 at 01:37 PM

I didn't hate it (I liked it better the A Color Purple) but why wasn't there surtitles or something? I didn't understand a THING. I think most of the older white folks around me didn't either. A few women asked me if I understood (at intermission) and they felt better when I had no clue what was going on either.

The songs were good, and there were some cool stuff but what WAS with that humming? I thought it was just at my show (Thursday) And yah, the sound didn't help the Patois.

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Playbill.com is saying that Priscilla will "play 12 weeks at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto starting in October 2010 before moving to a Broadway house to be determined."

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/133464-Priscilla_Queen_of_the_Desert_Will_Strut_to_Broadway_in_Early_2011

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From Mirvish:

"SPECIAL NOTICE!
ARE YOU FREE ON THURSDAY?
JOIN US FOR A FREE SURPRISE EVENT!
All e-Stagers are hereby invited to come down to the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St West, this Thursday, October 22, at 11 AM to join us for a special, surprise announcement! We're not going to tell you what it is; that would spoil the surprise... and we promise you NOTHIN' BUT A GOOD TIME.

Do come, it will be fun. Those of you who have attended previous announcement events know that there are often celebrity guests and one-of-a-kind performances... and this event won't disappoint. Because seating is limited, however, we ask that you RSVP to this invitation. Just email us at rsvp@mirvish.com"

Hmmmm....What can it mean? I'll bet it's"Priscilla" related.

After the playbill.com and thestar.com articles about the arrival of Rock Of Ages to Toronto, Mirvish is just going to formally announce the production

There have been some changes of venue and a few changes of dates...Here is the revised line-up for the Princess of Wales Thetare in 2010, as per the Mirvish press release:



THE SOUND OF MUSIC will end its record-breaking run on January 3, 2010, but the Princess of Wales Theatre won’t stay dark for long. There is a yearlong season of familiar and new musicals planned for this popular theatre in 2010.

RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles

February 26 to 28, 2010

5 Performances Only: Friday 8 PM; Saturday 2 & 8 PM; Sunday 2 & 7:30 PM

The award-winning Beatles concert, RAIN – A Tribute To The Beatles, comes to the Princess of Wales Theatre after past Toronto triumphant runs at the Sony Centre and Massey Hall. RAIN boasts a repertoire of nearly 200 Beatlemaniac favorites, ranging from such beloved songs as Yesterday and Hey Jude to classic hits including Revolution and Come Together.

The show covers the Fab Four from their very first Ed Sullivan Show appearance through the Abbey Road album, through the psychedelic late 60s and their longhaired, hard-rocking rooftop days. RAIN is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience...a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups.

For the four longtime band members – Joey Curatolo (Paul McCartney), Joe Bithorn (George Harrison), Ralph Castelli (Ringo Starr) and Steve Landes (John Lennon), with a little help from their friend Mark Lewis (keyboards, percussion) – the music is first and foremost. For more than two decades in performances around the globe, RAIN has distinguished itself by focusing on details, always being faithful to The Beatles with the ultimate goal of delivering a perfect note-for-note performance. All the music is performed live, with no pre-recorded tapes or sequences. Like The Beatles, the onstage members of RAIN are not only supreme musicians, but electrifying performers in their own right.



The New Mel Brooks Musical

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

March 16 to April 18, 2010

Part of the 2009-10 Mirvish Subscription Season

The classic Mel Brooks movie is ALIVE...and it's headed to the Princess of Wales Theatre! You'll have a monstrously good time at this spectacular new production, winner of the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award and the Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Musical.

Don't miss the sensational cast delivering all your favorite moments from the classic film, plus brand-new show-stopping numbers for the stage, including Transylvania Mania, He Vas My Boyfriend and Puttin' on the Ritz.

This wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen) as he attempts to create a monster--but not without scary and hilarious complications. The brains behind the laughter is mad genius and three-time Tony(r) winner Mel Brooks himself--who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book- along with his record-breaking team from THE PRODUCERS: five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman and three-time Tony-winning writer, Thomas Meehan.



MAMMA MIA!

