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DEAR SUBSCRIBER,
ONSTAGENEWSLETTER jUNE 2016
Welcome to the 2016/17 Mirvish Theatre Subscription Season!
If you requested to receive your tickets by regular mail, you will find your tickets to the first two shows of the season enclosed in this mailing.
CUISINE & CONFESSIONSNovember 1 — December 4, 2016Princess of Wales Theatre
COME FROM AWAYNovember 15, 2016 — January 8, 2017Royal Alexandra Theatre
For a seating map of the new Royal Alexandra
go to mirvish.com/subvip Your seats may have
changed from the old layout.
NEW TickET STock! We are now using new ticket stock for Mirvish Subscribers. We hope you enjoy these more convenient tickets — they are easier to fit in your wallet or handbag!
If you requested print-at-home tickets, check your inbox and print your tickets before coming to the theatre.
Please examine your tickets carefully and make sure you have received tickets to both shows. If you have not received all of your tickets or require changes to the date of your performances, please call Mirvish Subscriptions as soon as possible.
Mirvish Subscriptions284 kiNg STREET WEST, SUiTE 310 | ToRoNTo, M5V 1J2 HoURS MoNDAY – FRiDAY | 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM
SUBSCRIBER VIP AREA ON
Exclusively for current season ticket holders! check it out today!
New!
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TICKET EXCHANGES & ADDITIONAL TICKET PURCHASES can be made through TicketKing during these extended hours:MoNDAY – FRiDAY: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM SATURDAY: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM SUNDAY: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
New Hours for Mirvish Subscriptions
MONDAY – FRIDAY 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Opened in 1907, the Royal Alex was built by the “boy millionaire” Cawthra Mulock “as a public and cultural service” to the city. He boldly stated it would be “the finest, most modern on the continent.”
By 1963, only operational a few weeks a year, the theatre was threatened with demolition. Businessman Ed Mirvish bought the building and saved it from the wrecking ball. Immediately he set about restoring the building, stripping the interior to its floorboards and making sure the theatre remained the finest on the continent for its next half century.
Today, 109 years later, David Mirvish will give the Royal Alex another restoration, this time to welcome it to the 21st century.
When Will the renovation take place?The renovations began in May and will continue until October 2016.
Why are you doing this renovation?We have listened to our theatre patrons – especially our Subscribers! When the theatre was built in 1907 it was pro-claimed to be “the finest, most modern, on the continent.” It is time for the theatre to be updated for 21st Century audiences, so we can offer them the best comfort possible when attending our shows. It is also an opportunity to restore the theatre to its original beauty.
What is being changed?All the beautiful and elegant elements of the interior, including the beaux-arts
The legendary and iconic Royal Alexandra Theatre, one of the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatres in North America, closed its doors on May 15, 2016, to undergo a major renovation and restoration.
$2.5 Million renovation oF the royal aleXandra theatre
For more information on the restoration, visit
Article Continues on Back >>
need eXtra
MATILDA tickets?
Mirvish Subscribers
save 20% on tues-Fri evening
& Wed Matinee performances from July 5 – august 26
Call 416-593-4225
1-800-771-3933mirvish.com/subvip
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Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for perfor-mances from July 5 to August 26, 2016. All prices in Canadian dollars and include 13% HST and $3.25 CIF. Seating is subject to availability and restrictions may apply. Offer not available on previously purchased tickets and cannot be combined with any other offers. Offer may be terminated at any time. No refunds or exchanges.
Photo of David Mirvish by Todd Carol
“British drama doesn’t get better than this.” —Evening Standard
“An excruciatingly excellent production.”—National Post
“A cross between big brother and an italian election.”
—The Independent
Fight Night
The Studio180 production of
The WhyNot Theatre production of
By Kevin ElyotDirected by Joel GreenbergFebruary–March 2017
My Night with Reg
By Nicholas BillonDirected by Weyni MengshaMarch–April 2017
Butcher
November 2016
Theatre that starts a conversationstarts a conversation
ADD MORE GREAT ENTERTAINMENT TO YOUR SEASON FOR ONLY
ALL SHOWS AT PANASONIC THEATRE
$115SUBSCRIBE TODAY | 416-593-4225 | 1-800-771-3933
FIVE CANDIDATES. FIVE ROUNDS. YOUR VOTE. ONE SURVIVOR.
