CAA Theatre

Last updated
CAA Theatre
20171201-caa-theatre-mirvish.jpg-resize then crop- frame bg color FFF-h 1365-gravity center-q 70-preserve ratio true-w 2048 .webp
CAA Theatre
Former namesPanasonic Theatre
Address651 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Owner KingSett Capital [1]
Operator Mirvish Productions
Capacity 700
Construction
Opened1911
Rebuilt2005
Website
mirvish.com/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. [2]

Contents

In February 2023, the Toronto Star reported that Mirvish sold the property in 2015, and that the current owner, private equity firm KingSett Capital, was planning to redevelop the site as a high-rise mixed-use building. [1]

History

Early years

The original Second Empire building was built in 1911 as a private residence, then gutted and converted to a movie theatre in 1919 and known as The Victory. [3] [4] It was renamed The Embassy in 1934 and known by a number of other names over the next sixty years, including the Astor, the Showcase, and the Festival.

In the 1970s, the Festival Theatre was a key venue of the Toronto International Film Festival (then known as the Festival of Festivals). [4]

Conversion to live theatre

In 1993, the building was renovated for live theatre productions and renamed The New Yorker Theatre. [4]

Demolition and reconstruction

In 2004 and 2005, most of the building was demolished, with only the facade preserved. The old building was replaced by a new state-of-the-art live theatre and concert venue, known as The Panasonic Theatre. In 2005, the building was acquired by Live Nation and in 2008 by Mirvish Productions.

Site redevelopment

In February 2023, the Toronto Star reported that Mirvish sold the property in 2015, citing property records. City records also indicate the current owner, private equity firm KingSett Capital, has applied to the city to redevelop the site as a 76-storey, mixed-use building, retaining only the façade of the CAA Theatre building. [1]

Notable productions

Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. [5] [6]

Panasonic Theatre

CAA Theatre

Related Research Articles

The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been remounted for larger audiences, including the Tony Award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Mirvish</span> American-Canadian businessman

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honest Ed's</span> Discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Alexandra Theatre</span> Theatre in Toronto, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess of Wales Theatre</span> Toronto, Ontario Theatre

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.

Cynthia Ciurluini, known professionally as Cynthia Dale, is a Canadian television actress and stage performer. She is best known for her role as lawyer Olivia Novak in the 1987–94, and re-booted in 2019, television drama Street Legal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres</span> Toronto, Ontario Theatres

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden Theatre is seven storeys above the Elgin Theatre. They are the last surviving Edwardian stacked theatres in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Mirvish Theatre</span> Toronto, Ontario Theatre

The Ed Mirvish Theatre is a 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.

David Mirvish, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poor Alex Theatre</span> Former theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Poor Alex Theatre was a theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptown Theatre (Toronto)</span>

The Uptown Theatre was a historic movie theatre in Toronto, Ontario which was demolished in 2003. The entrance to the theatre was located on Yonge Street just south of Bloor. Like many theatres of the time it was constructed so that only the entrance was on a major thoroughfare while the main building fronted on a side street. A bridge connected the two buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Richards</span> Canadian writer

David Christopher Richards, best known as Christopher Richards is a Canadian playwright, theatre designer and casting director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirvish Productions</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancap Productions</span> Canadian theatre production company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Theatre District</span>

The Toronto Theatre District is a part of the Toronto Entertainment District in Downtown Toronto that contains the largest concentration of stage theatres in Canada. It is the third largest English-speaking theatre district in the world, after West End in London and Broadway in New York City.

<i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</i> 2016 play by Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story written by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. The story is set nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It follows Harry Potter, now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, and his son, Albus Severus Potter, who is about to attend his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling has referred to the play as "the eighth Harry Potter story".

<i>Come from Away</i> Musical first produced in 2013

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 travelers they housed and fed. Audiences and critics have received the musical as a cathartic reminder of the capacity for human kindness in even the darkest of times and the triumph of humanity over hate.

David Hein is a Canadian librettist, composer-lyricist, musician, and actor best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Come from Away with his writing partner and wife, Irene Sankoff.

Irene Sankoff is a Canadian librettist and composer–lyricist, best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Come from Away with her writing partner and husband, David Hein.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chong, Joshua (February 28, 2023). "This century-old Mirvish theatre is slated for demolition and Toronto's arts community says loss is significant". Toronto Star . Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  2. "New partnership between CAA and Mirvish Productions". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  3. Doug Taylor (2016). Toronto's Local Movie Theatres of Yesteryear: Brought Back to Thrill You Again. Dundurn Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN   9781459733428.
  4. 1 2 3 The CAA Theatre
  5. "Panasonic Theatre Show Archives". Mirvish Productions. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  6. "CAA Theatre Show Archives". Mirvish Productions. Retrieved 17 February 2023.

43°40′04″N79°23′08″W / 43.6679°N 79.3856°W / 43.6679; -79.3856