T.O.TIX

T.O.TIX is now located in the newly opened Dundas Square (Dundas and Yonge Streets). As of November 29/04 it will be available online at T.O. TIX - There are usually up to 25 shows available, but unlike the New York and London agencies, the major shows do NOT appear, and have to be purchased at the boxoffice. The hours of operation are Tuesday to Saturday: 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Sunday and Monday are sold on Saturdays. To see what's available you can call: (416) 536-6468 EXT. 40 for a list of shows.

Some productions are noted for a theatre, other than theatres like the Royal Alexandra and The O'Keefe Centre (now The Hummingbird Centre) as I have seen hundreds of productions in these theatres, similarly with Stratford and The Shaw Festivals.

The listing of theatres includes current, demolished and abandoned theatres. This is not intended to be a listing of current theatres. The theatres still in operation are marked with an asterisk * . Toronto has more than 120 professional companies performing on more than 40 stages - Toronto has earned the nickname "Broadway of the North." Only New York and London sell more theatre tickets in a year.

Even in the days of vaudeville, Toronto was a major player with Keith's Theatre chain, which included some 34 theatres East of Chicago and in Eastern Canada, as well as the Loews chains, which had 63 theatres throughout 18 U.S. States and Canada.

TORONTO THEATRES

Roofed theatres erected for performances came late in theatrical history. Open-air theatres date back to the 5th Century, B.C., but it was not until the Renaissance that plays were produced indoors.

Toronto is recognized as the third-largest theatre centre in the English-speaking world, after New York and London. In 1962, there were only two professional live theatres in Toronto. There are now over 200 professional theatre and dance companies and in 1924 Toronto had over 100 theatres. I have included film theatres as well as there is/was a great crossover from movies to legitimate and vice versa, especially in the days of vaudeville. Credits for some of these are included on the title page of my site.

MAP OF EARLY TORONTO THEATRES

LEGEND

*still in existence

A-1889 - Academy of Music/Princess - 1909 Church and Adelaide Streets

B-1875 - Albert Hall - Queen and Yonge Streets

C-1910 - Shea's Victoria - 19 Richmond Street at Victoria

C-1919 - Allen/Tivoli - 13 Richmond Street East at Victoria - across street from Shea's Victoria

D-1886 - Toronto Opera House/Ambrose Small Grand Opera House/Majestic/Regent/ - Adelaide Street West of Yonge, beside Grand Opera House

E-1897 - Robinson's Musee/Moore's Musee Theatre/Hippodrome/Sheas Hippodrome (originally at SE corner of Yonge at Adelaide - opened as Wonderland Museum - 1914) before moving to Bay Street - City Hall Square - 400 bay Street (across from old City Hall on Bay Street)

F-1939 - Casino Theatre/Civic Square - 87 Queen Street West of Bay

G-1960 - *O'Keefe Centre/Hummingbird Centre - 1 Front Street West

H-1970 - *St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts - 27 Front Street West

I-1842 - Deering Theatre - Front Street (Berczy Park)

J-1910 - *Shea's Yonge/Star Burlesque/Empire/Loew's Vaudeville/Elgin/Winter Garden/Yonge/Elgin - 189 Yonge Street above Queen

K-1912 - Star Burlesque/Empire Theatre - 31 Yonge Street

L-1874 - Grand Opera House/Regent - South side of Adelaide, just West of Yonge St.

M-1913 - *Pantages/Imperial/Imperial Six/AT & T Centre for Performing Arts-Pantages/Canon - 263 Yonge Street, above Queen (also entrance at 244 Victoria Street)

N-1840s -Russell's Hotel - Church and Front Streets

O-1851 - *St. Lawrence Hall - King and Jarvis Streets

P-1848 - Temperance Hall/Empire - Temperance Street - 1 block North of Adelaide off Yonge

Chronological Listing of Major Toronto Theatres By Dates Opened

Film theatres: (AA) Alliance Atlantis; (AMC) AMC Theatres; (C) Cineplex Odeon; (FP) Famous Players; (Festival) Festival Cinemas; (I) Independent; Rainbow Cinemas

As of June, 2005 Cineplex (775 screens) is slated to buy Famous Players for $500 million (787 screens) and could own 63% of the market (167 theatres across the country although company said it has agreed to sell 35 cinemas to comply with government regulators. That would leave Cineplex with 1,300 screens in 132 theatres; this will open doors for exhibitors like AMC Theatres (which operates 231 theatres with 3,560 screens worldwide will become number 2 chain) and Alliance Atlantis to expand, although it depends on who buys the 35 cinemas being offered; Viacom (which owns CBS and Paramount Pictures) had bought Famous Players in 1994; As of June 21/05 - Cineplex put 35 theatres up for sale, while in the U.S., No. 2 U.S. movie theatre chain AMC Entertainment said it will buy its next largest competitor, Loews Cineplex Entertainment.

QUICK GUIDE - A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z

A

Academy Theatre – 1286 Bloor St. West near Lansdowne (1934-1965) – between larger Lansdowns and Kenwood – 498 seats - still standing but with different uses

Academy of Music - (1889-1895) King Street West - - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies - rebuilt and changed to Princess

Ace – see Photodrome

Ace – 603 Danforth Ave – (1945-1954) 585 seats – now a Shoppers Drug Mart

Acropolis (1964-1975) 904 seats

Acting Up Stage Theatre Company - first production Tick...Tick...Boom! (05)

Actors' Colony Theatre - under direction of John Holden - 1934 to 1941 - summer seasons held in Bala, Muskoka and from 1936 to 1940 winter sessions in Winnipeg's Dominion Theatre

Adanac – Queen St. West

Adelaide Court Theatre – opened in a converted heritage courthouse (Old York County Courthouse) (1979 - 1990) housing the Adelaide and Cort Theatres - Automatic Pilot 1980 - transferred to Bayview Playhouse; Curse of the Starving Class - closed

Adelaide Theatre - old York County courthouse has been renovated at a cost of 2.3 million and houses both the Adelaide and Cort Theatres

Adelphi – 1008 Dovercourt Road North of Bloor – opened as Cum-Bac (1936-1956) 343 seats – now a church

Adult Cinema - see Loft 18

Afterlife - 250 Adelaide West - nightclub

Aidan's Memorial Hall - 70 Silverbirch

*Air Canada Centre - 40 Bay Street (19,800 seats) - the new replacement for Maple Leaf Concerts

Ajax 10 (CO) – 248 Kingston Road E. – 10 cinemas – 1997

Aladdin Theatre - 1975

Albert Hall - (1875-1890) - Yonge Street and Shuter St - popular music hall of it's day

Albion 2 – Kipling and Albion Road, Etobicoke – 1964

Alchemy Theatre - 133 Tecumseh St - begun 2002 - closing theatre end of August 2008

Al Green Theatre - Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina at Bloor - Toronto-based Capri Releasing has leased the 288-seat Al Green Theatre in the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre at Bloor St. W. and Spadina Ave., it announced June 27/05

Alhambra – 568 Bloor St. West at Bathurst – 944 seats (1925-1969) – renamed Eve - demolished 1989 - now a Swiss Chalet restaurant

Alianak Theatre Productions - 556 Palmerston Ave

Al Khaima Dining Theatre - 767 Dovercourt Road

Allenby – 1215 Danforth Ave, East of Greenwood (1936-1970) – art deco -770 seats – became Avalon, Roxy and then operated as the Grand –currently for rent/sale – three theatres for live entertainment/fully furnished/all contents and restaurant

Allen Theatre - 147 Danforth Ave – built 1909 (1916-18?) – 1600 seats - vaudeville and theatrical revues - changed to Century Theatre – 1970s played Greek films for several years as Titania and then became The Music Hall

Allen Theatre - 19 Richmond Street East - changed to Tivoli - Christmas pantomimes; Peter Pan - demolished 1970s

Alley Theatre Workshop - new venue (November 2004) at 12 Ossington Avenue – (first alley West off Ossington North of Queen) - through the alley behind Lennox Contemporary Art Gallery on Ossington, just off Queen Street – 55 seats – Chinese Art of Placement 2004

Alliance Atlantis - Cumberland Street

All Nations – see Playhouse

Alto Basso - 718 College Street - nightclub

*Alumnae Theatre - 70 Berkeley Street - for 30 years this theatre, housed in Toronto's old Fire Hall Number 4, constructed in 1905 - corner of Berkeley and Adelaide Streets - theatre group founded in 1919 by women graduates of University College, University of Toronto - saved from demolition in 1971-72 - main auditorium is located in the former engine room and the two engine room doors form the lobby windows. The theatre audience now uses the lockers formerly used by the fire fighters. The fire fighters recreation hall on the third floor was converted for use as a studio theatre - Cripple of Innishmaan (03); Real World (03); Beauty Queen of Leename;

Alumni Hall - St. Michael's College

Ambrose Small Grand Opera House – Adelaide Street West – converted to Regent

AMC Courteney Park 16 – 401 and Highway 10 – 16 cinemas

AMC Entertainment International Inc - Kansas City based - operates 7 Canadian cinemas - more than 60 percent of AMC’s theatres are megaplexes with at least 14 screens that feature stadium-style seating

AMC Interchange 30 – 30 Interchange Way, Vaughan – 1999 – 30 cinemas

AMC Kennedy Commons 20 – 401 and Kennedy Rd – 1998 – 20 cinemas

AMC Metropolis 24 – Dundas and Yonge – see Metropolis for updated news - projected for 2006

AMC Yonge and Dundas 24 - Toronto Life Square, NE corner of Yonge & Dundas Sts - long-planned entertainment mecca at Yonge and Dundas Sts. - to open officially March 28, 2008, after weekend of free films to public

AMC Whitby 24 – 401 and Thickson Road – 1999 – 24 cinemas

AMC Winston Churchill 24 – QEW and Winston Churchill Blvd – 1998

Amicus Productions

American Youth Centre Theatre - 50 Hallcrown Place, North York (Victoria Park & Hwy 401)

Andy Poolhall - 489 College St - nightclub

*Annex Theatre

Anthony’s Villa – former Toronto cabaret – Blue Champagne 1976

Apollo – 2201 Dundas Street West - 1934

Apollo – 2901 Dundas Street West (1936-1954) – 551 seats - built as the Crystal and changed to Apollo in 1930s – now a hair salon

Apollon – 1969 - 700 seats

Arabesque Dance Company 20 College Street, 2nd Floor

Arcade – Yonge Street – (1961-1962)

Arcadian – 10 Queen St. East, beside Town Tavern – 370 seats (1935-1950) – opened as the Variety – now a hair salon

Arrow Hall – cabaret type venue - 6900 Airport Road

*Art Gallery of Ontario - Dundas Street - used for an occasional play - The Chairs, Zoo Story - newly designed gallery to be completed 2007

Arts and Letters Club - housed in St. George's Hall which opened 1892, the club itself founded in 1908 as meeting place for writers/actors/musicians – 1910 opened in back of York County Courthouse on Adelaide St. East – cabaret performances - Old Court Minstrels 1918; – Interior 1911 – 1920 moved to 14 Elm Street –from 1930 Spring Revue annual event; Most Happy Fella (02);

*Artword Theatre - 75 Portland - small studio space, being lost to developer in March 2005

Ashbridges Bay - see Home Depot Theatre - Shakespeare Works - see Shakespeare Works - inaugural season Summer 2004 in a tent

Assembly Hall - 3121 Lakeshore Road West

A Space - St. Nicholas Street - art, photographic and performance space in the 1960s and early 1970s

Aster – Ossington and Dundas – see Pix (1928-1942)

Astor Theatre – built as Embassy 1950 – 651 Yonge Street below Bloor – 646 seats - became the New Yorker

*AT & T Centre for the Performing Arts - see Pantages

Athena Palace – see Rex Danforth

Athenion – (1964-1970) – 507 seats

*Atlantis Theatre - 955 Lakeshore West in Ontario Place (1-888-449-4463)- 450 seats

Auditorium – see Pickford

Aurora Cinemas - opened late 2005 - Wellington St. E & bayview Ave - 10 screens

Avalon (see Allenby, Grand) – 2921 Danforth – 944 seats (1937-1955)

Avenue – see Pickford

Avenue Theatre - 331 Eglinton Avenue West, W of Avenue Road – (1937-1955) – 680 seats - originally a movie theatre – Optomist (Robert Goulet) 1956; became home to annual review Spring Thaw – demolished 1957 to become parking lot

Avon – 1092 Queen St. West & Dovercourt – opened as Kings Playhouse – 325 seats – owned by Nathan Cohen (1949-1955) – now a sign shop

Axis – comedy club – 3rd year 2005

B

Backstage 1 (151 seats) & 2 (126 seats) – 31 Balmuto Street (at Bloor) (1971-2000) – built in backstage area of Loew's Uptown – demolished late 2003 – Dec 8/03 – 10:35 a.m., building collapsed while being demolished and l man killed in the attached Yorkville English Academy when the roof caved in

Bad Dog Theatre – small storefront at 138 Danforth Avenue with 2 theatre spaces – 2006 is 3rdd Anniversary – previously Theatresports

Bam Boo - 312 Queen Street West - cabaret - 1982-2001 - closed 2002

Bamboo Cabana – cabaret type venue – 245 Queen’s Quay West

Bamboo Tavern - Queen Street West club - closed its doors November 2/02

Bar Italia - 584 College Street

Baronet – Bloor and Bathurst – 745 seats (1969-1972) – currently the Regent

Basin Street Cabaret - 1970s – former Queen Street cabaret – Indigo 1978; Let My People Come 1981 (censorship problems), Shimmytime

*Bathurst Street Theatre - 736 Bathurst Street at Bloor - which had been built in 1862 as Methodist and later changed to United Church circa 1888 - theatre was built from the converted church in 1924 - mid 1960s became a legitimate theatre - houses the Annex Theatre, which resembles the Globe in London, England - a 110 seat theatre, the 500 seat Bathurst Street Theatre, three dance studios and DaCosta Talent Agency -Bent (81), Binge, Born of Medusa's Blood, Hosanna, I Wanna Die in Ruby Red Tap Shoes, Wozzeck, Eddy Izzard (00); Making Porn (01); Hedwig and the Angry Inch (01); Steel Pier (02)

Bahaus - 31 Mercer – nightclub

Baronet - 568 Bloor St and Bathurst Sts – 1969-1972 – 745 seats – currently the Regent

Bay – 43 Queen St. West, across from old City Hall (1919-1960) – (477 seats) - opened as Colonial – is now Simpsons Tower

Bayridges – Pickering (1964-1979) – indoor auditorium of Drive-in

Bayview Playhouse – 605 Bayview Ave below Eglinton – see also Fine Arts - art deco - East Side – (1936-1961) - originally a cinema – 674 seats - in 1960s and 1970s it became a legitimate theatre, now site of Bruno's Fine Foods - Godspell (Victor Garber, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner); Your Own Thing (68); Jacques Brel is Alive and Well (68); Praise 1978 (Brent Carver,Doug Chamberlain); Bistro Car on the CNR (79), Musical Evening With Joshua Logan (80); Cloud 9 (84)

Bayview Village 4 (AA) – Bayview Village Plaza – 1977 - has abruptly closed its doors May 2007

Beach – 1971 Queen St. East – built as Allen – East of Woodbine – 1288 seats (1919-1970) – now the Beach Mall

Beach Cinemas 6 (AA) - 1651 Queen Street East - 6 theatres – 1999

Beaver – 2942 Dundas St. West near Pacific – 1142 seats – (1913-1961) – demolished 1962 - now retail stores

Bedford (847 seats) – see Park

Bellevue – 360 College St at Brunswick – art deco – 800 seats (1937-1958) – changed to Electra and then Lux, a burlesque house – now retail stores

Bell Festival Centre - see also Festival Centre - new permanent home of Toronto International Film Festival group - will also anchor Festival Tower - King and John Streets - to include Tower Cinema (55 seats), Cinema Lounge, Tower Lounge - open for sale Sept 2007 - see Bell Lightbox

Bell Lightbox - will be the name of the Toronto International Film Festival Group's new home, which is soon to rise over a former parking lot at King St. W. and John St

*Belmont Theatre/Toronto Truck Theatre - 94 Belmont Street – Toronto Truck Theatre was forme in 1971 as touring company – moved in 1973 to Colonnade Theatre (200 seats), then to former church on Belmont – seating 170 – also purchased Bayview Playhouse (520 seats) the former art deco cinema in 1978 - Brecht on Brecht - now running The Mousetrap (over 8,000 performances in this tiny theatre)

Belsize – 551 Mount Pleasant Rd, North of Davisville – 1927-1950) – 835 seats – became the Crest Theatre, Regent Theatre

Ben Wicks – 424 Parliament Street – local jazz club

*Berkeley Street Theatre - see also Canadian Stage, and St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts – 1971 conversion from an abandoned Consumer’s Gas pumping station built 1887, features 2 theatre spaces (241 & 150 seats) with courtyard and rehearsal hall - Outrageous (00); Happy (01); Tillsonburg (01); Lost Boys (02); Adam Baum and the Jew Movie (02); Last Romantics (03); This is Our Youth (03); Ride Down Mt. Morgan (04); 10 Naked Men (04)

Bermuda Onion - jazz club - closed early 1990s

*Betty Oliphant Theatre - 404 Jarvis Street - 297 seats

Betty’s - King Street East – comedy club

Beverly – Yonge and St. Clair (1932-1942)

Beverly Tavern – Queen Street West – closing Dec 27/03 – from 1976 to early 1980s the second floor hosted the likes of the Dishes, the Cads, Johnny and the G-Rays, the Country Lads, the Biffs and Cardboard Brains, and Martha and the Muffins and a second wave of talent the likes of Cowboy Junkies, Rent Boys Inc., Fifth Column, Dave Howard Singers, Breeding Ground – by the 1980s the focus shifted to the Cabana Room and the Cameron

*Bickford Theatre Centre - 777 Bloor Street West

Bijou – Morningside Plaza, West Hill – 700 seats (1971-1978)

Biltmore – 1831 Weston Road, South of Lawrence – now a church

Biltmore – New Toronto – 676 seats (1947-1964)

Biltmore Theatre - cinema – 319 Yonge Street above Dundas – 929 seats - showed double and triple features - put to other uses over the years (1948-1977)

Biltmore – Weston – 800 seats (1949-1964)

Birchcliff – 1485 Kingston Road, East of Warden (a former streetcar barn) – (1949-1974) – (865 seats) - now an ambulance station

Birdland Theatre - new non-profit theatre company founded by Zorana Kydd - presenting plays at Berkeley Street and Jane Mallett Theatres - The Ride Down Mount Morgan (Canadian Premiere) 2004; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune 2004; Pillowman 2007; Last Days of Judas Iscariot (reprise in 2008);

Black Bull Tavern - there in 1829 - still standing at Queen and Peter Streets

Black Cat – former Toronto cabaret

Boa-Redux - 270 Spadina Avenue one block South of Dundas - converted dinner theatre, converted cinema - international disc jockeys

Bohemian Embassy - 7 St. Nicholas Street - in addition to jazz and folk fare, the Embassy introduced cabaret-style revue to Toronto audiences - weekly reading series - introduced modern dance in one of its 30 premiered productions. The Maids by Jean Genet received its North American premiere upstairs at 7 St. Nicholas Street. The first production of a David French play at the Embassy eventually bloomed into a successful career - 1960s meeting place for local poets - The Iceman Cometh – closed

Boiler House - see Distillery District - 55 Mill Street - restaurant with live music on weekends

Bollicine - 127 Strachan - exotic cabaret on weekends (10:00 p.m. to 3 a.m.)

