Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
Encyclopedia
The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (formerly the Stanley Theatre) is a landmark theatre
at 12th and Granville Street
in Vancouver
, British Columbia
which serves as the main stage for the Arts Club Theatre Company. The Stanley first opened as a movie theatre
in December 1930, and showed movies for over sixty years before falling revenues led to its closure in 1991. After years of threatened commercial redevelopment, the Stanley was renovated as a stage theatre in 1997–1998 and subsequently awarded status as a heritage building.
As a stage for the Arts Club, the Stanley has been used to put on classics, Broadway musicals and other large productions, including Swing!
, My Fair Lady
, Miss Saigon
, Disney's Beauty and the Beast
and Irving Berlin's White Christmas
. The theatre, which went through major fundraising to finance its renovations and mortgage, at one stage lost its sponsor du Maurier
due to tobacco regulations, but in 2005 received new sponsorship from Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company
and the theatre's name was changed to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.
venue, it was built by Frederick Guest, owner of a chain of theatres in Ontario
, who reportedly fell in love with Vancouver and decided to build his dream theatre there. He hired Henry Holdsby Simmonds as the architect, who designed it with a neoclassical
interior and an Art Deco
exterior, with seating for 1,216 people. In order to make as high quality a theatre as possible, Simmonds used only the best materials he could find, including tindle stone from Winnipeg
and tiles from Italy
, along with chandeliers, carpets and furnishings from local merchants. Like the Stanley Cup
and Stanley Park
, the theatre was named after Governor General of Canada
Lord Stanley
.
The first film shown at the Stanley was One Romantic Night
, starring Lillian Gish
. Admission was originally between 10 and 40 cents. The vertical Stanley sign was added in 1940 and the stylized Stanley script came in 1957. The cinema, which had been part of the Granville Theatre Company, was bought by Famous Players
in 1941 for $268,000.
The Stanley was originally built as a neighbourhood theatre, but gradually became more popular and attracted moviegoers from throughout the Vancouver region. From the 1950s onwards, progressively improved sound and projection systems along with refurbished seating added to the theatre's appeal. On July 8, 1954 the Stanley began showing films in stereophonic CinemaScope
for the first time. By November 1958, the theatre had a DP70 70mm projector, which at the time was advertised as "the only Todd-AO
in Western Canada." On October 18, 1978 the auditorium was equipped with Dolby Stereo
, and in November–December 1985 its sound system was upgraded and certified to THX
quality assurance standards.
The Stanley often showed blockbusters. Some movies shown at the theatre through the years included Duel in the Sun, Knock on Any Door
, Ben-Hur
, Mutiny on the Bounty
, Doctor Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey
, The Exorcist
, The Towering Inferno
, The Muppet Movie
, Apocalypse Now
, The Empire Strikes Back
, The Elephant Man
, Poltergeist, The Right Stuff, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
, Top Gun
, The Untouchables, Stakeout, Empire of the Sun
, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
, and Goodfellas
.
Revenues declined during the late 20th century, and Famous Players
closed the Stanley, which was by then the oldest operating movie theatre in Vancouver, on September 25, 1991 after a final showing of the Stanley regular Fantasia
(the theatre had previously shown Fantasia at least four times, in 1977, 1979, 1980–1981 and 1990). Its closure was part of a long trend: The number of Famous Players theatres had dropped from 419 in 1954 to 196 in 1969, and would fall to eighty, some in partnership with other companies, by the time it was taken over by Cineplex Galaxy Entertainment
in 2005. Other Vancouver-area Famous Players movie theatres closed, sold or torn down in this period included the Regent (1958), the Strand (1973), the original Capitol (1974), the Orpheum (1974), the Fine Arts (1989), Denman Place (1989), Park Royal (1993), the Park
(2005), and the Capitol 6 (2005).
