The grand dame of Toronto's performing arts venues, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, celebrates its 100th birthday tomorrow. To mark the event, the Mirvishes have organized a free open house from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., during which you can go on a self-guided backstage tour, eat free grub at the BBQ in front of the theatre (weather permitting), or catch a tribute performance from the original members of the 1969 Canadian cast of Hair.......

Toronto legend Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish has died. He was 92. The philanthropic businessman was a crucial part of Toronto's reputation as a world-renowned theatre centre, and had been mostly out of the public eye after contracting a severe case of pneumonia in 2003 and experiencing deteriorating health ever since. Mirvish died at St. Michael's Hospital at 1:30 a.m. Mirvish was born in Virginia on July 25, 1914 to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. His introduction to......

- Toronto Blogger is the New Toronto Blogger. - Cybill Shepherd may be the New Martha Stewart (for the second time), when shooting begins next week for the Martha MOW here in TO. - LOTR megamusical is the New Mamma Mia. - 'A Channel' is the New CHUM, because brand indentity is important. - New Toronto Life redesign is the old, pre-redesigned New York, with a dash of 1994 Sun Sentinel.......

Guess who's coming to town? Well, yes, Santa Claus. But following St. Nick by a month and a half is Bat Boy of Bat Boy: The Musical. Flying in from runs in New York, London and L.A. (and boy are its wings tired, ha, ha), the cult ironic musical -- billed as "a cross between My Fair Lady and Edward Scissorhands" -- is arriving at the Bathurst Street Theatre in early February. Ripped from the......

In this issue, our crack musical theatre reporter, C. Andrew Courtice, ventures deep into the theatre district, and unearths the following: We pick up where Zadie Smith's The Autograph Man left off, which is to say where Lenny Bruce left off, which is to say chronicling that which is inherently Jewish and that which is goyish. For example, Lenny asserted that 'pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish." Inspired by......