June 17, 2024 – London ON – With more than 5,000 season subscribers already joining the Grand Theatre’s 2024/25 Season: A Time for Play, the theatre is excited to announce that single tickets are now officially available to members of the public. With arts and entertainment institutions continuing to rebuild post-pandemic, audiences in London and southwest Ontario have made it clear that they support live theatre and plan to make the Grand part of their year ahead.

Only a few months into pre-season sales, subscriptions for the 2024/25 season have already surpassed the previous season by more than 40% and are on track to measure well against pre-pandemic numbers.

Today, the Grand is also announcing the Indigenous Community Ticket Program. Through this program, individuals who identify as Indigenous will have access to $20 tickets for all Grand Theatre productions.  The Grand is committed to welcoming Indigenous peoples to the theatre and to removing barriers to participation.

The Indigenous Community Ticket program is in addition to our ongoing subsidized Community Tickets that continue to be part of our outreach to ensure that anyone who wishes to enjoy live theatre can do so.

The Grand’s 2024/25 season promises three ‘can’t-help-but-sing-along' musicals, a beloved title to ring in the holidays, bold new Canadian theatre, and a Broadway sensation available for the first time north of the border. The season will open with a Beatles-infused adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, conceived by Daryl Cloran and Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival. Originally from Sarnia, Ontario, Cloran infamously had a hand in the pre-Broadway development of worldwide sensations Hadestown and SIX The Musical, and his adaptation of As You Like It has proven a bona fide hit from Vancouver to Edmonton, to Chicago to Washington. The Grand is thrilled to welcome Cloran home for the production’s Ontario premiere.

The season continues with Grand Theatre Artistic Director, Rachel Peake, helming The Sound of Music as this season’s holiday production – a beloved annual tradition for audiences. Alexandra Kane, a well-known favourite, returns as Music Director. Adam Stevenson, who closed the Grand’s previous season as Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet, will play Captain von Trapp and Dominique LeBlanc (Controlled Damage, 2023) will play Maria. Audiences will be thrilled to learn that Janelle Cooper (Fall On Your Knees, 2023) will return to the Grand to play Mother Abbess and will dazzle with her performance of “Climb Ev'ry Mountain”.

In the new year, two new Canadian works will mark their Ontario and Eastern Canada premieres at the Grand. Heist – by Calgary’s breakthrough screenwriter, playwright (and ophthalmologist by day), Arun Lakra – will deliver silver screen-inspired, high-tech, stunt-filled, crime drama to the stage. A co-production with the Citadel Theatre, Heist, will be designed, developed, built, and have its Ontario premiere at the Grand Theatre and then run again in Edmonton.

The Secret to Good Tea is a cheeky yet powerful mother-daughter story based on the relationship of playwright and journalist, Rosanna Deerchild (host of CBC Unreserved) with her mother and the hours that they spent together, hearing the untold memories of time in the residential school system. A co-production with National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre, The Secret to Good Tea will be designed, developed, built, and have its Ontario premiere at the Grand Theatre and then run again in Ottawa.

In its final musical of the season, the Grand will debut the first Canadian production of Broadway sensation, Waitress. Originally a cult-favourite independent film turned box office hit starring Keri Russell, paired with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles, the production will be directed by Grand Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Peake. A co-production with the Theatre Aquarius, Waitress will be designed, developed, built, and have its premiere at the Grand Theatre and then run again in Hamilton.

In what The New York Times calls a “frolicsome” take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Kate Hamill’s frisky adaptation of Lizzy and Mr. Darcy’s timeless love story will have audiences swooning between gasps of surprise and laughter. The incomparable Rebecca Northan is slated to direct the production, the perfect match to Hamill’s irreverent and playful script.

Subscriptions remain available and continue to offer the best pricing and best theatre experience, including:

• 25% off all six productions (As You Like It, The Sound of Music, Heist, The Secret to Good Tea, Waitress, Pride and Prejudice);
• Hassle-free ticket exchanges and the option to donate back* any unused tickets and receive a tax receipt;
• 15% off additional tickets for any show in the subscription series;
• Free parking, courtesy of Downtown Community Partner, Old Oak Properties;
• Exclusive early access to highly sought-after events and experiences;
• Flexible payment plans, and more.

* Unused tickets must be turned back before the performance to be transferred into a tax-deductible donation.

Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online at grandtheatre.com, by phoning the Box Office at 519.672.8800, or by visiting the Box Office in person at 471 Richmond Street (weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).

 
The Grand Theatre’s 2024/25 Season:
A Time for Play

As You Like It

By William Shakespeare
Adapted & Directed by Daryl Cloran
Conceived by Daryl Cloran & Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival

OCT 15 to NOV 2 | Opens on OCT 18

A magical, mystery, mashup of Shakespeare’s classic comedy and The Beatles’ greatest hits.
 

The Sound of Music

Suggested by "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Music and Lyrics for "Something Good" by Richard Rodgers
Directed by Rachel Peake

NOV 19 to DEC 29 | Opens on NOV 22

Start the holidays with Maria and the von Trapps in this timeless, beloved, family musical ... a very good place to start!
 

Heist

By Arun Lakra
Co-production with The Citadel Theatre

JAN 14 to FEB 1 | Opens on JAN 17

Diamonds. Deals. Lasers. Betrayal. Ocean’s Eleven for the theatrical stage!
 

The Secret to Good Tea

By Rosanna Deerchild
Directed by Renae Morriseau
Co-production with the National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre

FEB 18 to MAR 8 | Opens on FEB 21

A mother and daughter find their way to each other in a story steeped in humour, truth, and a cozy cup of tea.
 

Waitress

Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Rachel Peake
Co-production with Theatre Aquarius

MAR 25 to APR 12 | Opens on MAR 28

A small-town girl faces big changes. Are pies her way out? A bright and touching musical featuring songs by Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles.
 

Pride and Prejudice

By Kate Hamill
Based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Rebecca Northan

APR 29 to MAY 17 | Opens May 2

Hang on to your bonnets! A fresh take on the classic Austen romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

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About the Grand Theatre – World Curious. London Proud.

The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premiere producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians.

As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series’, community arts rentals, and cultural and special events.

A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the first program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-sixth year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team.

For more information, visit: grandtheatre.com.

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The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Attawandaron Peoples. We acknowledge with gratitude the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional Indigenous Peoples and of all the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (also known as North America). We are honoured to live, work, and tell stories together on this land.

For more information please contact:
Melissa Mae Shipley, Communications and Public Relations Manager
mshipley [at] grandtheatre.com (mshipley[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)
office: 519-672-9030 ext. 266
cell: 519-280-4008
 

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Header Photo Credit: Melissa Mae Shipley