Famous Players put the Stanley up for sale in the spring of 1991, with the condition that it not be used as a movie theatre. In the months leading up to the Stanley's closure, Famous Players had a conditional sale agreement for the theatre with Vancouver developer Sandy Cox, who was planning to keep the Stanley's facade and convert the interior into retail space. The Vancouver City Council received a proposal to change the building to retail use, which it approved, but the planned development was abandoned, and the building remained vacant for several years. During the early 1990s, a "Save Our Stanley" campaign was begun to preserve the building and prevent commercial redevelopment of the space. In 1994 the Stanley Theatre Society was formed to try to buy the Stanley for the Arts Club Theatre Company, and in 1997 it purchased the theatre from Famous Players for $3,173,000. Renovation costs, including sound and lighting equipment, came to $5.8 million, which brought the costs of purchase and renovation to about $9 million, $1.5 million more than the $7.5 million originally budgeted. Money came from fundraising campaigns by the Arts Club and Vancouver TheatreSports, at least $3.9 million from the provincial and federal government, a $100,000 grant from the City of Vancouver, the purchase of a density transfer to the One Wall Centre
by Peter Wall for $1.2 million, as well as corporate sponsorship by du Maurier
, who contributed $1.2 million—although du Maurier would later withdraw as a sponsor because of federal restrictions on tobacco advertising.
Architects including Thom Weeks and Jennifer Stanley led renovations of the Stanley into a live theatre. Weeks was initially disappointed with the state of the pre-renovated theatre, which looked "pretty tired" with its aged orange walls and sticky, soft drink-stained carpets. However, by the time the renovations were completed, and the actors and musicians were getting ready to first perform in it, there was a general feeling of excitement about the theatre. Renovations included expansion of the lobby, reconfiguration of the balcony, an expansion of the stage to twice its original size, a new twenty-five metre fly tower from which to raise and lower scenery, new dressing rooms, a trap room, an electrical room and a green room backstage, a reduction of the number of seats from 1,216 to 650, a crush bar in the old projection booth, a section cut out of the theatre's dome to use for spotlights, and a full restoration of the theatre's gold-leafed
plaster decorations. As a result of these renovations, in 1999 the theatre was awarded a City of Vancouver Heritage Award, as well as an IES International Illumination Design Award.
After renovation, owing to du Maurier's
sponsorship, the facility was named the Stanley Theatre du Maurier Stage, taken over by the Arts Club Theatre Company and later became their main stage. This venue has allowed the Arts Club to put on new kinds of shows, such as large musicals, classics and productions from around the world. The first production was Swing!
, which opened on October 28, 1998 and had a successful run, followed by Hamlet
. In addition to showing Arts Club productions, the theatre is rented out for other purposes, including business and educational presentations, and has been used for comedy acts and concerts, such as Lorne Elliott
, Francis Cabrel
, and RyanDan
.
By 2005 du Maurier had withdrawn as a sponsor and, along with its over-budget renovation costs, the Stanley was left with a $2 million mortgage. That year Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company
made a $1.5 million donation, and on April 5 the theatre was renamed the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage for the next twenty years.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
at 12th and Granville Street
Granville Street
Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
which serves as the main stage for the Arts Club Theatre Company. The Stanley first opened as a movie theatre
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
in December 1930, and showed movies for over sixty years before falling revenues led to its closure in 1991. After years of threatened commercial redevelopment, the Stanley was renovated as a stage theatre in 1997–1998 and subsequently awarded status as a heritage building.
As a stage for the Arts Club, the Stanley has been used to put on classics, Broadway musicals and other large productions, including Swing!
Swing!
Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others...
, My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
and Irving Berlin's White Christmas
White Christmas (musical)
White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin...
. The theatre, which went through major fundraising to finance its renovations and mortgage, at one stage lost its sponsor du Maurier
Du Maurier (cigarette)
du Maurier is a Canadian-centric brand of cigarettes, produced by Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. The brand is named after Sir Gerald du Maurier, a British actor and manager. The brand is also produced under license by the West Indian Tobacco Company in Trinidad...
due to tobacco regulations, but in 2005 received new sponsorship from Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company
Industrial Alliance
Industrial Alliance is a Canadian insurance company with a diversified business ranging from wealth management to group pensions. It is a major player in the Canadian market where it serves three million people across the country and ranks fourth among insurance companies however, the company has...
and the theatre's name was changed to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.
Movie theatre
The Stanley opened on December 15, 1930. Originally envisioned as a vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
venue, it was built by Frederick Guest, owner of a chain of theatres in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, who reportedly fell in love with Vancouver and decided to build his dream theatre there. He hired Henry Holdsby Simmonds as the architect, who designed it with a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
interior and an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
exterior, with seating for 1,216 people. In order to make as high quality a theatre as possible, Simmonds used only the best materials he could find, including tindle stone from Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
and tiles from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, along with chandeliers, carpets and furnishings from local merchants. Like the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
and Stanley Park
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
, the theatre was named after Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Lord Stanley
Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, PC , known as Frederick Stanley until 1886 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General...
.