Bonita – 1035 Gerrard St. East - 542 seats – still in operation – became Athenian Theatre, Wellington Theatre

Bramalea 3 – Dixie Road and Hwy 7 (1973-1988)

Bread and Circus Theatre Bar

Brighton – 127 Roncesvalles Avenue north of Queen Street – 418 seats – opened mid 1950s and lasted into the 1980s – still in existence as High Park Mini Mart

Broadview – Broadway at Gerrard (1941-1945)

Broadway – 75 Queen St. West, next to Casino Theatre – 486 seats - opened as the Globe and later became the Roxy (1941-1965)

Brock – 1585 Dundas St. West – built as the Dundas – 612 seats (1933-1955) – was Toronto’s first burlesque house - now a restaurant

Brown Derby - north east corner of Dundas and Yonge - Frankie Valli (1950s); Ronnie Hawkins

Brunswick - rep cinema - being closed late 2007 and destined to become office space - plans to relaunch in another location - see Poor Alex

*Buddies in Bad Times - 12 Alexander Street - gay theatre founded in 1979 by Skye Gilbert, Matt Walsh & Gerard Ciccoritti - originally Toronto Workshop Productions - Eyecons, My Own Private Oshawa, We're Funny That Way, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (00); Snap (02);

Burnhamthorpe Auditorium - 1350 Burnhamthorpe Rd E., Mississauga –

Burnhamthorpe Library Theatre – home to Mississauga Players

*Burton Auditorium - see York University

C

Cabana Room – former entertainment tavern

Cabaret EastDinner Theatre – former Toronto cabaret - mid 1980s

Cabbagetown Theatre Company

Cafι des Copains – former Toronto cabaret

Cafι Soho – former Toronto cabaret

Cahoots Theatre Project - 174 Spandia Avenue, Suite 610

Cameo – 989 Pape Ave North of Danforth – 750 seats (1934-1957) – art deco – sold to Loblaws, and now Canada Trust

Camera - 1028 Queen Street West

Cameron House - 408 Queen St. West - 2006 celebrates 25 years - opened 1981 - Blue Rodeo, Jane Siberry

Canada Square Cinema (FP) - 2200 Yonge Street below Eglinton – (1985-2001) - recently reopened as cinema 2001

*Canada's Wonderland - opened 1981 - see Paramount Canada's Wonderland

Canadia dell'Arte Studio Theatre - 186 Munro

Canadian Actors' Equity Association - opened 1955 - in 1976 became independent of the American Actors' Equity

*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) - created in 1936 (Church and Jarvis Streets) - now located in new building on Front Street which houses the Glenn Gould Studio - an important organization for the development of Canadian stage talent in the early days

*Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)- started in 1879 as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition - Magnificent Spectacular Production 1896; Stars of the Hippodrome & Circus World 1917; Georgeous Cleopatra Spectacle & Grand Opera in $1,500,000 Coliseum (1923); CNE Chorus performed in Colisseum 1927 & 1932; Benny Goodman,Guy Lombardo,Glen Gray,Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey 1939; (As a teenager and before, I can remember my parents taking me to the Exhibition where the highlights were the spectacular Grandstand Shows (produced by Jack Arthur from 1952 to 1967). I have seen (from a great distance), the wonderful Midge Arthur's Canadettes, Bob Hope (appeared here a total of 5 times); Midge Arthur's 50 Canadettes; Alan and Blanche Lund, Howard Cable and his orchestra, a helicopter landing on stage as well as various vehicles driving across the huge stage, laden with breathtaking sets and costumes - demolished in 1999 - see Exhibition Stadium - COMPLETE ARCHIVES HERE

*Canadian Opera Company - acquired two neighbouring buildings on Front Street. One, the former Standard Woollen Mills (built 1882), was converted to administrative offices, a box office, library, archives and workshops for the company. The other, the former Consumers Gas Purifying House (built 1887-88), now houses the 450-seat Imperial Oil Opera Theatre and facilities for rehearsal, coaching, workshops and receptions - the company was founded in 1950 and has used various venues from Eaton Auditorium, Royal Alexandra, presently Hummingbird Centre and soon a new 2,000 seat theatre which it will share with the National Ballet of Canada

Canadian Players - 1954-1966 – formed in Stratford, Ontario, with a nine month season in Toronto’s Central Library Theatre – became Theatre Toronto - used various theatres

*Canadian Stage Company (Canstage) - 26 Berkeley Street - located in a turn of the Century factory and refinery built in 1887, it features 2 theatre spaces, 241 & 150 seats) - originally Toronto Free Theatre in the early 1970s - Canadian Stage itself was formed 1988 with the merger of Toronto Free Theatre and Centrestage - see St. Lawrence Centre - Angels in America – see also Dream in High Park

Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association – 1974 – used MacMillan Theatre to 1984, as well as presenting concerts at Massey Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, Hamilton Place and Carnegie Hall (NYC)

Canasian Artists Group

Canon Theatre - 244 Victoria St - see the Pantages Theatre - March 2007 L.A.-based entertainment giant Live Nation is in the process of selling off its theatre properties, including Toronto's Canon and Panasonic theatres

Canstage - see Canadian Stage Company

Capitol Fine Arts – see Capital – 2294 Yonge Street (1026 seats) –

Capitol – New Toronto – 777 Lakeshore Road - 1100 seats (1929-1975)

Capital Theatre/Capital Event Theatre - 2492 Yonge Street at Castlefield (1924-1998) – 1079 seats – 1918 – opened as vaudeville house and later a film theatre in the mid 1930s and closed in 1998 - now used for a rental hall, was also known as Capital Fine Arts

Capri – see Madison, Bloor Cinema and Midtown – 1089 seats

Carlos Bulosan Cultural Workshop - community-based professional theatre reflecting on social issues affecting the Filipino and broader community - CBT is also committed to creating work that is new, innovative, and reflective of a vibrant, new generation of Filipino-Canadian artists -CBT seeks to encourage and develop Filipino-Canadian writers, performers, and other artists within the community

Carlton – 509 Parliament Street, North of Carlton – 1000 seats – (1930-1954) - became CBC TV studio and currently the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre school, after having been the Danny Grossman Dance Theatre previously

Carlton - see Odeon Carlton – 2318 seats

Carlton Cinemas 9 (C) – 20 Carlton St and Yonge Streets – 1981 – renovated 1988 - closing Dec 6/09

Carlu Theatre - opening May, 2003 - formerly Eaton Auditorium - 444 Yonge Street, 7th floor - originally opened March, 1931 - Marian Anderson, Kirsten Flagstad, Lotte Lehmann, Elsa Lanchester, Joyce Grenfell, National Ballet etc., all appeared here during its 46 year history - closed 1977

Cascade Theatre - 39 Strathmore Boulevard

Casino-on-the-Beach - Centre Island - had big bands and dancing

Casino Theatre - burlesque house at 87 Queen Street West of Bay – opened 1939 as The Vaudeville Theatre – 1121 seats - demolished in 1957 - to house Sheraton Centre - I spent many, many hours at the Casino seeing name entertainers like Johnny Rae, Patti Page, Gene Nelson, Frankie Laine,the exciting Sally Rand with her fans, a bevy of female strippers with some class in those days, not just bumps and grinds, the Crewcuts, the Four Lads (did backup on Johnny Rae's "Cry" recording, Golden Gate Quartet, Billy Daniels and Rosemary Clooney- turned into a legitimate house - The Civic Square Theatre for a short time - Rhinoceros

CBC - see Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

CBC Opera Company - 1948

Cedarbrae 8 Cinemas – Lawrence and Markham Road – (1969-2002)- demolished

Celia Franca Centre - 400 Jarvis Street - opened Nov/05 - new site for the National Ballet School, formerly at 105 Maitland Street - features classrooms and 12 studios, one the size of a professional stage

Cellar Club - 169 Avenue Road – popular 1960s hangout

Centennial 3 – Brampton – (1981-2000)

Centerpoint – Yonge and Steeles – renamed from Towne & Countrye in 1991 and closed in 1999

Central Library Theatre - College Street - opened in 1961 (209 seats) – Six Days and a Dream 1962 - was closed as Library has moved to Yonge and Bloor Streets - 1977, now called the Robert Gill Theatre – was home to Canadian Players/University Alumnae - All the Way Home; Beauty and the Beast 2098), Capful of Pennies, Departures, Ecstacy of Rita Joe, Eh, Entertaining Mr. Sloane; Firebugs, Fortune and Men's Eyes 1967 (15 weeks), Here Lies Sara Binks, Importance of Being Earnest, In His Own Write; Jacques and Jill, Just For Love, Loot; Mr. Joyce is Leaving Paris; Small Craft Warnings; Sweet Eros; Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd

Central Parkway Cinemas 4 – Hwy 10 and 377 Burnhamthorpe Rd. E, Mississauga (1980-2000) and reopened in 2001 - see Cine Starz

Centre Theatre– 772 Dundas St. West – opened as the Duchess – 500 seats (1935-1977) – now retail stores

* Centre for Indigenous Theatre - founded in 1974

Centre Stage – 1970 – resident producing company of St. Lawrence Centre – opened with Man Inc 1970 - until a 1988 merger with Toronto Free Theatre

Century Theatre – built as Allen Theatre – 147 Danforth Ave, East of Broadview (1919) – 1338 seats – currently the Music Hall

C'est What - Church Street - live music being discontinued as of Aug 21/04 - has housed such groups as Sarah Harmer, Tea Party, Barenaked Ladies, Ron Sexsmith and Hawksley Workman, as well as Jewel, Wilco and Jeff Buckley - only the half without music is to continue

Chateau – 550 Queen St. West at Bathurst – 331 seats (1949-1955)

China Cinema – 785 seats (1974-1980)

Chinese United Dramatic Society of Toronto – performing Catonese opera since 1933

Christie – 665 St. Clair Ave West – 877 seats (1926-1963)

Church of the Holy Trinity - rear of Eaton Centre - Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You

Church on Berkeley - 315 Queen Street East - Sondheim Tribute, Jack and Jim's Wedding Party

Cinecity - Yonge and Charles Street – 261 seats (1967-1975) - showed art and underground films - was located in old post office complex - currently Gold Gym upstairs and a MacDonalds on main floor

Cineforum - 463 Bathurst Street

Cinema – see Oriole

Cinema at Toronto Dominion Centre – King and Bay Streets – 690 seats (1967-1983)-abandoned

Cinema – The Theatre Beautiful – 2061 Yonge St (1942-1946)

Cinema Lumiere – 290 College Street – 260 seats (1969-1978)

Cinema 2000 – 329 Yonge Street at Dundas (1969-1983) – reopened as Cinema 2002 - porno palace

Cinematek – 2637 Yonge Street – 136 seats (1973-1974)

Cinematheque Ontario - Toronto

Cineplex Galaxy LP - sells 27 cinemas in, 3 in Greater Toronto Area as of Sept 30/05 - in July 2005 Cineplex purchased 81 Famous Players Theatres from Viacom Inc. - under terms of agreement Cineplex must still sell 7 theatres in Quebec - once deal is complete, Cineplex Galaxy will remain Canada's biggest movie theatre chain with 132 theatres

Cineplex Odeon - Eaton Centre Cinemas - Yonge and Dundas Streets - now closed

Cineplex Odeon - Oakville Mews - built circa 1987 by Garth Drabinsky - closed 2001 when chain declared bankruptcy - location is now a church called The Meeting House

Cineplex - Mississauga - plans for 2 proposed cinemas have been abandoned as of 2004

Cineplex Odeon Promenade - see Rainbow 6

Cinespace Film Studios - Queen's Quay East - films Studio 54, Chicago, The Recruit, Blade II - closes Feb 20/07 for waterfront revitalization

Cinesphere – Ontario Place – built 1972 – world’s oldest IMAX theatre

Cine Starz - renovated Central Parkway Cinemas - 377 Burnhamthorpe Rd E, Mississauga

Circle – 2567 Yonge Street North – North of Sherwood Ave – 750 seats (1932-1956) – now strip plaza

City Centre Theatre - now in their fourth year - established 2001 - use George Ignatieff Theatre as their venue

City Playhouse Theatre - 1000 New Westminster Drive, Vaughan

Civic Light Opera Company - 27th season 2006 - see Fairview Library Theatre, Don Mills Road & Sheppard Avenue

Civic Square Theatre - see Casino Theatre

Civilized Theatre - #1 - 189 Huron Street

Classical Stage Productions (1972-3)

Classic Theatre - built 1914 - 1300 Gerrard St. East (just East of Greenwood) - built as vaudeville house – film theatre from 1930-1956 when it became a warehouse and discount store - 1997 restored as performance space and cafe

Cliftcrest Community Centre - 1 McCowan

Clown Hall - 68 Broadview, Suite 201A

Club Varadero - 1305 Dundas Street West

CNE - see Canadian National Exhibition

CN Tower - entertainment complex

Coach House Theatre - now closed - The Birthday Party, Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunicks, Mister Mister, Viet Rock

CODCO – 1973 – opened with Cod on a Stick - company never had permanent space was was disbanded in 1979

Colborne Street Theatre - Front and Church Streets, then Colborne St (starting at Yonge and ending at Market Street)- 1820s - destroyed by fire in 1883

Coliseum – Mississauga (FP) – 309 Rathburn Road W – Square One – 1997 – 13 screens

Coliseum – Scarborough 12 (FP) – Scarborough Town Centre 1998 – 12 screens

College – 350 seats (1979-1985)

College – 960 College St at Dovercourt, built as Allen – 1499 seats (1921-1967) now retail stores

Colonial – see Bay

Colonial Tavern - 203 Yonge Street (above Queen) – former Yonge Street tavern with entertainment - opened 1947 and closed 1987 - Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Muddy Waters, Oscar Peterson, Billie Holiday, Wayland Flowers and Madame, Peter Allan - building demolished

Colonial Theatre - Queen Street opposite City Hall - demolished in 1957

Colonnade Theatre – built 1964 – 190 seats – originated for lunch theatre - no longer used - Black Comedy; Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Marat Sade (77); Six Tales of Canterbury, Staircase, The Good Doctor

Colony – 1801 Eglinton Ave West & Dufferin – 838 seats (1939-1958) – demolished and now office building

Colossus and Imax (FP) – Hwy 400 & 7, Weston Road in Vaughan 1999 – 18 screens

Coloured Stone - see Dream

Comedy Theatre - Richmond Street, West of Yonge Street

Comedywood Downtown - 194 Bloor St. West

Comedywood Uptown - 800 Steeles St. West

Community – 1202 Woodbine Ave – art deco - 742 seats (1937-1955) – became a TV studio – now retail stores

Compagnia dei Giovani - (1969-82)

Company of Lost Souls - works in collaboration with Fishbowl Theatre

Company Theatre - new company to launch January 2005 with "Whistle in the Dark," to premiere at Berkeley Street Theatre; Festen 2008

Comus Music Theatre (1975-1986) - started by Michael Bawtree – opened with Harry’s Back in Town 1976 - dissolved

Concert Hall - 888 Yonge St - 1983-1996 - Led Zeppelin, David Bowie

Conservatory Theatre - see Telus Centre for Performance and Learning

Continental – 456 seats

Convocation Hall (University of Toronto) - Alfred Hitchcock (1970s); Janis Ian (80); Rufus Wainwright (02)

Cooksville – West Hill – also see Roxy (1956-1960)

Copa - 21 Scollard St - 1983-1986 - closed 1992 - Herbie Hancock, Berlin

Coq D'Or - Hawk's Nest upstairs - Ronnie Hawkins - 1950s

Coronet Theatre - cinema - 399 Yonge St at Gerrard - opened as Savoy in 1951 - played double features (1963-1980) 800 seats – known as Savoy at some period - closed 1983 and now a Jewellry Exchange and canopy is still there

Cort Theatre - see Adelaide Theatre

Cosmopolitan Hotel - new luxury venue at 8 Colborne Street 2005

Courthouse - The decision by the operators of Live@Courthouse to permanently close the 150-seat, Adelaide St. E. venue as a jazz club means local scene is once again without large capacity room

Courtney Park 16 (AMC) - 110 Courtney Park E. at Hurontario

Creation 2 – (1969-1977) - theatre company

Credit – Port Credit – 395 seats (1974-1975)

Crescent – 2265 Dundas St. West (West Toronto Junction) (1932-1945)

Crest Theatre - Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue – see also Belsize Cinema 1922 – a former vaudeville house then movie theatre built in 1927 – (822 seats) - refurbished and established in 1953 by Donald and Murray Davis, and their sister Barbara Chilcott, further renovations in 1958 and 1963 - they mounted more than 150 productions, some original, presented works by Malcolm Black, Leo Ciceri, Robertson Davies, Marcel Dubι, Bruno Gerussi, Amelia Hall, Martha Henry, John Hirsch, Charmion King, Tom Kneebone, Mavor Moore, Barry Morse, Kate Reid, Bernard Slade, Herbert Whittaker, and among many others, such directors as Malcolm Black, Douglas Campbell, Marigold Charlesworth, Robert Gill, John Hirsch, Allan Lund, Leon Major, Mavor Moore, Barry Morse, Kurt Reis, Jean Roberts, Herbert Whittaker, and gave work to many Canadian performing artists (Jackie Burroughs, Barbara Chilcott, Donald and Murray Davis, Jack Duffy, Amelia Hall, Barbara Hamilton, Martha Henry, Frances Hyland, Charmion King, Marilyn Lightstone, Richard Monette, Kate Reid), many of whom went on to international fame – theatre was closed in 1966 basically due to refusal of Canada Council grant - the company produced over 90 plays including Albert R.N.; Antigone 1956; Arms and the Man 1963; Born Yesteday 1963; Caesar and Cleopatra (Frances Hyland) 1964; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Charley's Aunt, Christmas Carol 1963; Come Back Little Sheba 1952; Crest Revue, Deputy 1964; Double Image, Emmanuel XOC, Epitaph for George Dillon, Evelyn 1964 (Tom Kneebone), Four Faces, The Glass Cage 1957, Hay Fever, Hedda Gabler 1966 (final production); Hunting Stuart 1955; Jig for the Gypsy 1954; King Lear 1961; Krapp's Last Tape, Living Room (Frances Hyland) 1954; Marriage Go-Round 1961; The Matchmaker 1959, Me Nobody Knows; The Mousetrap 1958, Mr. Scrooge 1963, Murder in the Cathedral 1954; Othello 1955; Ottawa Man, The Physicists 1965, Poor Bitos, Prisoner 1955; Private Ear and the Public Eye, Pygmalion (Frances Hyland) 1958; The Rainmaker, Richard of Bordeaux 1954; Roots and Roar Like a Dove 1962; Salad Days 1958; Spring Thaw 1961 & 1962; That Hamilton Woman 1963, This is Our First Affair 1959; Thunder Rock (Robert Goulet), Three Sisters 1956; Tiger and the Typist, Tiny Alice 1965, Twelfth Night 1955; Visit to a Small Planet, Witness for the Prosecution; Me Nobody Knows (early 1970s); Little Shop of Horrors 1985 - this and Tarragon are/were probably Toronto's most important and influential theatres

Crest Theatre - room in Performing Arts Lodge - 110 The Esplanade

Criterion – Queen Street West

Crown – Finch and Weston Road – 410 seats (1979-1982)

Crown – 591 Gerrard St. East – 724 seats (1930-1956)

Crows Theatre - 69 Massey Street

Cry Baby - see Footwork

Crystal Ballroom - see King Edward Hotel

Crystal Palace - 1860 - King Street West - moved to ground of the CNE and used occasionally as concert venue - destoryed by fire in 1906

Cube - 579 Yonge Street - performance venue - closed April 2005 after operation of just one year

CUM-BACK – see Adelphi

Cumberland 4 Cinemas (AA) - (see also Alliance Atlantis) - 159 Cumberland Street at Avenue Road - 1980 - theatres on market for sale 2008 - demolition possible Jan 2009?

*Curtain Call Players - Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Drive (Don Mills and Sheppard Avenue East)

Curtain Club Theatre - 400 Newkirk, Richmond Hill

Cyclorama Building - 16 sided domed structure which exhibited massive cylindrical paintings known as panoramas - opened 1887 on side side of Front St just west of University Avenue - Battle of Sedan; Jerusalem on the Day of Christ's Death; Battle of Gettysburg - became home of Petrie Machinery Company, then in 1920s Elgin Ford Co, then parking garage - demolished 1976 for high rise complex called Citigroup Place

D

Da Da Kamara - 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 363

Dancap Productions - newest entry in theatre game as of 2007-2008 season - using various venues, Elgin, Winter Garden, and Toronto Centre for the Arts for subscription season of Broadway musical fare, eventually planning on producing musicals and plays here, like the days of Livevent

Dance Cave - 529 Bloor St West - nightclub

Dancemakers Studio - 927 Dupont Street\

Danforth – see Music Hall

Danforth – 635 Danforth at Pape – had theatre organ - 1946 – see Odeon Danforth (1330 seats) - also known as Rex Theatre - has been Athena Palace, Mulicare Health, Palladium Bar and Grill - now eXtreme Fitness

Danforth Mennonite Church - 2174 Danforth Avenue

*Danforth Music Hall - see Music Hall

Danforth Odeon - see Danforth

*Danny Grossman Dance Company - 1975 - Parliament Street - season held at Harbourfront

Darrell Kent Cultural Centre - 454 Parliament Street

Dave and Busters - 120 Interchange Way

Deering Theatre - 1842 - Front Street (Berczy Park) - financial problems and converted into restaurant

Dell Tavern - demolished - cabaret type entertainment - Hollywood Blues, Noel Coward Revue

Deutsches Theatre of Toronto

Diesel Playhouse - originally built 1997 to house Second City - reoped as Diesel Playhouse April 2006 - Evil Dead played 500 performances - closed December 2008, perhaps for condo?

Direct Energy Centre - new name for Exhibition Place's National Trade Centre

Distillery District - Historic district (circa 1832) (spanning Mill Street to the Gardiner Expressway and Parliament Street to Cherry Street), formerly the Gooderham and Worts distillery complex of 44 buildings with a mix of artists spaces, retail outlets and residences - four theatre complex (from 80 to 400 seats) to be called the Young Centre for the Performing Arts - opening Fall/Winter 2005 housing Soulpepper Theatre Company (beginning Dec/05) and George Brown Theatre School (beginning Sept/05), as well as classrooms and administrative offices, 250 seat theatre will be the Michael Young Theatre (see also Young Centre for the Performing Arts); also site for Distillery Jazz Festival featuring 7 stages - The Glenlivet Cabaret in the Stone Distillery Building - largest of the indoor venues; The Chivas Regal Grand Stage - under the big top; The Pure Spirits Patio - dining, entertaining under the stars; Gibsone-Jessop Gallery - intimate art gallery with piano recitals; Tank House Nine - large ensembles; Tapestry/Nightwood Studio - studio performance space - located on 3rd floor of the Cannery; Dancemakers Studio - located on 3rd floor of the Cannery;;

Dixie 5 – Dundas at Dixie – 383 seats (1972-1984)

DK Productions - 30 Gloucester Street, Suite 309

*Dominion Club - 1 King St West - new private club open to members only

Dominion Drama Festival (1932-1978)- adjudicated festival held in various regions for high school and college productions – 1970 renamed Theatre Canada, but discontinued in 1978

Donlands – 397 Donlands Ave – 838 seats (1949-1969) – still there but in use as Pie in the Sky Studios

Don Mills - see Odeon Don Mills – Don Mills Centre – 857 seats (1963-1988)

Doric Theatre – 1094 Bloor St. West and Gladstone – 527 seats (1919-1955)

Doris Theatre

Dovercourt Church in the Great Hall – Dovercourt

Downtown Theatre – 285 Yonge Street – 1059 seats (1948-1972) - South of Dundas, NE corner across from Hardrock Cafe

Doyle's Tavern - King and Simcoe Streets - habited by actors

Drake Hotel – cabaret type venue – 1150 Queen Street West, near Gladstone Hotel

DramaWay - six year old as of 2005 performing in various venues - schools, camps, community centres, churches and corporations

Dream - 205 Richmond St. West - to be housed in space that was NYC Dance Boutique, previously Red Square and before that was Coloured Stone

Dream in High Park – sponsored by Canstage – as of 2004 the 22nd Anniversary

Driftwood Theatre Group - Ontario’s most accessible theatre company, celebrates its 15th Anniversary Season (2009) with two of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays, KING LEAR and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, on tour in Ontario between July 9 and August 23/09 - Bard’s Bus Tour will visit 27 communities in Ontario

Duchess – Dundas Street West – see Centre

Duke of York Hotel - Queen Street at Leslie – built 1868 as an Inn – currently bachelor apartments

*DuMaurier Theatre Centre - 231 Queens Quay West – 400 seats 0 changed to Harbourfront Centre Theatre see also Harbourfront Centre

*DuMaurier World Stage Festival - founded 1986 - held at Harbourfront and other theatres

Dundas – see Brock

Dundas Square - see Nathan Phillips Square

D.V. Theatre Company - Latvian company - active for over 30 years

DVXT Theatre - uses various theatres i.e. Canadian Stage, Buddies in Bad Times, DuMaurier World Stage

