The new Mirvish season will definitely give you something to sing about.
Of the seven new main season shows, five are musicals, and three more musicals are included in the bonus series.
One of the hottest tickets will definitely be Beautiful The Carole King Musical, the Tony-Award winning show about the career of the singer/songwriter. It plays July and August 2017.
If the advance buzz is any indication, a show that could be up for Tony Awards next year is Come From Away, the homegrown musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein (My Mothers Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding), based on the real-life story of the 6500 passengers who were stranded in Gander, Nfld., after their planes were redirected there on September 11, 2001. Its already proved a hit at La Jolla and Seattle, and Toronto gets to look at it November-December 2016, before its Broadway run.
Three films have also inspired musicals this season, two of them coming from the West End: The Bodyguard (February-March 2017) is based on the Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner thriller, and features a handful of classic Houston tunes while Mrs. Henderson Presents (February-April 2017) is based on the Judi Dench-Bob Hoskins picture about a widow and impresario who resurrect a rundown cinema in pre-WW2 London by creating a tasteful nude show.
And finally Baz Luhrmanns Strictly Ballroom is based on his 1992 film of the same name about ballroom competitions. Some of the same design team are onboard for the musical, including Oscar-winning designer Catherine Martin.
Also included in the main season are productions of The Audience, Peter (The Queen) Morgans play about Queen Elizabeth IIs meetings with English Prime Ministers through decades. The regal role in this co-production with the Royal Manitoba Theatre is Fiona Reid. It plays January-February 2017.
And if you liked 7 Fingers amazing production of Traces this last season, youll be salivating about their new show, Cuisine & Confessions, a spectacle that mixes circus and food. Its being served up November and December of this year.
The edgier Off-Mirvish season offers up three shows.
First up is Fight Night, from the Adelaide Festival, an interactive show that looks at how we choose our political candidates. Fittingly, its being performed in November, the same month Americans pick their new president.
Studio 180 is producing My Night With Reg (February 2017), a new production of Kevin Elyots bittersweet play about gay Londoners dealing with the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s. And Why Not Theatres production of Nicolas Billons thriller Butcher (March-April 2017) which made many Top 10 lists in 2015 is also included if you missed the brief run at the Theatre Centre.
In addition to the regular season, there are four bonus shows not included in subscriptions. The Book Of Mormon returns yet again for two months (February-April, 2017) Stuart Rosss nostalgia-based and beautifully harmonized Forever Plaid starts performances this May 2016 The Illusionists Live From Broadway arrives with tricks up its sleeves from the Big Apple (December 2016) and the Roundabout Theater Companys acclaimed reimagining of Cabaret, directed by Sam Mendes and co-directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, says Wilkommen to Torontonians for a brief run in February 2017.
You can get tickets at mirvish.com.
