THEATRE NEWS:
Theatre renamed in honour of Ed Mirvish
6 DEC/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

TORONTO - Seems Ed Mirvish is going to have his name up in lights — yet again. At a special ceremony Tuesday, the theatre known for the past decade  
as the Canon Theatre was officially re-christened the Ed Mirvish 
Theatre by David Mirvish, the son of the late and still greatly 
beloved theatrical impresario and local legend.


Ed Mirvish started life, by his own reckoning, as a humble shop-
keeper, best known for the sprawling Bloor St. bargain emporium known 
as Honest Ed's.
 But that all changed when he bought and restored Toronto's Royal 
Alexandra Theatre in 1963, transforming the failing show palace into 
the centrepiece of a vital enterprise that blossomed into what is now 
known as the entertainment district.
 It was a purchase that would also also launch a theatrical empire 
that at one time included London's historic Old Vic Theatre and today 
includes, in addition to the newly christened Ed Mirvish Theatre and 
the Royal Alex as it is now known, the Princess of Wales and the 
Panasonic Theatres as well.


Originally christened the Pantages when it was built in 1920, the 
theatre at Dundas and Victoria that now bears the Mirvish name became 
the Imperial Theatre when the man for whom it was named — Hollywood 
impresario Alexander Pantages — was jailed in 1930. The Imperial it 
remained, until it was reclaimed from the world of multiplex cinemas 
by Cineplex and restored, eventually becoming the cornerstone of 
Garth Drabinsky's now defunct Live Ent empire, once more under the Pantages name.
 When the Mirvishes took over its management in 2001, the theatre's  
name was changed to the Canon. It became part of the Mirvish empire 
in 2008, following Ed's death in 2007.


In a touch that no doubt would have pleased Ed Mirvish, who was 
renowned for his self-professed "humbility," Tuesday's re-christening 
was no gala affair, but rather a public event, free to the legion of  
Mirvish subscribers and friends. 
Hosted by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, currently starring in a  
revival of 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Panasonic Theatre, the ceremonies 
included special appearances by artists like Louise Pitre, Michael  
Burgess, Molly Brown, Camilla Scott and Shirley Douglas, as well as 
theatrical producer Paul Elliott and the Toronto Police Choir, the  
latter, performing a medley of showtunes from The Phantom of the  
Opera, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita.


And while Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper 
delivered best wishes via video links, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford showed 
up in person, proclaiming Dec. 6, 2011 to be Ed MIrvish Theatre Day,  
calling it a "true testament to the significant impact he had on 
Toronto." 
Signage has already been changed to reflect the theatre's new name.