Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1960-1989 (Creation)
Level of description
Manuscript Collection
Extent and medium
7 boxes and items (3 metres)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alan Lund was one of the great men of Canadian theatre. He set the standard for excellence for Canadian musicals for almost 50 years, dating back to the WWII revue Meet the Navy. Alan and his wife, Blanche, pioneered the Canadian variety television industry, choreographing and appearing in Showtime, Mr. Showbiz, Parade, Hit Parade and Big Revue. The couple was Canada’s best-known dance team in the late 40’s and 50’s, and appeared in such London West End hits as Piccadilly Hayride, Fancy Free and Irene. It was Alan Lund who choreographed the famous CNE [Canadian National Exhibition] Grandstand shows, and who staged and choreographed the first professional company of Canada’s musical dance theatre, Les Feux Follets. Over his multifaceted career, he directed productions ranging from musicals to television, and from industrial shows to Stratford offerings. He died on Canada Day, 1992.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gift of Blanche Lund, 2009
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection scripts, music and film of productions by Alan Lund, primarily at the Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island, the Stratford Festival and the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/stack-retrieval-request
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English