Canadian impresario David Mirvish has unveiled the lineup of nearly a dozen shows that will welcome audiences back to his Toronto stages, including returns of since the pandemic shutdown, with revised timelines, and a few new picks.
The mainstage season begins in December with the 50th anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice鈥檚 Jesus Christ Superstar. The Timothy Sheader-helmed production, which originated at London鈥檚 Regent鈥檚 Park Open Air Theatre, was originally slated to play this fall.
The North American premiere of Tom Stoppard鈥檚 Leopoldstadt will follow, running January鈥揗arch 2022 at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Like Superstar, the production, directed by Patrick Marber, began across the pond, with a West End bow in early 2020 that recently returned for an encore engagement.
The musical adaptation of the Emma Donoghue novel Room, which was announced back in early 2019, is now slated to play the CAA Theatre in a February鈥揂pril run as a co-production with London鈥檚 Covent Garden and Ontario鈥檚 Grand Theatre. Kathryn Joseph and Cora Bissett penned the score, with the latter also directing. The title is also a part of the three-show 鈥淥ff-Mirvish鈥� season, which also includes Jake Epstein鈥檚 autobiographical solo show Boy Falls From the Sky and the light-and-sound experience Blindness.
Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt will then team up for an encore of 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, which had previously played Toronto prior to having engagements in New York, London, Tokyo, and more.
Three Canadian premieres鈥攁ll once again from the U.K.鈥攔ound out the mainstage season: David Haig鈥檚 Pressure, the newly condensed, one-part version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (now beginning in June at the Ed Mirvish Theatre instead of the May), and the North American debut of the jukebox musical & Juliet, which is being billed as a pre-Broadway run.
Two blockbuster musicals are also confirmed to resume Toronto performances: Come From Away and Hamilton, though in the case of the latter, audiences will have to 鈥渨ait for it鈥� until 2023. Come From Away, meanwhile, reopens at the Royal Alexandra Theatre December 7 this year.
