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BalanceDull4953

This is a big surprise for me. I think someone had predicted it as a possibility way back when the speculation began, but it wasn't at the top of my list at all. I just figured it had such a long and successful run at Crow's that it didn't need to come back so soon. Still, there will be lots of people who didn't see it there who will be excited to see it, and many who will want to see it again. Personally I think I will be curious to see different staging. It will be a different experience for sure in a less intimate theatre. Plays July and August 2025 at the Royal Alex.


SaladEnhancements

One of the joys of this show was the intimacy, it would be a very different experience in the Royal Alex.


DoolJjaeDdal

I feel for anyone who won’t get the intimate experience but as a person who did see it (and will see it again before it closes), I’m interested in the different staging.


neamless

The decor at the Royal Alex is so fitting, though. I'm excited to see the changes!


DoolJjaeDdal

You’re not wrong.


MappyDay

Not a total surprise that Mirvish would transfer this since they have a history of picking up successful shows from Crows. But I think the advertising that they mystery show “will sell out” is a bit iffy since as you say a lot of people who wanted to see it will have already done so. Guess they had to wait to announce it until the final final date was announced.


thecirclemustgoon

Nope, but when they saw the photos from Cheap Shrek, they had to scramble for a replacement.


troll-filled-waters

Shrek was never going to be part of the subscription, I think they are just renting the venue.


thecirclemustgoon

Actually not true but whatever


TDPAMN

Shrek's run was never booked long enough to be part of the subscription series either


musictheatre309

Yeah I predicted it as they kept extending and the images used indicated this show. A bit disappointed as it ran for 6 months already here


anjschuyler

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME I AM SCREAMING WITH DELGIHT


Spin_Liquid

I don't know you irl, but once I saw this post, I knew you would be ecstatic.


anjschuyler

u/spin_liquid this is the greatest thing anyone could ever have said to me thank you so much


Maddiystic

I AM TOO


anjschuyler

I YELLED SO LOUD I ACCIDENTLY MESSED UP MY BROTHER'S WORK CALL!!!!!!


stump_84

Still happy that the show which is excellent has been such a success but there’s no way this is going to be as good as the experience at Crow. It was so intimate and in your face.


BalanceDull4953

I do wonder if they are going to use the regular Royal Alex seating chart, or rearrange the seating to be more like the New York production. It kind of seems like they have to keep the regular seating setup for a subscription show. There might be some limited on-stage seating, and there will likely be times the cast goes in to the audience, but it certainly won’t be the same immersive experience. 


DoolJjaeDdal

They spent a lot of money on the physical theatre for Dear Evan Hansen and Cursed Child. I doubt they will do anything much for this. It would be great if they could, but that’s just my guess.


DoolJjaeDdal

Oh wait! My completely uneducated guess is there must be some onstage seating so Anatole has someone to flirt with.


cueXcue

That was my first thought, they will do onstage seating. I also imagine they won't sell the upper balcony.


chriswilliam95

I don't know for sure, but the wording used in the press release suggests to me that there will be some alterations made to make it a more immersive event. Obviously it won't be as immersive as the Crow's Theatre production, but hopefully they get as close as they can. It's this line that stands out to me: ***Chris Abraham*** *says: “We can’t think of a more thrilling next step in the journey of our production, than to bring The Great Comet to the Royal Alex next summer. It’s truly Canada’s most iconic and beloved Edwardian theatre, where many theatrical legends have performed. It will give us a gorgeous playground to bring new life to the immersive charm and powerhouse performances that Toronto audiences have so passionately embraced at Crow’s Theatre. The opportunity to expand our ensemble, orchestra, and enhance Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan’s spectacularly immersive design, will bring new surprises for audiences, especially the fans that have been coming back multiple times to see the show in record numbers.”* 


DoolJjaeDdal

Yay. I was hoping they would be able to expand the ensemble. My favourite thing about this is that although theatre is an art, it’s also a business. This coproduction will mean more Canadian theatre jobs and additional money for both Crow’s and Musical Stage to keep making the art.


oswald_oswald

Just saw it at Crow’s last week. The cast is amazing! But still slightly upset 7th show is not a show I haven’t seen before….