$165OR
influenced plaster mouldings on the balcony fronts and ceiling will be cleaned and restored.
The capacity of the theatre will be reduced from 1,497 seats down to 1,244 seats. This will allow for extra legroom throughout all seating areas.
Brand new seats will be installed on all levels. These will look identical to the original 1907 seats, includ-ing the distinctive RA insignia brass seat-end plates. The seats will be made with the latest technology and cushioning for excellent comfort. All the seating will be staggered to offer the best sight lines at all levels.
hoW does this aFFect My tickets?The three levels of the theatre will now be named: Orchestra, Dress Circle and Balcony. Balcony seats will now be marked as Dress Circle and Upper Balcony seats will be marked as Balcony.
What Will be the First production in the neWly renovated royal aleXandra theatre?The brand new musical Come From Away will be the first production to play the newly renovated theatre. It is the second show in the 2016/17 Mirvish Subscription Season. We believe it is an appropriate show because it is written by Canadians (the brilliant wife-and-husband composing-and-writing duo of Irene Sankoff and David Hein), about a Canadian subject (the people of Gander, Nfld.) and Broadway-bound. Who could ask for anything more?
For more information on the restoration, visit
Les 7 doigts de la main invites you into their kitchen for a multi-sensory experience! Like their acclaimed Toronto debut production of Traces, cuisine & confessions showcases Les 7 doigts innovative trademark acrobatic and choreographic prowess —but this time, adds sound, smell, and touch (and taste!) to their always-visually impressive aesthetic mix. A theatrical feast; literally. cuisine & confessions explores stories from our family kitchens—foods prepared, memories made—rituals that underpin our most important relationships. In the words of world-renowned chef Jacques Pepin, “there is something evanescent, temporary, and fragile about food. You make it, it goes, and what remains are memories.”
Les 7 Doigts de la Main explores the meaning of food in its
latest show, Cuisine & Confessions, triggering memories
of mom’s culinary specials. Entering the TOHU (Montreal)
performance space for a preview performance early this
week, my guest and I noticed a group of people folding
laundry on a set that looked like an IKEA kitchen. As we
settled into our seats, a young man approached carrying a
slate with the French word “céleri” on it. He asked for help
in pronunciation, as the Spanish word for celery (apio) was
very different. Then Pablo, from Argentina, offered us a tour
of the set. We followed him onto the stage, got a sneak peek
into the refrigerator and warmed our hands in the oven.
Backstage, after showing us the show mascot (a toy rat),
he tossed some plastic bowling pins to prove that he was a
juggler.
The feeling of being welcomed into a home continued
throughout Cuisine & Confessions, an unusual mélange
of circus, avant-garde dance, spoken word, theatre and
cooking show comedy.
In the preamble, one performer steps up to the micro-
phone to ask if anyone has brought olives. Another offers
tea. There’s much chopping, stirring, grating of cheese and
breaking of eggs. The dress is casual, leaning to blue jeans
and aprons. Acrobatics are introduced gradually, first some
cool dance moves, then flips, balances and tosses. Pablo
(last name Pramparo) juggles metal egg whisks. The topic
is food of the emotionally nourishing kind. One young
man goes on about how much he loves omelettes, saying
the perfect ones are made with eggs, peppers, onions and
love. When one is made, it’s served on stage, with much
gallantry, to a single audience recruit. Linguistically, it’s to
each his own language in Cuisine & Confessions, with
more French than English or Spanish or Italian. At first the
lines are throwaways and one-liners, but poignant stories
gradually surface. We hear about a young man growing
up without a father in St. Louis as two super cool acrobats
(Melvin Diggs and Sidney Iking Bateman) dive and tumble
through wooden squares set at varying heights with incred-
ibly fluid moves. The reading of a recipe for borscht by a
man (Mishannock Ferrero) sitting on a sofa leads into to
a woman (Anna Kichtchenko) doing an impressive aerial
tissue act with an orange gingham tablecloth, at one point
hanging suspended only by her head. Later, another young
Argentinian (Matias Plaul), of Italian heritage, talks about
how his communist-sympathizing father became one of
the “disappeared” during the 1970s. To illustrate, he does
a death-dive headfirst down a pole, then continues to mix
monologue and pole acrobatics, creating a dark mini-play
that culminates in a replication of his father’s last (pasta)
meal before execution.
