PRISCILLA, FORUM, BILLY et al. Set for 2010-2011 Toronto Mirvish Season

David Mirvish will present six productions in the 2010 - 2011 Mirvish Subscription Season, and six additional shows will be offered as bonus shows to subscribers.

"As in every year," explains David Mirvish, "we look to bring the best shows from London, New York and elsewhere to Toronto.

"This year we are privileged to have six shows on our subscription, anchored by the phenomenal new musicAl Blockbuster - a 10-time Tony Award® winner - BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL. The toast of London and Broadway will soon be the toast of Toronto, and we couldn't be happier that our subscribers will see it first, in the first choice of seats for the best price.

"There are four more musicals and one very special comedy on the season. From Australia via London, from our very own Stratford Shakespeare Festival, from the cutting-edge hit-making Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre on London's Southbank, this is a season that offers stories of hope against great odds, a season that celebrates the defiant human spirit.

"Outside the subscription season, we have more shows to offer Toronto theatregoers. With four theatres in downtown Toronto - the Royal Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, the Canon and the Panasonic, we have great opportunities to offer a wide variety of other shows off-subscription. In 2010-11, we already have six added shows, and the list is soon to grow. But our subscribers will have first opportunity to purchase tickets at great prices - one of the many privileges of subscribing.

"We are also very happy to have Air Canada back as the Season Sponsor. They have been a great partner, helping us bring superb theatre to our city. All our artists fly Air Canada."

THE 2010-11 SEASON LINE-UP:

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL
By Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott
OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2010
At Last! After smash-hit engagements in Sydney and in London's West End, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL rolls into Toronto this October.

Based on the Oscar ®-winning film, PRISCILLA tells the outrageous and heart-warming tale of three friends on a road trip to the middle of nowhere who end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed possible! With an incredible array of jaw-dropping costumes and an irresistible score of more than 20 dance-floor classics, PRISCILLA is a sensational journey to the heart of fabulous. So get ready for the ultimate feel-great theatrical experience...and HOP ABOARD!
"INGENIOUS... SPECTACULAR... A BIG HIT MUSICAL!" Evening Standard
"The Best Feel-Good Show Since ‘Mamma Mia'!" Sunday Express
"Eye-popping! EXTRAVAGANT!" The Guardian
"Insanely euphoric and wildly contagious!" Daily Telegraph

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
Book By Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart
Music & Lyrics By Stephen Sondheim

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production
Directed By Des McAnuff
Originally Produced on Broadway By Harold S. Prince
DECEMBER 2010 & JANUARY 2011
"Panderers! Philanderers! Cupidity! Timidity!" A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has them all! The Stratford Festival's summertime sensation comes to the Toronto stage. Acclaimed director Des McAnuff and an all-star cast of the best comedic actors in Canadian theatre bring us their scintillating, sexy and spectacular staging of the great Stephen Sondheim musical farce. With such hit production numbers as Comedy Tonight and Everybody Ought to Have a Maid,

" HHHH A beautifully crafted show. The pace never lets up and neither do the laughs." Toronto Star
"Uproarious! Brilliantly inventive" Canwest News Service
"A Celebration! Delightful! No denying the appeal of this FORUM!" The Globe and Mail
"Packed with great emotional punch and side-splitting shtick!" Chicago Tribune

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL
Music By Elton John
Book & Lyrics By Lee Hall
Directed By Stephen Daldry
Choreographed By Peter Darling
BEGINS FEBRUARY 2011
Thrilling audiences worldwide and the winner of 73 international awards, including the Best Musical 2009 Tony Award®, "THE BEST SHOW YOU WILL EVER SEE" (New York Post) is coming to Toronto!

Composer Elton John, writer Lee Hall, director Stephen Daldry and choreographer Peter Darling have joined forces to create this inspiring and immensely entertaining musical. BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is a joyous and exciting celebration of oNe Young boy's triumph against the odds.
Called "THE MOST INSPIRING SHOW I'VE SEEN IN YEARS" by The New York Times and based on the international smash-hit film, the story follows Billy's journey as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class and discovers his dream to dance. Full of life, laughter, award-winning choreography and the unforgettable music of Elton John, this uplifting show will stay with you forever.
"A Triumph!" New York Times
"The Best Musical Of The Decade!" Time Magazine
"A global theatrical PHENOMENON!" LA Times
"Truly electrifying...this heart-stopping show is a must-see." The Mail on Sunday
"Pure magic." The Sunday Express
"The greatest British musical I have ever seen." The Daily Telegraph

THE SECRET GARDEN
Book and Lyrics By Marsha Norman
Music By Lucy Simon
Based on the novel By Frances Hodgson Burnett

MARCH & APRIL 2011

It's an all-new production of a beloved classic story! Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved children's novel, THE SECRET GARDEN, comes to wondrous life in the enchanting music of Lucy Simon and spellbinding lyrics of Marsha Norman (Tony Award®-winner for Best Book of a Musical). In a sad and lonely house on the Yorkshire moors, the melancholy routine of a family in mourning is turned upside down with the arrival of the young orphan, Mary. When the curious child discovers the key to the hidden door of a secret, walled garden, a long locked-away magic is released, changing the lives of all, forever. "It's just a garden. But all I would ask is never, never to leave."

