100 PRODUCTIONS ALREADY?

Time really does fly when you are having fun! It’s hard to believe, but Stage West celebrated their 100th production this past May, with the opening of THE FULL MONTY.

“Following the success of Stage West Edmonton and Calgary, in November of 1986 we opened Stage West Mississauga in a converted steel warehouse in an area surrounded by business, but no homes to speak off. People thought we were crazy!” said Howard Pechet, Executive Producer and Chairman of the Board of Stage West Theatre Restaurants. “Now, twenty one years later and one hundred productions under our belt, Stage West has become an icon of the Canadian theatre scene. We are very proud of this accomplishment.”

Much of the success in the early years was due to the “star format”. Howard describes it as “take a comedy or musical written by a known playwright, add a star who has a household name from either TV or movies, then add in a terrific Canadian cast, stir in a fabulous top notch buffet, and that is the winning Stage West formula. It was our recipe for success” according to Pechet. Over the years, the “recipe” has been transformed somewhat to keep up with current trends.

“It became increasingly harder to get big name stars and many of them were aging and no longer wanted to be away from home for fourteen weeks at a time,” explains Howard. “And we found there was such a wealth of talent in Canada, many of whom were becoming stars in their own right, that eventually we moved away from the Hollywood star format.”

What is today’s recipe for success? According to Howard, the season is a fine blend of one or two comedies, peppered with three big musicals, starring all-Canadian casts. And of course, the great food is the flip side of the Stage West hit formula.
Stage West General Manager Muhammed (Mo) Huq explains;

“Our theatre buffet menu changes with each production – everything from the salads, to the hot items and even the desserts are changed each production to ensure our 15,000 season subscribers are enjoying new delights each time they see a show,” says Mo. “Executive Chef Joseph Soroka and his team research current food trends and come up with a menu which offers the finest in food quality and satisfaction. “

Joe and his team design the menu and hold a “menu tasting” session for corporate clients and season subscribers, selected on a rotation basis to attend. Once the menu has been finalized, the items are offered on the buffet for the first two week. Guests are surveyed and are asked to rate the food, the service and the show. “A dish must average approval rating of 85% or higher or it is changed,” says Mo. Close attention is paid to what guests are saying and the menu, the service, even the show can be tweaked, within reason.

Many great stars have appeared at Stage West over the years; Mickey Rooney, Don Knotts, George Segal, Barbara Hamilton, Shawn Cassidy, Elliott Gouid, Jamie Farr, Joyce DeWitt, Gale Gordon, Lorretta Swit, Helen Reddy, Margot Kidder, Cloris Leachman…the list goes on and on.

“In the early days it was difficult to get stars to come here,” says Howard. “Miss-a-sog-wa?” they would say, where the hell is that?”
But over the years, celebrities and agents would be knocking down Howard’s door to work at the various Stage West theatres across the county. At one point, Stage West had theatres running in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and even Palm Springs.

“We learned a few lessons along the way about who are clients are and what they like,” says Howard. “Now we don’t play with the format and it has really paid off. We survey our audience on a regular basis, we go and see what’s playing in other markets, and then we develop a season which is geared to our audience of baby boomers.” Another aspect of the Stage West formula, that of writing their own shows, happened quite by accident.

“There was a time a few years ago when I was seeing shows in London and New York but not seeing much that was right for our audiences, “ says Howard. “After seeing one musical in New York, which I won’t name, I thought to myself ‘I can write a play better than this!’ and then it hit me! I could work with a team to research and write musical revues based on some of the biggest movements in music history, “ said Howard.

And so, the idea became reality in the form of mega hits including “British Invasion I and II, California Dreaming I and II, Bell Bottom Fever, More Magic and Something to Remind Me and Music of the Millennium.” Currently Pechet and a creative team are working on two new shows, one based on the music of the 70’s and another featuring Canadian hit and hit makers.

“With two theatres, we can workshop a play for awhile and then run it on the main stage at the two theatres,” says Howard.
The shows have proved so successful that Howard now finds himself writing one or two plays a year and the rights have been sold to other theatres in Canada.

“One thing I have learned about theatre is that it is a dynamic, changing medium and you must be willing to listen to your customer and adapt along the way,” says Howard. “In fact, you must be one step ahead of your competition to get the rights to a hot show or property before they do and not be afraid to spend money on the right talent, the right sets, on great lights, sound and costumes, offer quality food and then market it as a total entertainment package, that’s what makes it all work.”  The theatre is busy year round with eight shows per week plus concerts on most Monday nights and children’s productions during school holidays.

Stage West Mississauga ran as a theatre for five years before Howard and Mo opened the hotel in the fall of 1990. The hotel offered luxurious all-suite accommodation, a three storey indoor waterslide, pool and Jacuzzi, fitness centre, meeting and convention space, shops, restaurants and services.

“When the hotel opened it completed our concept of being a complete entertainment complex all under one roof where guests could work, play and stay in one facility,” says Howard. Hotel/theatre packages are extremely popular and often sold out weeks in advance. The concept was so unique that in 2003, Stage West was named “Hotel of the Year” by the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, the first time an independent hotel had won this prestigious award.

“At Stage West we treat our guests like family – our home is their home,” says Mo Huq, General Manager. “Many of our staff have been with us since the beginning and they know our guests and corporate clients on a first name basis. When a guest tells me, “your hotel is so friendly”, then I know we have done our job,” says Mo.

So what’s up coming for this unique property? Recently Mo decided to change the traditional swimming pool into a saltwater pool for the benefit and health of his guests. In 2007, construction will begin to add additional meeting room space in order to accommodate the growing need for large conventions and meetings. The 2008 season will include such hits as Beauty and the Beast and, back by popular demand, British Invasion.

“We strive to lead the hotel and entertainment industry by providing the very latest and best products and services for our guests,” says Mo. “Many people in the industry hear about what we are doing and say,’ they can’t do this or that’. What I say to them is, just watch us!”

For more information or interviews please contact Laurie Wallace-Lynch, Director of Marketing / Public Relations at 905-282-8213 or laurie@stagewest.com or Sara Pezza, Marketing / PR Coordinator at 905-282-8212, sara@stagewest.com.