Grand Theatre, Ontario
Encyclopedia
The Grand Theatre is a professional theatre
located at 471 Richmond Street just south of Dufferin Avenue in London
, Ontario
, Canada
.
Its main auditorium has a seating capacity of 839 with a regular season running from September to May. In addition, it has a secondary venue called The McManus Theatre, located on the lower floor with a seating capacity of 150.
who reportedly considered this theatre his favourite of his numerous similar holdings. He disappeared mysteriously on December 2, 1919. That day, Mr. Small deposited one million dollars in a Toronto bank account, lunched with his wife and was never seen again. Weeks after his disappearance, the night watchman swore he saw Mr. Small entering The Grand Theatre. Despite this lead, police were never able to close the file. It is rumoured that he haunts the building to this day. This building was investigated in the first episode of "The Girly Ghosthunters
" show in 2005.
With the rise of film
entertainment, the theatre was equipped for film presentation when it was sold to Famous Players in 1924. In 1945, the theatre chain sold the building to the London Little Theatre company for a relatively modest price and the theatre became an amateur stage venue. It was one of Canada's most active and successful amateur theatre companies.
In 1971, the theatre began a three-year process to become a fully professional regional theatre. In 1975, the governing board decided to react to the deteriorating state of the building with a major reconstruction costing five million dollars that was completed in 1978. The reconstruction included reinforcement of the main stage's proscenium arch as the sole major component of the building's original design and the addition of the McManus Studio as a secondary venue. The architectural firm that undertook the renovations was awarded a Governor General's award
for their re-design of The Grand.
The Grand is an excellent example of the Proscenium Arch Theatre and is one of the more tranditional forms of theatrical design. It was designed to send music and sound from the stage into the audience.
Among the great actors who have performed under the magnificent proscenium arch of The Grand are: W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt
, Michael Redgrave
, Donald O'Connor
, Sidney Poitier
, Jessica Tandy
, Hume Cronyn
, Maggie Smith
, Michael Burgess
, William Hutt
, Martha Henry
, Karen Kain
, Victor Garber
, Sandra Oh
, and Leonard Nimoy
.
. It gives high school students from London and surrounding area the chance to work with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, and stage managers.
Annually (since 1998), a full-length musical is performed on the main stage featuring a full cast of high school students. The original intention was for the productions to be annually cycled between a Broadway musical, a Shakespeare piece, and a Canadian piece. However, due to the success of West Side Story in 1998, the High School Project remained a Broadway musical from 2000 on.
Students also assist in stage management
, and in the building of set
, costume
, and props
.
In 2006, the High School Project added a Shakespearian production, to be performed in the spring in the McManus Studio, leaving the Musical component to be performed in the fall on the MainStage.
The following is a list of High School Project stage productions that have been performed on the Grand Theatre's main stage:
42.9859199°N 81.2510634°W
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
located at 471 Richmond Street just south of Dufferin Avenue in London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Its main auditorium has a seating capacity of 839 with a regular season running from September to May. In addition, it has a secondary venue called The McManus Theatre, located on the lower floor with a seating capacity of 150.
History
The theatre opened on September 9, 1901 under the ownership of the theatre magnate, Ambrose SmallAmbrose Small
Ambrose Joseph Small was a Canadian theatre magnate, who owned theatres in several Ontario cities including the Grand Opera House in Toronto, the Grand Opera House in Kingston, and the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. More notably, he is a famous Canadian missing person...
who reportedly considered this theatre his favourite of his numerous similar holdings. He disappeared mysteriously on December 2, 1919. That day, Mr. Small deposited one million dollars in a Toronto bank account, lunched with his wife and was never seen again. Weeks after his disappearance, the night watchman swore he saw Mr. Small entering The Grand Theatre. Despite this lead, police were never able to close the file. It is rumoured that he haunts the building to this day. This building was investigated in the first episode of "The Girly Ghosthunters
The Girly Ghosthunters
The Girly Ghosthunters was a 30-minute Canadian paranormal TV series. It was first broadcast on Friday, January 14, 2005, on the Canadian SPACE speciality channel. The thirteenth and last episode was broadcast April 15, 2005. The show featured four young women visiting alleged and/or documented...
" show in 2005.
With the rise of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
entertainment, the theatre was equipped for film presentation when it was sold to Famous Players in 1924. In 1945, the theatre chain sold the building to the London Little Theatre company for a relatively modest price and the theatre became an amateur stage venue. It was one of Canada's most active and successful amateur theatre companies.
In 1971, the theatre began a three-year process to become a fully professional regional theatre. In 1975, the governing board decided to react to the deteriorating state of the building with a major reconstruction costing five million dollars that was completed in 1978. The reconstruction included reinforcement of the main stage's proscenium arch as the sole major component of the building's original design and the addition of the McManus Studio as a secondary venue. The architectural firm that undertook the renovations was awarded a Governor General's award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
for their re-design of The Grand.