"A Treat for All! A garden of delights" The Daily Mail
"Best American Musical of the Season!" Time Magazine

SWEET CHARITY
Book By Neil Simon
Music By Cy Coleman
Lyrics By Dorothy Fields
Directed By Matthew White

MARCH & APRIL 2011
Direct from London's West End, and produced by the famed Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre, comes an all-new, hit production of the great musical comedy by Neil Simon, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. SWEET CHARITY follows the misadventures in love of the gullible and guileless Charity Hope Valentine, a woman who always gives her heart to the wrong man. Cy Coleman's exuberant score sparkles with such favourites as Hey, Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now and The Rhythm of Life.

"Sizzling, sexy...a winner!" The Sunday Express
"Romping production...This is a cracking musical!" The Sunday Times
"Exhilaratingly Staged... Flawless!" Variety
"Amazingly Energetic! Sizzling Choreography...A Delight!" The Evening Standard

CALENDAR GIRLS
By Tim Firth
Directed By Marti Maraden

APRIL & MAY 2001
Direct from London's West End, comes the North American Premiere of Britain's newest comedy sensation, based on the award-winning motion picture.
Meet Miss January, Miss February, Miss March, Miss April, Miss May and the seven other members of a very ordinary women's club as they spark an uproar with a charity fundraiser. It's a calendar, but one with a difference. These ladies will drop everything for a good cause! Make a date now with the CALENDAR GIRLS!

"A show whose feel-good factor is sky high!" The Guardian
"One of the most enjoyable evenings recent theatre has produced!" The Evening Standard

Exact dates, venues and casting to be announced at later dates.

SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW ON SALE

Six-show subscriptions are now available, and priced from $112 to $555. Subscribers save up to 50% off single ticket prices and receive many other benefits, including: first choice of seats for every show; free, easy, flexible ticket exchange; an easy payment plan; parking and dining discounts; free subscription to email newsletter and show reminders; Honest Ed's Gift Card; free exclusive subscriber events; and discounts and priority tickets to non-subscription shows.
To Subscribe call 416-593-4225 or 1-800-771-3933 or visit www.mirvish.com

BONUS SHOWS - Six more great shows, off-subscription, but available first to subscribers at special prices:

MY MOTHER'S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING
Panasonic Theatre • February 26 - March 21, 2010
The sweet, charming and very funny new Canadian musical that took Toronto by storm in 2009, returns to enchant new fans (and re-enchant old ones). It's smart, feel-good fun and a show for everyone who's ever been in love!
ROCK OF AGES • Royal Alexandra Theatre • Begins April 20, 2010
Small town girl meets big city boy and the rest is Rock ‘n' Roll history! The ‘80s rock again in this new Broadway hit. A Canadian Premiere, starring We Will Rock You's Yvan Pednault and The Sound of Music's Elicia MacKenzie!

MAMMA MIA! • Princess of Wales Theatre • April 28 - June 6, 2010
The global musical phenomenon comes home to Toronto! ABBA hits from Dancing Queen to Take a Chance on Me are ingeniously woven into an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship.

A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN • Panasonic Theatre • April 28 - May 16, 2010
Author, actor and musician Jake Ehrenreich's touching, poignant and hilarious new musical about an immigrant family in Brooklyn and a boy's quest for the American Dream through baseball, pop music and borscht-belt comedy had a yearlong run in New York and has toured major cities across the U.S. It is finally having its Canadian Premiere.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF • Canon Theatre • June 8 - 13, 2010
After five sell-out weeks in December and January, Tony Award®-winner Harvey Fierstein returns as Tevye the dairyman. He brings his unique chutzpah, humour and comic style to one of the best-loved roles in musical theatre. One week only!

WINGFIELD - LOST AND FOUND • Panasonic Theatre • January 12 - 30, 2011
Let the laughter begin! Perennial Canadian favourite Rod Beattie returns as Walt Wingfield in the Toronto stockbroker-turned-farmer's latest comic (mis)adventure. Written by Dan Needles and directed by Doug Beattie, this is heralded as the best Wingfield show to date! Toronto Premiere.