David Mirvish | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation(s) | Theatrical producer, Business owner, Art collector |
Spouse | Audrey Mirvish (m. 1967) |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | Ed Mirvish, Anne Macklin |
8th Chancellor of the University of Guelph | |
In office February 13, 2012 –c. 2017 | |
Preceded by | Pamela Wallin |
Succeeded by | Martha Billes |
David Mirvish, CM OOnt (born August 29,1944) is a Canadian art collector,art dealer,theatre producer,real estate developer and son of the late Toronto discount department store owner "Honest" Ed Mirvish and artist Anne Lazar Macklin.
Mirvish is the only child of Anne Lazar Macklin,an artist,and "Honest" Ed Mirvish,who was a Toronto businessman and owner of the discount department store,Honest Ed's. He is Jewish. [1]
Mirvish married his high-school sweetheart Audrey in 1967. [2] They have three children,Jacob,Hannah,and Rachael. [3] [4]
He has contributed to,and partnered with,many non-profit organizations,charities and other philanthropic organizations,including the Toronto Public Library,the Toronto Arts Foundation,and Kids Up Front. [5] [6] In 2023,he worked with The Thirty Birds Foundation to provide Kabul school girls who had fled Afganistan with access to tickets to shows,including the Canadian production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child . [7]
In 1987,he took over direction of his father's 1497-seat Toronto theatre,the Royal Alexandra Theatre. For most of the theatre's history,it had functioned as a road house—a temporary venue for touring productions. In 1987,Mirvish founded the company Mirvish Productions for the purpose of producing and staging original works for the Royal Alexandra and,later,his new Princess of Wales Theatre (opened in 1993). [8]
Mirvish and Mirvish Productions enjoyed notable successes in this new venture as with the Canadian stagings of such musicals as Les Misérables (1989–1990), Miss Saigon (1993–1995), Crazy for You (1994–1995), Rent (1997–1998), The Lion King (2000–2004), We Will Rock You and The Sound of Music (opened October 2008). They also,however,endured losses with their sit-down productions of the large-scale musicals Tommy (1995), Jane Eyre (1996–1997), The Producers (2003–2004), Hairspray (2004).
In 2005,he also joined in partnership with British theatre producer Kevin Wallace,American film producer Saul Zaentz and Canadian concert promoter Michael Cohl to produce The Lord of the Rings ,a stage musical adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy. This production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre in March 2006. Because of poor reviews and slow sales the show closed early. On June 28,2006,Mirvish announced that Sept. 3,2006 would mark the show's closing, [9] and that he would be unable to fully repay its investors. With an estimated capitalisation of $28 million,The Lord of the Rings had been advertised as the most expensive stage production in North American history.
Mirvish also operated the London, England, theatre the Old Vic (purchased and renovated by his father in 1982) from 1987 through 1998. In 1987, he installed Jonathan Miller as artistic director of The Old Vic and enjoyed a string of outstanding critical successes—including an Olivier Award for a production of the musical Candide, but, unfortunately, three straight years of financial loss. In 1990, Mirvish terminated Miller's contract over budget issues, earning much negative criticism in the British press.
In 1997, Mirvish appointed Sir Peter Hall as artistic director of the Old Vic and, again, enjoyed critical acclaim with such productions as The Master Builder with Alan Bates and Waiting for Godot with Ben Kingsley, but continuing financial loss. Within a year of the appointment, Mirvish terminated Hall's contract—again to much negative comment in the press—and put the Old Vic up for sale. The theatre was subsequently (1998) purchased by a theatres trust, The Old Vic Theatre Trust. [10]
In 2000, Mirvish began a new business venture as a real estate developer and began construction of a large condominium complex in downtown Toronto, known as One King West. The building opened for occupancy in 2005.
In March 2008 Mirvish announced the acquisition of the Panasonic and Canon Theatres in Toronto from Key Brand Entertainment, which had itself purchased the theatres from Live Nation in February 2008. [11] Mirvish had been operating the Canon Theatre under a 15-year lease signed in 2001 with Live Nation which gave him control over all bookings and management of the Canon. Mirvish acquired the theatre pursuant to a right of first offer contained in the same lease agreement. The purchase and sale triggered a lawsuit from rival Canadian presenter, Aubrey Dan, who had invested in Key Brand on the alleged promise that he would become manager of the Canon theatre. Dan sued both Mirvish and his own company, Key Brand, in an action which is still pending as of December 2008. The Canon was renamed The Ed Mirvish Theatre in honour of David Mirvish's late father on December 6, 2011.