E

Earl Grey Players – formed 1946

Eastern Theatres Ltd – 248 King St. East

Eastminster United Church - 310 Danforth Avenue

East Side Players - Pottery Road

Eastwood – 1430 Gerrard St. East, West of Coxwell – Beaux Art design – 770 seats – (1927-1966) – became Naz Theatre then India Theatre - now India Centre Mall

Eaton Auditorium - see also Carlu - opened Oct 30, 1930 at Eaton's 7th Floor Art Moderne Auditorium and Round Room with domed ceiling, two bars and space for up to 300 persons) designed by Jacques Carlu (Yonge and College Streets) - Art Deco style 1400 seat Art Deco concert hall and restaurant, 1928-31 recital hall in the old Eatons College Street store - Yonge and College Streets - top floor – 1275 seats - closed in 1977 when the store closed - Portia White (Nov. 7, 1941); National Ballet of Canada started season here 1951; then transferred to the Royal Alexandra Theatre (they are now in their 50th year); Billie Holiday; Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens; Joyce Grenfell 1955; Elsa Lanchester; Ages of Man (John Gielgud) 1960; Glenn Gould made his stage debut here in 1945 and did all his recordings here from 1970 to 1981 - opening of Easton Centre in 1977 at Queen & Yonge Streets signalled the end of Eatons College Street and it closed in 1977 - site is being restored and will reopen with 2 new bars at the rear of the theatre, a new VIP room, vintage phone booths - hopefully reopening in the Fall of 2002 under the working name of the "Carlu" (named after the architect)

Eaton Centre Cineplex – Dundas St. West of Yonge St – 18 cinemas (1979-2001)- 1600 seats - Garth Drabinsky & Nathan Taylor's baby - formed 1979 - most screens in the world at the time - by 1981 Cineplex had opened and planned 146 screens in 46 locations across Canada - moved into U.S. with Beverley Center Mall in Los Angeles in 1982 - most screens of any theatre in U.S. at that time

Eaton Theatre - see Rogers Communication Centre

Eclipse – 387 Parliament St, South of Dundas – 561 seats (1947-1951) – now Regent Park

Eden – see Madison, Bloor Cinema and Midtown – 947 seats (1973-1979)

Edge - 70 Gerrard St. East - 1977-1982 - Police

Edward Jackman Centre - 947 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor

Eglinton Theatre - 402 Eglinton Avenue West at Avenue Road West - built 1936 Art Deco, with 1,080 seats - vintage, single screen theatre, possibly finest movie house left in Toronto, with THX sound, recently renovated, classic decor make this favorite of discerning movie goers, frequent location for festivals and special screenings - closed April 1, 2002 due to nonincorporation of handicapped facilities to the theatre - being reopened soon (Fall 2003) as the Eglinton Grand, after restoration will be yet another "special events" theatre like the York and Capital

Elgin Theatre - built as Loew's Vaudeville, Yonge Street in 1913-14 - 189 Yonge St. - designed by Thomas Lamb, at a cost of $500,000 (1600 seats) part of the vaudeville circuit - from 1913 to 1928 vaudeville acts and silent films – minimum of three continuous shows a day - Webber and Fields, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, appearing without white face for first time (late 1920s), George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sophie Tucker, Milton Berle and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy - fire 1928 - 30,000.00 damage – showed movies from 1930 - the Elgin later became a cinema renamed Yonge in 1969 and ran until 1982 - in 1985 the both theatres were renovated - opened with Cats (1985 to 1987); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1992); Napoleon 1994 - cost 40 million dollars, in 1989 - the last remaining operating double decker theatre complex in the world - Winter Garden is 7 stories above the Elgin (see also Winter Garden); The Full Monty 2001 (run cut short re reviews)

El Mocambo - 464 Spadina Avenue (at College) - October 2001 ends the gritty and bristling character of the El Mocambo - which perhaps embodied the spirit of rock 'n' roll. The music of the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed (late 1970s), Elvis Costello (1978); Steve Ray Vaughan (1983); Alex Chilton (1995); Galactic Cowboys (1999); Pepper (2001); Donnas - still echos through this legendary club - although the second floor was not used as often recently, it still showcased a few fine performers, while the downstairs stage operated seven days a week - reopening November 2002 with beautifully restored space ; reopening New Year's Eve 2001 at 549 College Street West

Elmore's Hall - 188 1/2 Lowther Avenue - converted chapel of Walmer Road Baptist Church

Embassy – see Astor – 651 Yonge Street – 1934 see New Yorker, Panasonic

Empire – 408 Queen Street East – 528 seats (1926-1955)

Empire Theatre - 31 Yonge Street - 1912-1923 (or perhaps built in 1899?)- repertory companies at Temperance Street North of Adelaide off Yonge Street - housed the New Empire Players (1932-1933)(see Temperance Hall) formerly Star Burlesque - torn down

Empire Theatres Ltd - Stellarton, NS - purchased 27 cinemas from Cineplex in Ontario and Western Canada, including Cineplex Odeon Elgin Mills in Richmond Hill, Cineplex Odeon Square One in Mississauga, and Silver City North York in Toronto - Empire is Canada's second largest theatre chain operating 28 theatres in Atlantic Canada and four others under a joint venture in Western Canada - their holdings also include Sobeys supermarket chain - when deal closes Sept 30/05 they will have 59 theatres with 403 screens

Encore Central Parkway - Mississauga

Encore Upper Canada Place - Burlington

ENRIGHT’S THEATRES OF TORONTO – 1940

Enwave Theatre - 231 Queens Quay West - new 2006 name for Harbourfront Centre Theatre - built in 1926, the Ice House, as it was first known, and its sister building the Power Plant (now an art gallery), provided heating and cooling for North America's largest food warehouse, which is now Queens Quay Terminal - this theatre has hosted over 475 different performance groups

*Equity Showcase Theatre - Performing Space, 651 Dufferin Street - Camino Real, Knuckle, Vieux Carre, Pippin (98), Sunday in the Park With George (00); Into the Woods (01) - cash crisis has forced the closure of Equity Showcase Theatre after 47 years of serving the theatre community (March,2008) - Founded in 1960 by group that included Charmion King, Amelia Hall and Christopher Newton, created to keep actors in the game when performing jobs were hard to come by. Equity Showcase Theatre put on as many as four productions a year of mostly well-known plays

Erindale Studio Theatre - 3359 Mississauga - University of Toronto at Mississauga - see also Theatre Erindale

Erin Mills Town Centre 5 – Mississauga (1984-2001) – 5 screens

Esquire – 2290 Bloor St West at Durie – opened as Lyndhurst – now a Shoppers Drug Mart

Esquire – 408 Queen St. East – 512 seats (1937-1955)

Essence - 287 Richmond St West - nightclub

Ettore Mazzoleni Concert Hall - 273 Bloor Street West - see Royal Conservatory of Music

Eve – see Capri – 717 seats (1972-1986)

Evergreen Commons - proposed site replacing old Don Valley brickworks (16 buildings from the 1950s to 1980s)- to be commercial garden centre, food, arts complex, winter skating, Jamie Kennedy restaurant at a cost of 40 million - opening Spring 2007

Eve’s Paradise – Bloor and Bathurst (1986-1990) – porno house

Exhibition Place - city-owned selling rights to National Trade Centre - to be known as Direct Energy Centre - also new soccer stadium to be built in deal with owners of Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors - 20,000 seats for professional soccer team and recreational programmes - to be completed by June 2007 - located east of Queen Elizabeth building

Exhibition Stadium - demolished 1999 - formerly home of Canadian National Exhibition spectacular grandstand shows - produced annually during the Exhibition - mid August to Labour Day, with featured performers (see CNE) - new 20,000 seat stadium being built to open May 1, 2007 - buildings are being flattened for the new stadium - see BMO Field

F

Fabrik - 134 Peter St - nightclub

*Factory Lab Theatre (formerly Factory Theatre Lab)and Studio - 125 Bathurst Street & Adelaide theatre - celebrating their 36th Anniversary in 2006 - founded in 1970 by Ken Gass in former candle factory at 374 Dupont Street (100 seats) – opened with Act of Violence and We Three, You and I 1970 - now Factory Theatre - bought its theatre in March 1999 – Creeps 1970; Brussels Sprouts 1971; Strawberry Fields 1972;Winter Offensive – moved to Adelaide Court Theatre until 1982 and in 1984 moved to its present location, with 230 seats; Factory Late Shift – late 1980s (Brent Carver) - now in its 40th season (2009/10);

Fairlawn, Odeon Fairlawn – 3320 Yonge St. at Fairlawn – 1165 seats – twinned in 1977 (1946-1985) – demolished - now a bank, which is completely different structure

*Fairview Library Theatre - also home to Amicus Productions - 35 Fairview Mall - 260 seats - now in its 26th year

Fairview Mall – Don Mills Road and Sheppard – 6 screens (1969-2001)- see Rainbow Cinema 6 – taken over by Rainbow 2002

Family – 2173 Queen St. East at Lee – 1914 – renamed the Lake – now a Royal Bank

*Famous People Players - 110 Sudbury Street – 2009 will be their 35th season - dinner theatre - founded 1974 - moved 2009 to 343 Evans Ave @ Kipling

Famous Players Theatre (to be named) - Famous Players will replace the Loew's Uptown with a 10 screen state-of-the-art movie centre across the street as part of a condo plus retail complex at 1 Bloor Street East

Famous Players Theatres - stable includes Colossus, Famous Players, Paramount and Silver City Theatres - Canada’s top grossing theatrical exhibitor - company operates a total of 81 locations with 787 screens across the country, including theatres in its joint venture with IMAX and its partnership with Alliance Atlantis

Far East – Dundas Street West – 647 seats (1989-1999)

*Feast of Fools Theatre - see Village Playhouse, 2190 Bloor Street West

Festival (1964-1965)

Festival – 651 Yonge Street - 516 seats (1978-1982) see New Yorker

see Bell Festival Centre - King and John Streets - proposed site for screenings, exhibits, and workshops and new home for Toronto International Film Festival - five-storey podium-style $122-million Festival Centre will be part of a complex in the Entertainment District - building will include a 41-storey tower. The festival will occupy the lower five floors with 36 levels of condo units above it - centre will include four screening rooms and a large exhibition space, as well as office space for festival staff and housing the festival's reference library - scheduled opening 2008

Filmport - studio complex being built in Portlands, just east of Cherry St, near waterfront - one of largest sound stages in world, in addition to shops and restaurants, effects and costume companies - phase 1 scheduled to open March 2008

Finch 3 – Finch and Dufferin (1976-1999)

Fine Arts – 622 seats – (1977-1984)

Finnish Social Club – 1932 at Community Hall in Scarborough

Firehall Theatre/Old Firehall Theatre - 110 Lombard Street - 1886 constructed as firehall - 1974 became home to Second City for 24 years (Dan Ackroyd,Gilda Radner,Andrea Martin,John Candy,Eugene Levy,Martin Short), until 1997 when they moved to Blue Jays Way - no longer in use - Lemon Sky, Old Times, Sea Horse, Shelter, Unexpected Guest - now rennovated as branch of Gilda's Club (Gilda Radner)

First Canadian Place - Waterfall Stage - small stage area near HMV store, towards Sheraton Centre - Paul Potts 2007;

First Markham Place (C) – 3275 Hwy 7 E. between Woodbine and Warden – 10 screens - 1998

Fishbowl Theatre - uses other theatres i.e. Alumnae Theatre, Toronto Fringe Festival, and collaborates with Company of Lost Souls

5ive - 5 St. Joseph St - nightclub

5 Drive-In Oakville (I) - 2332 9th Line at Hwy 5

519 Church St - a century ago an annex of Granite Club - later 48th Highlanders Hall - Jim Carey did comedy in basement - 1976 it was home to Yuk Yuks before they moved to Bay Street - used to be bowling alley in basement

Fleck Dance Theatre - see Premiere Dance Theatre

Fly - 8 Gloucester - nightclub

Footwork - 425 Adelaide Street West - previously Crybaby, and before that Matrixx - club venue

*Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (originally known as North York Performing Arts Centre, then Ford and now Toronto Centre for the Arts) - 5040 Yonge Street, North York - was the home of Livent Productions (founded in 1989 - opened 1993) - (Main Hall 1780 seats (had short life as Apotex Theatre) - George Weston Recital Hall 1030 seats, Studio Theatre 200 seats), in Vancouver the new Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (1,849 seats) plus the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in New York (1,839 seats), also Ford Centre in Chicago - Showboat (inaugural production); *Ragtime (530); Fosse: A Celebration in Song, Sunset Boulevard (977); Swingstep 1999- changed to North York Performing Arts Centre after bankruptcy 1998 theatre fell into disuse for better part of a decade - My Fair Lady 2008; Jersey Boys 2008;

Fort Rouille - on the grounds of the CNE - 1720 first European theatrical performance in region

Forum – 678 Mt. Pleasant Road (1948-1949)

Forum - open concert hall at Ontario Place - see Ontario Place and Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place

401 & Morningside (C) – 785 Milner Avenue, Scarborough – 1997 – 11 cinemas

410/7 Centre – 150 West Drive (1990-2001)

Four Seasons Centre for the Arts - see Opera House - new five tiered horseshoe shaped theatre being built to house the Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada - three storey glass building with 2000 seats; R. Fraser Elliott Hall - opening June, 2006 (only such facility dedicated to opera in Canada)

Fox Cinema (Festival) - 2236 Queen St. East – 546 seats - 1913 – opened as the Theatre Without a Name – also named Pastime, and Prince Edward before becoming the Fox – now a repertory cinema with 250 seats - probably will be shut down - getting new lease on life from Napoleonic Theatres Ltd - to be refurbished 2007 reopening Sept 29/07 - official launch Oct 1/07

Fox Weston – see Weston

Franks Hotel - (West Market Street) now Front Street at Jarvis - 1820 - first theatrical performance in York of local actors - took place in Ballroom on 2nd floor, The School For Scandal put on by local actors, Little Pickles, and in 1825 the earliest known opera performance "The Mountaineers" (1925)- now Dominion store

*Fringe of Toronto Festival

Frog and Nightgown Theatre - 93 Raglan Avenue

Funhaus - 526 Queen West - nightclub

G

Galli Theatre - 96 Spadina Avenue, Ste. 202

Garden Theatre – 290 College St, West of Spadina – 526 seats (1910-1965) – had roof garden with Garden Theatre Orchestra - now a computer outlet and Exclusive Paints

Garden Centre Theatre – see Prudhomme

Garret Theatre (1967-1970) - small intimate theatre - 35 seats - no longer in use - Incident in Rosedale, Stranger Unto My Brethren - used by playwright John Herbert (Fortune and Men's Eyes) to present his works

Gasworks – former 585 Yonge Street tavern with entertainment - Rush - closed 1993

Gate 403 – 403 Roncesvalles – local jazz club

Gateway 6 – Gateway Blvd, Brampton – 6 plex (1988-2001)

Gatsby's - 504 Church Street at Alexander - cabaret performances with dinner, restaurant closed but reopening in 2002

Gay – 309 Parliament and Dundas Streets – 512 seats (1954-1964) – see Blue Bell

Gayety Theatre - (1909-1927) – a burlesque house

Gem – (1955-1957)

George Brown Theatre - 530 King St. East - Angels in America Pt I (03)

*George Ignatieff Theatre - 15 Devonshire Place (180 seats)

George's Spaghetti House - jazz club - closed 1992

(Le)Germain Hotel - Mercer Street

Gerrard – 1908 Gerrard St. East at Woodbine – 768 seats (1927-1953)

Gladstone Hotel– cabaret type venue - 1214 Queen St. West near Dufferin – restored and reopened 2005 as series of artist’s studios – one of Toronto’s hotspots – 116 years old in 2005

Glendale – Avenue Road, above Lawrence (1947-1975) – 995 seats and Cinerama screen i.e. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Battle of the Bulge – now a car dealership

Glen Morris Studio Theatre - 4 Glen Morris (90 seats)- (just East of Spadina Avenue) - built 1916 and once a Russian Greek Orthodox Church - has been home of the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama since 1968

Global Theatre - Beginning November 24/03, The Mike Bullard Show will be seen five nights a week at midnight on the Global Television Network. The show will be taped nightly, in front of a studio audience, at the new Global Theatre at 98 The Esplanade in Toronto, in what was formerly the News Theatre - Bullard Show cancelled as of March 12/04; new host Jebb Fink as of June 2004 – space available for lease again July 2004

Glenn Gould Studio - 1936 - 337 seat theatre in CBC building - see Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Global Village (1969-1975) - 17 St. Nicholas Street - theatre ran by Robert and Elizabeth Swerdlow, managed by Roy Fleming - Facad 1969 Toronto's first full-length drag queen variety show(transferred to run at Royal Alexandra Theatre), Eyes, Fables, Hey Justine, Jubalay, Justine 1970 (ran off Broadway as Love Me,Love My Children for 7 months, Nuts and Bolts and Rusty Things, Outcry, Peter and the Wolf, Rats, Spring Thaw, The Truth Behind the Dykes, Tubstrip; Paul Van Vliet - theatre presently being used for skateboarding

Globe -Queen Street, West of Yonge - 1880s to 1930s - Burns and Allen; Tommy Burns and his Big Bathing Girl Revue (from Showcard) - see Broadway - replaced with Four Seasons Hotel complex when new City Hall built in 1957

Golden Classics – 706 seats (1994-1995) – Chinese films

Golden Dragon – 498 seats (1984-1985) – Chinese films

Golden Harvest - see Standard, Victory

Golden Horseshoe Players - 3809, 44 Charles Street West

Golden Mile – Eglinton and Pharmacy – 995 seats - 2 cinemas (1954-1986)

Golden Princess – 1985 – renamed Royal in 1995 – 736 seats – Chinese films

Graffiti's - 170 Baldwin Street

Granada – 415 Danforth Avenue at Logan – 500 seats – across street from the Model (1935-1960) – now restaurant

Grand – see Allenby (1909-1925)

Grand – Danforth – opened and closed in 1999 – see Roxy

Grand at Orion Gate – 410 and Steeles, Brampton – 1999 – 10 screens

Grande at the Sheppard Centre (C) – 1998 – 10 screens – Hwy 410 & Steeles

Grande Yonge (C) - 4962 Yonge Street

Grand Opera House -(1874-1927) 11 Adelaide St West, South side, just West of Yonge St. – 2,196 seats - lavish interior – opened with School For Scandal 1874 (Nickinson’s Stock Company (1874-78) - Tony Pastor 1875 - destroyed by fire in 1879, new one reopened in 1880, with 1300 seats - gas lighting - by 1905had declined to 2nd class status - redesigned by Thomas Lamb in 1916 and reopened as the Regent - Abie's Irish Rose 1916; Maurice Barrymore, Sir Henry Irving, Sarah Bernhaardt 1881, Giuseppe Del Puente, Antonio Galassi - School For Scandal - torn down in 1927 after being empty several years, and many fires - only hint is the laneway running off Adelaide Street which bears its name

Grant – 522 Oakwood Avenue at Vaughan Road – 672 seats (1929-1956) – renovated and reopened as the New Grant

Grasshopper Bar – 460 Parliament Street – local jazz club

Great Hall - 1087 Queen St. West – see also The Great Hall

Greenwood – see Guild

Grossman’s Tavern – Spadina Avenue entertainment spot of the 1960s

Grove – (1944-1945)

Grover – 2714 Danforth Avenue near Dawes Road –794 seats (1927-1956) – closed in the late 1950s – then became a nightclub, Spectrum and Thunder and today is a homeless shelter, Cyclepath

Guild – 1275 Gerrard St. East at Greenwood – opened as the Greenwood – 435 seats – (1940-1951) – now retail store

Guild Inn Gardens - 201 Guildwood Parkway

Guvernment/Kool Haus – cabaret type venue – 132 Queen’s Quay East

H

Hanlan's Point Amusement Park - baseball stadium early 1900s to 1920s - Babe Ruth played here 1914 - fires 1903 & 1909

Harborfront – 198 seats - 1984

*Harbourfront Centre - York Quay Centre - houses the du Maurier World Stage Festival - 235 Queen's Quay West - founded in 1986 - 231 Queens Quay West - du Maurier Theatre Centre (400 seats); Premiere Dance Theatre - (400 seats) - 207 Queen's Quay West

Harbourfront Centre Theatre - 231 Queen's Quay West - formerly the DuMaurier Theatre Centre – 400 seats - Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (04)- name being changed Dec 2006 to Enwave Theatre

Harbourfront Studio Theatre - 235 Queen's Quay - see Harbourfront Centre

Hard Rock Cafe - 279 Yonge Street

Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company - starting March 2008, 2 play season including Rose (Martin Sherman), starring Lally Cadeau; and Sisters Rosensweig; also considering in concert versions of The Rothchilds, and Milk and Honey

*Hart House Theatre - (University of Toronto) - 7 Hart House Circle – (500 seats) - began in 1913 and finished in 1919 – first season The Queen’s Enemies; The Farce of Master Pierre; Patelin; Alchemist; The Nativity and the Adoration; Trojan Women; New Sin and Love’s Labour’s Lost - (actors passed through includes Donald Sutherland, Charmion King, William Hutt, Kate Reid and Donald Harron) – Town Tonics 1934; America Hurrah,Arsenic and Old Lace (1444); Saint Joan (Charmion King) 1947; , Caste, Changeling, Children of Darkness, Clap Hands, Dark of the Moon, Devils, Emperor, Emperor Jones, Endgame, Fan, 15 Miles of Broken Glass, Ghosts, John Gabriel Borkman, Mame, Man's a Man, Maquettes, Mourning Becomes Electra (69), Next Time I'll Sing To You, Promise, Salad Days 1956 (Eric Christmas,Jack Creley,Norma Renault,Mary Savidge - transferred to Royal Alex); Saved, Sweet Bird of Youth, Tango, Temps des Lilas, Touch of the Poet, La Turista, Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd; West Side Story (01) - talk currently (April, 2000) of tearing the theatre down. This, despite its reputation as a Canadian Theatre Shrine - fortunately the theatre continues to operate

Healey’s – cabaret type venue – 178 Bathurst Street

*Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse - 79A St. George St. (seats 115)

Heliconian Hall - 35 Hazelton Avenue

*Herongate Barn Theatre - Whitevale, Ontario

High Park Amphitheatre - over 20 years of outdoor theatre - see Canstage

Hillcrest – 285 Christie Street – 428 seats (1943-1952)

Hillcrest – 9350 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill – 5 screens (1980-1998)

Hippodrome – City Hall Square – (1924-1925) - 3,665 seats - Bay Street - site of new City Hall - see Sheas

His Majesty’s Feast – started 1978

Hollywood Cinema (North and South) – 1519 Yonge Street above St. Clair Avenue – duplexed (1930-2000) – 1709 seats - now closed

Hollywood Theatre at Sick Kids - opened May 2007 - over 230 seats

Holman Opera House - 1883 – now site of Paramount cinema at John and Richmond Streets – which also doubled as skating rink

Home Depot Theatre - opening June 2004 at Ashbridges Bay Park - 500 seats, all weather facility - Romeo and Juliet 2004 - failed endeavour - currently for sale April 2007

Honestman Productions - 205 Vaughan Road, Suite 35 - South

Horseshoe Tavern – 370 Queen Street West @ Spadina Avenue – 60th Anniverary year (1947-2007) - built 1861 as blacksmith shop - 1947 becomes Horseshoe - sometimes used for cabaret - From its post-war origins as a honky-tonk hosting the likes of Willie Nelson, Conway Twittie, Charlie Pride, Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn, through its Canadiana years as Stompin’ Tom Connors (25 consecutive nights) stomping ground in the late 1960s, 1971, Carter Family, Bruce Cockburn, Ian & Sylvia, Good Brothers, Hank Williams: the Show He Never Gave 1977, name changed to Stagger Lee's and is even turned into strip club for a couple of months and then to its punk glory days a decade later, to its ascendancy as the birthplace of Canada’s new rock heroes (The Tragically Hip, Watchmen, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Rough Trade, Prairie Oyster, B-52's, Moxy Frόvous, Barenaked Ladies) in the ’80s and ’90s, and since then as a showcase for an astonishing array of diverse emerging talent from across Canada and around the world - In 1997 we started booking really pink stuff, like Blue Rodeo, Nickelback, Billy Talent, the Tragically Hip (late 1980s), Barenaked Ladies, Foo Fighters, Rolling Stones (1997), Police, the Band, Ramones, Arcade Fire, Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd, Matchbox 20, Vic Chestnutt, Goldfinger, Therapy, Ash, Nada Surf, Spoon, Kathleen Edwards, Thrush Hermit, Strokes

Horticultural Pavillion in Allan Gardens - used for occasional concert

House of Hambourg - Toronto jazz club -extinct - The Connection

Hudson – 675 Mt. Pleasant Rd – Mt. Pleasant Theatre (1928-1948)

Hugh’s Room – cabaret type venue – 2261 Dundas Street West

Humber – 2442 Bloor St. West and Jane Streets – 1946 – 1203 seats - 2 cinemas – still operating at Cineplex multi-screen - last film shown July 20/03 and now has a for sale sign – Odeon Humber

Humber Studio Theatre - Kipling, South of Lakeshore Blvd.

*Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts - 1 Front Street East - opened in 1960 as the O'Keefe Centre (3,150 seats) home to Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada (50th Anniversary Year)(O'Keefe/Hummingbird from 1964 to 2006) - Name changed to Hummingbird Nov. 30, 1996 - Theatre has become a white elephant, talk of renovation and building a condo at the west side of the theatre (2000) - Beauty and the Beast (01); Copacabana (00); Burn the Floor (01); Mandy Patinkin (01); Blast (02); Last Empress (04); Bombay Dreams (06); - April 15/06, the Canadian Opera Company brings down the curtain for the last time after 45 years at the Hummingbird (formerly O'Keefe) Centre - opera company moved there in 1961 to 2006 - also National Ballet moving to new Four Seasons Centre for the Arts in Sept/06 – theatre to be closed for 2 years as of August 2007 after revival of Camelot - 2007 to be renamed Sony Centre for the Arts

Hungarian Art Theatre – formed 1958

Hush - 457 Richmond St West - nightclub

Hyland Theatre – 1501 Yonge Street above St. Clair – 1357 seats - (1948-2001) - see Odeon Hyland

I

Ideal – 210 Main St. at Gerrard – 480 seats (1941-1952)

IMAX - Ontario Place

IMAX - Ontario Science Centre

Imperial – built as Pantages - became Imperial 1930, Imperial 6 in 1973 - closed 1986 - became single screen Pantages 1987 - closed August 1988 to films but continues as live theatre venue, first as Pantages then as Canon - 263 Yonge Street at Dundas (1920-1988) - featured Jack Arthur's Imperialettes – 3206 seats

Imperial (Oil’s) Players Guild

Imperial Room - see Royal York Hotel

Imperial Six – see Pantages

Indian Theatre – 1430 Gerrald near Coxwell – 1998 – films in Tamil

Inn on the Park - Eglinton and Don Mills - built 1963 - emolished May 2006 for car dealership

Interchange 30 (AMC) - 1975 – 30 Interchange Way, Hwy 400 & Hwy 7

International Cinema – built as Oriole – 557 seats - an art cinema on 2061 Yonge Street above Davisville and below Eglinton Avenue (1946-1987)

Iola Theatre

*Isabel Bader Theatre

Island – Centre Island – 705 seats (1949-1955)

J

Jabberwock & Sons Full Theatre Company - 1980

Jane Mallett Theatre - see St. Lawrence Centre

Jeff Healey's Roadhouse - 56 Blue Jays Way

Jezebel Burlesque - 227 Ossington - opened Spring 2009 - formerly home of Baby Dolls Strip Club

Jiri Schubert’s – former Toronto cabaret on Pears Avenue

Joe - 250 Richmond St West - nightclub

John Candy Box Theatre - 70 Peter Street - Toronto's Second City troupe officially raised the curtain 2009 on a new performance space named after the late Canadian comedy great John Candy - cozy theatre space is part of Second City Toronto's Training Centre, which offers courses to the general public on improvisation, acting and writing and will host regular pay-what-you-can shows and serve as a performance venue for Second City students.

John Bassett Theatre - metro toronto convention centre - 255 Front Street West - 1330 seat multi-purpose auditorium

Joker - 318 Richmond St West - nightclub

Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre - see York University

Joseph Workman Theatre - 1001 Queen St. West - (in Queen Street Mental Facility) - to be demolished in near future

Joy – 1130 Queen St. East near Jones – 380 seats, built as the Rex (1943-1953) – now a restaurant – The Indian Maharaja

Jupiter Theatre – 1951 – group of CBC radio actors i.e. Lorne Greene – used the Museum Theatre of the Royal Ontario Museum, as well as the Ryerson, and Royal Alexander theatres – 41 performances of 4 plays in Museum Theatre – Galileo; Biggest Thief in Town; Socrates; Crime Passionel - company disbanded

K

Kaneff Centre - see University of Toronto at Mississauga - 3359 Mississauga Road

Kay’s Puppets

Keating's Coffee House - Church and Front Streets - site of York's 3rd theatre - 1833 - barnlike structure with stable in back, in this stable York's 3rd theatre was born - no gallery - seats arranged on ground floor for 200 to 300 people - comedy team Mr. & Mrs. Thorne

Kennedy Commons 20 (AMC) - Kennedy Rd & 401

Kensington – 565 College St at Bathurst – 524 seats – see King (1972-1975)

Kensington Karnival - 96 Spadina Ave., Suite 705

Kensington Youth Theatre - 466 Bathurst Street

Kent Theatre - located on 1488A Yonge Street, just above St. Clair – 520 seats (1942-1963) – demolished

Kenwood – 962 Bloor St West near Dovercourt – 599 seats (1930-1957) – now Emin Centre

Kew Beach United Church Auditorium - 140 Wineva

King – 565 College St and Manning – renamed from King 2 – (1934-1951) - became the Studio - closed 1970

King Edward Hotel - by 1925 featuring jazz orchestras like Romanelli and his celebrated King Edward Hotel Radio Suncopaters - Crystal Ballroom opened in 1922 on top of the new addition big bands, big stars - closed to the public a few years ago but can still be visited on the annual Doors Open weekend

King Lung – 496 seats (1984-1985) - Chinese films

King’s Playhouse – 1082 Queen St. West – see Avon (1941-1942)

Kingsway Theatre (Festival) - 3030 Bloor Street West, west of Royal York Road – 1936(9?) – 697 seats - repertory cinema - closing end of June 2006 - closed for 2 1/2 years - reopening Jan 2/09 as first run cinema

Kingswood – 922 Kingston Road (1929-1938)

*Kingswood Music Theatre - see also Paramount Canada's Wonderland (16,000 seats) 1983-1999 - Bette Midler (83), Johnny Mathis (83), Neil Young, Barry Manilow

Kitchener – see Paradise

Knights of the Masonic Temple - see Russell's Hotel

Koerner Hall - 1,140-seat concert hall to be used by the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Glenn Gould School and RCM Royal Conseravtory School faculty, as well as for the Conservatory's gala events, rehearsals and classes. The hall will also be used by partner organizations, such as the Opera Atelier, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Toronto Children's Chorus and CBC Radio and Television - opens Sept 2009 - see Royal Conservatory of Music and Telus Centre for Performance and Learning

Koffler Centre of the Arts - Koffler Gallery/Koffler Centre of the Arts is located at the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre, 4588 Bathurst Street - see also Leah Posluns Theatre - 250M Jewish centre on the way called Sherman Campus to be completed 2011 to house centre for Jewish Heritage, rebuilt Koffler Centre for the Arts, 500 seat Leah Posluns Theatre, and 6,500 square metre athlectic and social centre

Krishna – 423 seats (1979-1980)

Kum-C – 1288 Queen St. W., West of Dufferin – 596 seats (1933-1964) – now martial arts studio

L

Labyrinth Lounge

*La Cage - 279 Yonge Street - second floor-now closed

Lake – see Family – 2173 Queen St. East – 531 seats (1948-1953)

Lakeshore – 1474 Queen St. West – renamed from Odeon – (1965-1980)

Lakeview Drive-In (I) - 11 Polson

Landsdowne – 683 Lansdowne Ave at Bloor St – 904 seats - built as Park and in 1937 became the Lansdowne – home of Ken Soble Amateur Hour – (1936-1958)now retail stores

La Plaza - 1930s – 735 Queen St. East, E. of Broadview – 787 seats (1931-1958) – known as Acropolis in late 1950s – Mama Let Me Sing; 1962 became Dundas and in 1965 Cinema Ellas - now the Opera House

La Reta – Pape and Downsview (1937-1938)

Larry's Hideaway - 121 Carlton St - 1978-1984 - closed 1986 - R.E.M.

La-Salle – 526 Dundas St. West – 681 seats (1947-1955)

*Leah Posluns Theatre (founded 1977- ) - part of a huge Jewish Centre on 4588 North Bathurst Street - Minnie's Boys 1979 - see also Koffler Centre

Le Coq d’Or – former Yonge Street tavern with entertainment

Lee's Palace – cabaret type venue - 529 Bloor Street West

Leigha Lee Browne Theatre - 1265 Military Trail

Lester B. Pearson Theatre - 150 Central Park, Brampton

LeTHAL (Le Theatre de L'Homme Actors Laboratorium) - 9 Inkerman Street, Unit 3

Liberty Grand - Entertainment Complex - 25 British Columbia Rd., Exhibition Grounds

Lido – 698 seats - 1974

*Limelight Dinner Theatre - 2026 Yonge Street - opened in 1979 in a church on Yonge Street and still running today in a different location – Curtains Up; Mame (1508)

Little – Yonge Street Arcade

*Living Arts Centre , 4141 Living Arts Centre Drive, Mississauga - houses the Hammerson Hall (1,315 seats), Royal Bank Theatre (300 seats), and the Rogers Theatre (100 seats)

Little Red Theatre - touring childrens theatre

Live@Courthouse - 57 Adelaide St. E., 2nd & 3rd floors, 150 seats - opens March 2007

Loew’s – see Loew’s Uptown

Loew's Uptown - opened 1920 - 3000 seats - 764 Yonge Street at Bloor Street – the dance choreographer was Leon Leonidoff, who along with partner Jack Arthur, created a chorus line with showgirls of the same height forming a precision number, and Leonidoff wound up at Radio City Music Hall where he created “The Rockettes” - theatre gutted by fire in late 1960s and in 1970 the theatre was divided into 5 auditoriums, the main theatre with 900 seats with 2 backstage cinemas I and II added (31 Balmuto Avenue at Bloor Street in rear of the theatre)- closed and the Uptown is slated to be closed on September 13, 2003 following screening of the 28th Annual Toronto International Film Festival, due to nonincorporation of handicapped facilities to the theatres – building has been sold to a developer for 50 storey condo tower – Famous Players will replace the Uptown with a 10 screen state-of-the-art movie centre across the street as part of a condo plus retail complex at 1 Bloor Street East – theatres (Uptown, Backstage I and II) demolished late 2003

Loew's Yonge Street – 189 Yonge Street above Queen (2096 seats) 1913 - atmospheric style - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies - last vaudeville played here in 1930 - and for next 48 years survived as film theatre - see Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, also Yonge Theatre

Loew's Vaudeville Theatre - see Elgin Theatre

Loew's Yonge Street - see Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres

Loft - 235 Queens Quay West

Loft 18 + Adult Cinema - beside AOV Video - south of Gerrard on E side of Yonge

Long Shong 2 – 4350 Steeles Ave East (1998-2001) – Chinese films

Loop Centre, Artscape Wychwood Barns - Binti's Journey -2009

Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People - see Young Peoples Theatre – 2006 is 40th Anniversary season

Lot 332 - 332 Richmond St West - nightclub

Lotus Nightc lub - 26 Lombard Street

Loud Mouth Asian Babes - dedicated to the development and production of new Canadian works by, for and about Loud Mouth Asian women who may or may not be Babes, Loud Mouth Asian Babes who may or may not be women, and Loud Mouth Babes that we really dig - Theatre Centre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto Fringe

Lower Ossington Theatre - 100A Ossington Ave - has been performing arts space for more than 4 years, previously a dance studio - home to Classical Theatre Project and Toronto Youth Theatre

Lucid - 126 John Street - large 53,000 square feet nightclub - opened summer 2004 - closed doors July 2005

Lula Lounge – cabaret type venue – 1585 Dundas Street West

Lux Theatre – 743 seats – became burlesque house

LyceumTheatre – (ran 1846-1847) – located near the Royal Alexandra Theatre - seated 1,149 – former stable – had resident company led by John Nickinson with 34 member company – seventy pieces staged over 31 nights - changed to film house in 1930 - demolished

Lyndhurst – see Esquire – Bloor ST. near Runnymede (1927-1937)

Lyric Theatre - Yiddish theatre built in a converted Methodist church - later became the National

QUICK GUIDE - A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z

M

*MacMillan Theatre -80 Queen's Park - University of Toronto

Madison – 506 Bloor St West – (1919-1939) - see Bloor Cinema, Midtown, Eden, Capri and Eve

Madison – North York (1939-1940)

Madison 5 – 4950 Yonge St. near Sheppard – 5 screens (1986-1998)

Majestic - (1903-1930) - 1175 seats - vaudeville house at 27 Adelaide Street West, just West of Grand Opera House - assumed location of Toronto Opera House which burned down 1903 - later renamed the Regent converted to film house - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies - torn down

Majestic Music Hall – built as a vaudeville theatre (1909-1915)

Major Theatre – 435 Rogers Road – 663 seats (1927-1955)

Major Theatre – 1780 St. Clair Ave West (1927-1955) – Cinema Italia - now a church

Malton – Mississauga – 312 seats (1979-1982)

Manor – 202 Kingston Road (1938-1940)

Mansion House - 1825 - north side of King Street, just east of Sherbourne Street, performance by a travelling American company with an evening of song - Richard III 1826

Maple Leaf – Queen Street West

*Maple Leaf Gardens - 60 Carlton Street - (at Church Street) - (15,700 seats) - opened in 1931 Maple Leaf Gardens, legendary home to the Toronto Maple Leafs who captured 11 Stanley Cup Championships here - it was home to legends Charlie Conacher and Dave Keon - the hockey arena stretched some 350 feet along Carlton and Wood Streets, and 300 feet on Church Street - also housed the Hot Stove Lounge - architects Ross and Macdonald who were responsible for Eaton's College Street, Union Station, Royal York Hotel and a former bank building at the northeast corner of King and Yonge - The Gardens are now abandoned for the new Air Canada Centre - also house circuses, ice shows, rock concerts - even ballet - Royal Ballet; Mazowsze; Moiseyev; Royal Danish Ballet; Bolshoi Ballet; Robert Iglesias; Ballet Espagnol and opera like the Metropolitan Opera before the O'Keefe Centre/Hummingbird Centre was built - artists like Neil Young 1973; Bob Dylan, the Moscow Circus (77), Victor Borge's Comedy in Music; Elvis Presley 1957; Beatles 1964; Little Richard; John Denver; Neil Diamond (76-78)currently the site is on the market and the decision should be made by around July - hopefully the facade can be saved - The Gardens is to become a Loblaws Super Store (purchased 2004 but nothing proceded at the time), and updated ice rink, recreation centre for Ryerson University complete with gym, etc. - expected to open Spring 2011

Maple Leaf Square - $350 million public square adjacent to Air Canada Centre - to be completed 2009 - will include two condo towers (40 and 44 storeys), restaurants and a 2,000 seat concert venue, broadcast studio, retail complex and a 171 room hotel

Maple Leaf Stadium - 20,000 seats on 7 acres at Bathurst and Fleet Streets 1926 to early 1960s - closed 1967 - demolished 1968

Market Square 6 Cinema - 80 Front Street East (6 cinemas - Odeon Cineplex) – (1983-2001) - now closed but planned reopening June 20/03 as the Rainbow Cinema playing 6 firstrun films

Markham Theatre - Town Centre

Markville – Hwy 7 and McCowan – 6 screens (1982-2000)

Marquee Event Theatre - 280 Coxwell Ave at Gerrard St

Mary Pickford Theatre - (1916-1947) Northwest corner of Queen and Spadina – see the Pickford, and also Auditorium, Avenue, Variety

Masonic Hall - built for a secret society in 1918, one of Canada's most legendary music venues, The Masonic Temple has hosted concerts by Frank Sinatra, R.E.M, David Bowie, The Pogues, Ike and Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, The Tragically Hip and Public Enemy; it was recently used as a rehearsal space for The Rolling Stones. The concert hall itself is now the set for MTV's flagship show, MTV Live

*Massey Hall - 178 Victoria Street - started building in 1889 in honour of Charles Massey and opened in 1894 as Massey Music Hall with a performance of Handel"s Messiah - later called Massey Hall - acts from the Great Enrico Caruso 1920, Nellie Melba, Jeanette Macdonald, Eleanor Roosevelt to wrestling - (2765 seats) - replaced by the new Roy Thompson Hall, but still used for concerts and one-man type shows - Restless Underwear, Paul Simon, Bob Newhart, Carol Channing, Cleo Laine, Paul Williams, Joan Sutherland, Edwin Hawkins Singers; Chad Mitchell Trio; Rough Trade; Divine; Rod McKuen; Neil Young 1971; Cat Stevens (76); Roger Williams (76)

Matrixx - see Footwork

Mavety – see West End

Mayfair – 347 Jane St. below Annette – 478 seats (1929-1959) – now a bank

Mazzoleni Concert Hall - see Telus Centre for Performance and Learning

McLaughlin Performance Hall - see York University

McMaster Hall - historic space which is to be restored to its former grandeur

*Meadowvale Theatre - 6315 Montevideo Road, Mississauga

*Medieval Times - dinner show and adventure - permanent location at Exhibition Place at the Dufferin Gates

Melody – 344 College Street – 453 seats - see Playhouse (1963-1964)

Melody Fair – theatre in the round - run in Toronto from 1951 to 1954 in 1,600 seat tent at Dufferin Park Raceway (1951-52); CNE Grounds (1953) but closed 4 years later – then housed for a time in the Mutual Street Arena - 10 to 12 productions mounted each summer - leading roles were taken by U.S. performers, and supporting roles by Canadians, many at the beginning of their careers, i.e. Kathryn Albertson, Glenn Gardiner, Robert Goulet, Sylvia Grant, Alexander Gray, Joan Maxwell - among the 43 productions - Bigadoon; Carousel; Desert Song; Finian's Rainbow; Kiss Me Kate; Oklahoma; Roberta; Rose Marie; Showboat; Song of Norway (1951)

Meta-Physical Theatre - PO Box 404, Station C

Metro – 679 Bloor St. West at Manning – 696 seats - (1938-1967) – art deco – reopened 1978-1982 as porno house - still showing porn 7 days a week but has been on market for 3 years and is in bad shape so death may be imminent

Metro Central YMCA - 20 Grosvenor Street

Metropolis - entertainment facility on the north side of Yonge and Dundas, the builders anticipate two years of construction - facility will feature retail space, restaurants, and AMC Megaplex 24 movie theatres, will be partly built over the Ryerson parking garage. Ryerson will have access to 12 of the 24 theatres to use as classrooms weekday mornings - was supposed to be completed by Summer 1999 - now looking at 2006

Mezzetta Cafι – 681 St. Clair Avenue West – local jazz club

Mezzrow’s – 1546 Queen Street West – local jazz club

Midtownn – 506 Bloor St. West at Bathurst – 1089 seats – opened as the Madison (1941-1966) – now operating as the Bloor Cinema, a repertory house – also was known as the Capri and Eden

Mighty Brave Theatre - productions presented at Equity Theatre Showcase, Cameron House etc.

Miller’s Assembly Room – 1809 – refurbished from a former coffee house – visit by British actors Potter and Thompson (May 7,1809) – theatrical performance of songs, recitation and ventriloquism

Mime Theatre Unlimited - 1975

Mimico Presbyterian Church - 119 Mimico Ave, Etobicoke - home to Sirius Theatrical Company

Mimico Rex

Mink - 150 Pearl - nightclub

*Minkler Auditorium - see Seneca College

Mirabel – 465 seats (1979-1980)

Mississauga Players

Mixed Company - a Toronto-based theatre company that uses the techniques of Augusto Boal and the Sweet Medicine teachings of the Deer Tribe to educate and bring focus to pressing social issues

Mod Club Theatre – 722 College Street – cabaret type venue - East Village Opera Company 2005

Model – 416 Danforth Ave (1929-1933) – was across street from the Granada - now restaurant - see also Granada

Modern Times Stage Company - 96 Spadina Avenue, Suite 705

*Molson Amphitheatre - Ontario Place (16,000 seats)- opened 1994 - celebrating 10th summer of great music 2004 - originally opened as The Forum with topnotch entertainers - Ella Fitzgerald, Jane Oliver, National Ballet of Canada

*Molson Indy - Exhibition Place (70,000 per day)- see Canadian National Exhibition

Monarch – 720 College St.

