WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, & JULIET And More Set for Broadway Grand Rapids 2025-26 Season

Broadway Grand Rapids has announced the 2025-2026 season, featuring seven spectacular productions, including Water for Elephants, & Juliet, and The Great Gatsby—all making their Michigan premieres.

The season kicks off with the breathtaking and imaginative Water for Elephants, a stunning adaptation of the beloved novel. The wildly funny The Book of Mormon returns as a Season Option to deliver its signature irreverence. Fresh off its 2023 Tony Award win for Best Musical, Kimberly Akimbo takes the stage, bringing audiences an unforgettable blend of joy, humor, and emotion.

The Broadway smash & Juliet reimagines Shakespeare's greatest love story in a bold and exhilarating new way. One of the most celebrated musicals of all time, Disney's The Lion King roars back into Grand Rapids for a three-week engagement in April 2026.

The 2024 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, The Outsiders, delivers a powerful coming-of-age story set to an electrifying score and stunning choreography. Rounding out the season is the dazzling stage adaptation of an American classic—The Great Gatsby—bringing F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel to life like never before.

More than 1,000 people filled DeVos Performance Hall for the exciting season reveal event held on Monday, February 24, 2025. The event was co-hosted by Broadway Grand Rapids President & CEO, Meghan Distel and Broadway Across America President of Marketing & Content, Bob Bucci. The event included performances from Disney's The Lion King, & Juliet and The Great Gatsby. “We're delighted to present an extraordinary new season, with five spectacular shows making their Grand Rapids debuts,” shared Meghan Distel of BGR. “From The Outsiders to Water for Elephants, this season brings an exciting mix of top-tier entertainment that will bring energy into our city and elevate Grand Rapids as a cultural destination.”

Current 2024-2025 season ticket holders will be emailed details regarding the 2025-2026 automatic renewal process. 

New season ticket packages are available now for purchase at BroadwayGrandRapids.com/Subscribe. Packages can also be purchased over the phone via the dedicated subscriber hotline at 1-866-928-7469 (Mon – Fri, 10AM – 5PM) or in-person during box office hours at the Broadway Grand Rapids office located at 122 Lyon St NW (Mon – Fri, 11AM – 4:30PM). 

Packages start at $240 for the 5-show season ticket package and $280 for the 6-show season ticket package which includes Disney's The Lion King. Season Option The Book of Mormon is not included in the 5 or 6-show season ticket package. Season ticket holders can add this show to their package. 

All season ticket holders receive exclusive benefits including the option to use an interest-free payment plan, flexible exchanges, convenient automatic renewal, early access to purchase additional tickets, and more throughout the season! Package prices include applicable season subscription discounts, facility and processing fees.

Group ticket requests for 10 or more can be made by emailing groups@bwaygr.org. Pricing and discounts vary by show, performance, and price level. 

Tickets for individual shows will go on sale to the general public at later dates. Prices, shows, artists, dates, and times are subject to change without notice.

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The Broadway Grand Rapids 2025-2026 Line-up: 

Water for Elephants 

 

October 7 – 12, 2025 

The critically acclaimed bestselling novel comes to life in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical! Hailed as a Critic's Pick, The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional, heart-filled and gorgeously imaginative.”

The Book of Mormon

Season Option that can be added to a Broadway package

November 4 – 9, 2025 

The New York Times calls it “the best musical of this century.” The Washington Post says, “It is the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals.” And Entertainment Weekly says, “Grade A: the funniest musical of all time.” Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show calls it “Genius. Brilliant. Phenomenal.” It's The Book of Mormon, the nine-time Tony Award winning Best Musical. This outrageous musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. With standing room only productions in London, on Broadway, and across North America, The Book of Mormon has truly become an international sensation. Contains explicit language.

Kimberly Akimbo 

January 27 – February 1, 2026 

The 2023 Tony Award-winner for best musical, based on David Lindsay-Abaire's play of the same title, revolves around a teenage girl named Kimberly Levaco, who suffers from a condition that rapidly accelerates the aging process. Before she has had a chance to venture forth into the world as an adult, she finds herself turning into an old woman. Her story, unfolding like a dark fairy tale, is as whimsical as it is piercing. Yet the effect is powerfully life-affirming in the way it reminds audiences of the preciousness of the time we have at hand. Full of quirky humor and social satire on grownup immaturity, the musical features a score by Jeanine Tesori (music) and David Lindsay-Abaire (lyrics) that will leave you both grinning and deeply touched. 

& Juliet 

March 10 – 15, 2026 

Created by the Emmy-winning writer from “Schitt's Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn't end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.

Disney's The Lion King

Included in the 6-show Broadway package

April 8 – 26, 2026 

Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the awe-inspiring visual artistry, the unforgettable music, and the uniquely theatrical storytelling of this Broadway spectacular – one of the most breathtaking and beloved productions ever to grace the stage. Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Lion King brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals. The Lion King also features the extraordinary work of Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and some of Broadway's most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. There is simply nothing else like The Lion King.

The Outsiders

June 9 – 14, 2026

The winner of the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical is The Outsiders. This classic coming-of-age story takes you to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1967, where Ponyboy Curtis, his Best Friend Johnny Cade, and their family of Greaser “outsiders” dream about who they want to become in a world that will never accept them. 

The Great Gatsby 

July 21 – 26, 2026 

The Great Gatsby is the Tony Award-winning new musical based on the classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This story of extravagance and longing is “one wildly entertaining night at the theater and musical theater at its finest” (Theatrely).

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