Royal Alexandra Theatre
The theatre was built on what had previously been the athletic field of the exclusive boys' school Upper Canada College near the corner of King and Simcoe streets.The construction of the Royal Alex was financed by a group of business leaders who sought to "put Toronto on the map" as a place of culture and refinement.The architect chosen by Mulock and his group was the young John McIntosh Lyle, born in Belfast, reared in Hamilton, Ontario, and educated at Yale University and Paris' École des Beaux-Arts.The interior featured an Italian marble lobby; Venetian mosaic floors; elaborately carved walnut and cherrywood stairs and railings; silk wallpapers; ornate, gilded plasterwork; and an enormous sounding-board mural ("Venus and Attendants Discover the Sleeping Adonis") by the popular Canadian painter Frederick S. Challener.Its first presentation was a pantomime "spectacle" titled "Top O'Th' World", starring Anna Laughlin, heading a cast of 65.The manager of the Alex, Lawrence "Lol" Solman, allied his theatre with the Syndicate's chief challengers, the Shubert brothers.For this impertinence, Solman later wrote, Abe Erlanger threatened to drive the Alex into bankruptcy and turn it into a stable for the horses of the carriage-trade patrons of the Princess.The neighbourhood surrounding the theatre also went into decline, becoming dominated by railway marshalling yards, warehouses and light industry that had moved to the area following the Great Toronto Fire of 1904.Ed Mirvish rarely after ventured into production, but used the theatre - as it had always been used - as a road house, booking in touring shows and pre-Broadway tryouts.The theatre's managers have been Lawrence Solman 1907-1931, William Breen 1933-1939, Ernest Rawley 1939-1963, Edwin De Rocher 1963-1969, Yale Simpson 1969-1989, Graham Hall 1989-1994, Ron Jacobson 1994–present.
TorontoOntarioCoordinatesKing street LRTSt. Andrew subway stationMirvish ProductionsCapacityJohn M. LyleNational Historic Site of CanadaToronto Entertainment Districtlegitimate theatrebeaux-artsprosceniumEdwin MirvishDavid MirvishQueen AlexandraKing Edward VIIKing of CanadaCharles IIIletters patentOntario's lieutenant-governorUpper Canada CollegeCawthra HouseLawrence "Lol" SolmanJohn McIntosh LyleYale UniversityÉcole des Beaux-ArtsCarrère and HastingsFrederick S. ChallenerTheatrical SyndicateCharles FrohmanAbe ErlangerMark KlawFred ZimmermanShubertLusitaniaGreat Toronto Fire of 1904Spanish fluEd MirvishHonest Ed'sWilliam BendixCanadian Opera CompanyNational Ballet of CanadaGodspellVictor GarberGilda RadnerMartin ShortEugene LevyAndrea MartinOntario Heritage ActOld VicPrincess of Wales TheatreKinky BootsCome from AwayLucille BallJames RandiLady GagaJohnston Forbes-RobertsonGertrude ElliottMary PickfordFred and Adele AstaireE. H. SothernJulia MarloweMargaret AnglinTallulah BankheadFanny BriceThe Marx BrothersMae WestAlla NazimovaTheda BaraEddie CantorMaurice ChevalierMarie DresslerMargot FonteynGeorge FormbyAl JolsonHarry LauderBeatrice LillieElaine StritchRuth GordonMaurice EvansHelen HayesJohn BarrymoreEthel BarrymoreKatharine CornellHume CronynJessica TandyAlicia MarkovaIngrid BergmanJohn GielgudRalph RichardsonPeggy AshcroftDeborah KerrÉdith PiafPaul RobesonOrson WellesMaggie SmithEthel WatersAlan BatesDerek JacobiRaymond BurrJoanne WoodwardJulie HarrisKim HunterKevin SmithJoan CollinsLinda EvansMicky DolenzSeana McKennaSal MineoJohn MillsDonald SindenLeslie PhillipsOlivia de HavillandDavid SuchetLauren BacallDonald SutherlandDoug HenningRoy Dotrice The NerdThe Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Les Misérables Sarafina!Penn & TellerThe Heidi ChroniclesTime and the Conways