Money - 199 Richmond St West - nightclub

Moore's Musee Theatre - see Sheas Theatre

Montreal Bistro – 65 Sherbourne Street – 120 seats - local jazz club - closed July 2006, after 25 years - was Toronto's oldest jazz venue - Oscar Peterson, Diana Krall - comparable to NYC's Village Vanguard

Moore's Musee Theatre - see Sheas

Morningside - Scarborough

Moss Park – see Regent

Mt. Dennis – Weston - 661 seats (1929-1975)

Mt. Pleasant Theatre (I) - 675 Mount Pleasant Road – 459 seats – 1949 – still operating

MoVIPlex 9 – Pickering – 1994-2002

Musee - see Robinson's Musee

Museum Theatre – in the Royal Ontario Museum

Music Fair – (1958-1960) - summer musical shows in a 2000 seat tent at Dixie Plaza - Goodbye Charlie, Most Happy Fella, Redhead, Silk Stockings, Song of Norway (860)

Music Hall - in Mechanics' Institute on Church Street

*Music Hall - 147 Danforth Avenue - Completed in 1918, over the years the Music Hall has been a playhouse, a cinema and a concert hall - see Allen Danforth and the Century Theatre – renamed 1977 from Danforth – 998 seats - 19702 was an all-night theatre before turning to stage shows - Barbara Cook (79); A Rose for Mr. Tango (Dec 1988 to Apr 1989 - 6 mos); The Police, James Brown, Duran Duran – used for second run films for many yearsVagina Monologues -- closed September 1/04 – renovated and refurbished and reopened with Song and Dance May 2006; Toxic Avenger 2009;

Music Hall of Fame - new permanent home being built at Yonge and Dundas Square – scheduled to open summer 2007 – three floor hall will be part of 10 storey Metropolis entertainment centre already under construction on Northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets – 57 Canadian artists have been inducted since 1978

Mutual Street Arena – hockey games before Maple Leaf Gardens - see Melody Fair

Mynah Bird Club - 114 Yorkville Ave – popular nightsport in the 1960s - Neil Young 1966, Rick James

Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre - 2026 Yonge Street – see also Limelight Dinner Theatre

N

Naaz – 750 seats – opened and closed in 1979

Nathan Phillips Square - City Hall - Queen Street West at Bay Street - 2010 undergoing major facelift by end of 2012 - new permanent theatre stage, two level restaurant, visitor information kiosk and skate pavillion

National – 287 Spadina Avenue – built as home for Yiddish theatre – torn down and became the Victory

National – Yonge and Gerrard - see Rio - 1934

*National Ballet of Canada - now in their 51st year (2002) - see also Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts and Royal Alexandra Theatre - the company was formed in 1951 under the direction of Celia Franca, first performances at Eaton Auditorium, rehearsals at St. Lawrence Hall, with principal dancers Brian MacDonald, Grant Strate, Yves Cousineau, Angela Leigh, David Adams, Lois Smith, Lawrence Adams, Lilian Jarvis, Robert Ito, Earl Kraul, Veronica Tennant, Nadia Potts - in the late 1950s a 6 week season at the Royal Alexandra, plus touring -- 1960s the season was at the O'Keefe Centre where it still presents its season -- early 1970s European tour as well as major U.S. cities

National Ballet School - 105 Maitland Street - moving to Jarvis Street Nov/05 in newly developed former CBC property, add a new training facility, and to renovate and refurbish some of its existing facilities - Jarvis Street campus is two storeys made of Northfield House, built in 1856 and the restored former Havergal Ladies College (1898 and 1901)

National Film Board/NFB Mediatheque - 150 John St.

National Theatre - see Lyric

National Trade Centre - see Direct Energy Centre

Native Canadian Centre - 16 Spadina Road

Native Earth Performing Arts - 55 Mill Street, case goods bldg #74 - formerly at 720 Bathurst Street, Suite 503

Necessary Angel - now in their 21st season - co-founded by Stratford Festival's Richard Rose

NDWT – (1975-1982) – a Toronto group set up to tour Canada – Donnellys Trilogy; Hamlet - active until 1982 – home was the Bathurst Street Theatre – left there in 1980

N.E. Drive-in Theatre - Willowdale

Neutral - 349A College Street - nightclub

New Bijou Theatre - 26 Queen St. West

New Broadview Hotel - NW corner of Queen and Broadview – built 1891 – currently strip club called “Jilly’s”

New Czech Theatre – founded 1970

New Edwin Hotel - circa 1910

New Globe Theatre - 357 Lonsdale Road

New Grant – see Grant

New Play Society – 1946 – used the 450 seat ROM theatre – Playboy of the Western World; Lady Precious Stream; Circle; Ah Wilderness; Spring Thaw was their baby, which ran from 1948 to 1971, literally every spring, at various theatres – Royal Alexandra,Boris Volkoff building on Yonge Street,Eaton Auditorium and the Avenue Theatre

New Princess - 1917 - see Princess

New Royal Lyceum – see Royal Lyceum

New Strand Theatre

News Theatre - former rental space on The Esplanade, used for promoting commercial ventures - now the Global Theatre

New Theatre – (1971-1980) – formed group which used the Colonnade Theatre and then Bathurst Street Theatre (220 seats)

*New Yorker Theatre -to become the Panasonic Theatre early 2005 - 651 Yonge Street below Bloor Street - originally built as a private residence in 1911 - converted to film theatre The Embassy in 1934 - 522 seats - changed to the Astor Theatre in 1950 - became Festival Theatre in 1978 - 1984 changed name to Showcase and became part of Cineplex Odeon chain - converted to New Yorker in 1993 - Forever Plaid - 1993, My Own Private Oshawa - theatre closing July 4/04 being purchased by Clear Channel Entertainment - opening summer 2005 with Blue Man Group - seating to become 900, along with name change to Panasonic Theatre

*Nightwood Theatre Studio - 55 Mill Street, Ste. 301, Case Goods Building

North York Centre for the Arts - see Ford Centre, Toronto Centre for the Arts

Nortown – 875 Eglinton Avenue West and Bathurst Street – 959 seats – (1948-1973) – demolished

NYC Dance Boutique - see Dream

O

Oakville Town Centre 6 – closed 2002

Oakwood – 165 Oakwood Ave, North of St. Clair – 1400 seats (1919-1962) – demolished – now apartment building

Oakwood Village Library Theatre - 341 Oakwood

Odeon – 1474 Queen St. West – 752 seats - renamed Lakeshore 1968

Odeon Brampton – 710 seats (1949-1983)

Odeon Carlton – next door to Maple Leaf Gardens – restaurant on Mezzanine level – 20 Carlton St – opened 1948 as the Odeon Toronto “Showplace of the Dominion" and renamed the Carlton in 1956 – featured organ and 2318 seats - largest of its type in North America - tremendous curtain - glorious film and legitimate house demolished in 1974 (City of Toronto could have bought for $1.00 but reneged as O’Keefe Centre was losing money) and space left vacant for many years - see Carlton Cinemas 9

Odeon Carlton - 20 Carlton Street, East of Yonge Street - Cineplex Odeon with 8 small cinemas

Odeon Danforth - see Danforth Odeon

Odeon Don Mills -

Odeon Elaine - converted to the Royal, but closed soon afterwards (circa 1986)

Odeon Fairlawn - twinned 1977 - completely demolished so bank that is there is now a completely new structure

Odeon Hyland – see Hyland

Odeon Oakville Mews - see Cineplex Odeon Oakville Mews

Odeon Theatre – 1473 Queen St. West

Odeon Toronto – 20 Carlton St at Yonge – renamed Carlton 1956 – 2318 seats

Odeon Weston – 801 seats (1964-1982)

Odeon Hyland - Yonge Street above St. Clair Avenue - two theatres - now closed

Odeon Richmond Hill - 408 seats (1966-1980)

Odeon Weston

O'Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts – l Front Street East - (***pre Broadway) - opened in 1960 as the O'Keefe Centre (now Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts)- (3,150 seats)- presently home to Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada (50th Anniversary Year)- situation will change when the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts opens in 2006 - Opened with the pre-Broadway production of ***Camelot, with Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Perry Como (77); Robert Goulet, Roddy McDowell, M’el Dowd (873 perf, on Broadway) – among the greats appearing here who are no longer with us: Peter Allen (83,85,86), Louis Armstrong (65,65), Baker Street (65); Jack Benny (63), Victor Borge (62,64,68), Carpenters 72,75,76), Johnny Cash (75), Harry Chapin (81), Maurice Chevalier (63); Nat King Cole (63), Sammy Davis Jr. (66,68,77), Marlene Dietrich (60), Duke Ellington (66-72); Judy Garland (61,65), Doug Henning (85), Bob Hope (65,81), Danny Kaye (63,68), Liberace (61,65,67,70,72,73,75,77,82,84), Beatrice Lillie (62), Vera Lynn (63), Jim Nabors (76), Anthony Newley (69), Red Skelton (90), Sonny and Cher (77) - and the talents of Ann-Margret (83); Charles Aznavour (71-77-83-84); Shirley Bassey (72-80); Harry Belafonte (13 visits between 1960-90); Tony Bennett (62-71-74); Bill Cosby (68-69-70-80-81-82); Mitzi Gaynor (70-87); Lena Horne (61-74-84); Tom Jones (10 times in the last years); Eartha Kitt (61-76); Cleo Laine (78-89); Beatrice Lillie (62); Shirley MacLaine (76-78-90); Tony Martin (61); Johnny Mathis (60-64-67-70-79-82); Liza Minnelli (71-78-79-83); Yves Montand (62); Jane Morgan (68); Debbie Reynolds (70); Joan Rivers (82-83-87-88); Diana Ross and the Supremes (66-69); great musicals like Anne of Green Gables (70,72,74,79,81,86), Annie (78,81,86), ***Annie Get Your Gun (66), Anything Goes (90), ***Baker Street (65), Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (81), Big River (87), Bubbling Brown Sugar (75), Bye Bye Birdie (61), Cabaret (68,88), Cage aux Folles (85), Can Can (77,88), Canterbury Tales (70), Carnival (61), Carousel (65), Chorus Line (81,83,89), Coco (71), ***Come Summer (69), Destry Rides Again (61), Do Re Mi (62), Dreamgirls (86), Drood (88), Evita (82,85,86,89), Jane Eyre (71), Fiddler on the Roof (66,69,70,75,76,84,90), Fiorello (61), Flower Drum Song (61), 42nd Street (87), Funny Girl (66), Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (64), ***Gay Life (61), George M (69), ***Gigi (73), ***Girl Who Came to Supper (63), Godspell (76), ***Good News (74), Grease (81), Great Expectations (76), Guys and Dolls (62), Gypsy (61,78), ***Half a Sixpence (65), Hallelujah Baby (68), Hello Dolly (65,67,71,75,77), How to Succeed in Business (63,65), I Can Get it For You Wholesale (63), I Do I Do (70,76), ***Illya Darling (67), Ipi Tombi (75), Irma La Douce (62,68), Jesus Christ Superstar (73,75,77,90), Johnny Belinda (74,83), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (83), King and I (68,84,89), Kismet (65), Kiss Me Kate (68), Kronborg: 1582 (75), ***Kwamina (61), Land of Smiles (67), La Plume de Ma Tante (62); Little Me (64), London Palladium (68-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78); ***Lorelei (73), Lost in the Stars (72), Mame (69,70,90), Man of La Mancha (67,69,70,71,76,79,88), ***Married Alive (67), Mary (72), Me and My Girl (88), Merry Widow (64), Milk and Honey (63), ***Miss Moffat (cancelled 74), Most Happy Fella (62), Music Man (78), My Fair Lady (60,62,63,77), My One and Only (86,87), ***New Faces of 1962, ***No Strings (62), ***No No Nanette (70), Oklahoma (90), ***Oliver (62-65), On a Clear Day (67), Once Upon a Mattress (61), 110 in the Shade (65), Pajama Game (73), Peter Pan (82,90), Porgy and Bess (76,83), ***Pousse Cafι (66), Raisin (75), Roar of the Greasepaint (65), Robert and Elizabeth (77), Rocky Horror Show (80); ***Rugantino (64), Seesaw (74), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (78), Show Boat (66), Singin’ in the Rain (86), Song and Dance (87); Sophisticated Ladies (83), Sound of Music (61,63,72,79,87), South Pacific (64,77,86), Starlight Express (90), ***Sugar (72), Sugar Babies (83,84), Sweet Charity (68,71), 10 Stout Hearted Men (Carol Channing) (70); Tommy (73); Two by Two (73), Two Gentlemen of Verona (73), Unsinkable Molly Brown (62), West Side Story (61,87), Zorba (70,85); plays, like After the Fall (64), Andersonville Trial (61), As You Like It (74), ***At the Drop of a Hat; ***Beatrice Lillie; Becket (61), ***Beyond the Fringe; Birds on the Wing (69), Blithe Spirit (71), Cactus Flower (68), Chalk Garden (71), Cowardy Custard (74), Dame of Sark (75), Dance of Death (67), Delicate Balance (67), Don Juan in Hell (73), Dylan (64), Flea in Her Ear (67), Forty Carats (71), Front Page (70), Grand Kabuki (88), ***Hamlet (64), Hay Fever (68), Sherlock Holmes (76), Hostage (61), ***Hostile Witness (66), Ideal Husband (77), In the Matter of Robert J. Oppenheimer (69), ***Ivanov (66), Lady Windemere’s Fan (79), ***Lena Horne; Light Up the Sky (71), ***Love for Love (67), Lovers (69), Macbeth (88), Man For All Seasons (64), Mark Twain Tonight (72-75-77-89); ***Maurice Chevalier; ***Midsummer Night’s Dream (71), Move Over Mrs. Markham (73), My Fat Friend (75), ***Nichols and May; Noel Coward in Two Keys (75), ***Number Ten Downing Street (67), Odd Couple (75), On Approval (77), Play It Again Sam (70), Plaza Suite (76), Present Laughter (75), Rosencrantz & Guildenstern (69), Royal Hunt of the Sun (66), ***School for Scandal (63), School for Wives (72), She Stoops to Conquer (78), Spofford (69), ***Treasure Island (61), Two and Two Make Sex (74), You Know I Can’t Hear You (68) home of both the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company, as well as appearances by D’Oyly Carte (63-67-68-78), Metropolitan Opera (61,84); Metropolitan Opera National Company (65,66); Metropolitan Vancouver Festival Opera, Ballets Africains, Alvin Ailey (79-80-87-88-90), Australian Ballet (71), Ballet Africains (67); Ballet Folklorico de Mexico (63-67-69-78-82); Ballet of the 20th Century (74), Bolshoi (72-74-79), Cuban National Ballet (78), Dutch National Ballet (75), Feux Follets (65); Grands Ballets Canadiens (71-73-76-80-81-82-83-84-88), Inbal Dance Theatre of Israel, Karmon Israeli Dancers (63); Kirov Ballet (64-87-89); Martha Graham Company, Kirov, New York City Ballet (66-70), Paris Opera Ballet (64), Pennsylvania Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet (73-75-77-78-82-83-84-86-88-89), Royal Ballet (61-63-67-81-83); Sadler’s Wells, Shanghai, Stuttgart, Vienna State Opera Ballet (72); Orchestras like Cleveland Orchestra (62); National Youth Orchestra (63-64-65-67-68-69-70); New York Philharmonic (61); and our own Toronto Symphony (70-72) - auditorium was designed to serve a wide range of performing arts, and has seen such artists as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Yul Brynner, Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, Petula Clark, Duke Ellington, Marlene Dietrich, Diana Ross, Shirley MacLaine, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Liberace, Placido Domingo, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Vivien Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn and Michael York (Camelot 2007)

Old Angelos - cabaret review – 1961 through mid 1970s - closed – Well Rehearsed Ad Libs 1961; Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter; El Grande de Coca Cola

Old Mill Dinner Theatre - 21 Old Mill Street - started 1914 as Old Mill Tea Garden, on site of working mill opened in 1793

ON STAGE TORONTO

Ontario Film Theatre - 1968 started with Gerald Pratley at the helm, at the Ontario Science Centre

*Ontario Place Cinesphere - 955 Lakeshore Westopened May, 1971 - see Molson Amphitheatre

Ontario Place Forum - 8,000 seat capacity - 1971-1994 - Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald (75), Tom Jones, Bill Cosby, Jane Oliver - closed 1994

*Ontario Science Centre Omnimax - 40th Anniversary 2009 - 770 Don Mills one time home of the Ontario Film Theatre under Gerald Pratley - many major films premiered here, along with the directors, stars 1980s etc.

Open Circle Theatre (1973-1982) - founded by Ray Whelan and Sylvia Tucker – opened with No Way Jose 1973; Cop 1973; Business as Usual 1974; Mackerel, Primary English Class 1977 – closed

Opera Atalier - 2005 is their 20th season (founded 1985) - holds a unique place in the North America theatre community, producing opera, ballet and drama from the 17th and 18th centuries, various venues including Elgin Theatre, first season held at the Art Gallery of Ontario

Opera House – cabaret type venue – 735 Queen Street East

Opera House – see La Plaza

Opera House (see Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts) - being built at Queen and University - cost a probable 100 million - land donated by the City of Toronto, and Federal government have promised 25 million as of 2002 - capital funding program being scheduled - official opening probably Fall, 2005

Oriole – 2061 Yonge Street at Manor Road – (1933-1942) - 1920s changed to the Cinema and then in 1949 after renovation, became the International Cinema – open well into 1980s as art house – now retail stores

Orpheum – 600 Queen Street West, west of Bathurst- 645 seats – (1949-1975) – closed in 1970s – now a furniture store

O2 a.k.a. Octapus - 293 Palmerston - new nightclub venue

Oxford – 1512 Danforth Ave – 803 seats – (1933-1955) – now retail stores

P

Pagoda – 477 seats (1974-1985)

Palace Pier - see also Sunnyside - jutted out 300 feet into Lake Ontario - included dance hall popular in big band era - destroyed by fire 1963

Palace Theatre – 664 Danforth Ave, E of Pape on North side – 1,485 seats – 1921 – originally one screen - later multi-screened - was bingo parlour – torn down and now stores

Palace Theatre – New Toronto – 393 seats (1954-1971)

Palais Royale – 1601 Lakeshore West - Originally built in 1922, the Palais Royale opened as both a dance hall and as Walter Dean's Boat Factory where countless couples danced, fell in love - The Palais had hit some hard times by the late 1970s. The famous "sprung" dance floor was still there, providing the perfect surface for dancing — taking in the fledgling punk, reggae, and new wave bands on Fridays and Saturdays. The peeling mint-green paint evoked visions of a dental office — mostly been closed since 2000 - Here are just a few gigs from its seven decades: Count Basie, 1939; Frank Sinatra, regularly through the 1940s; Louis Armstrong, 1941; Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1942; Bill Haley and the Comets, 1955; Stan Kenton, 1969, 1970, 1973; Woody Herman, 1971, 1973, 1986; Maynard Ferguson, 1973; The Stink Band (featuring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd's brother Peter and friends), 1979; Joe Jackson, 1980; Carole Pope and Rough Trade, 1980; Ultravox, 1980; The Pogues (performing with guest guitarist Joe Strummer), 1987; Sloan, 1998 (recording live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale); Blur, 1999; Blue Rodeo, 2001; Godspeed You Black Emperor, 2001; Sigur Rσs, 2001; De La Soul, 2002; Aimee Mann, 2002; Bob Geldof, 2002; Rolling Stones, 2002; Paul Weller, 2003; Echo and the Bunnymen, 2003; The Sadies, 2004; The Constantines, 2004; Steve Earle, 2005

Palmerston Library Theatre - 560 Palmerston Avenue - opened 1903 – 110 seats

Panasonic Theatre - see also New Yorker Theatre - 700 seats - renovated theatre reopening June 2005 with The Blue Man Group; Menopause Out Loud; March 2007 L.A.-based entertainment giant Live Nation is in the process of selling off its theatre properties, including Toronto's Canon and Panasonic theatres

*Pantages - (1920)- 244 Victoria Street/faces 263 Yonge Street near Dundas) - built by Thomas Lamb as Canada's largest theatre - 3626 seats - second largest theatre after Capital in New York - Mary Pickford - Kathleen Stokes played the organ - was first to be equipped with Cinemascope screen - 1930 changed to Imperial and turned into Imperial 6, sixplex 1973 which closed as cinema Aug 1988 - (when built it was the largest vaudeville house in the British Empire) -now completely refurbished (1988-89) - back to Pantages Dec 1987 (2260 seats) - legitimate again 1989 and in 1998 changed to AT&T Centre for Performing Arts Pantages, and as of September 1, 2001 it will be known as The Canon Theatre - Phantom of the Opera (1989-99) in its tenth year (4,226)- Phantom closing Oct. 31/99 more than 7 million people have seen, the longest running musical in Canadian theatre history – see Imperial

Pantages Hotel - new venue on Victoria Street, features spa

Pape – 336 Pape and Gerrard – 419 seats (1940-1955) – see Park

Papermill Theatre – see East Side Players – newly renovated 166 seats – near Broadview & Danforth – Todmorden Mills, 67 Pottery Road

Paradise Cinema (Festival) - 1006 Bloor St. West, west of Ossington, was Kitchener – opened as Bloor Palace with 643 seats – 1939 became the New Paradise and later shortened to Paradise – still operating as repertory cinema - to be shut down

Paramount – 1069 St. Clair Ave West – 432 seats (1935-1957) – now retail stores

Paramount – Queen St. West

Paramount - 1069 St. Clair West

*Paramount Canada's Wonderland - Vaughan, Ontario - built as Canada's Wonderland, prior to sale to Paramount - Kingswood Music Theatre (16,000 seats)- major stars like Bette Midler, rock groups - sold to Cedar Fair LP, Ohio-based amusement park operator May 2006 - see Canada's Wonderland

Paramount Toronto at Festival Hall (FP) - 259 Richmond Avenue West at John St - opened May 19, 1999 with new stadium style seating cinemas - 15 cinemas of varying sizes with wall to wall screens, THX and digital sound, and includes a IMAX 3-D theatre - renamed Jan/07 to Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Park – opened as Bedford – 3291 Yonge Street – 1162 seats – 1929 – became the Park in 1948 – closed 1961 – now retail store Storkland

