Canada's newest theatre impresario launched a company in Toronto on Monday, with plans to bring six big-name productions to the city, including The Drowsy Chaperone.

Aubrey Dan — the Toronto philanthropist who is also the founder and president of Dancap Global Asset Management and Dancap Private Equity — made the announcement Monday at Toronto's Elgin Theatre.

Bob Martin, left, as Man in Chair in the opening night of The Drowsy Chaperone in New York in 2006. He will play the same starring role when Dancap Production Inc. kicks off its season in Toronto in September.
(Tina Fineberg/Associated Press)

Dancap Production Inc. will launch with a packed theatre season for 2007-08 that includes My Fair Lady, Avenue Q, Jersey Boys, 3 Mo' Divas and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Dan is not new to the theatre business — he previously produced the musicals Urinetown (2004), Ain't Misbehavin' (2005) and Hair (2006) with Canadian Stage Co. in Toronto.

He is also producer of the current Broadway musical The Pirate Queen and the North American touring production of Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo' Divas.

"We want to play a part in Toronto's cultural renaissance," Dan said as he unveiled the new company.

"Our colleagues in the visual arts, ballet and opera are making great contributions to the revitalization of this city and we're eager and determined to bring more exceptional theatre to Toronto audiences."

The Dancap season will begin in September with the return of Bob Martin to the Toronto stage in The Drowsy Chaperone, which is headed to London's West End and in the midst of a successful run in New York.

The show stars Martin as Man in Chair who introduces the audience to his favourite 1920s musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, while the show bursts to life in the background. It won five Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards on Broadway.

The season continues with five more shows:

• The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee: A Tony Award-winning musical about six adolescent spellers and the adults in their lives.
• 3 Mo' Divas: A Musical Celebration of Class, Sass and Style: Three divas present a night of music that stretches from opera and gospel to jazz, blues and soul.
• My Fair Lady: The Lerner & Loewe musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion will be coming to Canada directly from its 50th anniversary tour in the U.K.
• Avenue Q: A 2004 Broadway hit about people, and puppets, trying to make it in New York.
• Jersey Boys: The musical about how four blue-collar kids, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, went on to pop stardom as The Four Seasons. Toronto's Des McAnuff will direct the Tony Award-winning musical.

All are to be staged at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto, except My Fair Lady, which will be presented at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in North York.

Season tickets and memberships to the theatre company go on sale April 28 and individual ticket sales begun June 18.

Musical theatre has traditionally done well in Toronto, with Mamma Mia! enjoying a five-year run and Phantom of the Opera, which ran for 10 years, set for a revival.