National Tour of LES MISERABLES to Launch This Fall in Providence; PPAC Sets 2017-18 Broadway Season!

J.L. "Lynn" Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), is pleased to announce PPAC's 2017/2018 Broadway Season, featuring the Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series and the Encore Series. The National Tour Launch of LES MISERABLES opens PPAC's 40th Anniversary Broadway Season in September and is part of the Encore Series.

The Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series opens with FUN HOME, the winner of five 2015 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The Series also features the Providence premieres of FINDING NEVERLAND, the passionate sequel to The Phantom of the Opera - LOVE NEVER DIES, THE BODYGUARD starring Deborah Cox, ON YOUR FEET! The Emilio & Gloria Estefan Musical, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and SOMETHING ROTTEN!.

The Encore Series includes the return of KINKY BOOTS and a third show, which will be announced at a later date.

BEAUTIFUL - THE Carole King MUSICAL returns to Providence as a Broadway Special.

"We encourage you to 'indulge your love of Broadway' and subscribe! Treat yourself to an affordable luxury - a subscription to our full Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series starts at $91!" Singleton said. "New or renewing Broadway Series subscribers from our 2017/2018 Season will have first access to HAMILTON tickets when renewing for the 2018/2019 Season. HAMILTON comes to PPAC in the 2018/2019 Broadway Season. The renewal deadline for current subscribers is Monday, May 22, 2017. "

"We are pleased to be the theatre of choice for the National Tour Launch of LES MISERABLES this fall; LES MISERABLES will be the fourteenth show to open its National Tour at our beautiful Theatre," said Joseph W. Walsh, Esq., PPAC's Chairman of the Board of Directors. "All of the seven shows in our Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series are making their first Providence appearances during the 2017/2018 Season. We are pleased to be able to bring these top-notch productions to the state of Rhode Island, so that audiences can enjoy the Best of Broadway, right here at home!"

John Hazen White, Jr., Executive Chairman of the Board - Taco Comfort Solutions, said, "Taco has had a fantastic partnership with the Providence Performing Arts Center over the past nine years. We are pleased to be continuing that partnership and to be the title sponsor of the Broadway Series for the 2017/2018 Season."

"Taco and the White Family Foundation are pleased to be able to continue our sponsorship of PPAC's wonderful Broadway Series," commented Marjorie Houston, President of the White Family Foundation. "As the arts are one of our three focus areas for support, we recognize the vibrant role that PPAC plays in our community and especially how live performance theatre enriches our lives."

"WPRI & Fox Providence appreciates all that the Providence Performing Arts Center provides to the local community of Providence and to the state of Rhode Island," said Patrick Wholey, President and General Manager of WPRI & Fox Providence. "We are proud to be their Broadway Season media sponsor and look forward to another amazing year helping in spreading the word on all the great events and shows they have planned."

"Cox Media is delighted to celebrate the Providence Performing Arts Center's 40th year of Broadway's Best!" said Kim Webber, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Cox Media. "We are the proud media sponsor of the Encore Series and look forward to an incredible season of excellent productions in this beautiful Theatre."

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Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series

The 2017/2018 Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series launches with FUN HOME, November 7 - 12, 2017. Every once in a while a Broadway musical comes along that surprises, moves, and excites audiences in ways only a truly landmark musical can. The "groundbreaking,"1 "exquisite,"2 and "unforgettable"3 new musical FUN HOME was the event of the Broadway season, receiving raves from critics and audiences alike, winning five 2015 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL, and making history along the way. Based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir, FUN HOME introduces us to Alison at three different ages as she explores and unravels the many mysteries of her childhood. A refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

The winner of Broadway.com's Audience Choice Award for Best Musical, FINDING NEVERLAND plays at PPAC, November 28 - December 3, 2017. Directed by visionary Tony-winner Diane Paulus and based on the critically-acclaimed Academy Award winning film, FINDING NEVERLAND tells the incredible story behind one of the world's most beloved characters: Peter Pan. Playwright J.M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four Young Brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys' enchanting make-believe adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatre-goers. When Barrie takes this monumental leap, he leaves his old world behind for Neverland, where nothing is impossible and the wonder of childhood lasts forever. The magic of Barrie's classic tale springs spectacularly to life in this heartwarming theatrical event.

Family Night at FINDING NEVERLAND is Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 7P. With the purchase of one regularly-priced ticket, guests can receive one complimentary ticket of equal value for a child aged 18 or younger. Please call (401) 421-ARTS (2787) or visit the Box Office at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence for more information and to order; Family Night tickets are not available online. An on sale date for Family Night at FINDING NEVERLAND will be announced at a later time.

LOVE NEVER DIES, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, will perform at PPAC just in time for the Holiday season, December 26 - 31, 2017. The year is 1907. It is 10 years after his disappearance from the Paris Opera House and the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak shows of Coney Island. In this new, electrically-charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar, but he has never stopped yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daaé. LOVE NEVER DIES played to critical acclaim throughout Australia and New Zealand and is described by Chris Boyd in The Australian as "The best thing Lloyd Webber has written in the quarter century since The Phantom of the Opera."

