The CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre opened in 1920 as a combination vaudeville and motion picture house and subsequently operated for over 50 years in various configurations as a cinema complex only. During the late 1980s the movie complex was gutted and rebuilt as a live performance theatre, with the lobby areas painstakingly restored to the original 1920s design. It reopened in 1989 as the Pantages Theatre with a production of The Phantom of the Opera, which went on to play there for 10 years. It later became the Imperial Theatre, and then the Canon Theatre, before being renamed in honour of Ed Mirvish by his son David in 2011. In September, 2021, Mirvish Productions signed a new 10-year partnership with CAA South Central Ontario that includes naming rights and the theatre became the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre.
In November, 2021, major renovations began to prepare the theatre for the presentation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in May, 2022. To create a more intimate, immersive experience, the theatre was reduced from 2200 seats to 1600 by inserting faux walls to slim down both levels, and shorten the mezzanine by many rows. The two aisles that previously ran the length of the theatre on each side of the centre orchestra were combined into one aisle down the centre. The entire theatre, including the beautiful ceiling, was repainted and custom-designed features including light features, trims and Potter wallpaper added.
Since Harry Potter completed its run in July of 2023, the rows that were removed from the balcony have been restored.
Tickets for all performances at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre are available online at mirvish.com and by telephone through TicketKing at 1-800-461-3333. (TicketKing is the only official ticketing agent for MIrvish productions). The CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre box office is located at 244 Victoria Street. Check mirvish.com for up-to-date information on box office hours.
Accessibility Services: For assistance booking special access seats or to learn more about any of the theatre’s accessibility services, call 1-800-461-3333.
Or, visit the Mirvish.com website for information regarding services for restricted mobility, low vision, assisted listening systems, and more, as well as details on Mirvish Productions’ new GalaPro system, which delivers real-time closed captioning and audio description right to your personal mobile device via the free GalaPro app.
Rush Tickets: The availability of rush tickets to Mirvish shows varies by show, date and theatre. Check mirvish.com or call the box office to enquire about availability for a specific show.
E-mail Subscribers to the Mirvish Newsletter receive advance notice of tickets and special offers. Sign up at mirvish.com.
CAA Members enjoy savings of up to 25% on select shows and dates, as well as other benefits such as a 15% concession discount with a valid membership card. You can buy tickets online or by telephone with your CAA Membership number. See mirvish.com for details.
American Express offers cardmembers Front of the Line tickets to some shows. See mirvish.com for details.
Group Sales: For group savings on 10-29 tickets, book online or call 1.800.461.3333 for assistance. Discounts vary based on the production. For group bookings of 30+ tickets, tickets are only available by telephone. See Mirvish.com for details.
THE MIRVISH WEBSITE provides 360 degree virtual tours of its theatres that, along with the standard seating chart, may also help to provide insight into where you’d like to sit.
LAYOUT
Wheelchair seating is available in several locations throughout the orchestra. Enter through the Victoria Street entrance to use the theatre’s only elevator to the orchestra level. The Yonge Street entrance takes patrons directly to the mezzanine level by way of stairs. To access the orchestra level, you then have to go back down stairs once in the theatre.
The mezzanine overhangs the orchestra at row L.
The lobby is quite small for the size of the theatre and can get extremely crowded at intermission between people lined up at the bar, gathering to socialize, and the inevitable line-up to the women’s washroom extending into the lobby.
There is also a bar/refreshment counter on the mezzanine level and in the Yonge Street Gallery (between the Yonge Street entrance and the mezzanine), and a priority bar for the exclusive use of American Express cardholders located on the east side of the lobby beside the box office.
SEATING NOTES
Row A in the orchestra is open to a cross aisle. We Loons like these seats as there is no one directly ahead to potentially block your view and legroom is open.
READER REVIEWS
“Row CC, Seat 31. Great view from here. I had to look up at the stage enough to see over the people ahead of me, but not enough to bother my neck. I enjoyed being so close to the action.”
“Row A, Seat 17. I had a great, unobstructed view of Harry Potter and all the special effects the show included from here.”
“Row A, Seat 31. I had an excellent view from this seat. Since you are seated on a cross aisle in the first row of the section, there are no worries about peering around heads in front of you or having people manoeuvring past you to their seats. Also, of course, unlimited leg room.
“Row B, Seat 10. I checked the seating chart for Harry Potter and the only ticket available that had no seat in front of it was B10 in the Orchestra. When I found my seat, though, there were seats in front of me, and the angle was very deep, so I could not see the left side of the theatre. Disappointing that the seating chart didn’t reflect the reality. If I was going to have tall individuals in front of me, I would have chosen a more central seat so I could see the full stage.”
“Row B, Seat 30. Good view with only one row of seats directly ahead, and the seats are offset.
“Row F. My view was quite good from this row. I liked being so much closer to the stage than in the balcony, but you do pay for it.”
“Row H, Seat 18. The rows are offset so I could see quite well between the people sitting right in front of me.”
“I had a good view from the centre of the orchestra.”
“Row V, Seat 44. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rear of the orchestra does not seem as far away from the action onstage as I had imagined it would and I had a good view. However, no one sat in the row directly in front of me. I am quite short and I know that if they had, I would have been doing at lot of manoeuvring to try to see.”
“We found the seats to be spacious, plush and comfortable.”
“I dislike this theatre because of the chaos in the small lobby at intermission and after the show.”
“The line-up for the women’s washroom at intermission is ridiculous. If you’re not near the front of the line, it can take the entire length of intermission to get in.”
LAYOUT
Access to the mezzanine is by stairs only.
There is a bar/refreshment counter and washrooms on this level. There is also a bar/refreshment counter in the Yonge Street Gallery (between the Yonge Street entrance and the mezzanine).
SEATING NOTES
If you are a shorter person, the safety railing in front of Row AA may obstruct your view.
Readers consistently mention that the seats in the mezzanine level are not offset nor the rows raked enough. As in any theatre, tall people fare better.
READER REVIEWS
“I’ve never had a problem with the view from the orchestra in the past but this time I sat in Row C centre in the mezzanine. My view was blocked entirely by the man ahead of me, who only seemed to be of average height. I had to spend the whole play leaning to one side to see. I won’t get mezzanine seats again.”
“I sat in Row J of the mezzanine and thought the view was great.”
“I find the view from the mezzanine terrible. The seats are not offset or raked well enough for a female of average height to see over the head of the person in the row ahead, requiring me to lean forward or move from side to side as the actors move around the stage.”
“Row V is the 2nd last row of regular seating in the mezzanine. I had to sit very straight and forward in my seat to see the actors at the front of the stage over the people seated ahead of me.”
“The sight lines from the mezzanine are excellent, even in the last row on the raised stools. The stage is quite far away, though, so the experience is more about hearing the music than seeing the actors’ faces in detail.”
“It’s impossible to see the faces of the actors from the seats at the back of the mezzanine and I felt very disconnected from the action happening onstage.”
“The seats are spacious compared to some other theatres, but the sight lines from the upper mezzanine can be challenging for children. Note that Mirvish has free booster seats available at the coat check.”
“I’m 5’11” and I didn’t have any problem seeing from near the back of the mezzanine.”
There is an elevator at the Victoria Street entrance that goes from street to orchestra level. The mezzanine has no elevator service, so wheelchair seating is available on the orchestra level only.
The coat check is located on the mezzanine level.
Booster seats are available at the coat check.
The theatre is equipped with infra-red listening systems for the deaf and hard of hearing. This system requires use of headsets, which are available free of charge at the theatre coat check counter.
The theatre has three bars/refreshment counters: orchestra lobby, mezzanine lobby and Yonge Street Gallery. In addition to the regular bars, there are carts set up in various lobby spaces.
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