The first film shown at the Stanley was One Romantic Night
One Romantic Night
One Romantic Night is the title given to the first sound film version of Ferenc Molnár's play The Swan, and was silent screen star Lillian Gish's talking film debut. She starred as Princess Alexandra, with Conrad Nagel as the tutor who falls in love with her, and Rod La Rocque as Crown Prince Albert...
, starring Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
. Admission was originally between 10 and 40 cents. The vertical Stanley sign was added in 1940 and the stylized Stanley script came in 1957. The cinema, which had been part of the Granville Theatre Company, was bought by Famous Players
Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec...
in 1941 for $268,000.
The Stanley was originally built as a neighbourhood theatre, but gradually became more popular and attracted moviegoers from throughout the Vancouver region. From the 1950s onwards, progressively improved sound and projection systems along with refurbished seating added to the theatre's appeal. On July 8, 1954 the Stanley began showing films in stereophonic CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
for the first time. By November 1958, the theatre had a DP70 70mm projector, which at the time was advertised as "the only Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
in Western Canada." On October 18, 1978 the auditorium was equipped with Dolby Stereo
Dolby Stereo
Dolby Stereo, is the trade mark that Dolby Laboratories used for the various analogue stereo cinema sound formats that they produced.Two basic systems used this name. The first was the 'Dolby SVA' system used with optical soundtracks on 35mm film...
, and in November–December 1985 its sound system was upgraded and certified to THX
THX
THX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
quality assurance standards.
Knock on Any Door
Knock on Any Door is an American court-room trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The picture introduced John Derek to film and was based on the novel of the same name by Willard Motley.-Plot:...
, Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...
, Doctor Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
, The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
, The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
, The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
, Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
, The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (film)
The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
, Poltergeist, The Right Stuff, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
, Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
, The Untouchables, Stakeout, Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun (film)
Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers...
, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
, and Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
.
Revenues declined during the late 20th century, and Famous Players
Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec...
closed the Stanley, which was by then the oldest operating movie theatre in Vancouver, on September 25, 1991 after a final showing of the Stanley regular Fantasia
Fantasia (film)
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
(the theatre had previously shown Fantasia at least four times, in 1977, 1979, 1980–1981 and 1990). Its closure was part of a long trend: The number of Famous Players theatres had dropped from 419 in 1954 to 196 in 1969, and would fall to eighty, some in partnership with other companies, by the time it was taken over by Cineplex Galaxy Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec...
in 2005. Other Vancouver-area Famous Players movie theatres closed, sold or torn down in this period included the Regent (1958), the Strand (1973), the original Capitol (1974), the Orpheum (1974), the Fine Arts (1989), Denman Place (1989), Park Royal (1993), the Park
Park Theatre (Vancouver)
The Park Theatre is a neighbourhood movie house on Cambie Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. Opened in 1941, it has passed through several owners, including Odeon Theatres, Famous Players and Alliance Atlantis Cinemas, and in 2005 was renovated and became part of the Festival Cinemas...
(2005), and the Capitol 6 (2005).
Renovation
One Wall Centre
One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street.One Wall Centre...
by Peter Wall for $1.2 million, as well as corporate sponsorship by du Maurier
Du Maurier (cigarette)
du Maurier is a Canadian-centric brand of cigarettes, produced by Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. The brand is named after Sir Gerald du Maurier, a British actor and manager. The brand is also produced under license by the West Indian Tobacco Company in Trinidad...
, who contributed $1.2 million—although du Maurier would later withdraw as a sponsor because of federal restrictions on tobacco advertising.
Metal leaf
Metal leaf, also called composition leaf or schlagmetal, is a thin foil used for decoration. Metal leaf can come in many different shades. Some metal leaf may look like gold leaf but not contain any real gold...
plaster decorations. As a result of these renovations, in 1999 the theatre was awarded a City of Vancouver Heritage Award, as well as an IES International Illumination Design Award.
Effects on the local area
A 2003 study claimed the Stanley's renovation brought positive economic effects to the theatre's local area, bounded by 8th Street and 17th between Fir and Hemlock. According to the study, this area became more of a leisure/recreation destination, with many new culturally related businesses, retail stores and service-related businesses opening. An increase in overall sales was noted and 76% of surveyed residents responded that the theatre's reopening had a positive effect on the community. Business respondents also reportedly had a positive view of the theatre's effects.Live stage
Du Maurier (cigarette)
du Maurier is a Canadian-centric brand of cigarettes, produced by Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. The brand is named after Sir Gerald du Maurier, a British actor and manager. The brand is also produced under license by the West Indian Tobacco Company in Trinidad...
sponsorship, the facility was named the Stanley Theatre du Maurier Stage, taken over by the Arts Club Theatre Company and later became their main stage. This venue has allowed the Arts Club to put on new kinds of shows, such as large musicals, classics and productions from around the world. The first production was Swing!