This is a remarkably familial, interactive ensemble piece.
Spectators are asked to set their smartphone clocks to mea-
sure cooking time. While each performer (there are nine)
owns a few spotlight moments, the others hover nearby,
doing kitchen tasks, ready to jump in with supportive
moves. Musically, co-creators and directors Shana Carroll
and Sébastien Soldevila have a good ear for what’s catchy.
In addition to Latino music, the soundtrack includes a
down-tempo version of a song from Grease (“You’re the
One That I Want”) and Ravel’s “Bolero”. The choreography
(the dance component is high) is intricate but casual, as
if all numbers were the result of a spontaneous combus-
tion that occurs during everyday kitchen lives. Since there’s
cooking going on, the audience leaves the theatre nibbling
the banana bread (the recipe is in the program), happily
sniffing the smells of baking as they go, wanting to share
Cuisine & Confessions with friends.
Mirvish Subscribers can purchase extra tickets to Cuisine & Confessions at 35% off the regular ticket price for all performances, except Saturday evenings, from November 1 — December 2. (Valid on top-two prices only)Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for select performances from November 1 – December 2, 2016. All prices in Canadian dollars and include 13% HST and $3.25 CIF. Seating is subject to availability and restrictions may apply. Offer not available on previously purchased tickets and cannot be combined with any other offers. Offer may be terminated at any time. No refunds or exchanges.
the Joy oF cooking at tohu With
les 7 doigts de la Main
Pat Donnelly, The Montreal Gazette | Published on October 30, 2014
NEED EXTRA TICKETS TO CUISINE & CONFESSIONS?
CUISINE& confessions
7 FINGERS LES 7 doigts de l a main
November 1 – December 4, 2016PRiNcESS oF WAlES THEATRE
THE CREATION OF A NEW MUSICALSay you were interested in investing in theatre. A document comes across your desk letting you know that a song writing team from Paris and a few Englishmen have adapted Victor Hugo’s massive novel Les Misérables (at 655,478 words, number 14 on the list of the longest-written books in the world) into a stage musical. You may shake your head and think,
“Preposterous. A story so convoluted and filled with arcane French political history, how could it ever be done?”
Or, say you were in the inner circle and had early word that a young composer had decided to musicalize obscure poetry from a dead poet. The poetry has no story and is so personal it is about the poet’s obsession with cats, of all things. “Foolish idea,” you may think. “It will never work.”
Yet these two ideas led to two of the most popular musicals of all time.
Now, say someone told you that a husband-and-wife team from Toronto had taken elements from the events surrounding the tragedy of September 11th and turned them into a musical.
“An affecting and stirring new musical.”
loS ANgElES TiMES
“A moving, thoroughly entertaining tribute to the indomitable human spirit!”
VARiETY
“A vigorous and uplifting ode to humanity.”SEATTlE MET
Mirvish Subscribers can purchase extra tickets to Come From Away at 25% off the regular ticket price for all performances, except Saturday evenings, from November 15 — December 23. Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for select performances from November 15 – December 23, 2016. All prices in Canadian dollars and include 13% HST and $3.25 CIF. Seating is subject to availability and restrictions may apply. Not valid on premium seats. Offer not available on previously purchased tickets and cannot be combined with any other offers. Offer may be terminated at any time. No refunds or exchanges.
November 15, 2016 – January 8, 2017RoYAl AlEXANDRA THEATRE
Before you dismiss this idea as well, let us assure you that the musical that is Come from Away is one of the most moving, funny, engaging and heart-warming shows we have ever seen.
