Hamilton, the musical incubator: Multi-million dollar program to develop new Canadian shows set to launch

While Lin-Manuel Miranda's juggernaut show Hamilton" has taken the world by storm, the Ontario municipality of the same name is hoping to step into the musical spotlight.

A multimillion-dollar development program for new musicals is set to launch in the city this fall and its organizers have high hopes the incubator will usher in a new era for Canadian musical theatre, catapulting emerging writers onto the national and international stage.

Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Ont., will host the National Centre for New Musicals, the Toronto Star has learned. The centre will be a hub focused on developing new Canadian musicals, and supporting both young and established theatre composers, lyricists, book writers and artists.

I've always believed Canadians are great storytellers in different aspects of the arts," said Michael Rubinoff, co-chair of the centre's advisory committee and the originating producer of Come From Away."

We've seen Canadians succeed in music, in comedy, in animation. I've always believed Canadians could succeed in the genre of musical theatre. What they needed was two things: continuous support, and the opportunity to fail and to learn from that failure how to succeed."

The National Centre for New Musicals, with a budget of $2 million for the first five years, aims to develop two to four new musicals each year, with applications for the first cohort opening this fall. So far, $1 million has been secured from non-government donors, though the names of the major sponsors have yet to be shared.

The centre will include two main strands of activity: an incubation program for projects in early stages of development; and a presentation program to support workshops, showcases and pathways to premieres for more fully developed projects.

Focusing on new musicals was something that no other theatre was doing in Canada," said Kelly Straughan, executive director of Theatre Aquarius. There's not really a place that artists can come to and say, Can I have a 20-person cast?' I think a very typical response is, Can you get it down to 12? Could you do eight?' We want to allow projects to be exactly what they need to be."

Mary Francis Moore, artistic director of Theatre Aquarius, said the centre reinforces and emphasizes" the company's commitment to develop new work, including musicals.

We're planting our flag for Theatre Aquarius and this commitment to making space for previously unheard voices," said Moore, who has premiered three plays and one musical during her nearly two years at the helm of the theatre.

Though Theatre Aquarius will host the centre, theatres and producers from across the country - their names have yet to be officially announced - are also participating the project.

In five years, I want to look back and see the relationships we've developed and the introductions we've made with artists to other theatres and to other artists," said Moore.

Besides Rubinoff, the National Centre for New Musicals has several prominent figures attached to the program.

Lily Ling, a Broadway conductor and the first female music director of Hamilton," will serve as co-chair of the advisory committee alongside Rubinoff. Sean Mayes, another Canadian conductor on Broadway, will be the centre's music director, conductor and educator.

For many in the industry, the National Centre for New Musicals will be seen as the successor to the highly successful Canadian Musical Theatre Project. Started by Rubinoff in 2011 and run out of Sheridan College, that program paired theatre writers with students as part of their coursework. The project, which was retired in 2021 when Rubinoff left the college, launched shows such as Come From Away."

While the project had both an educational and professional development focus, the new centre will squarely target professional artists, said Rubinoff, adding that the program's development activities and workshops will open up what you can do."

It'll give you a wider choice of storytellers and stories that you can develop," he said.

Karen Fricker is a Toronto-based theatre critic and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @KarenFricker2

Joshua Chong is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star's Express Desk. Follow him on Twitter: @joshualdwchong