DEAR EVAN HANSEN, HEAD OVER HEELS. and More to Be Part of Curran Theater's Inaugural Season

At a live event on stage at the Curran this evening, Carole Shorenstein Hays announced the entire inaugural season of her newly reopened and reconceived Curran Theater. #Curran2018, as the season is dubbed, will include the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, as well as three bold new works: Soft Power, Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce, and the pre-Broadway engagement of Head Over Heels. In addition to these four anticipated productions, Curran's popular series of one-night-only events, Show & Tell, will continue with an allstar line-up. Season subscriptions are now on sale.

Carole Shorenstein Hays says, "I've been attending shows at the Curran for more than 60 years, so I am beyond thrilled to be announcing our first ever subscription series. The artists who make up our 2018 season represent what is great and vibrant about the American Theater today. They, along with the eclectic and savvy Bay Area audiences who come through our doors, will together create magic all year long at the Curran."

Kicking off #Curran2018 will be Head Over Heels, the new musical featuring the songs of the Go-Go's, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, playing the Curran this April, ahead of its Broadway premiere this year. Following will be the premiere of Soft Power, the 'play with a musical,' by Tony Award-winners David Henry Hwang (Play and Lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (Music) and directed by Leigh Silverman, set for a June engagement. In November, Taylor Mac will return to the Curran with the world premiere of his latest creation, Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce. Finally, in December, the much anticipated Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen will come to the Curran stage in December, directed by Michael Greif.

Highlighted throughout the season will be regular engagements of Show & Tell, the Curran's provocative, topical and entertaining series of one-night-only, on-stage conversations with some of the theater's most celebrated artists, including: two-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winning star Patti LuPone, five-time Tony Award winning director and producer, George C. Wolfe, Tony Award winning co-creators of Soft Power, David Henry Hwang & Jeanine Tesori, and heralded, award-winning playwright (Eclipsed) and actor ("The Walking Dead") Danai Gurira.

These four announced Show & Tell installments represent just a sampling of the kind of special programming that the Curran will be offering in 2018 and in seasons to come. "We want to give our audiences the opportunity to not just experience the work of the world's most dynamic artists and thought-leaders, but also to interact with them directly." said Carole Shorenstein Hays. "We want this space to facilitate a true and meaningful dialogue between art, artists, and audiences."

Season subscriptions are now on sale, starting at just $116, and include tickets to all four #Curran2018 productions, as well as tickets to one complimentary Show & Tell event, of the buyer's choosing. As this is the first time the new Curran is offering a season subscription, buyers will have the rare opportunity to select his/her exact seat locations. Buyers will also get preferred access to all additional special programming, fee-free exchanges on subscription tickets, and a free membership to the Curran Club with additional perks including invitations to member-only events, special offers, and exclusive discounts. #Curran2018 subscriptions are available by visiting SFCurran.com or by calling (415) 358-1220.

Head Over Heels

April 10-May 6

Set to the iconic pop music of The Go-Go's- including the hit songs "We Got The Beat," "Our Lips Are Sealed," "Vacation" and many more- Head Over Heels is an inspired mash-up of posh and punk. The all-star creative team, boasting Tony Award-winner Jeff Whitty (Conception and Book), Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer (Direction), James Magruder (Adaptation), and Spencer Liff (Choreography), have crafted a constantly surprising Elizabethan romp about a royal family that must prevent an oracle's prophecy of doom. In order to save their beloved kingdom, the family embarks on an extravagant journey where they are faced with mistaken identities, love triangles, sexual awakening and self-discovery.

Carole Shorenstein Hays on Head Over Heels: "There's something about the Go-Go's that always makes my daughter and me want to sing along, no matter what. In this groundbreaking musical, it's a complete joy to see their songs showcased in such a unique way. Best of all, this engagement of Head Over Heels will be continuing a rich tradition at the Curran of presenting shows before heading to Broadway."

Soft Power

June 20-July 8

A contemporary comedy explodes into a musical fantasia in the first-ever collaboration between two of America's great theater artists: Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang(Play and Lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori(Music). Soft Power rewinds our recent political history and plays it back through a Chinese lens: a future, beloved East-meets- West musical. A Chinese executive in 2016 America finds himself falling in love with a good-hearted U.S. leader, as the power balance between their two countries starts to shift and a new world order arrives. Soft Power is produced by Center Theatre Group in association with the Curran. Soft Power comes to the Curran directly following its world premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Leigh Silverman directs, with choreography by Sam Pinkleton.

Carole Shorenstein Hays on Soft Power. "There is a rare kind of electricity that only happens around bonafide geniuses in close collaboration. You don't want to miss it."

Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce

November 21-December 1

2017 MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac takes on the holidays in Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce, the latest installment of the artist's sensation-causing A 24-Decade History of Popular Music project. Celebrating the holiday season in all of its dysfunction, Mac is joined by longtime collaborators, designer Machine Dazzle and music director Matt Ray, with a spectacular band and special guests to reframe the songs you love and the holidays you hate. Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce will mark his first San Francisco appearance since his now legendary 24- hour performance at the Curran last fall. This production is presented in association with Pomegranate Arts.

Carole Shorenstein Hays on Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce: "With Taylor's spirit of inclusion and playful mischief, I couldn't imagine a more fitting artist to take our stage this holiday season. I can't wait for our Bay Area audiences to hear Taylor's distinct take on 'the most wonderful time of the year,' as part of our ongoing collaboration."

Dear Evan Hansen

December 5-December 30

WINNER OF SIX 2017 TONY AWARDS INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL AND 2018 GRAMMY NOMINEE

A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about the get the one thing he's always wanted; a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it.

"One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history," says The Washington Post. Rolling Stone calls Dear Evan Hansen, "a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart" and NBC News raves "An inspiring anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond."

Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award, Golden Globe and Tony Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman), and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal.)

Carole Shorenstein Hays on Dear Evan Hansen: "This is a story that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the lifelong journey we all undertake in discovering our true selves. In all my years in the theater, few musicals have had the effect on its audience as Dear Evan Hansen does."

The Curran's official reopening in 2016, following an extensive, two-year, top-to-bottom renovation, became one of the most widely discussed and covered cultural happenings in San Francisco. A key component of the national movement to renovate and revitalize America's great culture palaces from coast-to-coast, the Curran's impact has resonated far beyond the seven square miles of its hometown.

The Curran's impact extends to the Bay Area's education system, with a strong emphasis on student-focused initiatives and programming, including hosting student performances of Eclipsed and The Encounter, as well as presenting the first ever amateur performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock: The Musical, which were performed entirely by local students.

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy