Jane Eyre had its Canadian premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theater in Toronto, Ontario as an Ed Mirvish production in December 1996. With the book written by its director John Caird and music composed by Paul Gordon, the musical invites us to explore the world of Jane Eyre via the viewpoints of not herself as in the book but through a third person viewpoint as narrated and sang by the different characters in the musical. The variety in singing voices and intonations of the different actors made us more attentive in receiving the story as opposed through the viewpoint of a strict mundane Jane Eyre.
With a black background and simple props, the attention of the audience is much more focused on the performance of the actors and their sometime pantomimic actions, stimulating the audience's imagination and artistic creativity. This aspect of the show is greatly welcomed since the essence of the show will focus much more on the libretto and the music than special effects.