Grammy Award nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox will star in the Providence engagement of THE BODYGUARD, January 9 - 14, 2018. Based on the film The Bodyguard, this award-winning musical tells the story of Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, who is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don't expect is to fall in love. A breathtakingly romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features a host of classic pop songs including "Queen of the Night," "So Emotional," "One Moment in Time," "Saving All My Love," "Run to You," "I Have Nothing," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and one of the biggest selling songs of all time - "I Will Always Love You."

ON YOUR FEET! The Emilio & Gloria Estefan Musical will shake things up at PPAC January 30 - February 4, 2018. From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke through all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the very top of the pop music world. But just when they thought they had it all, they almost lost everything. From international superstardom to life-threatening tragedy, ON YOUR FEET! takes you behind the music and inside the real story of this record-making and groundbreaking couple who, in the face of adversity, found a way to end up on their feet. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots), with choreography by Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman), ON YOUR FEET! features some of the most iconic songs of the past quarter-century - and one of the most inspiring stories in music history.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, at PPAC March 13 - 18, 2018, is the new Tony Award-winning musical about an American soldier, a mysterious French girl, and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war. Acclaimed director/choreographer and 2015 Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon brings the magic and romance of Paris into perfect harmony with unforgettable songs from George and Ira Gershwin in the show that earned more awards than any other musical in the 2015 season!

SOMETHING ROTTEN! closes the Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series May 15 - 20, 2018. Welcome to the '90s - the 1590s - long before the dawn of premium tickets, star casting, and reminders to turn off your cell phones. Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as "The Bard." When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world's very first MUSICAL! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self... and all that jazz. With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is an uproarious dose of pure Broadway fun and an irresistible ode to musicals. From the director of Aladdin and the co-director of The Book of Mormon, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is "Broadway's big, fat hit!" (NY Post).

Encore Series

The 2017 / 2018 Encore Series opens with the National Tour Launch of LES MISERABLES, September 21 - 30, 2017. Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, LES MISERABLES, direct from its acclaimed Broadway return. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, LES MISERABLES tells an unforgettable story of heartbreak, passion, and the resilience of the human spirit. Featuring the beloved songs "I Dreamed A Dream," "On My Own," "Stars," "Bring Him Home," "One Day More," and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck. "Les Miz is born again!" (NY1).

KINKY BOOTS delighted Providence in June of 2015, and it returns to PPAC December 8 - 10, 2017. With songs by Grammy and Tony winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father's expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory's future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos. With direction and choreography by two-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, The Musical; Hairspray) and a book by Broadway legend and four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles), KINKY BOOTS is the winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Choreography.

The third show in the Encore Series will be announced at a later date.

Broadway Special

BEAUTIFUL - THE Carole King MUSICAL launched its first National Tour at PPAC in the fall of 2015; now, it returns to Providence February 27 - March 4, 2018. BEAUTIFUL - The Carole King Musical tells the Tony and Grammy Award-winning inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation.

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Subscribers receive first choice in seating, advance order options, and a host of other subscription benefits. New and renewing subscribers of the Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series will guarantee their tickets for HAMILTON, coming to PPAC in the 2018/2019 Season, when they renew for the 2018/2019 Broadway Season. For more information on subscription renewal to the 2017/2018 Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series and the 2017/2018 Encore Series, contact the PPAC Box Office at (401) 421-ARTS (2787).

The PPAC Box Office is located at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence. Patrons can also purchase tickets online at www.ppacri.org and by phone at (401) 421-ARTS (2787). Regular Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 10A to 5P; Saturday, 10A to 2P and two hours prior to all curtain times on performance days. PPAC offers military discounts and student/senior citizen discounts; please call the PPAC Box Office at (401) 421-ARTS (2787) for complete information and to order.

Current subscribers should watch the mail in the coming weeks for renewal packages, and visit www.ppacri.org for our season brochure. The renewal deadline for current subscribers is Monday, May 22, 2017.

Renewing or new subscribers who purchase a subscription by Monday, May 22 may opt in to a ten payment plan, so ordering early is advantageous!

For NEW subscriptions and Centerstage Advertising for the 2017/2018 Season, please contact Sharon Corcoran in Direct Response at scorcoran@ppacri.org or (401) 574-3136. Direct Response Hours are Monday through Friday, 9A to 5P. You can also learn more about Centerstage Advertising at the following link: www.ppacri.org/about/marketing-sponsorship.

Discounted admission is available for groups of 15 or more for most Broadway shows in PPAC's 2017/2018 Season. For complete information and to order, please contact Group Sales Representative Paul Hiatt at phiatt@ppacri.org or (401) 574-3162. Group Sales Hours are Monday through Friday, 9A to 5P.

Connect with PPAC on Social Media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProvPacRI; Twitter and Instagram: @ProvPACRI.