David Mirvish, CM OOnt (born August 29, 1944) is a Canadian theatre producer, impresario, and art collector. He owns and operates Toronto-based theatrical production company Mirvish Productions, which he founded with his father in 1986. ^[1] He has also produced and presented several productions on Broadway and in London's West End.

Mirvish is also a prominent art collector, having amassed a large collection of Canadian and international works, including from renowned artists Frank Stella and Jules Olitski. ^[2] Between 1963 and 1978, he owned ran an art gallery and museum, David Mirvish Gallery. ^[3] He also owned an independent bookstore specializing in art and design between 1974 and 2009. ^[4]

Personal life

Mirvish is the only child of Anne Lazar Macklin, an artist, and "Honest" Ed Mirvish, who was a Toronto businessman and owner of the discount department store, Honest Ed's. He is Jewish. ^[5]

Mirvish married his high-school sweetheart Audrey in 1967. ^[6] They have three children, Jacob, Hannah, and Rachael. ^{[7] [8]}

He has contributed to, and partnered with, many non-profit organizations, charities and other philanthropic organizations, including the Toronto Public Library, the Toronto Arts Foundation, and Kids Up Front. ^{[9] [10]} In 2023, he worked with The Thirty Birds Foundation to provide Kabul school girls who had fled Afganistan with access to tickets to shows, including the Canadian production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. ^[11]

Musical numbers

• Heroes - Company

Theatre career

Mirvish Productions

In 1986, Mirvish co-founded Mirvish Productions with his father, with the purpose of producing and presenting large-scale original works at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and, in 1993, the newly built Princess of Wales Theatre. Following his father's retirement, Mirvish took over control of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, which was initially purchased as a temporary venue for touring productions. ^{[12] [13]}

Mirvish experienced early success with Canadian productions, such as Les Misérables (1989-1990), Miss Saigon (1993-1995), Crazy for You (1993-1995), and Beauty and the Beast (1995-1997). After productions of Tommy (1995) and Jane Eyre (1996-1997) were less successful, Mirvish once again found continued success with other large-scale musicals. In 1999, Mirvish announced they would be launching a Canadian sit-down production of The Lion King, which premiered at the Princess of Wales Theatre in March, 2000. Also that same year, Mamma Mia! made its North American premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. After its success, Mirvish opened a Canadian sit-down production of the musical which ran for five years. ^[14] After declining theatre attendance because of the SARS outbreak, The Lion King closed in January 2000 and Mamma Mia closed in May 2005.

In 2005, he partnered with Kevin Wallace, Saul Zaentz, and Michael Cohl to produce The Lord of the Rings, a stage musical adaptation based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels of the same name. The world premiere production opened in March 2005, and cost an estimated $30 million. ^[15] The musical closed on September 3, 2006, following poor sales and negative reviews. ^[16] The musical, which was advertised as the most expensive stage production in North American history, was unable to fully repay its investors. ^[16]

In 2008, Mirvish finalized a deal to acquire both the Canon Theatre and the Panasonic Theatre. The sale was challenged by Aubrey Dan, but Mirvish ultimately prevailed, giving him two Yonge Street theatres. ^{[17] [18]} The Canon Theatre was later renamed the Ed Mirvish Theatre in honour of his father. ^[19]

In 2018, Mirvish mounted a sit-down production of the Canadian musical Come from Away at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. As a result of the production's success, the production was relocated to the Elgin Theatre in 2019 to accommodate the new Canadian sit-down production of Dear Evan Hansen, which was promised the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Come from Away later returned to the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and, after a hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned in December 2021. However, the musical permanently closed after only a few performances amidst tightened pandemic restrictions that were re-introduced. Come from Away played 855 performances in Toronto, making it the longest-running Canadian show and musical.

In May 2022, a Canadian production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. ^[20] The theatre underwent an extensive $5 million renovation and set a Canadian weekly box office record for a non-musical play, grossing an estimated $2 million in sales. ^[21] By the time the play closed, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child set a record for the longest running professional play in Canadian history. ^[20]

The Old Vic

In 1982, Mirvish and his father purchased The Old Vic, a performing arts theatre when it was placed for sale. Mirvish's winning bid was approximately, £550,000, outbidding Andrew Lloyd Webber. ^[22] They immediately began renovating and refurbishing the theater. The theatre reopened on October 31, 1983 with The Queen Mother in attendance. ^[23]

In 1987, Mirvish installed Jonathan Miller as artistic director. They experienced a string of critical and commercial success, including winning an Olivier Award for a production of the musical Candide. However, after three consecutive years of mounting financial losses, Mirvish terminated Miller's contract in 1990. Sir Peter Hall was also appointed artistic director of The Old Vic. Under Hall's direction, the company experienced success with productions of The Master Builder and Waiting for Godot. Despite the successes, the financial losses continued. By 1998, Mirvish sold The Old Vic to a charitable trust, which has continued operating the theatre as a non-profit. ^{[24] [25]}

Art collections

Mirvish began his career as an art collector in 1963, when he was 19 years old. That same year, he opened his first business, David Mirvish Gallery, to display contemporary Canadian, American and British art. In 1974, he opened David Mirvish Books, an independent bookstore dedicated to books on art and design. The bookstore closed in 2009.

