Canada’s largest theater company is mounting an acclaimed set of award-winning productions this year featuring 14 shows, including Tina Fey’s straight-from-Broadway “Mean Girls,” and beloved classic “Hamilton.”
The lineup includes six main season shows, three off-Mirvish shows and five bonus stagings and marks the long-awaited resumption of Toronto’s theater scene following the 16-month break due to the pandemic.
Shows will play at all four Mirvish venues with the company offering subscriptions that will allow patrons to buy seats for six shows in the main season and an off-Mirvish season package for three shows.
Here are the seven productions to be showcased as part of their main season:
“The Shark Is Broken”
September to November 2022 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
“The Shark Is Broken” is a comedy from London, nominated for Best Comedy Play at the 2022 Olivier Awards.
Directed by Guy Masterson and written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, this play centers around the behind-the-scenes drama of Hollywood classic “Jaws,” with a comedic flair.
“Mean Girls”
October to November 2022 at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
Direct from Broadway, Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” turns the beloved film into a musical by award-winning composer Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin and director Casey Nicholaw.
The hilarious musical hit follows Cady Heron to suburban Illinois, thousands of miles away from her home in the African savannah. Smelling like fresh meat, Cady tries to take down the mischievous high school trio led by Queen Bee Regina George, but is in for a rude awakening.
“Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical”
November 2022 to January 2023 at the Royal Alexandra Theater
This musical is a feel-good journey about friendship, community and music, written by Amanda Whittington, directed by James Grieve and choreographed by Matt Cole. It features the original UK cast.
The tunes of Cornish fisherman catch the ears of a music manager on a trip from London, and the spontaneity doesn’t stop there. The unlikely buoy-band tops charts with their Cornish traditional and generational working songs that lands them at the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
“Pressure”
January to March 2023 at the Royal Alexandra Theater
This will be the Canadian premiere of this Second World War story of General Eisenhower on D-Day.
Award-winning director John Dove directs Kevin Doyle, of Downton Abbey, as Scottish meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg in “Pressure,” a true story and critical smash hit direct from London’s West End.
“Hamilton”
Begins February 2023 at the Princess of Wales Theater
The Tony-, Grammy-, Olivier- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical has become a staple in the theater world with a profound impact on culture, politics and education.
Hamilton blends hip-hop, jazz and R&B to give musical enthusiasts a revolutionary twist on a moment in American history with founding father Alexander Hamilton. Book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, directed by Thomas Kall and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler with musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire.
Hadestown
July to August 2023 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
“Hadestown,” is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience with music, lyrics and book by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, directed by Rachel Chavkin. The musical won eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical and 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
The musical’s ensemble of actors, dancers and singers brings to life a world intertwining two mythic tales—young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone.
In addition to the main season subscription, the company will also offer an off-Mirvish season subscription, featuring three productions:
“Indecent”
October to November 2023 at the CAA Theatre.
This production tells the behind-the-scenes drama of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives in 1923 to perform “God of Vengeance” on Broadway following celebrated European productions. “God of Vengeance” was an evocative work of Jewish culture which dealt with such taboo topics as censorship, immigration and antisemitism and was deemed indecent.
“Things I Know to be True”
January to February 2023 at the CAA Theatre.
The Canadian premiere of Andrew Bovell’s “Things I Know to be True” is directed by Philip Riccio and co-produced with The Company Theatre.
One of Australia’s most acclaimed playwrights, Bovell combines poetry, beauty and the tragedy of everyday life to create a moving family drama. The play focuses on a year in the life of the Price family and the life-altering changes that can shake a stable home.
“As You Like It, or The Land Acknowledgment”
March to April 2023 at the CAA Theatre.
The show is described as a radical retelling by Cliff Cardinal of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”
Cardinal’s play looks at the relationship between the Indigenous community and the rest of Canada. By spotlighting the aftermath of the discovery of unmarked graves on former residential schools grounds, Cardinal offers the audience the untouched truth of attempted reconciliation in this country.
Five bonus shows included in this season include “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “God is a Scottish Drag Queen,” “6 Guitars” and “Jagged Little Pill.” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is now live on stage and some shows start as early as June 27.
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