In Toronto, lines have never been longer. Half of them are tourists, with thousands bused in from the Midwest and Northeast. Even occasional clashes of cultures in Toronto, a city that prides itself on its multi-ethnic makeup, seem more politically correct, opting for persistent protest over violence.
Heightening the excitement is a rivalry between the local companies backing the two new theater complexes: Mirvish Productions and Live Entertainment of Canada Inc. The dueling showmen are going ahead with their musicals despite the protests. Even amid the effects of recession, theater executives and playwrights say competition to stage everything from mega-musicals to experimental dramas has never been hotter. In , Toronto had only two professional theaters. Today, Metropolitan Toronto boasts more than professional theater and dance companies-housed in everything from turn-of-the-century architectural treasures to renovated factories.
Mirvish acknowledges a city by-law requires one nearby parking space for every five theater seats. So the Mirvishes fought back by building a four-level, space parking facility underneath their new theater, to add to existing parking space. They needed the parking badly.
Any rivalry there is has been healthy and positive for the city. This market, with the combination of their work and our work, has expanded exponentially. Both have reaped millions once they discovered, to their surprise, they could create the rare phenomenon of staging side-by-side, open-ended hits in the same city. In North America, only New York has done that consistently. For Drabinsky, however, big receipts have not always meant a profit. Jini Stolk, executive director of the Toronto Theatre Alliance, credits the Mirvishes and Drabinsky with helping market Toronto theater and increase its international reputation.
Inside the glittering glass and art-filled showplace, the first privately built theater in Canada since , the feeling is lavish and intimate.