BalanceDull4953

It will be interesting to see how much of the cast return in summer 2025. Some of them might want to do other things. It will be right in the middle of the Shaw and Stratford seasons as well. Still, it is a great opportunity for Canadian actors, new or returning.  By the time the season starts, I plan to have seen all the shows except Life of Pi elsewhere. It’s a good season for those who don’t or can’t travel, or for those who enjoy seeing things more than once. For me I don’t often go to shows twice so there isn’t much in the season for me, but that is okay, there is always lots of other things to see besides Mirvish. 


Ok-Read3300

I loved this show so much I saw it twice at Crows! But I have to say, I am so disappointed by this being the 7th show. I think it’ll lose its immersive qualities in a large theatre and this would have been a great opportunity to bring a new show to the city since 1812 has already had a relatively long run!


Teresa_Mckay

I feel the same. They made it seem like it would be a major, major show, and people who don’t know theatre may not even know what it is. Instead subscribers will have to pay extra for the multiple big blockbusters Mirvish now has space at Ed Mirvish for. I had bought a subscription for my mom this season as a surprise birthday present (yet to be given), but now I’m not sure it’s worth it since she’ll probably want to see all of the big tour add ons over Lion King, Life of Pi and 1812, so the money may not balance out/will be too much. The fact that they added a show to the subscription season that was already just playing Toronto for months and months boggles my mind.


dcmic

One of the interesting things this announcement does by going to the RAT is open up the CAA Ed Mirvish for Feb-Apr next year. This should give Mirvish the opportunity to bring in 2-3 touring shows or to have a bigger show or two in the Off Mirvish subscription.


BalanceDull4953

Yes I was thinking that too, there is space on the calendar to bring in some bonus shows, tours etc. Sometimes I look forward to those more than I do what’s on subscription. 


lanttro

They should keep that slot open for Love Never Dies! Lol


BalanceDull4953

From your lips to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ears.  In all seriousness, there is strong indications that a revival of Love Never Dies is a priority for their production company but if or when that does happen I think it will be in London or as a tour, not in Toronto as was once announced for 2020. The world is much changed since the.  


chriswilliam95

I still believe Andrew Lloyd Webber is determined to get Love Never Dies to Broadway someway, somehow. So I guess never say never?


BalanceDull4953

What happened with [Bad] Cinderella maybe should have told him that some things just aren’t meant to go to Broadway, but he seems to be pretty stubborn about these things. 


chriswilliam95

Very true. ALW is very stubborn, for better or worse.


troll-filled-waters

That video of closing night was rough.


DoolJjaeDdal

Not sure if this is serious or sarcastic, because seriously, the loss of Love Never Dies in the subscription is the best thing to have come from Covid. That said, if it comes as a non-subscription show that would be fine.


lanttro

It is a joke! u/balancedull4953 is on a quest to convince both Mirvish and ALW to bring LND to Toronto - to no success so far! Lol But honestly, I am not a big ALW fan, but I would totally see LND if it comes to town someday. Plot is bad, but songs are fine.


mwdjwbfinwf

I think this would have been more interesting if crows didnt extend the show by like three months. But I do think this is a bigger deal for people not on this sub lol. I read about how the Broadway version lost some of its magic when it transferred from off Broadway and unfortunately that might be the same here. I’m curious to see the staging but nothing will beat the setup at crows. This also means my subscription ticket is around four times more expensive than the 20$ ticket from crows and I’m not sure I feel great about it considering the potential differences in staging. A part of me still wish it was a uk pre Broadway run of *something*, so I’m keeping an eye out for the Ed gap from February to May. Edit : now I’m curious if this was originally the plan or something came up considering the “April to May” date from Aladdin programme and the show being described as a “mystery play” from another post.


Tangerine2016

Yeah, I had a friend who goes and sees a lot of bigger productions at Mirvish, etc but I couldn't convince her to take a chance at Crow's for Comet (maybe part of it is she is particular about seating and even the premium seats don't guarantee you a certain seat at Crows). Maybe now she will go see it at Mirvish next year.


dcmic

This right here was the main reason I didn't go see it at Crows even though I wanted to. My wife is incredibly picky about seats and not being able to choose a specific seat was a deal breaker. That said it feels like this would have been better suited as the prime Off Mirvish show for next year.


troll-filled-waters

Mixed feelings. Happy for the production and cast, and think it's a great show. But I've seen it, and fairly recently. I think a lot of people are in the same boat. They were hyping it up like it was going to be some huge show like Frozen. But now the season has two shows that have played recently included in the subscription and it's a real drag.