It all began when a Fringe hit with an intriguing title made its way to the Panasonic Theatre a few years back. My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding was the true-life story of David Hein that he turned into a charming, affectionate and life-affirming musical with his wife, Irene Sankoff. When we discovered it playing at the Fringe in a tiny storefront theatre in Kensington Market, we rushed to transfer it to the Panasonic, where it played 11 sold-out weeks to rapturous audiences.
One of the people who saw the show at the Panasonic was Michael Rubenoff, an entertainment lawyer, theatre producer and now the associate dean of visual and performing arts at Sheridan College. Michael was so taken with the show and how Irene and David had managed to tell a true story through songs, that he asked them if they knew of the story of Gander, Newfoundland.
On September 11, 2001, Gander International Airport played an integral role in world aviation in the hours immediately following the attacks when all of North America’s airspace was closed and 38 civilian and 4 military flights bound for the United States were ordered to land at the airport. More than 6,600 passengers and airline crews, equivalent to 66 percent of the local population, found themselves forced to stay in the Gander area for up to six days until airspace was reopened and flights resumed. Residents of Gander and surrounding communities volunteered to house, feed, and entertain the travellers.
Irene and David were instantly interested and began to explore the idea. Part of their research was to visit Gander on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary, when thousands of the original travellers returned for a reunion. Irene and David met many of them and learned their stories firsthand. What they discovered was the stuff of pure drama.
There were stories of love found and love lost. Stories of cultures colliding and merging. Stories of outsiders becoming insiders. Stories of misunderstandings and understandings. In short, what happened in Gander was a microcosm of all of humanity and the human condition.
Over the next few years, Irene and David sorted through all their research and structured a show that told dozens of smaller stories inside the master story.
NEWlY RENoVATED!
NEED EXTRA TICKETS TO COME FROM AWAY?
Using the resources allowed to them at Sheridan College, which has a brilliant theatre department that has a particular focus on musical theatre, they were able to workshop some of their material with Sheridan’s talented students.
Mirvish staff attended some of these workshops. While we were fascinated with the material, they felt the show had not yet found its way. It was too sentimental and too earnest, making it somehow implausible.
Irene and David continued to work on the project. A revised script came to Christopher Ashley, the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse, a prestigious regional theatre outside San Diego, CAL, that over the years has premiered many musicals that have found their way to broadway and beyond, among them Jersey Boys.
Christopher saw the show’s potential and worked further with Irene and David. He was so confident that he programmed it for the Playhouse’s 2015 season and it opened there at the end of May.
Again, Mirvish staff attended and what they saw was absolutely brilliant. The musical felt real, had true heart and emotion, honest humour and depth, and was very moving.
The songs, all of which have an East Coast, Celtic flavour, were seamlessly
woven into the narrative. The beat is so hypnotic, that you can’t get it out of your head after seeing the show.
The critics also loved the show, with the hard-to-please critic from the Los Angeles Times naming the show one of the best of the year.
Even better, audiences loved it, making the run a sold-out success, with tickets impossible to secure. Overheard at one performance attended by Mirvish staff, an audience member said to his friends, “That is the best show I have ever seen that I knew nothing about coming into it.”
Right after the La Jolla visit, Mirvish made a deal for the show to play Toronto, a homecoming of sorts, as not only is the story set in Canada and the writers are Canadian, but the cast features many very talented Canadians.
Come from Away will play Toronto prior to transferring to Broadway.
“A moving, thoroughly entertaining tribute to the indomitable human spirit!”
VARiETY
“A vigorous and uplifting ode to humanity.”SEATTlE MET
cAll 416-593-4225 or 1-800-771-3933oNliNE www.mirvish.com/subvip
THE SHOWS IN YOUR
2016/17 MAIN SEASON SUBSCRIPTION
CUISINE& confessions
t h e 7 F I N G E R S
Come for the circus, stay for the banana bread!
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W R I T T E N B Y
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Illu
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HHHHHDaily Mail
PRE-BROADWAY
CREATED BY
BAZ LUHRMANN
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
NOV / DEC 2016NOV / DEC 2016
jUL / AUG 2017
FEB / MAR 2017jAN / FEB 2017
APR / MAY 2017MAR / APR 2017
Photo by Chris Bennion
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