The Grand is an excellent example of the Proscenium Arch Theatre and is one of the more tranditional forms of theatrical design. It was designed to send music and sound from the stage into the audience.
Among the great actors who have performed under the magnificent proscenium arch of The Grand are: W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
, Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
, Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
, Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
, Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
, Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
, Michael Burgess
Michael Burgess (singer)
Michael Burgess is a popular Canadian actor and singer .Burgess is best known for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the Toronto production of Les Misérables. He appeared as one of the 17 Jean Valjeans at the end of the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert...
, William Hutt
William Hutt (actor)
William Ian DeWitt Hutt, was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film. Hutt's distinguished career spanned more than fifty years and won him many accolades and awards...
, Martha Henry
Martha Henry
Martha Henry, is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress, who is best known for her appearances at the Stratford Festival.-Background:...
, Karen Kain
Karen Kain
Karen Alexandria Kain, CC is a retired Canadian ballet dancer, and currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada.-Early Training:...
, Victor Garber
Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
, Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
, and Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
.
The High School Project
The Grand Theatre's High School Project is unique in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It gives high school students from London and surrounding area the chance to work with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, and stage managers.
Annually (since 1998), a full-length musical is performed on the main stage featuring a full cast of high school students. The original intention was for the productions to be annually cycled between a Broadway musical, a Shakespeare piece, and a Canadian piece. However, due to the success of West Side Story in 1998, the High School Project remained a Broadway musical from 2000 on.
Students also assist in stage management
Stage management
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...
, and in the building of set
Set construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
, costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
, and props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
.
In 2006, the High School Project added a Shakespearian production, to be performed in the spring in the McManus Studio, leaving the Musical component to be performed in the fall on the MainStage.
The following is a list of High School Project stage productions that have been performed on the Grand Theatre's main stage:
- West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(1998) - A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(1999) - Guys and Dolls (2000)
- Hello, Dolly!Hello, Dolly! (musical)Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
(2001) - Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
(2002) - The Music ManThe Music ManThe Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
(2003) - Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
(2004) - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(2005) - The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
(Fall 2005) - Twelfth NightTwelfth Night, or What You WillTwelfth Night; or, What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season...
(Spring 2006, McManus Studio) - West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(Fall 2006) - Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(Spring 2007; McManus Studio) - Les Misérables: School EditionLes Misérables (musical)Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
(Fall 2007) - Listen to the Wind (Spring 2008; McManus Studio)
- The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(Fall 2008) - As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
(Spring 2009; McManus Studio) - GreaseGrease (musical)Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
(Fall 2009) - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(Spring 2010; McManus Studio) - Anything GoesAnything GoesAnything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
(Fall 2010) - FootlooseFootlooseFootloose is a 1984 American musical-drama film directed by Herbert Ross. It tells the story of Ren McCormack , an upbeat Chicago teen who moves to a small town in which, as a result of the efforts of a local minister , dancing and rock music have been banned.The film is loosely based on events...
"" (Fall 2011)
Other programming
The Grand Theatre also presents a series of productions in the McManus Studio called The UnderGrand series consisting of more alternative fare. In addition to individual plays, there is the Playwright's Cabaret, a playwriting showcase where local playwrights are invited to write 10 or 30 minute sketches for public readings. The McManus is also home to the Grand Theatre's presentations of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA).Artistic Directors
- Peter Dearing (1957-1968)
- Heinar Pillar (1971–1976)
- William HuttWilliam Hutt (actor)William Ian DeWitt Hutt, was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film. Hutt's distinguished career spanned more than fifty years and won him many accolades and awards...
(1976–1980) - Bernard Hopkins (1980–1983)
- Robin PhillipsRobin PhillipsRobin Phillips is an English actor and director.Phillips was born in Haslemere, Surrey, the son of EllenAnne and James William Phillips. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and worked as an actor and director for many years in the United Kingdom, finishing as Artistic Director at the Greenwich...
(1983-1984) - Don ShipleyDon ShipleyDon Shipley is a prominent Canadian stage director. He has led many theatre companies in Canada and Europe since the mid-1970s.Positions Shipley has held include:* Artistic Director at Victoria's Belfry Theatre from 1976 to 1979...
(1984-1986) - Larry Lillo (1986-1988)
- Martha HenryMartha HenryMartha Henry, is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress, who is best known for her appearances at the Stratford Festival.-Background:...
(1988–1995) - Michael Shamata (1995–1999)
- Kelly Handerek (1999–2001)
- Susan Ferley (2001-present)
External links
42.9859199°N 81.2510634°W