It will have played 258 performances, a 33-week stretch far shorter than other New York-bred hits such as The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera in the Canadian city where theatre is a major tourism attraction.
Competition in the Canadian theatre town during the run since fall 2003 included open-ended runs of Hairspray, The Lion King and Mamma Mia! Pundits posed the subject matter of the show was too New Yorky, tourists were staying away or if there was simply too much competition.
According to The Star in Toronto, producer David Mirvish looked at the advance sales for the coming months, consulted with the New York producers and decided to close the show. The reviews of the show, which opened Dec. 11, 2003, were mixed, but business was reportedly brisk in the first several months of the run.
Bialystock and Bloom, the corrupt titular impresarios, are played by Seán Cullen and Michael Therriault, respectively. The all-Canadian cast also features Juan Chioran as Roger DeBris, Paul O'Sullivan as Franz Liebkind, Sarah Cornell as Ulla and Brandon McGibbon as Carmen Ghia.
Many of the cast and creatives involved and the production itself are up for the 25th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards where Cullen is sharing hosting duties at the ceremony with Mamma Mia!'s Louise Pitré. Among the Dora nominees are Michael Therriault (principal male) Seán Cullen (principal male), Sarah Cornell (principal female), Brandon McGibbon (featured role), Juan Chioran (featured role), Susan Stroman (direction and choreography) Rick Fox (musical direction), Robin Wagner (set design), William Ivey Long (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design) and Steve C. Kennedy (sound design). With a Tony Award-winning book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Tony Award winning music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and direction and choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, The Producers swept the 2001 Tony Awards, receiving the most in Broadway history, including Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Peter Kaczorowski), Best Orchestrations (Doug Besterman), Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical (Susan Stroman).
The Canon Theatre (formerly the Pantages) is at 244 Victoria Street, Toronto. For ticket information, call (416) 872-1212 or (800) 461-3333, or visit www.mirvish.com.