In August 2010, Mirvish announced that he would provide a 9,765 square foot space to Theatre Museum Canada, thus providing the largely online museum with its first permanent space for exhibition. [12]
On October 1, 2012, David Mirvish announced a partnership with renowned architect Frank Gehry to redevelop his family's considerable real estate holdings on King Street West in Toronto. The proposed project includes three distinct tall buildings, called by Mirvish as "sculptures that people would live in," and a pedestal that would also house a new gallery devoted to Mirvish's extensive collection of abstract expressionist art and a new campus for the OCAD University. Should the project receive municipal zoning approval, it would be that the buildings currently on the site (four low-rise industrial and warehouse buildings and the Princess of Wales Theatre) would be demolished. The estimated time until completion is 10 years. [13]
Between 2002 and 2005, Mirvish was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Gallery of Canada. [14]
In February 2012, Mirvish was appointed the 8th Chancellor of the University of Guelph and was installed as Chancellor at the June 2012 convocation ceremonies. [15] Mirvish's appointment as Chancellor was extended in 2014. However, in September 2016, Mirvish resigned as Chancellor citing increased personal and work responsibilities. [16]
As a producer, Mirvish has been nominated for 19 Tony Awards, winning 5 times.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Macbeth | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated |
2009 | Guys and Dolls | Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated |
2013 | Lucky Guy | Best Play | Nominated |
2014 | Violet | Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated |
2015 | Skylight | Best Revival of a Play | Won |
2017 | Dear Evan Hansen | Best Musical | Won |
Come from Away | Nominated | ||
2018 | The Band's Visit | Best Musical | Won |
Angels in America | Best Revival of a Play | Won | |
Three Tall Women | Nominated | ||
The Iceman Cometh | Nominated | ||
2019 | Ain't Too Proud | Best Musical | Nominated |
Oklahoma! | Best Revival of a Musical | Won | |
Torch Song | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated | |
The Waverly Gallery | Nominated | ||
2020 | Jagged Little Pill | Best Musical | Nominated |
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical | Nominated | ||
2022 | Girl from the North Country | Best Musical | Nominated |
Hangmen | Best Play | Nominated |
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute operating three campuses across the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director, nationally recognized for her work in African-Canadian theatre. Sears has many credits in writing and editing highly acclaimed dramas such as Afrika Solo, the first stage play to be written by a Canadian woman of African descent; its sequel Harlem Duet; and The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God. The complexities of intersecting identities of race, and gender are central themes in her works, as well as inclusion of songs, rhythm, and choruses shaped from West-African traditions. She is also passionate about "the preservation of Black theatre history," and involved the creation of organizations like Obsidian Theatre, and AfriCanadian Playwrights Festival.
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, although by that time it was already known as the "Old Vic". In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis, assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened.
Yehuda Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, was an American-Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store in downtown Toronto, and as a patron of the arts, instrumental in revitalizing the theatre scene in Toronto.
Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operate until it permanently closed on December 31, 2016.
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is an historic performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario. The theatre is located at 260 King Street West, in the downtown Toronto Entertainment District. Owned and operated by Mirvish Productions, the theatre has approximately 1,244 seats across three levels. Built in 1907, the Royal Alexandra Theatre is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in North America.
The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2,000-seat live theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on King Street West, in Toronto's downtown Entertainment District. The theatre's name has a triple meaning: it honours Diana, Princess of Wales, with whose consent the theatre was named; it links the building to its sister theatre, the Royal Alexandra, one block to the east, also named – with Royal assent – for a former Princess of Wales; and it recalls the Princess Theatre, Toronto's first "first-class legitimate" playhouse, that stood three blocks to the east until 1931.
The Ed Mirvish Theatre is an historic performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, located near Yonge–Dundas Square. Owned and operated by Mirvish Productions, the theatre has approximately 2,300 seats across two levels. There are two entrances to the theatre, located at 263 Yonge Street and 244 Victoria Street.
Fiona Reid, CM is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series King of Kensington and Harriet Miller in the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Two Pianos Four Hands, also referred to as 2 Pianos 4 Hands, is a Canadian musical comedy play, written and originally performed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt. It follows Ted and Richard, two boys who aspire to become famous classical pianists. The play follows their journey from childhood, and as the boys grow older, their competitions and music auditions. Two Pianos Four Hands premiered at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto in 1996, and has since been staged on five continents and has been regarded as one of the most successful Canadian plays.
Hazel McCallion was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga. First elected in November 1978, McCallion was mayor for 36 years until her retirement in 2014, making her the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. She was a successful candidate in twelve municipal elections, having been acclaimed twice and re-elected ten other times. Her supporters gave her the nickname "Hurricane Hazel" because of her outspoken political style with reference to the hurricane of 1954, which had a considerable impact. When the 1979 Mississauga train derailment occurred early in her tenure, she helped oversee evacuation of 200,000 residents from the resulting explosion, fire, and spill of hazardous chemicals.
Mirvish Productions, commonly known as Mirvish, is a Canadian theatrical production company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1986 by David Mirvish with his father, Ed Mirvish, the company is the largest commercial theatre company in Canada. Mirvish Productions currently own and operate 4 theatres in the downtown Toronto area: the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Princess of Wales Theatre, Ed Mirvish Theatre, and the CAA Theatre.
The CAA Theatre, formerly the Panasonic Theatre, is a theatre located at 651 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Mirvish Productions. On December 1, 2017, Mirvish Productions announced a marketing partnership with CAA South Central Ontario, which included renaming the venue that was known as the Panasonic Theatre.
Dancap Productions was a Canadian theatrical production company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2007 by Aubrey Dan, the company presented large-scale musicals and plays in Toronto. The company initially found success with its Canadian production of Jersey Boys, which ran in Toronto for two years. After six years, Dancap Productions closed in July 2012.
David Ralph Spence is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop.
David Mirvish Gallery was a contemporary, commercial art gallery run by David Mirvish from 1963 to 1978, within the Markham Street art community on Mirvish Village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Artists at the gallery are best known for Color Field and Post-painterly Abstraction works. Mirvish assembled the Mirvish Collection, consisting of mostly contemporary artwork including artists he represented, lending it out to museums around the United States and Europe after the gallery's closure. In 2012, Mirvish announced plans to open a gallery to display these works, at planned condominium project Mirvish+Gehry Toronto.
Mirvis is a surname of Lithuanian Jewish origin. The name may refer to:
Come from Away is a musical, with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is based on the events in the Newfoundland town of Gander during the week following the September 11 attacks, when 38 planes, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were ordered to land unexpectedly at Gander International Airport. The characters in the musical are based on actual Gander residents and stranded travellers they housed and fed. The musical has been received by audiences and critics as a cathartic reminder of the capacity for human kindness in even the darkest of times and the triumph of humanity over hate.
Janet Rosenberg IFLA, FCSLA, FASLA, is a Canadian landscape architect based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the founding principal of Janet Rosenberg & Studio.