April 27 to June 27, 2010

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ MAMMA MIA!, the smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, returns to Toronto, where it began its North American life in 2000 and played for five years.

Seen by over 40 million people around the world, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ global smash hit musical MAMMA MIA! is celebrating 7 sold-out years at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway, and is currently playing a record-breaking engagement on its National Tour in the United States. The original West End production has played more than 4,000 performances, an international tour has played in more than 40 foreign cities, and the blockbuster feature film adaptation, produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, is the most successful movie musical of all time grossing $600 million worldwide.

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna is about to let go of Sophie, the spirited daughter she’s raised alone. For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends—practical and no-nonsense Rosie and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya - from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.

On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s songs from Dancing Queen and S.O.S. to Money, Money, Money and Take a Chance on Me, MAMMA MIA! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.



LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL

July 6 to August 8, 2010

Part of the 2009-10 Mirvish Subscription Season

It's coming to Toronto next summer, and it's "AN ELLE OF A SHOW" (TIME Magazine). The hilarious MGM film is now the smash hit LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL. Legally Blonde follows sorority star Elle Woods, an underestimated blonde who doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. After turning Broadway and MTV hot pink, this “Feel-Good Song and Dance Juggernaut” (New York Magazine) is “The Best New Musical Around!” (WOR).

Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.

In its first year on Broadway, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, ten 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations, a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award and the chorus of the musical was honored by Actors’ Equity Association’s Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) with the first ever ACCA Award. The musical also ranked in the top ten list of the most requested Ticketmaster “Arts & Theatre Events” for 2007. LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL received three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards in New York City on May 4, 2009. The show won awards for Best New Musical, Best Production Design and Best Choreography of a Touring Production. The Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honor excellence in Touring Broadway. It is the only such national award.




PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL

Begins October 2010

Part of the 2010-11 Mirvish Subscription Season

The North American premiere of one of the hottest new musicals. PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL, written by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, and directed by Simon Phillips, will take over the Princess of Wales Theatre October 2010 for a limited pre-Broadway engagement.

Based on the Oscar® award-winning film, PRISCILLA tells the story of a glamorous Sydney-based performing trio: Tick, Bernadette and Adam. Travelling across Australia in a battered old bus (nicknamed Priscilla), the three agree to take their show to the middle of the Australian outback.

In a heart-warming, uplifting adventure, these three fish out of water who are searching for love and friendship … end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed.

PRISCILLA features a dazzling array of spectacular and colourful costumes and a score of dance-floor classics, including: I Will Survive, Don’t Leave Me This Way, Finally, I Love The Nightlife, Colour My World and Shake Your Groove Thing, all brought to life by the big sound of the live PRISCILLA band.

This new musical is a funny, moving and sensational journey to the heart of fabulous.

Currently playing to ecstatic audiences at London’s legendary Palace Theatre, PRISCILLA began its stage life in Australia, where it broke box office records in Sydney and Melbourne, with more than $90 million taken at the box office, making this the biggest Australian blockbuster in stage history.

In addition Mirvish formally announced that RENT will be extended at the Canon Theatre, now runninh January 12 to 23. And AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE AN MANDY PATINKIN will be at the Royal Alex from Feb 9 to 14.

It opens the question, What is going into the Canon after RENT?

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After Rent, Grease is slated for the Canon and Little House still needs a venue (Canon being the only Mirvish house option).

Let the speculation begin! What is going into the Canon in Summer/Fall 2010? Do I hear Wicked? Joking...or maybe not.

TAG - WICKED may be a possibility since here have been suggestions that the production now in San Francisco will move to Toronto. I know the show was a complete sell-out both times it played Toronto before and will probably do well again, but I do wish that we get something other than WICKED.

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Just noticed that Playbill.com's got an article (prominently placed in the top news box, right underneath an article on the new Dreamgirls production at the Apollo) about My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding.

I was going to try and go this Tuesday ($25 seats), but the availability was rather limited. Sounds like the show is selling well.

You're Invited: My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding Begins Toronto Run
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/134418-Youre-Invited-My-Mothers-Lesbian-Jewish-Wiccan-Wedding-Begins-Toronto-Run

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