Park – see Pape

Park – Lansdowne and Bloor (1919-1937)

Park – 3291 Yonge Street at Lawrence – 847 seats (1949-1984)- across from Fairlawn Theatre - was operated by Famous Players through 1970s - closed in 1980s

Parkdale – 1866 Queen Street West – see Allen – 1921 – now a mall

Parkdale Theatre – 1605 Queen Street West, east of Roncesvalles – 1405 seats (1924-1970) – now retail stores

Parkway Drive-in

Parkway 6 – Hwy 404 and Highway 7 – 6 screens (1989-2001)

Parliament – 425 Parliament St – 773 seats (1929-1963)

Passe Muraille - see Theatre Passe Muraille

Pea Green Theatre Group - 60 Lindsay Ave

Pear’s Cabaret - see Shubert’s

Peoples – Queen St. West

Philosopher’s Stage - summer outdoor theatre on campus of University of Toronto’s philosopher’s walk

* Phoenix Concert Theatre - 410 Sherbourne Street - cabaret type venue - built in 1853 in the gaslight section of old Toronto

Phoenix Theatre (1975-1983) started by Graham Harley on Dupont Street (135 seats) – Butley 1975; Canadian Gothic and American Modern, Sea 1977; Ashes 1978, American Buffalo 1978; Chinchilla (79), Find Your Way Home – 1983 ceased operations - closed

Photodrome – Queen Street, west of Bay, to east of the Bay Theatre – built as the Ace

Piccolo Teatro – 1949-76 – Italian theatre company

Pickford – 382 Queen St. West at Spadina – in 1908 opened as the Auditorium – in 1913 it became the Avenue – in 1915 it became the Pickford, named after Mary Pickford – in 1945 it became the Variety – closed in 1950s – demolished and is now a MacDonalds

Pilot Tavern (22 Cumberland Street) – famous in the 1950s for live entertainment – local jazz club

Pix – opened as the Aster - 233 Ossington Ave, S of Dundas – 454 seats (1942-1961) – now a bank

P.K. Creek Bar and Grill - 255 Dundas St. West

Planet Hollywood - locations in New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and New movie themed restaurant near base of CN Tower closed January 2006 after a decade in business

Platform 9 Theatre - 793 Euclid Avenue

Playhouse – 344 College Street – became the Melody and All Nations – now apartment building

Playhouse - Mount Pleasant - cinema turned into a legitimate house and now back again - Barbara Cook 1981; The Land of Smiles 1984; Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Spring Thaw, Touch Kiss, Your Own Thing, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown;

Plaza 2 Cinema - Bloor and Yonge Street in Hudsons Bay complex, with underground lobby (1976-2001) - now closed

Plaza Flamingo - 423 College Street

Pleiades Theatre - 56 O'Hara Avenue

*Poor Alex - 296 Brunswick Street - (120 seats) - small intimate theatre rented to various companies over the years - In 1972/73 a number of plays were presented: A Bond Honoured, All Over, Aspern Papers, Capful of Pennies, Dressing Gown, Garden District, Jest Society, Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, Rehearsal, Right Honourable Gentleman; Blue Room (01) - second floor of the defunct Poor Alex Theatre is going from cabaret to movie house, with a bill exclusively featuring documentaries that focus on social, political and environmental issues; just opened the Brunswick Theatre in the century-old building south of Bloor St. W. on Brunswick Ave - 100-seat theatre

Poor Alex Theatre - 772A Dundas St. West - sold in August 2005 and The Poor Alex Theatre relocated to 772A Dundas St.W. one block west of Bathurst St. The new venue space with 200 seating capacity has been designed for multi tasking any type of event and rigged with full lighting and audio capabilities for a professionally staged performance - Vaginismus - starts May 16/08;

Ports Dinner Theatre (Ports of Call) – early 1980s - former Toronto restaurant and cabaret – Yonge Street and Summerhill – featuring themed restaurants like Dickens Room, Bali Hai Room etc

Potato Blues – 115 John Street – local jazz club

*Premiere Dance Theatre - 207 Queen's Quay West - see Harbourfront Centre - Play About the Baby (02); now Fleck Dance Theatre

Prince Edward Theatre (Fox) and Apartments

Prince James – West Toronto Junction

Prince of Wales – 2094 Danforth Ave – 1200 seats (1927-1966)

Prince of Wales Theatre – see Royal Lyceum

*Princess of Wales - 300 King Street West (2,000 seats) - opened May 1993 with *Miss Saigon (3332)TICKETS ONLINE - new home of The Lion King (2000); now Hairspray (2004); Lord of the Rings 2006 (31 weeks only)

Princess Theatre – (1909-1934) – Church and Adelaide Streets – Deborah 1913

Princess Theatre - (1895-1930) 167 King Street West, South side West of York, opened 1889 as the Academy of Music – first public building in city with electric lights – had banquet room, art gallery, drawing room and ballroom – atmospheric style - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies - burned down and rebuilt - renamed the Princess in 1895 after being refurbished - 1800 seats – Faust; David Garrick - burned again 1915 and reopened as the New Princess in 1917 - operated into the 1930s - Madam Butterfly 1907 - demolished in 1934 to become an electrical shop and for the widening of University Avenue

Promenade 6 – Bathurst and Centre Street (1896-2001) – reopened as Rainbow Cinemas 2002

Prudhomme’s Garden Centre Theatre – 1952 – Vineland - first theatre was a 450-seat playhouse, but it burned down (arson) and was rebuilt by George Prudhomme as a 1000-seat - ran until 1966. Prudhomme would remove the seats in the winter and turn the theatre into a curling rink, then return it to being a theatre in the summer – Vernon Chapman, head of Canadian Equity for several terms, was a regular performer there, as was Tom Kneebone, and many others - Fantasticks (Liza Minnelli,Elliot Gould) 1964

Pussycat – 687 Yonge Street – (1971-1972) – porno house

Pylon – 506 College St at Clinton – 749 seats – (1939-1955) - changed to Royal– footprints of Anna Neagle still there under carpet

Q

Queen – (1935-1944)

Queen – 414 seats (1979-1980)

*Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Exhibition Grounds – 1325 seats - Peter Allen

Queen Royal – Yonge and St. Clair (1929-1930)

Queens Theatre - (1874-1883) – 1000 seat vaudeville and variety house - demolished

Queensway (C) – 1025 The Queensway @ Islington, Etobicoke – 18 screens

Quotes Bar and Grill - feature free live bands at least once a week

R

Radio City – 1454 Bathurst St. at St. Clair – live shows – 833 seats (1936-1975) – now retail stores

Rainbow Cinemas 8 (I) - Woodbine Shopping Centre – 500 Rexdale Boulevard

Rainbow Cinemas 6 (I) – Bathurst and Centre Streets, Thornhill – was Cineplex Odeon Promenade

Rainbow Cinemas 6 (I) - 1800 Sheppard Ave E - see also Fairview Mall

Rainbow Cinemas Market Square (I) - 80 Front Street East - opening June 20/03 - see Market Square

Rainbow Promenade (I) - Promenade Mall – Hwy 7 & Bathurst St. – see also Promenade 6

Rancho Relaxo – cabaret type venue – 300 College Street

Randolph Academy - established by former Alvin Ailey dancer (joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal in 1980, took over Les Ballet Jazz Dance Centre in Toronto, which became the Randolph Dance Theatre), George Randolph in 1992 - in March, 2001, the academy outgrew its Gloucester location and moved into the Bathurst Street Theatre, which had been built in 1862 as a United Church - the site has the Annex Theatre, which resembles the Globe in London, England - a 110 seat theatre, the 500 seat Bathurst Street Theatre, three dance studios and DaCosta Talent Agency

*Red Barn Theatre - 991 Lake Drive, Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe - Canada's oldest professional summer theatre - summer stock theatre operated since 1948 in a barn built in 1876 - many actors have worked here including Marigold Charlesworth, Jean Roberts, Bill Glassco, Araby Lockhart, Sylvia Lennick - Arsenic and Old Lace (1444), Bus Stop, Dial M for Murder, Dream Girl, 5th Season, For Love or Money, Fourposter, Harvey (1775), Laura, Little Hut, Moon is Blue (924), Murder Without Crime, My Three Angels, Oh Men Oh Women, Oh Mr. Meadowbrook, Period of Adjustment, Rain, Raise Your Hat, Say Who You Are, Seven Year Itch (1141), Solid Gold Cadillac, Streetcar Named Desire (855), Summer and Smoke, Summer of the 17th Doll, Tender Trap, Vinegar Tree, Voice of the Turtle (1557)

Red Guitar Art House Cafe

Red Light Theatre (1974-1977) devoted to plays about women's issues and women playwrights

Red Square - see Dream

Regal – Bloor Street West (1944-1945)

Regent - Bloor and Bathurst – see Baronet

Regent – see Ambrose Smalls Grand Opera House

Regent – 225 Queen St. East near Sherbourne – 516 seats (1919-1950) – built as the Moss Park, currently the Anishnawbe Centre

Regent Theatre (I) - 551 Mount Pleasant Road at Davisville – 1988 – 640 seats – still in operation

Regent Theatre -27 Adelaide St. West - situated beside the Grand Opera House - see Majestic - torn down

Remain in Light

Renaissance Convention Centre - 3045 Southcreek Drive, Mississauga

Renne Theatre

Reo – Queen St. West - demolished

Republik - 261 Richmond St. - capacity is 1,200 with three rooms - new nightclub venue

Reverb/Kathedral/Holy Joe’s – cabaret type venue – 651 Queen Street West

Revival - 783 College Street - nightclub

Revue Cinema (Festival) - 400 Roncesvalles Ave – built 1911 - 521 seats - repertory cinema - closing end of June 2006 - sold privately - one of the longest running theatres in Ontario, never having closed its doors in its 84-year history - not sure of fate of theatre - chance of reopening Fall 2007 under new ownership

Rex – see Joy – Mimico – 127 Lakeshore Road - 494 seats (1931-1960)

Rex Hotel – 194 Queen Street West – local jazz club

Rex – 1130 Queen St. East

Rex Danforth – 635 Danforth Ave @ Pape - see Danforth Odeon - was also Athena Palace and Oxygen Fitness share the space which formerly was the theatre - now eXtreme Fitness

R. Fraser Elliott Hall - see Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Rhodes – 1496 Yonge Street – local jazz club

Rialto Theatre - SE corner of Yonge and Shuter - future site John E. Thompson Block

Richmond – Richmond Hill - 408 seats (1949-1965)

Richmond Hill (1979-1980)

Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts - Yonge and Wright Streets, Richmond Hill - 600 seat auditorium, to house original 1897 school house - opening August 2008

Ricoh Colisseum - 100 Princes Blvd., Exhibition Place - opening November 2003 - Located inside the National Trade Centre at Exhibtion Place, Toronto's newest arena is home to the Toronto Roadrunners of the American Hockey League. With a 10,000-seat capacity the venue is ideal for concerts, family shows and sporting events - current tenants leaving so fate is up in the air as of July 2004

Rio Theatre – 373 Yonge St. below Gerrard Street – 500 seats (1939-1990 – opened as National 1913 and became the Rio in 1943 – now adult video store

Riverboat Coffee House - 134 Yorkville Avenue, circa 1960-early 1970s - home to various folk artists during the hippie era - Louis Killen, Odetta, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Ian and Sylvia, Lonnie Johnson, Steve Goodman, Tim Hardin, Phil Ochs, willie P. Bennett, Tom Rush - closed 1978

Rivoli – see The Rivoli – comedy-friendly bar

Rivoli Tavern – cabaret type venue – 332 Queen Street West

*Robert Gill Theatre - 214 College Street (170 seats) – see Central Library Theatre

Robinson's Musee Theatre - S.E. corner of Yonge and Adelaide - 1897 - featured freak shows, magic lantern and movies - plaque on building where theatre was originally

Rockit – cabaret type venue – 120 Church Street - closed several times - upcoming concerts cancelled as of Feb/05

Rock'n Roll Heaven - Hudson's Bay Centre - lower level, 2 Bloor St. East - 1980s - closed 1992

Rogers Centre - formerly the SkyDome, renamed 2005

Rogers Communication Centre - Eaton Theatre - used by Ryerson

Roosevelt Room - 2 Drummond Place - opened Nov 7/09

Rosedale – 805 Yonge Street – demolished early 1930s

Rosedale United Church

Rosemary – 498 seats (1979-1980)

Roxy – Brampton – 618 seats (1949-1960)

Roxy – see Broadway and Grand

Roxy – see Cooksville – 450 seats (1949-1971)

Roxy – 1215 Danforth Avenue at Greenwood – see Allenby – 680 seats (1973-1990)

Roxy – Milton – 298 seats (1959-1990)

Roxy – West Hill – 598 seats (1949-1950)

Roxy – Woodbridge – 494 seats (1949-1960)

Roxy Blue - 12 Brant - nightclub

Royal – see Golden Princess

Royal (Festival) – built as the Pylon 1939 – 608 College St – still in operation - closing end of June 2006

Royal – 1487 Dundas St. West – 338 seats (1920-1961)

Royal – Long Branch - 619 seats (1949-1950)

*Royal Alexandra Theatre - 260 King Street West (1906-07) - oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in North America, and North America's only remaining royal theatre, named for Queen Alexandra, great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II - most famous of Canada’s legitimate houses – 1525 seats - opened 1907 with Top o’ The World

Royal Alexandra Historical Database 1907-2007– since almost 3000 productions have played here, among the stars were Margaret Anglin, Fred and Adele Astaire, Josephine Baker, Lucille Ball, Tallulah bankhead, Theda Bara, John and Ethel Barrymore, Claire Bloom, Joe E. Brown, Maurice Chevalier, Katherine Cornell, Bette Davis, Olivia DeHavilland, Ruth Draper, Maurice Evans, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jose Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Margot Fonteyn, John Gielgud, Ruth Gordon, Cedric Hardwicke, Julie Harris, Rex Harrison, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Kim Hunter, Walter Huston, Glenda Jackson, Glynis Johns, Al Jolson, James Earl Jones, Louis Jordan, Deborah Kerr, Eartha Kitt, Burt Lahr, Angela Lansbury, Gertrude Lawrence, Gypsy Rose Lee, Eva LeGallienne, Jack Lemmon, Beatrice Lillie, Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne, Marcel Marceau, Marx Brothers, Marilyn Miller, Raymond Massey, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Morley, Peter O’Toole, Edith Piaf, Mary Pickford, Anthony Quinn, Michael Redgrave, Debbie Reynolds, Ralph Richardson, jason Robards Jr., Paul Robeson, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Russell, Martin Sheen, Cornelius Otis Skinner, Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland, Gloria Swanson, Jessica Tandy, Liv Ullman, Peter Ustinov, Orson Welles, Mae West, Joanne Woodward, Fay Wray - in early years home of several stock companies: The Royal Alexandra Players 1907; Miss Percy Haslam’s Stock Company 1910-15; Montreal Opera Company 1912-1913; Jessie Bonstelle Plays (Detroit) 1914; San Carlo Opera 1914; Edward H. Robins Players during war years - Dancing Around (Al Jolson) 1915; Golden Age 1915; Birth of a Nation (film) 1917; Les Miserables (film) 1918; Chu Chin Chow 1920 (300 cast members); David Copperfield 1923; Charlot's Revue of 1924 (Beatrice Lillie); Rose Marie 1925; Devil’s Disciple; Peer Gynt (Theatre Guild of New York); Hamlet; Mikado; Scotch Mist 1926; Hansel and Gretel 1930; All Quiet on the Western Front (film) 1930; Hell's Angels (film) 1931; Grand Hotel (film) 1932; Dinner at Eight (film) 1933; Street Singer (Cary Grant, alias Archie Leach); Ziegfeld Follies of 1935; A Midsummer Night's Dream (film) 1935; At Home Abroad (Beatrice Lillie,Ethel Waters) 1936; As Thousands Cheer 1936; Opera Guild of Toronto 1936; Royal Conservatory Opera (Rosalinda) 1948; Rigoletto,Don Giovanni,La Boheme 1950; Ti Coq 1950; Madama Butterly,Faust,Marriage of Figaro 1951; Bartered Bride,Magic Flute,Manon 1952; Madama Butterly,Cosi fan tutte,Consul 1953; Opera Festival 1954 (Consul,La Boheme,Rigoletto,School for Fathers)-1955-1956-1957-1958-1959 (became Canadian Opera Company in 1960 and moved to O’Keefe Centre 1961); My Fur Lady 1957; Porgy and Bess; Carmen Jones; Katharine Dunham’s Tropical Revue; Red Ear of Corn 1950; - restored in 1962 (at that time the theatre was scheduled for demolition)(1500 seats)- by present owner Ed Mirvish - very viable subscription series of touring plus locally produced shows - one of the oldest continuously operating theatres in North America - I have seen just about everything produced there since the late 1950s as second balcony tickets could be had then for about 2.50 - originally housed both the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company before the O'Keefe Centre opened in 1960 - among Broadway's longer running plays I have seen – (From 1950s to mid 1960s) -- Tea and Sympathy 1955 (Deborah Kerr and later Maria Riva, Marlene Dietrich's daughter); Auntie Mame 1958; Boy Friend; Salad Days; Anastasia; South Pacific 1953 (broke box office records with 6 week run); Caucasian Chalk Circle (Berlin Ensemble) 1986; Luther; The Visit; Diary of Anne Frank; Separate Tables; Visit to a Small Planet; Best Man; Hatful of Rain; The Great Sebastians; Seidman and Sons; Dark at the top of the Stairs 1959; Sunrise at Campobello; The World of Carl Sandburg (Bette Davis); Look Homeward Angel; Thursday is a Good Night (Pre Bway); J.B.; Advise and Consent; Miracle Worker; Prescription Murder; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Sim Sala Bim; Traveller Without Luggage; Royal Flush (Pre Bway); National Ballet of Canada (also moved to O’Keefe Centre); Royal Winnipeg Ballet; Les Grandes Ballets Canadienne; Jose Greco and Company; Ballet Folklorico de Mexico; Bathsheva Dance Co.; Joyce Grenfell; Stanley Holloway; Elsa Lanchester; A Curious Evening With Gypsy Rose Lee; This Was Burlesque; Second City; Ace Trucking Company; Pajama Game; Music Man; Guys and Dolls; Ziegfeld Follies (last edition with Billy DeWolfe); The King and I; Sunshine Town 1955; Sunshine Town 1955; Tamburlaine the Great 1956; My Fur Lady 1957; L’il Abner 1957; Threepenny Opera (with Gypsy Rose Lee); Finian’s Rainbow; Stop the World I Want to Get Off; Teahouse of the August Moon; Hollow Crown 1963; refurbished theatre reopened Sept 9/63 with Never Too Late 1963 (William Bendix); Pleasure of His Company; Reluctant Debutante; Happiest Millionaire; A Majority of One; Dear Me the Sky is Falling; Two for the Seesaw; Under the Yum Yum Tree; Pajama Tops; Come Blow Your Horn; A Shot in the Dark; Luv; Mad Show; Chinese Prime Minister; Spring Thaw; Step on a Crack (Rita Hayworth attended opening); Moby Dick, Polish Mime; Sunshine Town; Sabrina Fair; Cocktail Party; Desert Song; Godspell; Jane Eyre; Johnny Belinda; Philadelphia Here I Come; Philanthropist; Subject Was Roses --- 1965/66 – APA Company (including Helen Hayes,Rosemary Harris,Clayton Corzatte,Donald Moffat,Will Geer,Ellis Rabb,Richard Easton) – Wild Duck; School for Scandal; We Comrades Three; Anne of Green Gables; ---1967 – APA Company – You Can’t Take It With You; Right You Are If You Think You Are; Pantagleize; Show-Off; Exit the King; Mark Twain Tonight 1967; ---1968 – Theatre Toronto's season with Drummer Boy; Soldiers; In Good King Charles Golden Days; ---1969 – Edward II; Killing of Sister George; Hair (53 weeks) 1964; ---1971 – Butterflies Are Free; A Doll’s House; Company; Applause; ---1972 – And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little; Purlie; Promises Promises; Gingerbread Lady; Promenade All (Pre Bwy); Lost in the Stars; Captain Brassbound’s Conversion; Mary; Godspell 1972; Home Again,Home Again (C y Coleman); Say Hello to Harvey (Donald O'Connor); Paul Taylor Dance Co; ---1973 - Twigs; Cyrano; Polish Mime Ballet; 6 Rms Riv Vu; Day After the Fair; Cosi fan Tutte ---1974 - - Sunshine Boys; Lloyd George Knew My Father; The Visit; Real Inspector Hound; A Little Night Music; Brief Lives; Sugar and Spice; Johnny Belinda; --1975 – Hedda Gabler (Glenda Jackson); Jockey Club Stakes; Same Time Next Year; ---1976 – A Chorus Line 1976, A Matter of Gravity; Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo; 13 Rue de L’Amour; Le Groupe de la Place Royale; Something’s Afoot; Mornings at Seven; No Man’s Land; ---1977 – Appearing Nightly (Lily Tomlin); Scenario; Anna Christie (pre Bway); Johannes and the Talmud; Absent Friends; Awake and Sing; --- 1978 Canadian Opera Company; 1979 – Chorus Line (return); Canadian Opera Company; Bedroom Farce; Alvin Ailey Dance Co; Home Again (Pre Bway); - - 1980 - A Life; -- 1982 - Twyla Tharp Dance Co; 1983 Underground; Cyrano de Bergerac; -- 1983 - Singin' and Dancin' Tonight; -- 1984 - Elvis, the Musical; -- 1985 - Quartermaine's Terms; Kismet 1986; named a National Historic Monument in 1987 - H.M.S. Pinafore 1987; The Women 1987; -- 1989 – Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Lily Tomlin); Sweet Bird of Youth (Joanne Woodward); Chicago (Jerry Orbach,Chita Rivera,Gwen Verdun); Les Miserables (63 weeks); return Les Miserables 1991; Blood Brothers 1993; Master Builder (Alan Bates) 1996; Two Pianos Four Hands 1998; Pajama Game 1999; Needfire 2000; Enigma Variations 2000; Mamma Mia; Lord of the Rings - premiere 2006; Dirty Dancing 2007 - Edwin Mirvish died July 11, 2007, a sad day indeed for the city of Toronto and the theatre community; TICKETS ON LINE

