Mirvish 2010 / 2011 — Page 8

Oh, goody. While a one-woman play is not the same as a full blown musical, I'm happy to hear that this particular one-woman play is coming to town. Show sounds like a hoot, but wouldn't the Panasonic be more suitable than the Princess of Wales?

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Does anyone have a discount code for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum? I saw the Nathan Lane version on Broadway some years ago, and while I'm interested in this production, I would prefer to see it at a discount. Also, they posted the schedule for Bruce Dow & Sean Cullen (who are alternating the role of Pseudolus). Did anyone see them at Stratford? Do you have a recommendation of whose performance to see?

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Toronto Star: Wicked breaks Canadian box office record

During the week that ended Nov. 28, the show grossed $1,986,319, making it the highest-earning week for a show in Canadian theatre history.

Over the course of the six weeks that Wicked played Toronto this time around, it took in a total of $11,459,475, breaking its own house record at the Canon Theatre five times.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/899199--wicked-breaks-canadian-box-office-record?bn=1

Why is it that Toronto never had a sit down production of Wicked? It's clear that, even though the show has been around for several years, it's still a huge draw. (I, myself, have managed not to see it yet.)

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I discovered a discount code for Forum: TOGAPARTY. Think it may only be valid for Tues/Wed/Thurs perfs, $70/30 instead of $99/75/65/50.

Sean Cullen and Bruce Dow are splitting the lead. This is the schedule: http://www.mirvish.com/My%20Files/FORUMSchedule1.pdf

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I finally saw Priscilla yesterday, I have to say I just did not enjoy it. Usually I'm a sucker for a well produced musical, no matter the plot but I was actually kind of bored. There really was no story, and all the colours and the motion and the moving made me a little motion sick. I know I'm probably in the minority with this... you could certainly tell a lot of money was spent on this production!

Prices usually go up that week as its a peak week for sales.

They are probably keeping the rear mezz blocked off for the whole run. Makes sense. Reduces the seating capacity and makes it easier to sell out, which makes it a harder to get ticket... elevating the show's "event" status.

Gotta disagree with your thoughts on the show itself. Found it much more enjoyable and more touching (the music helps) than the film. Rather enjoy John's work here, too. I tear up every time I hear "The Letter," and "Electricity."

The SF run will now be filled by the Second National Company. The production in Toronto (the First National) will run until it runs out of steam, and then when it appears to be slowing down, they'll begin preparation to move the show to Los Angeles (the Pantages, I believe). Of course, if the show is a MONSTER hit in Toronto and LA doesn't want to wait anymore, this company will likely push on to LA with a new company taking its place in Toronto (a la Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys).

Saw Billy Elliot last night. LOVED IT! We had Myles Erlick as Billy. What an amazingly talented kid. I felt he did a great job on the accent, sounded to me that he was able to hold it through the entire show, even when singing. All the other kids in the show were great too, especially the tiny 7-year-old Gabriel Varga-Watt who plays "Small Boy" in the ensemble. He had no problems hitting his marks through the entire show.

I think I had a greater emotional connection with the show then I did with the movie. The show felt more "real" to me I think. Teared up about 3 times I think... especially during the "Angry Dance" scene right before intermission and the "dream" scene with just Billy and the grown ballet dancer, with the harness, him imagining what it could be like. Loved that.

I loved the actors that played Billy's friend Michael and the piano player Mr. Braithwaite. I'm thinking some of the crowd had not seen the movie because when Michael kissed Billy on the cheek, there was an audible gasp rippling through the theatre. It wasn't that surprising to me, I knew it was coming but I guess a lot didn't.

I agree that it's not Elton John's best work though. The music and songs were adequate but only 2 or 3 of the songs really stood out for me.

The back half of the mezz was closed off last night as well, so yeah, I'm guessing they're keeping it shut for the whole run.

Anyway, loved the show. I highly recommend it, I would absolutely go again. I would like to see the other Billys in the show, see how it is. It's just too bad that the tickets are so expensive. Maybe in awhile there will be some discounts.

Updated On: 2/17/11 at 10:42 PM

Billy Elliot is all about movement which is mind blowing, the music is very much second place.

Saw The Lion King touring production at the Princess of Wales this week. Very well done, as expected. I had seen the show when it originally played at the POW from the front orchestra, but this time I was up in the balcony and it was a perfectly decent view. Was pleased to see so many young people in the theatre: children with their parents, teenagers with school groups. Good to see young people exposed to theatre of quality.

I think I gained some respect for the simplicity of The Lion King. While there is a large, beautifully costumed cast, the show itself doesn't rely on massive sets, video projections, or other stage trickery of the mega musicals. Instead it uses more ancient theatrical devices like shadow puppets or lighting to express the African sun or the stars at night. Many scenes are just actors on a virtually bare stage. It seems such a contrast to Taymor's Spider-Man fiasco, or The Lord of the Rings musical which played the POW. Which is not to say that The Lion King is a simple show, but the story is simple and the telling is both imaginative AND makes you use your own imagination. A joyful experience for all ages, with humour and a meaning: a well-deserved success.

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Sept 3 is not an official closing date: ticket sales have recently been extended to Sep 3 but if they continue to be as strong as they have been, we could very well see another extension.

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I know they were hoping Billy Elliot would be around a couple of years, and was surprised when I got a Mirvish emails saying "Must close Sept 3rd".

Was reading an article about the drop in ticket sales in the UK as well. On average, a %10 drop over this time last year. Glad to see TO's theatre industry is taking back its lead from Chicago, though... but we still need more competition here in TO. The venue monopoly sure doesn't help.

Chicago sustained BILLY for 8 months... pretty close to the Toronto run. Jersey Boys in Chicago and Toronto had about the same length of run too. I'd say the two are neck to neck. Or more interestingly, you can predict the length of a Toronto run based on the length of a Chicago run! Maybe the opposite is also true?

And Leonardo2- you want more competition? Really? 20 short running tours are not helping develop Toronto's theatre industry at all. I think we're on the brink of it being detrimental.