0cominupshort0

Which other show of the 7 has played in Toronto recently?


troll-filled-waters

The Lion King was here in August 2019.


0cominupshort0

2019 feels like a lifetime ago (lol) but you have a point. Don’t think I saw it that year so felt like forever to me.


Helpful_College6590

guess i’m seeing this twice then!


cueXcue

A lot of people doing CFA were surprised this morning 😬


dcmic

Surprised as in they now realize they don't have an open ended production?


TDPAMN

If they were offered 1 year contracts then that would definitely be surprising unless Mirvish has plans to switch it over to the Elgin again like they did back in 2019.


walkthatfkingduck

This is my first-year purchasing a subscription at Mirvish (I was hooked with the first six shows announced). I was very much anticipating a show even BIGGER than the other six for this “mystery” show, so this is a little bit of a weird surprise for me. I’ve heard great things so I’m looking forward to seeing this, but definitely not worth the anticipation in my opinion. Going forward, I’ll be hesitant with Mirvish’s “huge” surprises, lol.


Spin_Liquid

I think the one thing we have learned over the past couple of Mirvish announcements is to temper our expectations. But even with the Mirvish hyperbole, this production of The Great Comet is something special.


[deleted]

I told y’all I’d seen David Mirvish at my Natasha show months ago!! Vindication 😂


lanttro

So he truly goes around and sees the shows himself before the season? I thought it was more of a marketing thing and someone else was actually charged with seeing the shows and deciding on what is coming.


lolanna330

Does anyone have a sense of what the plan is for Come From Away if this is in the RAT? The vibe I've gotten is that they never intended to run past June but I'm curious to see if it'll be worth moving it into the Elgin again


chriswilliam95

It's kind of an interesting situation to me. Mirvish is going to be promoting *Come from Away* as an open-ended run "beginning September 22, 2024", yet we all know there is obviously going to be an "out date". Not too different from when Mirvish announced an open-ended run of *SIX*, yet it was known *Come from Awa*y would be returning in September 2024. If CFA can run for several months, likely until around May, as a bonus show - then that would be a success. It's played around 850 shows in Toronto and the hype isn't what it once was, so the likelihood of it needing to be transferred to accommodate a longer run probably isn't likely. Then again, if the demand absolutely warrants it, I'm sure Mirvish would consider that. I'll add on: and I'm not sure how true this is, but I heard that CFA has the option to return to Ottawa summer of 2025 based on demand. So Mirvish has some flexibility based on how sales go.


cueXcue

John K. confirmed to The Star that it will be a 10 month limited run.


TDPAMN

Do we think Mirivsh will just close Six to make room for CFA or is there a possibility they could transfer to the CAA theatre since there doesn't seem to be anything booked in there from June going forward.


cueXcue

I don't think SIX is doing well enough to continue running it. And we know there will be an Off-Mirvish season announced soon for the CAA. If you ask me, SIX should have been at the CAA all along!


BalanceDull4953

My feeling is that Come From Away will be a planned limited run. It has played so often and so long in Toronto, it doesn’t need another open ended run now.


acwy93

I’m a bit disappointed that it’s a show I’ve already seen (I guess you can’t win it all lol). But also interested in how they restage the production for the RAT. It makes sense for Mirvish to have this in the summer 2025 to catch out of towners who didn’t see this winter. I’m interested in what the April-May 2025 add on show (advertised in the Aladdin programme) will be though. Overall, still excited for the season!


rachreims

Loved this show so much at Crows I saw it a couple of times and would’ve gone again if my schedule worked out! Excited to see it again but I do think it’ll lose some of the charm moving into a larger theatre. The experience at Crows with the way seating worked and the actors coming in and out of the audience is unparalleled.


cmstlist

Well at least one of them isn't a movie 😆


KapinKrunch

This is such a pleasant surprise that I had to make sure it was real. All Canadian production of a show that will do really well expanded to be closer to its original Broadway scale. Great way to finish off the season too.


BalanceDull4953

I do like it is an all Canadian production. 


ApologeticOtter

Anyone have any idea if any of the original Crows cast is returning for the Mirvish run?