Royal Cinema - 4606 College Street - opened 1939 - closed 2006 and renovated and reopened Dec 2006

Royal Cinema – Markingston Square Mall – Scarborough (1998-2000)

*Royal Conservatory of Music - University of Toronto - 273 Bloor Street West - see Telus Centre for Performance and Learning - Die Kluge - creating a Performance and Learning Centre, and building an additional 850 seat multi-purpose concert hall, the Michael and Sonja Koerner Concert Hall,and adding four floors of program spaces (Leslie and Anna Dan Galleria; Fraser Elliot Centre for Keyboard Studies) – new centre to be called Telus Centre for Performance and Learning - see Koerner Hall

Royal George – 1217 St. Clair Ave West, West of Dufferin – 1919 – 500 seats – closed 1950s - became the Continental in the 1960s – now a food store

Royal Lyceum Theatre - built 1848 - largest and first fully equipped theatre in Toronto – (740 seats) - forerunner to both Grand Opera House and St. Lawrence Hall – opened with Philharmonic Society Concert 1848 - Holman Troupe - Toronto's first opera company - Ellen Terry, Lily Langtry, Sarah Bernhardt - destroyed by fire 1874 and in 1875 site became the Royal (Grand) Opera House - destroyed by fire 1883 - now site of Toronto Dominion Bank's bronze pasture sculture

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) - small theatre – Spring Thaw 1948 (Jane Mallett,Peter Mews,Don Harron) - new signature building being built, and additional exhibition halls

Royal Theatre – 1483 Dundas St. West

Royal Theatre – 1491 Lakeshore Road

Royal York Hotel - 100 Front Street West - opened 1929 home of the famed Imperial Room – Peter Allen; Pearl Bailey; Kaye Ballard; Count Basie; Tony Bennett, Burton Cummings; Jim Carrey 1982; Diahann Carroll; Petulia Clark; Cyd Charisse; Cher; Rosemary Clooney; Phyllis Diller; Duke Ellington, Marlene Dietrich, Ella Fitzgerald, Maureen Forrester; Robert Goulet; Lena Horne; Allan Jones; Eartha Kitt; Danny LaRue; Peggy Lee; Hal Linden; Tony Martin; Anne Murray; Bernadette Peters; Chita Rivera 1997; Ginger Rogers; Craig Russell; Frank Sinatra Jr.; Alexis Smith; Tommy Tune; Tina Turner; Ben Vereen; Raquel Welch 1976;

Royal Lyceum Theatre - (1848-1874) Toronto’s first purpose built theatre – opened with School for Scandal - behind shops on South side of King Street, between York and Bay Streets, access through Theatre Lane or an opening between 99 and 101 King Street West (now on site of TD Centre) - changed to Prince of Wales in 1960 and to New Royal Lyceum in 1872 - had 750 seats (previosuly the Lyceum 1846-1847) burned down in 1874 – Holman Troupe (Toronto’s first opera company); John Nickinson Company 1852; Fiddle,Faddle and Foozle 1853; Saucy Kate 1853; Fortunes of War 1854; The Poor of Toronto or The Great Money Panic of 1857 (1858) - international stars such as Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, Lily Langtry, Sarah Bernhardt appeared; Uncle Tom’s Cabin (9 nights) – burned down in 1874, and in 1875 became home to Royal Opera House, burned down 1883

Royal Opera House - (1874-1883)- see also Royal Lyceum Theatre and Colborne Street Theatre - 1,450 seats, used for touring productions – The Poor and Proud of Toronto 1875 - torn down

Royal St. George's College - 120 Howland St. (100 seats)

Royal Theatre - 22 Temperance Street

Royale – Eglinton and Danforth (1985-1987)

Royal York Hotel - 1929 - Front Street West - famed Imperial Room, once noted for star turns like Cyd Charise; Count Basie; Marlene Dietrich; Allan Jones (late 60s); Jack Jones; Peggy Lee; Mills Brothers; Chita Rivera (77); Alexis Smith (75); - now used basically for functions

*Roy Thomson Hall - 60 Simcoe Street and King - new theatre built to replace Massey Hall (2800 seats) - home of the Toronto Symphony - currently improvements being made to acoustics, installing latest technologies in sound and lighting, reconfiguring seating, and building a new lounge

Royce – 1619 Dupont St – 587 seats (1928-1954) – now office building

Runnymede Theatre – 2225 Bloor Street West at Runnymede (1914-1999) – built as the first atmospheric style in Canada – 1385 seats – stage shows – was a bingo hall between 1970 and 1980 – and then back to a cinema until 1998 and then renovated and now serves as a spectacular Chapters Book store

Russell's Hotel - Church Street above Front Street - Knights of the Masonic Temple on the upper floors of the hotel presented operas from 1849 to 1857 when a new Masonic Hall was built on Toronto Street

*Ryerson Theatre - 43 Gerrard St. East - 1948 - celebrated its 54th anniversary in 2002 - theatre and drama department - Andorra, Broken Pieces, Peter Pan, RIOT

S

St. Aidan's Memorial Hall

St. Andrew’s Hall - (1880-1932) – Richmond St West of Spadina

St. Clair – 1154 St. Clair Ave West at Dufferin – 1430 seats – became 2 screens before its demise (1924-1976) – now a retail mall

St. James Cathedral - 65 Church Street

*St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts - 27 Front Street East - opened in 1970 - 2006/07 drawing in Toronto theatre audiences, to undergo a $3 million facelift - houses the Jane Mallett Theatre (497 seats) (originally Town Hall Theatre) and the Bluma Appel Theatre (876 seats)- just called The Theatre - originally had their own repertory company - Toronto Arts Productions, then Centrestage, and then Canadian Stage – opened with Man Inc; Au Pair Man, Awake and Sing, Baal, Belles Soeurs, Broadway, Chess in Concert (03); Children, Dining Room, Dusa Fish Stas & Vi, Dybuk, Effect of the Gamma Rays (70), Fatal Attraction, Faust, Galileo, House of Blue Leaves, Island; Knackers ABC, Larry's Party; Leading Ladies (02); Loot, Man Inc., Mary Mary (1572), Narrow Road to the Deep North, Puntila and Matti, His Hired Hand, Quartermaine's Terms, Streetcar Named Desire, Striker Schneiderman, Surprise Surprise, Three Sisters, Trelawney of the Wells, What the Butler Saw, Yard of Sun, world premiere of Livent's "Kiss of the Spider Woman" 1992 (Chita Rivera, Richard Monette) prior to New York – closed from 1981 to 1983 while seating was increased, and the theatres reopened renamed Bluma Appel 1983, and Jane Mallett 1985; Leading Ladies (02); A Chorus Line (02); Pelagie (04) - currently undegoing more changes outdoors and in (2007)

*St. Lawrence Hall - (opened in 1851 - ) beautifully restored during Centennial, now houses upscale restaurant and offices, did house bank but bank relocated in 1998 - originally could seat 1,000 people - Jenny Lind (1851);Anna Bishop (1851); Pilgrim's Progress panorama 1857; Adeline Patti; Great Farini; Henriette Sontag; Tom Thumb - for few years used as mens' hostel until the National Ballet moved in 1951 - completely restored building reopened in 1966

St. Mary's Art Centre - 40 Westmoreland

*St. Michael's College Alumni Theatre - 121 St. Joseph Street

St. Patrick's German Parish Hall - 131 McCaul Street

*St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican Church - 103 Bellevue Avenue

*St. Vlad's Institute Theatre - see Theatre 620 - 620 Spadina Avenue

San Carlo - 583 seats (1979-1985) – Italian films

Sapphire Tavern - Toronto nightclub of 1950s & early 1960s - Ronnie Hawkins, Jacklie Shane

Savage Garden - 550 Queen St. West - nightclub

Savoy – 399 Yonge St and Gerrard – 800 seats (1951-1963)

Scarboro – 960 Kingston Road –art deco – 684 seats - (1936-1966) – now Carlos Murphy Sports Bar

Scarborough Drive In - Kennedy Rd north of Eglinton - opened 1952 and closed 1979 - 20th Century Theatres owned this Drive-In, which had space for 1026 cars

Scarborough Players - see Scarborough Village Theatre

Scarborough Theatre Guild - see Scarborough Village Theatre

Scarborough Town Centre – 12 screens (1981-2000)

Scarborough Village Theatre - 3600 Kingston Road (at Markham Road) – 262 seat thrust stage home to Scarborough Music Theatre - (40th Anniversary 1962-2002); Scarborough Players and Scarborough Theatre Guild, each of which presents a season of plays/musicals in the theatre of the community centre

Script Lab - company helping writers develop their musicals etc.

Scotiabank Theatre Toronto - see Paramount

*Second City - 51 Mercer Street - 350 seats - created in Toronto 1973 from Chicago parent company - talents included Dan Ackroyd, Jayne Eastwood, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara

*Seneca College - houses Minkler Auditorium 1116 seats - opened in 1971 - theatre for dance concerts, plays etc - Polish Mime, Merce Cunningham Dance Co.

Seven - 224 Richmond Street West

Seventh House Performing Arts

Shaftesbury Hall (1871-1902)- Queen and Yonge Street - located where entrance to Eaton Centre now stands - 1700 seats

Shakespeare Works, Ashbridges Bay - see Shakespeare Works and Home Depot Theatre - inaugural season Summer 2004 in a tent - see also Ashbridges Bay

Shaw – 630 seats (1979-1990) – Chinese films

*Shaw Festival - see Niagara-on-the Lake, Ontario

Sheas – 400 Bay Street at City Hall Square (opposite old City Hall) – (1909-1956) – 2373 seats - see Sheas Hippodrome

Sheas Hippodrome (1914-1956) - originally at Southeast corner of Yonge Street at Adelaide Street - opened 1891 as The Wonderland Museum - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies- and between 1892 and 1897 when it was destroyed by fire, it was known as Moore's Musee Theatre - burned down 1905 - rebuilt and opened as Sheas Theatre in 1899 (1700 seats) - transferred to Victoria St - destroyed by fire in 1905 - and then stood from 1914-1956 on its new location - Bay Street opposite City Hall, 3,663 seats, atmospheric style - one of the largest vaudeville theatres in the world and attracted the best vaudeville acts, Canada's largest theatre one of the big four including Orpheum in Los Angeles, Loew's State and the Palace in New York - Jack Arthur produced extravaganzas in the 1920s - O'Connor Sisters; Red Skelton 1936 - MC for a year; Roy Rogers; Harry Lauder; Carmen Miranda; had a full 24 piece orchestra (Jack Arthur was the orchestra leader and later did the CNE grandstand shows along with his wife Midge Arthur - eventually changed to just Sheas - demolished in 1957 for new City Hall, pipe organ now housed in Casa Loma

Sheas Theatre - Southeast corner of Adelaide and Yonge - opened 1891 as the Wonderland Museum and between 1892 and 1897 when it was destroyed by fire, it was known as Moore's Musee Theatre - first motion picture shown here in 1896 - Moore's was totally rebuilt and reopened 1899 as Shea's Theatre, 1700 seats - in December 1905 fire again destroyed the theatre but it was not rebuilt but owners constructed Sheas Victoria

Sheas Victoria - (1910-1956)- Southeast corner of Victoria and Richmond - opened 1910 - 2,000 seats, two balconies - was Canada's largest theatre until the Hippodrome opened - demolished 1956 - now a parking lot and beneath the asphalt lies what is left of the theatre

Shea's Yonge Street - 91 Yonge Street - built 1910 - 2000 seats - one of the first to bring in hit shows from New York - changed to Star Burlesque soon after the Victoria opened - see Elgin and Winter Garden

Sheraton Centre 2 - Bay and Queen in Sheraton Hotel – 2 screens (1973-1995) - now closed

*Sheridan College - Minkler Auditorium

Sheridan – Mississauga – 2 screens (1969-1986)

Sheridan – North York – 1700 Wilson Ave at Jane – 1976

Sherway Cinemas – 30 Bancer Dr., Etobicoke – 13 screens (1987-2001)

Shoppers – Hwy 10 and Stelles, Brampton – 636 seats (1969-1985)

Shoppers Drugmart Omnimax at Ontario Science Centre – Eglinton and Don Mills Rd – opened 1997

Showcase – 651 Yonge St – 537 seats (1984-1995)

Showcase Cinemas - Burlington

Show One Productions - founded 2004

Shubert’s - fringe cabaret on Pears Ave – Piaf; Marlene,Marlene – later became Pears Cabaret

Silent Cinema – Avenue Road near Bloor (1969-1972)

Silver City (FP) – Brampton – 50 Great Lakes Dr. - 16 screens – 1999

Silver City (FP) – Empress Walk – 5095 Yonge St, North York – 10 screens - 1999

Silver City (FP) - Fairview Mall Cinemas - 9 screens - Sheppard Ave & HWY 401 - opens Dec 5/08

Silver City (FP) – Mississauga – Hwy 403 at Hwy 5 E – 10 screens - 1997

Silver City (FP) - Oakville - opened Dec 2007 - 12 screens

Silver City (FP) – Richmond Hill – 8771 Yonge St at Hwy 7 – 1998

Silver City (FP) – 2300 Yonge and Eglinton – 7 screens – 1998

Silver City (FP) – Yorkdale – 3401 Dufferin St – 10 screens - 1999

Silver Dollar Room – cabaret type venue - 486 Spadina Avenue - Blues Club

Silver Rail - Yonge & Shuter Streets - opened 1947 as one of Toronto's first licenced cocktail lounges

Silver Slipper - Riverside Drive - live jazz in the 1920s

Six Degrees - 2335 Yonge Street (above Eglinton) - Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead

Six Stages - see DNA Theatre - 109 Niagara Street

*Sky Dome - see newly named Rogers Centre (2005) - 1 Blue Jays Way (53,506)- new domed stadium - official home of the Toronto Blue Jays, circus, large scale concerts, opera "Aida"

*Solar Stage - 40 King Street West (Scotia Plaza, Concourse Level) - lunchtime and children's theatre - established in 1976 (90 seats)

Skyline 2 – Dixon Rd & Hwy 27 – 2 cinemas (1971-1991)

Skyway 6 – Dixon Rd & Hwy 27 – 6 cinemas (1981-1998)

Smokey Joe’s Cafι – 4899 Yonge Street – local jazz club

Sneaky Dee’s – cabaret type venue – 431 College Street

Solar Stage Children’s Theatre - 11th season 2006 – 4950 Yonge St., Madison Centre, Concourse Level – North York

Sony Centre for the Arts - new name for Hummingbird Centre - 2007 - 20 year 10 million partnership - pop concerts and multimedia presentations - dark since summer 2008 awaiting 7 million refurbishing of theatre - condo approved Oct 2009 but plans for $75 million arts and heritage complex in base scrapped - Sony – which opened in 1960 at Front and Yonge Sts. as the O'Keefe Centre and became the Hummingbird Centre in the 1990s before Sony got involved – will reopen in October 1, 2010 to celebrate building's 50th Anniversary

Soulpepper Theatre Company - see Harbourfront (Premiere Dance Theatre/Harbourfront Theatre)- company debut at Harbourfront Centre in 1998, various venues including Royal Alexandra, Elgin Theatre, Premiere Dance Theatre and Harbourfront Theatre - see also Young Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Distillery District

Sound Emporium - 360 Adelaide St West - nightclub

South Common – 2150 Burnhamthorpe Rd West (1989-2001)

Space – see The Space

Spadina Hotel - NW corner of King and Spadina

Spadina House - 1818

Spat’s – 904 seats (1979-1980)

Spotlight Musical Productions - usually held annually in Fairview Library Theatre - 416-284-5542 for information, or mailing list - Blame It On the Movies (March 4 to 6th, 2004)

Spring Thaw - annual review held in various venues i.e. Museum, Avenue Theatre, Crest, Royal Alexandra and Bayview Playhouse - from 1948 to 1971 and 1980 to 1986 – see also New Play Society

Square One Cinemas 10 – 100 City Centre, Mississauga – 10 cinemas - 2001

Stables - Bell Book and Candle - closed

Stage Centre Productions - see also Fairview Library Theatre

*Stage West Dinner Theatre - 5400 Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenues – started 1986 - television star vehicles

Standard Theatre - Dundas and Spadina Avenue - renamed Victory Theatre and became burlesque theatre - then renamed Golden Harvest and showed Chinese films - has been destroyed

Standard – Spadina and Dundas – Yiddish theatre (1930-1931) – see Victory

Star Theatre – (1909-1920) a burlesque house – 1912 Darlings of Paris

Star Burlesque - (formerly the Empire Theatre)- 23 Temperance Street - 1 block North of the Grand and Majestic Theatres - later known as Empire Theatre

Starz Animation - digital media company

State – 1608 Bloor St. West – art deco – 694 seats (1948-1968) – opened as Bloordale – now retail

State Theatre - 69 Bathurst Street - previously Tangiers

Stone Church - 45 Davenport Road

Stonegrill on Winchester – feature free live bands at least once a week

Strand – lower Yonge near King St – (1915-1920) - see Victory

Strand – Islington (1934-1950)

Starry Night Theatre Company - Toronto company using various blackbox theatres around town - i.e. Poor Alex, The Space etc.

*Stratford Shakespearian Festival - see Stratford, Ontario

Studio – 565 College St at Manning – 542 seats (1949-1970) – King - now apartment building

Studio Lab Theatre - founded in 1965-1987 as Studio Children’s Theatre and in 1969 renamed Studio Lab by Ernest Schwarz - Beard, Dionysus in '69 1969

Studio Theatre - see Toronto Centre for the Arts, previously Ford Centre for the Performing Arts

*Studio Theatre - 4 Glen Morris

*Studio Theatre - Toronto Centre for the Arts - 5040 Yonge Street

Studio Theatre - 235 Queen's Quay West

*Studio Theatre, Erindale

Sugar Club - 57 Duncan St - nightclub

Summerworks Theatre Festival - early August each year at Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille

Sunnyside Beach/Sunnyside Beach Pavilion - circa 1927 - big bands - Sunnyside 1920s to mid 1950s - amusements,fireworks,old ships burned for effect,women's softball,Boulevard Club,Palace Pier (dance hall popular during big band era - destroyed by fire 1963) - boardwalk almost 2 miles long - site of Easter parades, dancing to big bands at Top Hat, Palais Royale - groups like Modernaires

Sun Wah – (1989-1998)

Supermarket - 268 Augusta - nightclub

Sussex Centre – Hwy 10 & Burnhamthorpe Rd – 4 cinemas (1987-2001)

System Soundbar - 117 Peter St - nightclub

T

Tallulah’s Cabaret - 12 Alexander Street - nightclub – see Buddies in Bad Times

Tangier Nightclub - opening May 2004 - 69 Bathurst Street, just South of King Street - loft style with live entertainment - now the State Theatre

Tantric - 422 Adelaide St. West - new club venue, previously Una Mas

*Tarragon - and Extra Space - 30 Bridgman Avenue - was founded by Bill Glassco in 1970 with a Mainspace (205 seats) and Extra Space (100 seats)- this small theatre is Toronto's greatest off-Broadway type house and has shown us not only great actors, but exciting new Canadian playwrights like Michel Tremblay, David Freeman, David French, James Reaney, Carol Bolt, John Murrell, Judith Thompson - Albertine in Five Times (85), Artichoke (76), Bonjour la Bonjour (70), Broken Pieces; Canadian Gothic and American Modern (77); Creeps (77); Damnee Manon Sacree Sandra (79); Dream Play (77), 18 Wheels, Forever Yours Marie Lou (72), I'll Be Back Before Midnight (80); Impromptu of Outremont, Jitters (79), Johannes and the Talmud, Leaving Home, Lulu, Hosanna (74), Impromptu of Outremont (80); Mr. Joyce is Leaving Paris, Night No One Yelled, Of The Fields Lately, One Crack Out (75), One Night Stand, Riddle of the World (81), Salt Water Moon (84); Sticks and Stones, Temps d'une Vie, Top Girls (84), Waiting for the Parade (79), White Biting Dog (84), White Boys (82), You're Gonna Be Alright Jamie Boy (70). Bill Glassco, the artistic director is in my estimation, the greatest influence on Canadian theatre we have had. As of 1983 the artistic manager was Urjo Kareda, former theatre critic (deceased 2001)

Taverns - 1809 - Dundas and Bay streets - first recorded theatrical performance in York - travelling group of American actors presented School For Scandal

T. Eaton Company’s Masquers Club (branches also in Montreal, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary

Teck – 700 Queen St. East, West of Broadview (1931-1933) – now a bar

Ted's Wrecking Yard - 549 College St.

Telus Centre for Performance and Learning at the Royal Conservatory of Music - on Bloor St. W. - centre to open in September 2007 - see Royal Conservatory of Music - complex houses Koerner Hall (1135 seats, Mazzoleni Concert Hall (restored hall - Toronto Heritage building - 237 seats) and Conservatory Theatre - performance venue

Teller's Cage Dinner Theatre – (1980-1987) - Sweet Reason 1975; Nunsense - closed

Temperance Hall - (1848-1899) - Toronto's first opera house - Temperance Street (one block North of Adelaide off Yonge)- replaced by the Empire Theatre in 1899

Temple – Queen St West

Theatorium - built 1906 (17 ft wide x 100 ft deep) - 150 seats - Toronto's 1st movie theatre

Theatre at York - see York University

Theatre Buildings - Greek theatres were open air cut out of hillsides, usually facing the sea (5th Century B.C.); Roman theatres were built on the flat and amphitheatres were built for chariot races and gladiator combats, but the destruction of the Roman Empire saw collapse of organized theatre – it was reborn in liturgical dramas given in churches, and later open air either in front of churches, or the marketplace on raised platforms; Renaissance brought great change to theatre design, now indoors on temporary stages of halls or palaces through the 16th Century. Proscenium arch innovation 16th Century Italy and opera and ballet evolved horseshoe shaped auditoriums (Teatro Olympico at Vincenza 1585; Sabionetta 1589; Teatro Farnese at Parma 1619); Early French theatres were long and narrow (1540s); unroofed playhouses of Elizabethan England i.e. Theatre, Fortune, Rose and The Globe; Italian architects dominated building all over the continent during 17th Century; In London after the Restoration, theatres were modelled on European pattern like Dorset Garden (1671); Drury Lane (1674); Lincoln’s Inn Fields (1714); Covent Garden (1732); Grand staircases, foyers and porticos began with opera houses of Germany and later Italy, to be taken up by legitimate theatres only in 19th Century; a boom in theatre building worldwide after 1800; Germany led world in theatre design up until World War I, but the boom in cinema architecture led to theatres like the Duchess (London 1929); Cambridge (1930); and Saville (1931); In United States Pasadena Playhouse (1925); Ziegfeld (New York 1927); and Radio City Music Hall (1932) – later experimental-like theatres-in-the-round and flexible staging e.g. Circle in the Square (New York 1960 and 1972); Arena Stage (Washington 1961); more dominant theme was the thrust stage like Stratford Festival (Ontario 1953, rebuilt 1957); Guthrie Theatre (1963) – 1970s developed the small workshop theatre i.e. National Theatre (London 1976)

*Theatre Centre - 1087 Queen St. West @ Dovercourt - 30th anniversary season 2009 - to move to 1115 Queen St W in retrofitted Carnegie Library

Theatre Centre Studio Space - 9 St. Nicholas Street, 6th Floor

Theatre Columbus/Factory - 125 Bathurst Street - Leah Cherniak, and Martha Ross are about to stage their 38th and final show for Theatre Columbus March 2009, 'And Up They Flew.' created Theatre Columbus 25 years ago based on a desire that Cherniak defines as "wanting to create theatre that we felt would open up whole new worlds that we had never imagined as well."