Since the closure of the art gallery in 1978, Mirvish continues to buy and sell Canadian and international artwork as a private collector. In addition, he lends works to museums and occassionally puts them on display in his theatres.

David Mirvish Gallery

In 1963, Mirvish opened an art gallery that specialized in American abstract painters of the 1960s and 1970s known as the Color Field school. ^[26] The gallery was one of the first businesses to open in the new Markham Street community on Mirvish Village. ^[3] Most of the artwork that was on display at the art gallery were Color Field and Post-painterly Abstraction works. The art gallery also occasionally displayed works borrowed from public collections, such as t

By the mid-1970s, Mirvish found that much of the artwork that interested him and that he wanted to have displayed had decreased in popularity.

David Mirvish Books

In 1974, Mirvish opened an independent bookstore, David Mirvish Books, which specialized in in books on visual arts, architecture, photography, design and film. ^[27] The bookstore was originally located directly across the street from his art gallery, and located near Honest Ed's. ^[27] However, upon closure of his art gallery in 1978, the bookstore relocated into its premises. ^[27]

In a similar spirit to his father's company, the bookstore sought to offer quality products at good value. The store also featured a 50-foot wall painting by Frank Stella, Damascus Gate, Stretch Variation. ^[4] The bookstore developed a cult following, and was popular among arts students and researchers since it offered many out-of-print books on art and design. ^[28]

The store closed in 2009, citing the changing retail market for small independent bookstores and uncertain economic market at the time. ^[4]

Real estate career

In 1999, Mirvish worked with Toronto real-estate developer Harry Stinson to purchase the building at 1 King Street West in downtown Toronto, and transform it into a mixed-use development featuring luxury condominiums, hotel suites, and commercial office space. The property became known as One King West. The redevelopment and renovation project began in 2000, and cost an estimated $95 million. ^[29]

In August 2010, Mirvish announced that he would provide a 9,765 square foot space to Theatre Museum Canada. This provided the mostly online museum with its first permanent space for exhibition.

^[30] The

On October 1, 2012, David Mirvish announced a partnership with renowned architect Frank Gehry to redevelop his family's considerable real estate holdings on King Street West in Toronto. The proposed project includes three distinct tall buildings, called by Mirvish as "sculptures that people would live in," and a pedestal that would also house a new gallery devoted to Mirvish's extensive collection of abstract expressionist art and a new campus for the OCAD University. Should the project receive municipal zoning approval, it would be that the buildings currently on the site (four low-rise industrial and warehouse buildings and the Princess of Wales Theatre) would be demolished. The estimated time until completion is 10 years. ^[31]

Other ventures

Between 2002 and 2005, Mirvish was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Gallery of Canada. ^[32]

In February 2012, Mirvish was appointed the 8th Chancellor of the University of Guelph and was installed as Chancellor at the June 2012 convocation ceremonies. ^[33] Mirvish's appointment as Chancellor was extended in 2014. However, in September 2016, Mirvish resigned as Chancellor citing increased personal and work responsibilities. ^[34]

Theatre credits

Broadway

West End

Toronto

Sources: ^[35]

Honours and awards

Distinguished awards

• 1996: Invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. ^[36]
• 1996: Received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Ryerson University ^[37]
• 1998: Awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Society of London Theatre Special Award for his achievements in British theatre (also awarded to his father, Ed Mirvish) ^[38]
• 1998: Received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen's University ^[9]
• 2001: Awarded the Order of Ontario. ^[9]
• 2002: Received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from York University ^[9]
• 2004: Received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Toronto, for his service to the community and the university. ^[9]
• 2012: Received an Honorary Bachelor of Applied Studies from Sheridan College. ^[39]

Tony Awards

As a producer, Mirvish has been nominated for 17 Tony Awards, winning 5 times.

Source: ^[40]

Dora Awards

As a producer, Mirvish has been nominated for 17 Dora Awards, winning 15 times.

Sources: ^[41]

See also

• Mirvish Productions
• David Mirvish Gallery
• Mirvish+Gehry

References