I hope you and yours are well. This is certainly a very different world than the one we knew at this time last year.

I am encouraged by the recent news of two fully tested and successful vaccines, one of which has already been approved by both Canada and Britain. In Britain it is already being administered. Beginning this week, the vaccine will also be available in Canada. With other vaccines at the end of their trial periods, we will be in a very good position for our world to return to its pre-pandemic safety.

We informed you back in April that we had postponed the start of the new Mirvish subscription season until the beginning of the new year. It is truly heartwarming that 95% of our subscribers have remained with us over these past nine months. We are thankful for your continued loyalty and support.

Given that the new year is just around the corner, we feel that at this time it is best we continue to “pause” performances until the Public Health officials have told us it is safe to reopen the theatres.

We continue to work with the TELUS Health Medical Advisory Council, a team of Canadian medical experts who have been advising us in our efforts to prepare an informed, science-based, and compassionate pandemic response. This team has told us that, given the recent vaccine news, they believe fall 2021 will be the right time to reopen theatres and restart performances. Therefore we are now planning to begin the new main subscription season, which you are already subscribed to, in September 2021.

To thank you for your commitment while we await the return to public safety, we are planning for the new subscription season to have seven magnificent shows. That’s one more show than the six you have already subscribed to and paid for. The extra show is our gift to you for your patience and understanding.

As well as the seven shows (for the original price you paid for six), the new main subscription season will include these valuable benefits – retention of your same great seats, no service charges on the purchase of extra tickets, priority ticket access to all extra shows, and the personal customer service that allows you the flexibility and understanding you need.

The new subscription season will consist of musicals, dramas and comedies. We are working now to confirm the playbill with our peers and partners around the world, some of whom have already begun to reopen their theatres in London’s West End, Australia, South Korea and Japan. It will include some of the titles we have already announced, but there will also be a few exciting new surprises which we believe will delight you. There will definitely be two or more blockbusters in the mix. The lineup will be confirmed when we have all the details finalized.

As I mentioned in my last communication to you, we continue to work tirelessly with members of our government to build a comprehensive reopening plan so that we can provide the safety, certainty and comfort to welcome you back to the theatre.

Finally, my staff have created an online programme that lists all the shows that have played in our theatres since my family purchased, saved from demolition, and restored the Royal Alex. The first show after the restoration was Never Too Late in September 1963. I fondly remember that special night. It was the beginning of my family’s dedication to theatre in Toronto, a commitment that nothing will stop us from continuing.

When the theatres reopen in September 2021, it will be 58 years of offering the best shows to you. It will also be just as many subscription seasons, because subscription has always been and will continue to be the core of our company. 

Take a look at this interactive list of shows. You’ve probably seen many of them. The list may bring back memories of the magic and power of theatre.

On behalf of everyone at Mirvish Productions, I wish you happy holidays and a wonderful new year.

Sincerely,
David Mirvish