Continuing our recent theme of daytrips around Toronto and Southern Ontario, Cathy and I go behind the scenes at the revitalized Massey Hall (the House of Gord).
Gemini tells us: Opened in 1894, Toronto’s Massey Hall is a National Historic Site renowned for its perfect acoustics. After a massive $184-million revitalization, it now features a retractable floor. Looking ahead, it anchors the Allied Music Centre, expanding with new performance spaces to support generations of emerging artists
This venue is affectionately called ‘the House of Gord’ as Gordon Lightfoot performed here over 170 times. We find it rather cool to stand at centre stage where he and many of the best performers world-wide have entertained, and to pretend to perform to an imaginary audience of 2500+.
What Cathy and I find out is that the ‘revitalized’ Massey Hall now has actual dressing rooms for the artists, retractable orchestra seating to allow for a standing audience, two additional small venues that provide a path for emerging artists, new lounges and meeting rooms, and much more, all consistent in design with the original hall.
We are invited to this behind the scenes tour (small group of 8) as we are patrons of Roy Thompson Hall and their National Geographic Series. If you call the membership office, you may be able to wrangle an invitation.
Here are some pictures of the theatre and the backstage
and the dressing rooms and reception areas:
