Update, March 14, 2020: Mirvish Productions announced Saturday that it’s shutting down its shows, including the smash hit Hamilton for four weeks amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Most of Toronto’s major cultural institutions followed the lead of major league sports teams and shuttered their doors in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but for Mirvish Productions, the show goes on, including for Hamilton, the hottest ticket in town.

The decision by the company to keep its four theatres open has been met by criticism and some withering online commentary excoriating theatre impresario David Mirvish for not closing spaces at a time when Ontario’s chief public health official has strongly recommended against gatherings of 250 or more.

“There is a lot of strong emotion running right now, and I’m not used to being the target of unhappiness,” Mirvish told the Star.

The past two days have been particularly frantic at Mirvish Productions as people, worried about the coronavirus crisis, called to inquire about cancelling or exchanging tickets for shows such as Come From Away and Hamilton. Tickets for Hamilton, which runs until May 17, cost as much as $500.

“It’s been a trying time not just for us, but the entire community because I think everyone is concerned and wants to get the best information they can,” he added.

On Twitter, patrons called out the company for continuing to put 2,200 people in close quarters, in the Ed Mirvish auditorium and its crowded lobby, each night, and for initially making it challenging to exchange tickets. Some made comparisons to the decision in New York City to close Broadway down for a month.

But Mirvish — who’s been through this before, during the SARS crisis in 2003 — said there has been no directive ordering the closure of the company’s theatres from the province, the municipal government or Toronto Public Health.

“They have not told us (to close). What they have said is tell people to be careful, tell them to observe good hygiene, wash hands frequently and not to shake hands.”

Mirvish said he saw Dr. David Williams’ recommendation for an “immediate suspension” of all events with more than 250 people “as advice but not as an order.”

“Toronto Public Health has said to us that they have not seen community spread so all the (cases so far) are linked in some way to foreign travel. That’s very significant,” Mirvish said, noting the company estimates more than 90 per cent of its ticket holders are local.

“What they’re saying now is that there is a low risk. If that changes with community spread, I think public health … instead of giving advisories, would give a ruling to close, an order, and we would immediately respond to that order,” Mirvish said, adding he’s also liaising frequently with the office of Mayor John Tory.

The Mirvish website added an online form so patrons can request a refund, credit or change tickets to another date. Only those trying to make a change with 48 hours or less from curtain time should try to contact the company by phone, he said.

“Anyone can get their money back if they bought it (ticket) from us, if they didn’t buy it from a scalper,” Mirvish said.

“We believe we have a large waiting list of people who would like access to those tickets so we would like to facilitate that opportunity for them,” Mirvish said, adding there are 100,000 ticket holders for the four productions running who “have not asked for their money back and still want to go.”

Closing all four theatres would, he said, have steep economic consequences, putting about 500 people out of work and financially hobbling suppliers and nearby restaurants.

The Mirvish website says the theatres are being cleaned every morning and again 90-minutes before each performance. Also, small cloth mementoes placed on subscriber seats at the Hamilton show and leftover programs are no longer being recycled for use if left behind by previous guests, said Mirvish spokesperson John Karastamatis.

Meanwhile, many other Toronto cultural and arts organizations have cancelled their programming:

The CN Tower is closed until April 14. As a result, the World Wildlife Fund will hold a “virtual” CN Tower Climb for Nature, urging participants to climb 1,776 steps in any way they wish.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra cancelled its Pictures at the Exhibition concert from March 13 to 15, along with an EVENING EPIC fundraising gala on March 26. A decision regarding the orchestra’s next performance, Lisiecki Plays Beethoven’s Emperor, scheduled for April 1 to 5, will be made closer to the date.

Roy Thomson Hall will be closed for at least two weeks.

The Stratford Festival cancelled performances from April 11 to May 2.

The Hot Docs Festival, the world’s largest of its kind, will postpone its upcoming April 30 to May 10 event to an unspecified later date.

The Art Gallery of Ontario is closed until April 5.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The Royal Ontario Museum is closed until April 5.

The Ontario Science Centre will close until April 5.

The Toronto Public Library is closed for the rest of March.

The National Ballet of Canada cancelled its remaining performances of Romeo and Juliet, which was set to end March 22.

Casa Loma has temporarily cancelled tour operations.

The Toronto Zoo will close until April 5.

CBC has postponed Canada Reads, which had been scheduled for March 16 to 19. New dates will be announced later.

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre will close and events like Comicon are cancelled.

The Museum of Contemporary Art has also announced a temporary closure.

The McMichael Canadian Art Gallery is closed.

The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington is closed until April 5.

The One of a Kind Spring Show, set for March 25 to 29 at the Enercare Centre has been postponed to June 18 to 21.

Small World Music cancelled its April 3 Asian Music series concert with Aditya Pradesh at Artscape Youngplace.

The Church on the Queensway cancelled five performances of its traditional Easter Passion Play over the weekend of April 10 to 12.

Updates: A story on GT2 contains outdated information about some events in the city that changed after deadline. Among events now cancelled or postponed are Toronto Comicon, the National Ballet of Canada’s performance of Romeo and Juliet and some shows at the Horseshoe Tavern. The Aga Khan Museum also decided Friday to close until April 7.