There's No Business Like Show Business

Tamara Jones is Production Stage Manager/Operations Supervisor,
Entertainment Department, Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.

In this book, the dynamic “Honest Ed” Mirvish recounts the highs and
lows in his life as a theatre impresario. He explains his intentions
best: “Ah those wonderful actors (with few exceptions) I’ve met and
come to know through the decades. Their presence, their stories, their
sense of joy—which I’ve tried to relate in these pages. I’ve loved
the hours with them.”

In a book that reads like a conversation, Mirvish reflects on the
intersection of his career as a “storekeeper” with the history of
two major theatrical institutions: the Royal Alex and the Old Vic. He
relates how his relationship with those theatres fueled his desire to
promote the performing arts and to build the Princess of Wales Theatre.
His collection of photos and playbills complements his historical notes.
However, it is his accounts of the people who have worked in his
productions and on his stages that best explain his love affair with the
theatre. Reconciling the businessman with the patron of the arts is not
so hard to do.