Swing!
Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others...
, which opened on October 28, 1998 and had a successful run, followed by Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. In addition to showing Arts Club productions, the theatre is rented out for other purposes, including business and educational presentations, and has been used for comedy acts and concerts, such as Lorne Elliott
Lorne Elliott
Lorne Elliott is a Canadian comedian, musician, and award-winning playwright.Elliott first began performing in 1974, as a folk musician, under his full name of Chris Lorne Elliott; he later truncated his name so as to avoid being confused with Chris Elliott. He soon teamed up with Kevin Blackmore...
, Francis Cabrel
Francis Cabrel
Francis Cabrel is a well-known French singer-songwriter and guitarist. Inspired heavily by Bob Dylan, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the realm of folk, with occasional forays into blues or country. Several of his songs, such as "L'encre de tes yeux" and "Petite Marie"...
, and RyanDan
RyanDan
RyanDan is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of pop, opera, and classical....
.
By 2005 du Maurier had withdrawn as a sponsor and, along with its over-budget renovation costs, the Stanley was left with a $2 million mortgage. That year Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company
Industrial Alliance
Industrial Alliance is a Canadian insurance company with a diversified business ranging from wealth management to group pensions. It is a major player in the Canadian market where it serves three million people across the country and ranks fourth among insurance companies however, the company has...
made a $1.5 million donation, and on April 5 the theatre was renamed the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage for the next twenty years.
Productions
| 2011–2012 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates | ||
| Next to Normal | September 8, 2011 – October 9, 2011 | ||
| The Penelopiad | October 20, 2011 – November 20, 2011 | ||
| Irvin Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical White Christmas (musical) White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin... |
December 2, 2011 – December 28, 2011 | ||
| Calendar Girls Calendar Girls (play) Calendar Girls is a stage play based on the film of the same nameAfter a successful tryout at the Chichester Festival Theatre and a lengthy national tour, a stage adaptation of the film started previewing in April 2009 at the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End. The cast included Lynda Bellingham,... |
January 26, 2012 – February 26, 2012 | ||
| The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations... |
March 15, 2012 – April 15, 2012 | ||
| High Society High Society (musical) High Society is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Based on the Philip Barry play The Philadelphia Story and the 1956 musical screen adaptation with Porter's songs, High Society, the plot centers on pretentious Long Island socialite Tracy Lord, who is planning... |
May 10, 2012 – June 24, 2012 | ||
| Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story | July 12, 2012 – August 26, 2012 | ||
| 2010–2011 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates | ||
| Tear the Curtain! | September 9, 2010 – October 10, 2010 | ||
| The 39 Steps The 39 Steps (play) The 39 Steps is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play... |
October 21, 2010 – November 21, 2010 | ||
| Irvin Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical White Christmas (musical) White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin... |
December 4, 2010 – January 2, 2011 | ||
| August: Osage County August: Osage County August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and... |
January 27, 2011 – February 27, 2011 | ||
| The Philanderer The Philanderer The Philanderer is a play by George Bernard Shaw.It was written in 1893 but the strict British Censorship laws at the time meant that it was not produced on stage until 1902.... |
March 17, 2011 – April 17, 2011 | ||
| Hairspray Hairspray (musical) Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues... |
May 7, 2011 – July 10, 2011 | ||
| 2009–2010 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates | ||
| Black Comedy | September 10, 2009 – October 11, 2009 | ||
| Irvin Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical White Christmas (musical) White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin... |
November 7, 2009 – December 27, 2009 | ||
| Mrs. Dexter and Her Daily | January 7, 2010 – February 7, 2010 | ||
| Paradise Garden | March 11, 2010 – April 11, 2010 | ||
| Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story | May 13, 2010 – July 11, 2010 | ||
| Glengarry Glen Ross Glengarry Glen Ross Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell... |
July 22, 2010 – August 22, 2010 | ||
| 2008–2009 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates | ||
| Doubt | September 11, 2008 – October 12, 2008 | ||
| Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac (play) Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life.... |
October 23, 2008 – November 23, 2008 | ||
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (musical) Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical... |
