Play based on ‘Room,’ musical smash ‘Hamilton’ to hit Mirvish theatres

TORONTO – A play based on Irish-Canadian writer Emma Donoghue’s “Room” is heading to Ontario theatres next year.

Having racked up plaudits as a novel and film, Donoghue’s haunting tale of a young boy and his mother held in captivity has been adapted for the stage as a new play with songs.

Produced in partnership with the U.K.’s Covent Garden Productions, the show will launch at the Grand Theatre in Donoghue’s hometown of London, Ont., in March 2020.

The production then heads to downtown Toronto for a March to April run at Mirvish’s CAA Theatre as part of the production company’s upcoming season, which also includes the previously announced Canadian premiere of Broadway musical sensation “Hamilton” at the Ed Mirvish Theatre between February and May of next year.

Mirvish’s 2019-2020 lineup features other new musical imports, such as “Girl from the North Country” inspired by Bob Dylan’s songbook, the Tony-winning “The Band’s Visit,” “Anastasia” from the duo behind Broadway classic “Ragtime,” and “Piaf/Dietrich” starring Canadian actors Louise Pitre and Jayne Lewis.

Other offerings include “Indecent” by acclaimed playwright Paula Vogel and “Us/Them,” which tackles the 2004 siege of a Russian school from the perspective of two children.

Theatre-goers can also revisit familiar hits with new productions of “Hello, Dolly!,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera” as well as Opera Atelier’s revival of “Mozart’s Don Giovanni.”