Having wrapped up performances in Cleveland, the Lincoln Center production—winner of seven Tony Awards—opened on Tuesday at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on the last stop of its North American tour.
The musical returns to the city by popular demand following a successful run here last summer.
“What makes it so good is the combination of the production and the performers,” says Aubrey Dan, founder and president of Dancap Productions Inc, which brought the musical to Toronto.
Director Bartlett Sher re-examined the musical and gave it authenticity, says Dan, noting that the production is particularly well-timed.
“The U.S. has a Hawaiian-born president of dark colour skin, of mixed marriage and they’re in the middle of a war. How much more relevant from a timing perspective could this be?”
While the production has all the ingredients of success, the reception last summer was even beyond Dancap’s expectations.
“We anticipated it would be very, very positive, but we didn’t know it would be that positive—unanimous. We haven’t received that kind of critical acclaim since ‘Jersey Boys.’ Right across the board, people fell in love with the show,” he says.
Dancap’s other hit presentation of “Jersey Boys” wrapped up a two-year engagement last August, claiming a record number of 1.2 million audience members.
Top of the Line Musicians
For its run in Toronto, two performers will share this role: bass-baritone David Pittsinger (until March 6) and Toronto-based Welsh baritone Jason Howard, who was acclaimed for his performance last summer, returns from March 8-April 10.
Carmen Cusack is also back as Nellie Forbush, while Aaron Ramey takes on the role of Lieutenant Joseph Cable. Ramey was last seen in Toronto in Dancap’s presentation of “Miss Saigon.”
Most notably, the orchestra for the touring production is comprised of local musicians. Twenty four of the 26-piece orchestra members are Toronto musicians, carefully selected for the production from among Canada’s finest, says Dan.
He says the audition process was even more rigorous than last summer, with many good performers unable to make the cut this time around. This is a very coveted job, he adds.
“To be able to perform Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific is quite frankly a once in a lifetime experience.”
Canada’s Arts Capital
This is thanks in part to Dancap’s emergence on the musical scene in 2007, providing some healthy competition for Mirvish, which has been dominating the industry for over 20 years.
“More and more competition is coming to Toronto, which quite frankly is good because theatre is synergistic. The more people make theatre top of mind, the better. This means that at the end of the day the consumer wins—the consumer gets the best of the best,” says Dan, adding that Torontonians no longer need to go to New York to see Broadway productions.
This season is also an exciting one for Dancap, which is featuring a mix of recognizable popular Broadway shows, namely the movie-inspired comedies “9 to 5: The Musical,” and “The Addams Family”; the award-winning drama “Next to Normal”; the Frank Sinatra-inspired “Come Fly Away”; and the new rock’n’roll musical “Memphis.”
Other major productions running in the city this season include “Billy Elliott,” “Secret Garden,” and “Lion King,” not to mention major theatrical, opera, symphony and ballet productions. When the Shaw and Stratford festivals open in the spring, the competition will be even tighter.
Audience Fascination
One of the aspects that Dan finds most fascinating about theatre is the interaction between the audience and the performers. He comes back to watch a musical many times, he says, often simply to watch the audience’s reaction.
“Every single performance is a little bit different. Never the same. It’s not like a movie. Once you shoot a movie, and it’s panned, you’re done. This is live theatre, and you have different experiences, good days, bad days, and every day these performers they sing their heart and soul out and engage theatregoers.”
Having started in the pharmaceutical and equity business, Dan has since grown to love theatre’s creativity as well as its opportunity for entrepreneurship and ability to engage the public.
“What I love the most is the ability to have an impact on an audience, to make it an uplifting experience, to do good.”
Having already completed the line-up for the 2012 season, Dan is hard at work expanding the quality and reach of Dancap. In addition to bringing in top musicals, he also plans for Dancap to produce and co-produce shows, eventually developing its own musicals.
“We’re like a youngster,” he says. “We’re now at the point where we’re moving from the toddler stage to walking and we’re developing our stride, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
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