Theatre Compact – (1976-1978) – Da 1976; Suicide 1976; Easter 1977; Orators 1977; Woyzeck 1977; Arsenic and Old Lace 1978 – unfortunately disbanded after only 6 quality productions at various venues

Theatre Direct Canada - 1976

Theatre Erindale - 3359 Mississauga Road - see also Erindale Studio Theatre

Theatre Fountainhead – founded 1974

*Theatre Francais de Toronto - 26 Berkeley Street – 1967 when it set up shop as Theatre du P'tit Bonheur. It moved from Broadview and Danforth to Adelaide Ct. before finally settling in the space at Berkeley St. they've used for many years - P’tit Bonheur 1967; Little Miss Easter Seals 1988

Theatre Glendon - see York University

Theatre Hour Company – 1962 – became CentreStage Hour

Theatre Humber - 3131 Lakeshore Blvd. West

Toronto International Film Festival - International festival held first two weeks of September - using various venues around Yonge and Bloor areas

Theatre In The Dell – Elm Street – opened 1962 – Canada Goose; Ding Dong at the Dell; Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, Oh Coward (Tom Kneebone,Dinah Christie) 1970-1 (75 weeks); El Grande de Coca Cola; From Shakespeare to Sondheim; Toronto Toronto 1980 – 1,200+ performances – closed 1986

Theatre of Action (1935-1940)

Theatre Offstage - 823 Manning Avenue

Theatre on the Move - 1976

*Theatre Passe Muraille - and Backspace - 16 Ryerson Avenue - founded in 1968 by Jim Garrard and Paul Thompson at Rochdale College, moved to 11 Trinity Square, Central Reference Library, then bought the current building which had been candy factory, bakery and stable (200 to 400 seats) - Tom Paine, Futz (1969), All the Ghosts, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Bond Honoured, Doukabors (1971), Buffalo Jump 1972; Charles Manson, D + C; Farm Show 1972; Go Go Boys, I Love You Baby Blue 1975 - parts I (censorship problems) and II, Maids; Master, Memories for My Brother, Pilk's Madhouse, Studhorse Man, Sweet Eros and In His Own Write, Tantrums, Vampyr, When You Comin' Back Red Ryder (79); Drawer Boy - building may be bought by City of Toronto 2007

Theatre Plus - founded 1973 by Marion Andre – used 500 seat Town Hall, now Jane Mallett) – Loot; Say Who You Are; House of Blue Leaves; Philanthropist; Little Foxes; Au Pair Man; Rehearsal; Forever Yours Marie Lou 1976 - disbanded

Theatre Royal - Northeast corner of King and York Streets (1836-1840) frame building, former carpentry shop and was the site of former Methodist Church - The Burning of Moscow - burned down 1840

Theatre Royal (2nd by that name) - 1839 - King and York Streets in a converted carpentry shop - where Toronto Stock Exchange is presently - laneway - gutted by fire

Theatre Second Floor (1975-1979) - founded by Paul Bettis

Theatre Sheridan - see Sheridan College

Theatre 620 - St. Vladimir Institue, 620 Spadina Avenue

Theatresports - Harbourfront Centre - York Quay Centre - 235 Queens Quay West – Toronto group started in 1983 – moved to 138 Danforth Avenue

Theatre Toronto - 1964-1969 - amalgamation of the Crest Theatre and Canadian Players in 1968 – presented plays at the Royal Alexandra Theatre - Soldiers 1968; Drummer Boy; Festival of Carol’sdisbanded

The Docks - 11 Polson Street

The Guvernment - Kool Haus

The Great Hall - 1087 Queen Street West

The Rivoli - 334 Queen St. West

The Space - 489 Dupont Street

The 360 – cabaret type venue – 326 Queen Street West

Thorncliffe – 477 seats (1969-1972)

Thornville Square 3 – Bayview & John St – 3 cinemas (1981-1989)

Tim Sim's Playhouse - 56 Blue Jays Way - 100 seats – closed in April 2005

Titania – 1183 seats (1974-1985)

Tivoli Theatre – 13 Richmond St. East at Victoria – 1917 – 935 seats - opened as the Allen 1000 seats – renamed the Tivoli in 1923 - across the street from Shea's Victoria - see Allen Theatre - Richmond Street East at Victoria Streets – Navy Show 1943 - theatre which housed TODD-AO - demolished 1965 and is the site of the Cambridge Hotel

T.K. Cabaret - Tom Kneebone at the T.K. Cabaret 1979

*Todmorden Mills Theatre - see Papermill Theatre, and East Side Players - Pottery Road between Bayview Extension and Broadview

Tonic - 117 Peter Street - nightclub

Top 'o the Senator - 249 Victoria Street – local jazz club - 1990 - Diana Krall - closed July 2005

Top of the Square - 279 Yonge Street – voted best jazz club 1995-2000

Toronto Athletic Club - 1891

Toronto Centre for the Arts - (see Studio Theatre)(see also Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, North York Centre for the Arts)- 5040 Yonge Street - was the home of Livent Productions (founded in 1989 - opened 1993) - (Main Hall 1780 seats - George Weston Recital Hall 1030 seats, Studio Theatre 200 seats), in Vancouver the new Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (1,849 seats) plus the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in New York (1,839 seats) - Showboat; *Ragtime (530); Fosse: A Celebration in Song, Sunset Boulevard (977); Swingstep 1999- changed to North York Performing Arts Centre after bankruptcy 1998 - disuse for almost decade - My Fair Lady 2008; Jersey Boys 2008;

Toronto Children’s Players - 1931

Toronto Children’s Theatre – 1934 – ran for 25 years

Toronto Cinema – 266 seats (1994 opened and closed)

*Toronto Dance Theatre - founded 1968 by Peter Randazzo, Patricia Beatty, and David Earle - Christopher House took over 1994

Toronto Free Theatre - (1971-1988) founded by Adrienne Clarkson, Martin Kinch and John Palmer - 26 Berkeley Street - see also Canadian Stage - (Theatre Upstairs 180 seats and Theatre Downstairs 280 seats) – building from late 1880s gasworks – opened with How Are Things With the Walking Wounded 1972; Clear Light 1973 – censorship problems - merged with Centre Stage in 1988 and became Canadian Stage - talents included Paul Gross, Clare Coulter, Fiona Reid, Jackie Burroughs, and Michael Hogan - Angel City, As Is (85), Baal, Buried Child, Desperados, Domino Courts, Fool for Love, Gravediggers of 1942 (1973); Me (77), Passion and Sin, Workingman and the Jones Boy

Toronto Fringe Festival - various theatres - each summer theatre companies from around the world perform at various stages throughout the city over 11 days in July

Toronto International Film Festival - early September for 2 weeks - one of the world's most important annual film festivals - various locations, call for details 416-968-FILM

Toronto Irish Players - since 1975 - usually productions staged at Alumnae Theatre on Berkeley Street

Toronto Jewish Theatre - founded 1983

Toronto Opera House - (1886-1903) - 25 Adelaide Street West, West of Yonge - burned down 1903 - Majestic Theatre built on the site

*Toronto Operetta Theatre

TORONTO REFERENCE LIBRARY: PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE - 789 Yonge Street - Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium - new 30 million addition being added by 2013

Toronto’s Dickens’ Fellowship – 1905

Toronto’s Shakespeare Society – 1928-40

*Toronto Symphony - formed 1906-08 - see Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall

TORONTO THEATRES

*Toronto Truck Theatre - formed 1971 – started with free outdoor shows – moved 1973 to 200 seat Colonnade Theatre – in 1975 moved to church on Belmont Street (170 seats) and 1978 purhased Bayview Playhouse (520 seats) - see also Belmont Theatre

Toronto Workshop Productions (now Buddies in Bad Times) - (1959-1988) opened as Workshop Productions – was oldest theatre company in TorontoToronto was added in 1963 when they were at 47 Fraser Avenue (100 seats) – moved to 12 Alexander Street in 1967 (300 seats) (now home to Buddies in Bad Times) – damaged by fire in 1974 – theatre under the brilliant direction of George Luscombe, an experimental theatre pioneer – was the oldest theatre company in Toronto before closing - Alchemist, Black Comedy, Captain of Kopenick, Che Guevara, Chicago 70, Creeps, Daganawida, Damnee Manon Sacree Sandra, Dining Room, Easter, Faces, Fatal Attraction (pre Bwy), Flowers (Lindsay Kemp 78), Game, Gentlemen Be Seated, Good Soldier Schweik,Hey Rube, Hosanna, Indians, Inspector General, Knuckle, Letters from Earth, Mr. Bones, 1969 and often repeated, Nunsense, Orators, Salome (Lindsay Kemp 78),Salt Water Moon, Tempest, Ten Lost Years 1974-1976, Tom Paine, Toronto Pixie Caper, Travellers, View From the Bridge (Vincent Gardenia) (68); Nunsense (86);

Toronto Youth Theatre

T.O.TIX - Yonge and Dundas Square (at the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets) - discounted tickets day of performance - open 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Tuesday through Saturday)- also available online

Touch Lounge & Dining - 499 King St. West - club and dining venue

Touring Companies - after demise in Britain of local stock and repertory companies, touring groups appeared because of cheap rail travel, but today companies throughout the world travel mainly by road, but these companies are becoming rarer because of escalating costs

Towne and Countrye – Yonge and Steeles 1969 – renamed Centrepoint in 1991 – 2 cinemas

Towne Cinema – 57 Bloor St East – 693 seats – art cinema (1949-1985)

Town Tonics - 1932 to 1942 under the direction of Jane Mallett

Trane Studio - 964 Bathurst Street - jazz club

Tranzac Club - 292 Brunswick Avenue - Night Out With Ives (04)

*Trinity Basement Theatre - 619 Sherbourne Street

Trinity College (University of Toronto) – quadrangle used for summer theatre 1957 – The Winter’s Tale (Earle Grey Players) – stage used since 1946 and rebuilt in 1954 in Elizabethan manner

Trinity St. Paul's Centre - 427 Bloor St. West

*Trinity Square - Eaton Centre built around this church - Lady's Not For Burning, Marat Sade

Trinity Workshop Theatre - 619 Sherbourne Street

*Tropicana Dinner Theatre - 247 Spadina Avenue

Truck and Warehouse - see Toronto Truck and Warehouse Theatre

Tryptych Productions - 583 Drurie Street - various venues used

Twentieth Century Theatre

21st Century Love Cinema – 245 Yonge Street – (1973 opened and closed)

21st Century Love Cinema – 325 Yonge Street - (1973 opened and closed)

TWP - see Toronto Workshop Productions

U

U.C. FOLLIES

U-Kum – College Street and Dovercourt (early 1900s-closed about 1920)

Una Mas - see Tantric

Union Station - 1927 - national historic site

*Uni Theatre - 67067-3200 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga

University Alumnae Dramatic Club - founded 1918-1984 – performed at the Women’s Union, Toronto Conservatory of Music, Hart House, and were housed at various locales - Huntley Street, Bedford Road, Huron Street (converted synagogue) and Maplewood Avenue – mounted plays throughout the 1920s and 1930s - since 1972 housed at Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street (154 seats) and Elizabeth Mascall Studio (75 seats)

*University College Drama Program - Hart House Theatre (renamed Robert Gill Theatre)

University College Glee Club – Antigone 1882

University of Toronto at Mississauga - 3359 Mississauga Road

University of Toronto Players’ Club – 1913-1921 – first tenant of Hart House

University Theatre - Bloor Street West of Bay Street on North side – 1556 seats - (built 1949-1986) - Cinerama theatre - there was a petition of over 25,000 people against the demolition of this theatre but it was demolished anyway - only the facade remains, now part of Pottery Barn

Upstart Crow Theatre Group - is the Indie theatre company that is completely self-reliant. Whether it's publicity, performance, creative design, fundraising, marketing, technical support, administration - or even playwrighting - it is our Ensemble who perform all of the tasks

Uptown Theatre - opened as Loew's Uptown, (also see Backstage I and II at rear on Balmuto Street) – 764 Yonge Street, South of Bloor – 1920 – 2743 seats – 1st Toronto theatre equipped for sound – stage shows accompanied the films – 5 screens 1970 – Cinema 1-929; Cinema 2-605 and Cinema 3-407 – Famous Players took over 1978 - closed for demolition (facade to be saved) Sept 2003 – rear of building collapsed Dec. 8/03 (10:35 a.m.) while being demolished and 1 man killed in adjoining building (Yorkville English Academy) when roof collapsed

V

Variety – see Arcadian

Variety – see Pickford

Variety Dinner Theatre – Oh Calcutta 1983

*Varsity Arena - 275 Bloor Street West @ Bedford Road -Requiem

Varsity Cinemas/ Varsity VIP Cinemas (C) - 55 Bloor St. West at Bay in Manulife Centre - opened 1974 with 2 screens – 8 screens in 1997 plus 4 VIP cinemas in 1998

*Varsity Stadium - 275 Bloor Street West @ Bedford Road - home of Toronto Argonauts

Vaudeville Theatre - see Casino Theatre - 87 Queen Street West (formerly Vaudeville) demolished in 1957 - as Casino was great vaudeville site, with headliners like Johnnie Ray, Billy Daniels, Frankie Laine, Sally Rand, Patti Page, Gene Nelson, Rosemary Clooney, Crew Cuts, Four Lads - 1,100 seats, strippers or name star got 300.00 a week for 24 shows, chorus girls got 27.50 per week for same 24 shows - just before being torn down in 1957 did a stint as a legitimate house called Civic Square

Vaughan – 558 St. Clair Ave West & Vaughan Road – 1947 – 929 seats – closed 1973 and demolished 1980s

Velvet Underground - 510 Queen St West - nightclub

Viacom Inc - sold Famous Players, its Canadian-based theatre chain, to Cineplex Galaxy LP for a total of $500 million CAD (approximately $400 million USD)

Victoria – Richmond at 83 Victoria Street, Shea’s Vaudeville (1948-1952)

Victoria – (1926-1927)

Victoria Terrace 6 – 1989 – sixplex – closed 2002

Village Playhouse - 2190 Bloor Street West – 2006 is 30th Anniversary

Vinnie Black's Chapel of Love - 56 Blue Jays Way

Vogue – 1574 Queen St East – now the Q Club

W

Walter Hall Faculty of Music - University of Toronto - 80 Queen's Park

Warden Woods – 725 Warden Ave – 8 plex (1982-2001)

Waterfall Stage - see First Canadian Place

Waverly Hotel - Queen and College Streets – 1900

Wellington Theatre - 1035 Gerrard Street East - ethnic films

West End – (1942-1958) - 215 Mavety St, West of Keele and Dundas – 1921 – 515 seats - built as the Mavety – now apartment building

West End Studio Theatre - (1109 North Service E –

West Hill – Roxy – (1956-1967)

Weston – (1929-1931) - later Fox Weston (1954-1960 – 554 seats) – an old vaudiville theater it had a stage and dressing rooms downstairs with the lights still around the mirrors - now demolished and a government building - see Odeon Weston

Weston Little Theatre - 1 Ralph Street, Weston

Weston Recital Hall - 5040 Yonge Street

Westwood – Malton – 3 cinemas (1959-1995)

Westwood Theatre – 1951 – 994 seats

Wicked Club - group sex room with viewing area

Willow – 5269 Yonge Street North, between Sheppard and Finch, Willowdale – 1000 seats – (1948-1987) - demolished

*Winchester Street Theatre - 80 Winchester Street at Metcalf

Winchester Hotel - opened 1888, as Lake View House at the corner of Parliament and Winchester – renamed Winchester in 1908 – now plans for redevelopment, April 2005, after continued operation for 117 years – designated heritage site in 1975 – first floor to become a Tim Hortons

Wing Va Theatre – Melody, College Playhouse

Winston Churchill 24 (AMC) - Winston Churchill Blvd & QEW

*Winter Garden/Elgin - 189 Yonge Street - 1914 - is an atmospheric type theatre - designed by Thomas Lamb - 1422 seats – one identical evening show, as per the Elgin’s three continuous shows per day - - provided venues for large-scale foreign touring companies - Milton Berle 1924 and 1930; George Burns and Gracie Allen 1925; Sophie Tucker - last vaudeville played here in 1928; Toronto's only piggyback theatres (1914-1928)were both restored to their original splendour in 1985 (seats for Winter Garden were from Biograph Theatre in Chicago, where John Dillinger met his fate in 1934 and reopened in 1989 at a cost of 30 million dollars; the Winter Garden Theatre had been closed since 1928, and remained closed for more than 60 years (992 seats). Used for location shots in films White Oaks of Jalna series (CBC); Theatre of Blood (Vincent Price,Diana Rigg)1973; Girl Who Cried Murder (Telly Savalas); Roses in December (not released). It is the top layer of theatres and closed due to fire and building codes and the decline in vaudeville. The Elgin continued to show films before being closed for restoration. - closed in the mid 1970s until restored to its original grandeur in the early 1980s Also see Elgin Theatre)- Das Wunder von Neukolln 2000

Wonderland – 1907 - West Toronto Junction

Wonderland Museum - 1891 - see Sheas Theatre

Woodbine Centre 8 - in Woodbine Shopping Centre – (1985-2002) - reopened as Rainbow Cinema 8 in 2002

Woodbine Racetrack - shores of Lake Ontario - refurbished as New Woodbine 1956 before new one built 2007 at Rexdale Blvd

Woodbine Racetrack - 555 Rexdale Blvd - slots, horse racing and new (2007) Willows After Dark - opening with Tribute to Tina Turner & Supremes - Friday and Saturday evenings only

Woodside Cinemas – McCowan and Finch, Agincourt – 1981

Woody’s/Sailor’s - 465-467 Church Street - nightclub

Wordmachine - 1034 Queen Street West

Joseph Workman Theatre - 1001 Queen St. West - see Joseph

X

Y

Ye Olde Brunswick House - established 1876 - one of the cities oldest bars - University students' drinking establishment - entertainment - new owner - closed for renovation - reopening in late July 2005

YMCA Theatre for Young Audiences - 20 Grosvenor Street

Yonge – see Loews, Elgin, Winter Garden - Famous Players took over 1978 and renamed to Elgin

York – 812 Yonge Street above Bloor - 745 seats

York I & II – Eglinton Avenue East of Yonge St (Odeon Cineplex)- (built 1969-2001) – 745 seats - theatres 1 and 2 - now closed, but available for conventions, private screenings etc. as of January/02 - currently called Yorkville Club, private membership gym

Yorkdale 6 – Dufferin & 401 – 1964 – Silver City 1999

York Hall - Glendon College - 2275 Bayview Avenue

York Memorial Auditorium - Eglinton at Keele

York Minstrels

York Quay Centre - 235 Queen's Quay West

*York University - Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre - Burton Auditorium -(600 seats) - Centre for Fine Arts - 4700 Keele Street - Burton Hall - Department of Dance is Canada's oldest and largest University dance department - Polish Mime, an Evening with Jerry Herman

York University Stadium - York University announced Oct 18/04 that an agreement has been reached for the construction of a new 25,000-seat stadium on the York University Keele campus, opening 2006. The stadium will be the new home of the Toronto Argonauts and a world-class venue for Canadian soccer, and will host the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Youth Championship in the summer of 2007, and also be a new venue for concerts.

Yorkville Town Hall - Yonge Street North of Bloor

Yorkwoods Library - 1785 Finch Avenue

Young Centre for the Performing Arts - opening Feb 1/06 with "Our Town," -also see Distillery District - new site to house Soulpepper Theatre Company - and George Brown Theatre School - two former brick Gooderham and Worts Distillery warehouses - to open 2005 with George Brown classes beginning Sept/05 and the Soulpepper Company starting Dec/05 - there will be 4 theatrical venues - from 80 to 400 seat theatres, the 250 seat theatre will be called the Michael Young Theatre - 3 large rehearsal spaces as well as classrooms and administrative offices - organizations as diverse as Nightwood Theatre, Tapestry Music Theatre, Ballet Jsrgen and Random House are booked to use the facilities

*Young Peoples Theatre - 165 Front Street East - founded in 1966 by Susan Douglas Rubes as the only theatre centre in English Canada devoted exclusively to programs for young people - houses two theatres - the main stage Susan Rubes - 468 seats and the 115 seat Nathan Cohen Studio Theatre - operates out of a former Toronto Transit Commission generating station at 165 Front Street. Originally built as stables for horses of the Toronto Street Railway, the building was converted to a generating station when electric power replaced horse power. In 1906 the company began purchasing power from Niagara and shut the generators down. For more than half a century the building was used for storage or sat empty. It was saved from demolition in 1977 when the Young People’s Theatre converted it to theatre and studio space – first production was Lost Fairy Tale - Dandy Lion 1966; Little Red Riding Hood 1968; Popcorn Man 1969; Diary of Anne Frank 1977

Yuk Yuks Komedy Kabaret - started 1975 at 519 Church St before moving to Bay Street

Yuk Yuk's East - 235 Bayly, Ajax

Yuk Yuk's Supperclub - 2335 Yonge Street

Yuk Yuk's West - 5165 Dixie Road, Mississauga

Z

Zingaro Productions - 92 Lowther Avenue

Zocalo Toronto - 688 Richmond St. W - new production company (2007) and a new small theatre space

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