About Famous PEOPLE Players:
Founded in 1974, Famous PEOPLE Players (FPP) is a non-profit internationally-acclaimed black light theatre company that supports people with exceptionalities, also known as Players, and high school students through their Dine & Dream Theatre in Toronto.
FPP offers a uniquely immersive experience for everyone from all walks of life. Guests first arrive for lunch/dinner in the dining room, where they are served by the Players — who also perform in the show productions. After the meal, guests are led to the theatre, where the show production is performed.
As a non-profit organisation, FPP has been recognised as Canada’s Goodwill Ambassadors for bringing social inclusion and empowerment for individuals with disabilities. It is also currently rated number 1 on Tripadvisor for Theatre & Concerts in Toronto.
Where Special Happened:
Inspired by her vision of social inclusion, Diane Dupuy of Hamilton, Ontario received an Opportunity For Youth (OFY) grant to start FPP. This program was created by the late P.M. Pierre Elliot Trudeau to provide meaningful work experiences for Canadian youth in the early 1970s. On June 1st 1974, Famous PEOPLE Players (FPP) was founded.
Since inception, the company has paid homage to the works of famous people within its own theatrical context, hence the name Famous PEOPLE Players.
The company’s original piece was Aruba Liberace, in which a life-size character of Liberace plays the piano. It is still the company’s signature performance. Liberace attended a showing of Aruba Liberace, and was so impressed he invited FPP to perform with him in Las Vegas. The company debuted in Las Vegas at Las Vegas Hilton Hotel in October 1975; over the subsequent ten years, the company performed with Liberace both in Las Vegas and internationally.
As a result of the increasing popularity of Famous PEOPLE Players, the company was featured as regulars on CBC Television‘s 1976–1977 variety series, The Wolfman Jack Show; the network also later produced and aired Carnival of the Animals hosted by Canadian Actor Gordon Pinsent. In 1980, FPP was featured with the Rockettes at the re-opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York, where the Sorcerer Apprentice premiered.
In 1982, Famous PEOPLE Players was invited to perform in the People’s Republic of China. The company’s first Broadway Show, A Little Like Magic, opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City and ran for 49 performances in 1986.[2] They returned to New York in 1994 for a 4-week run, under the sponsorship of Phil Collins and actor Paul Newman, where they performed the show A Little More Magic for inner city kids to dream BIG![2] In 2001, Famous PEOPLE Players were invited to Kobe, Japan to raise money for children who were orphaned in result of a Great Hanshin earthquake. They are expected to return in 2026, with an invitation by a delegation from Kobe for the 25th commemoration of the Great Hanshin earthquake.
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