December 6, 2008 – January 4, 2009 | ||
| The Constant Wife The Constant Wife The Constant Wife, a comedy of manners, was written by W. Somerset Maugham in 1926 and later published for general sales in April 1927.- Plot :... |
January 22, 2009 – February 22, 2009 | ||
| Homechild Homechild Homechild is a play written by Canadian Governor General's Award-winning playwright Joan MacLeod.The play's undertone is about the migration of the nearly 100,000 "home children," orphans and children given up for adoption who were transplanted from the United Kingdom to then-British colonies of... |
March 12, 2009 – April 12, 2009 | ||
| Les Misérables Les Misérables (musical) Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.... |
May 14, 2009 – July 19, 2009 | ||
| 2007–2008 Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates | ||
| Company Company (musical) Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six.... |
September 13, 2007 – October 14, 2007 | ||
| The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted... |
October 25, 2007 – November 25, 2007 | ||
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (musical) Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical... |
December 6, 2007 – January 6, 2008 | ||
| Glorious! | January 24, 2008 – February 24, 2008 | ||
| Rabbit Hole Rabbit Hole Rabbit Hole is a play written by David Lindsay-Abaire. It was the recipient of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play was originally commissioned by South Coast Repertory and first presented at its Pacific Playwrights Festival reading series in 2005... |
March 13, 2008 – April 13, 2008 | ||
| The Producers The Producers (musical) The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich... |
May 25, 2008 – July 13, 2008 | ||
| 2006–2007 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Cookin' at the Cookery | September 14, 2006 – October 15, 2006 |
| The School for Scandal The School for Scandal The School for Scandal is a play written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on May 8, 1777.The prologue, written by David Garrick, commends the play, its subject, and its author to the audience... |
October 26, 2006 – November 26, 2006 |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (musical) Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical... |
December 7, 2006 – January 14, 2007 |
| Up Island | January 25, 2007 – February 25, 2007 |
| Half Life | March 8, 2007 – April 8, 2007 |
| Gypsy Gypsy: A Musical Fable Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business... |
May 10, 2007 – July 8, 2007 |
| Cookin' at the Cookery | August 2, 2007 – August 26, 2007 |
| 2005–2006 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| The Diary of Anne Frank The Diary of Anne Frank (play) The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris... |
September 22, 2005 – October 23, 2005 |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast (musical) Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical... |
November 17, 2005 – January 15, 2006 |
| Absurd Person Singular Absurd Person Singular Absurd Person Singular is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples... |
February 2, 2006 – March 5, 2006 |
| Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's... |
March 23, 2006 – April 23, 2006 |
| Cabaret Cabaret (musical) Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions.... |
May 18, 2006 – July 9, 2006 |
| 2004–2005 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| A Flea in Her Ear A Flea in Her Ear A Flea in Her Ear is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque.-Plot:... |
September 23, 2004 – October 24, 2004 |
| Funny Girl | November 11, 2004 – January 9, 2005 |
| Enchanted April Enchanted April Enchanted April is the second film adaptation Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel, The Enchanted April. The novel was adapted as a Broadway play in 1925, and as an RKO Radio film in 1935 - both using the same title as the novel. The 1992 film release received several Golden Globe and Academy Award... |
February 3, 2005 – March 6, 2005 |
| Unless | March 31, 2005 – May 1, 2005 |
| Miss Saigon Miss Saigon Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover... |
May 19, 2005 – July 10, 2005 |
| 2003–2004 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Othello Othello The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565... |
September 26, 2003 – October 26, 2003 |
| Singin' in the Rain Singin' in the Rain (musical) Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown.Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original... |
November 14, 2003 – January 14, 2004 |
| Dirty Blonde Dirty Blonde (play) Dirty Blonde is a play by Claudia Shear.Conceived by Shear and James Lapine and featuring songs from I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong, it explores the phenomenon of the legendary Mae West, one of America's most enduring and controversial pop culture icons... |
January 30, 2004 – February 29, 2004 |
| Private Lives Private Lives Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for... |
March 12, 2004 – April 11, 2004 |
| Evita | April 30, 2004 – June 27, 2004 |
| 2002–2003 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | September 26, 2002 – November 3, 2002 |
| West Side Story West Side Story West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins... |