Confident-Range2777

an article in the toronto star says that’s what they’re hoping for, so seems like it’ll be up to the actors at that point! fingers crossed


monieeka

I hope so! Pierre is so fantastic.


lanttro

Well… disappointing…. But on the positive side of things, 1) it is a Canadian production, hopefully locally casted, and, 2) as audience, we will finally be able to select our seats in advance for Comet! Haha


TDPAMN

What fantastic news! I love that the RAT will be filled with Canadian performers for all of 2024 and 2025 now. I could see Mirvish extending 1812 past the two month run if it does really well.


BalanceDull4953

Unfortunately an extension past August is unlikely, because the theatre is almost always used for TIFF in September. TIFF is sort of a hard stop for anything at the King St theatres. It’s not unprecedented for a show to run through TIFF but I doesn’t happen often. 


chriswilliam95

Mirvish is really doing a lot of shows with Canadian casts. We have a Canadian production of SIX right now, of course. But next season, there's: * A confirmed all-Canadian cast of The Lion King * An all-Canadian cast of Come from Away, still to be announced * A Canadian cast of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 * Still to be officially announced, but >!Titanique!< will be here with a Canadian cast


Ok_Abbreviations5714

Is the yet to be officially announced show a HUGE one that audiences will really want to see or something like what they just announced? I have hoped for MJ as you know and Shucked coming here. From what you can say can you elaborate further on whether or not we should expect any major tours for 2024/2025? Do you anticipate something major for Off-Mirvish? Speaking of which when will that be announced? They didn't do so simultaneously with Main Season this year which is interesting.


cueXcue

Besides the South Africans in the cast, I will be very surprised if the rest of TLK cast is fully Canadian (even if that is their intention).


Global_Research_9335

Newbie here - what is Crows?


BalanceDull4953

Crow’s Theatre is a highly regarded local not-for-profit theatre company based in the east end of Toronto. 


Global_Research_9335

TY!


ReverendRocky

Not at all a surprise. Mirvish has been bringing wildly successful crow's productions to their stage forthe last few seasons. They did it with Land Acknowledgement and this year with Uncle Vanya. For those who didn't see it at Crows... well it honestly will not be \_as good\_ as the staging allowed at Crows but IT IS STILL AMAZING GO SEE IT


Toucandoit7

Learning about this Crows theatre for the first time thanks to this post. Now I feel like a Mirvish/Broadway snob. Saw this on Broadway with Josh Groban it was phenomenal, can’t imagine how they’d make the theatre as intimate as it was in New York.


Foxdog37

I was hoping for sweeney tod :*(


mwdjwbfinwf

you’re not the only one! There has not be ANY tour updates but hopefully it’s still happening and they’re just waiting for Broadway to close before announcing more info. There’s a gap from February to April so hopes are not high but not dead either lol


These-Grapefruit-981

I saw Great Comet on Broadway and wondered how on earth Crow’s could make it work in such a small space. They blew me away with the production. I am so excited to see this at the Royal Alex!


Which_Emergency_2147

Looks good!


Confident-Range2777

i am endlessly happy. my friends and i had been saying it would happen as a joke!! can’t believe it’s happening for real 


firehawk12

Wow! Welp, I guess I don't need to see it one more time. lol


This-Sky-1853

It was truly fabulous


Ok_Abbreviations5714

Well, that's a bloody disappointment Don't get me wrong the show probably is fantastic but should not have been marketed as one you will need a subscription for or you will miss out. Mirvish knew all along what show this was and deliberately marketed it this way to hook people in. It's a letdown for that reason. It's not a big-name show that people will clamour to see like it was marketed. They did the same thing with Lion King building that announcement up as something Earth shattering. There is still an April-May 2025 slot open but it won't likely have a major show coming in. I now know why they kept holding the announcement back. It had to finish its initial run before transferring over. It all makes sense now. Will this lead to an increase in people wanting to renew or to newcomers who were on the fence?


These-Grapefruit-981

The show (meaning Great Comet) started in mid/late December and ran until March 24. It ran just over 3 months. The theatre holds 150 people. At 8 performances a week that is around 1200 people at week (if all shows were sold out). That is essentially 1 performance at the Royal Alex. I think the show will be very well received and welcome the production to be coming to the Royal Alex. It will be a collaborative production which means it will be a Canadian production and not a tour. We need to be celebrating that!