Dr. Seuss' The Lorax on stage for Mirvish's 2017 - 2018 season

A collective gasp escaped the crowd at the recent launch of Mirvish Production’s new season at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in downtown Toronto. Why the excitement? Well, event host Jeff Hobson – otherwise known as The Trickster from the Broadway hit The Illusionists – had just announced that Matilda The Musical’s Hannah Levinson would star as nine year old Alison in the 5 Tony award-winning musical Fun Home, one of three edgier must-see shows in the Off-Mirvish series at the Panasonic Theatre.

The announcements for the Mirvish 2018 season were just as awe-inspiring, including 19 shows, five musicals, stacks of awards, returning–and–newly-produced classics, along with North American and Canadian premieres. Mirvish’s main season features seven big shows including North by Northwest, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night–Time, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Annie The Musical, An American in Paris, and The King & I.

Then came the big news: the return of Come From Away.

“Never in the 110 year history of the Alexandra Theatre has a show received such fanfare – that’s how powerful the response to the show was,” said Hobson to a media packed theatre.

Returning from Broadway by popular demand, the hit – directed by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley – spent an eight-week sold-out run in Toronto which propelled the show to Broadway with sell-out crowds. Even on Broadway, “14% of the audience is from Canada,” said producer Sue Frost. “We knew we had to bring the show back,” addedHobson.

Now this truly feel good story about what it means to be human – and what it means to be Canadian – is back with an all-new 100% Canadian cast. Come From Away beginsFebruary 13, 2018 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

And for the first time ever, Annie The Musical hits the Mirvish stage, celebrating is 40th Anniversary.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said David Mirvish of the seven Tony Award winning musical coming to Toronto directly from London’s West End, where it is wrapping up currently sold-out shows. Annie kicks off its Toronto engagement at the Ed Mirvish Theatre April 3rd – May 6th, 2018.

Mirvsh 2018 Season Highlights

North by Northwest

Another highlight of the upcoming season is the North American premiere of the Alfred Hitchcockthriller North by Northwest. Directed by Simon Phillips, this irresistible mix of comedy and suspense has consistently garnered four star ratings and “pays homage to the film,” explained Carolyn Burns, who adapted the film.

“I love thrillers, but we didn’t want it to be like the film, we wanted to entertain the audience in a theatrical way – the challenge was to write it assuming no one had seen the film,” said Burns.

Director Simon Phillips agreed: “It’s very playful and genius, what we came up with – you get to see every piece of puppetry unfold in real time.”

Sure to please both theatre buffs and movie critics alike, North by Northwest kicked off the Mirvish season on September 19th at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and runs until October 29th, 2017.

Tony Award winning Christopher Wheeldon directs and choreographs the Canadian premiere of the Gershwin musical An American in Paris, bringing the 1951 film classic to life with McGee Maddox, former principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, in Grace Kelly’s famous role of Jerry Mulligan. An American in Paris is at the Princess of Wales Theatre, March 27th – April 29th, 2018.

Other sure-fire hits include:

• The National Theatre’s seven Olivier award and five time Tony award winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on Simon Stephens’ best-selling novel, is also coming to the Princess of Wales Theatre, October 10th – November 19th, 2017.
• The North American premiere of The Old Vic’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is an inspiring, laugh-out-loud musical for the whole family adapted by David Greig with a strong message about the environment; it runs at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, December 10th 2017 – January 21st, 2018.
• The King & I – Rodgers & Hammerstein‘s glorious classic, directed by Bartlett Sher and winner of the 2015 Tony Award for best musical revival, comes to the Princess of Wales Theatre, July 10th – August 12th, 2018.

Off-Mirvish shows

Also announced were details of the three shows in the Off-Mirvish series:

• Salt-Water Moon – David French’s iconic Canadian love story set in post-WWI Newfoundland, by award winning director Ravi Jain. At the Panasonic Theatre, October 12th –29th, 2017.
• King Charles III – A ‘future-historical’ produced in partnership with Studio 180 Theatre and Musical Stage Company, Director Joel Greenberg’s play is a modern-day Shakespearean event where the throne skips Charles in favour of Will and Kate. At the Panasonic Theatre, February 10th – March 4th, 2018.
• Fun Home – This Tony Award winning best musical is based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic-novel of a 43 year old lesbian cartoonist struggling with her sexuality and her father’s secret past and stars Evan Buliung, Cynthia Dale, Laura Condlln and Sara Farb. At the Panasonic Theatre, April 13th – May 6th, 2018.

In addition, a number of not-to-be missed bonus shows were also announced:

• The North American premiere of Bat out of Hell the Musical, an explosive tale of rebellion, love, and rock ‘n’ roll at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, October 14th – December 24th, 2017
• Disgraced, a provocative and explosive tale of when identity politics and religion collide at a New York dinner party. A return limited engagement after shattering box office records last season on at the Panasonic Theatre, November 11th – 26th, 2017
• The Toronto premiere of Elf The Musical is the hilarious story of “what it means to be an elf, to be a human, and to be a human raised by an elf” and is showing at the Princess of Wales Theatre, November 21st – 26th, 2017
• Return engagement of The Illusionists – Live from Broadway, the world’s best-selling magic show at the Princess of Wales Theatre December 12th – January 14th, 2018
• Million Dollar Quartet brings to life the night on December 4th 1956 when Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins were at Sun Records studios in Memphis. At the Panasonic Theatre, December 12th, 2017, to January 7th, 2018
• Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band at Princess of Wales Theatre, March 12th – March 18th, 2018
• Gobsmacked! has its Canadian premiere at the Panasonic Theatre, March 14th to 25th, 2018
• Return engagement of Motown The Musical, the record-breaking hit that tells the true story of Berry Gordy’s journey to music mogul, along the way launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson. At the Princess of Wales Theatre, May 22nd – June 3rd, 2018.
• The Phantom of the Opera, a brand new production by Cameron Mackintosh with new scenic design by Paul Brown and Tony Award winning costume designerMaria Björnson and a full-orchestra. At the Princess of Wales Theatre, June 7th – June 30th, 2018.

For tickets, subscriptions and further information about the Mirvish 2018 season, visit www.mirvish.com/subscriptions.