November 14, 2002 – January 12, 2003 |
| Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace (play) Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the... |
January 23, 2003 – February 23, 2003 |
| The Memory of Water The Memory of Water The Memory of Water is a comedy written by English playwright Shelagh Stephenson, first staged at Hampstead Theatre in 1996.-Vi:Vi is the mother of the three sisters and whose funeral they are together for. She was a glamorous woman when younger, with whom all the men of the village were enamoured... |
March 6, 2003 – April 6, 2003 |
| Dial M for Murder Dial M for Murder Dial M for Murder is a 1954 American thriller film adapted from a successful stage play by Frederick Knott, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, and Robert Cummings. The movie was released by the Warner Bros... |
May 8, 2003 – June 8, 2003 |
| Shirley Valentine Shirley Valentine Shirley Valentine is a one-character play by Willy Russell. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad.-Plot:... |
July 17, 2003 – August 24, 2003 |
| 2001–2002 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Elizabeth Rex Elizabeth Rex Elizabeth Rex is a play by Timothy Findley.The plot involves a meeting between Queen Elizabeth I and an actor from Shakespeare's troupe who specializes in playing women's parts... |
September 28, 2001 – October 28, 2001 |
| My Fair Lady My Fair Lady My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe... |
November 16, 2001 – January 13, 2002 |
| All My Sons All My Sons All My Sons is a 1947 play by Arthur Miller. The play was twice adapted for film; in 1948, and again in 1987.The play opened on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1947 and ran for 328 performances... |
January 25, 2002 – February 24, 2002 |
| Dinner with Friends Dinner with Friends Dinner with Friends is a 2000 play written by Donald Margulies. It premiered at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays and opened Off-Broadway in New York on November 4, 1999.-Plot summary:... |
March 8, 2002 – April 14, 2002 |
| Mousetrap The Mousetrap The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern... |
May 16, 2002 – June 21, 2002 |
| My Fair Lady My Fair Lady My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe... |
July 31, 2002 – September 15, 2002 |
| 2000–2001 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Amadeus Amadeus Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979... |
September 28, 2000 – November 5, 2000 |
| She Loves Me She Loves Me She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the... |
November 16, 2000 – December 31, 2000 |
| The Ginko Tree | January 26, 2001 – February 25, 2001 |
| 'Art' | March 15, 2001 – May 6, 2001 |
| Ain't Misbehavin' | May 17, 2001 – July 15, 2001 |
| And Then There Were None | July 26, 2001 – September 17, 2001 |
| 1999–2000 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British film produced and directed by George King.-Plot:The film features Tod Slaughter in one of his most famous roles as barber Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd was wrongly sentenced to life in prison. After his release 15 years later, he begins... |
October 1, 1999 – October 30, 1999 |
| Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit (play) Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to... |
November 18, 1999 – December 31, 1999 |
| For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again | January 14, 2000 – February 12, 2000 |
| Communicating Doors Communicating Doors Communicating Doors is a play written in 1994 by Alan Ayckbourn. The setting is a hotel suite that moves through time from 1974 to 2014. The central character, Poopay, must save herself from the murderous Julian by preventing the murders of Reece's two wives.-External links:*... |
March 3, 2000 – April 1, 2000 |
| The Foursome | April 24, 2000 – May 24, 2000 |
| Hotel Porter | July 6, 2000 – September 2, 2000 |
| 1998–1999 Season | |
|---|---|
| Show | Run Dates |
| Swing! Swing! Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others... |
October 28, 1998 – November 22, 1998 |
| Hamlet Hamlet The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601... |
January 27, 1999 – February 20, 1999 |
| Moon Over Buffalo Moon Over Buffalo Moon Over Buffalo is a 1995 comic play by Ken Ludwig set in Buffalo, New York in 1953. This play marked the return of Carol Burnett to the Broadway stage, after 30 years.- Characters :*George Hay, a traveling actor.... |
March 11, 1999 – April 4, 1999 |
| Easy Money | May 5, 1999 – May 30, 1999 |
| Swing! Swing! Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others... |
June 17, 1999 – August 1, 1999 |
See also
- List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
- Theatre in CanadaTheatre in CanadaThe contemporary theatre scene in Canada revolves around companies and summer festivals based at facilities in Canadian cities.-British Columbia:* Northwest of Armstrong is the Caravan Farm Theatre, a professional outdoor theatre company....
- South Granville RiseSouth Granville RiseEstablished in 1907, South Granville or Uptown is an upscale Business Improvement Area south of Vancouver's downtown core and bordered by the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano, Fairview and Shaughnessy....
- Orpheum (Vancouver)
