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2018-19 PNC Broadway Lights Season to Include DEAR EVAN HANSEN, Betty Buckley in HELLO, DOLLY! and More
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 18, 2018
Blumenthal Performing Arts announces another extraordinary lineup for its upcoming 2018-19 PNC Broadway Lights season featuring eight new shows including six time 2017 Tony Award and 2018 Grammy Award winning Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen, Tony-winning Best Musical Revival Hello, Dolly! starring Broadway legend Betty Buckley and the hit Broadway musical Disney's Aladdin.
"Charlotte theater fans are among the best in the country. Their exceptional support and enthusiasm has made us a top destination for the very best touring Broadway productions," said Blumenthal President/CEO Tom Gabbard. "Audiences here have access to more current Broadway shows and beloved classics than in most other cities across the country. The season ahead continues the tradition of being able to see the Best of Broadway close to home."
Link to Season Announcement Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cy-MMDoqDA&feature=youtu.be
Eight incredible productions are part of the 2018-2019 PNC Broadway Lights season package, including the classic 1983 holiday movie hilariously adapted for the stage, A Christmas Story, The Musical; New Adventures returns with one of their most popular and beloved productions, Matthew Bourne's Cinderella - a thrilling and evocative love story set in London during the Second World War; the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical Miss Saigon; the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary 2017 Best Musical Tony winner Dear Evan Hansen; Broadway's most beloved musical is back where it belongs with the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival Hello, Dolly! starring Broadway legend Betty Buckley as Dolly Gallagher Levi; the critically acclaimed new musical, The Band's Visit; the breathtaking stage production of Disney's Aladdin; and the streetwise musical sensation, A Bronx Tale.
Season ticket holders looking for maximum value can opt for a 9-show package. The 9th option this season is Falsettos, direct from its Lincoln Center Theater Broadway revival which received five Tony nominations including Best Musical Revival.
In addition to the season shows, Blumenthal will present a knockout lineup of Broadway Extras, including the hilarious return of Potted Potter; the Rock of Ages Tenth Anniversary Tour; the electrifying The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical; the global dance sensation Tap Dogs; the exhilarating tale of star-crossed lovers, Bat Out of Hell; and Andrew Lloyd Webber's megahit, CATS.
PNC Broadway Lights season tickets continue to be Charlotte's best entertainment value. Season ticket buyers have guaranteed renewable seats and enjoy the best seats at the best price, as they lock in their seats before single tickets go on sale and prices rise. Season buyers also can choose an extended payment plan that allows them to pay for their season tickets in up to ten installments.
Season ticket holders will also enjoy the right to swap up to four of their season shows for anything else coming next season and the opportunity to buy tickets to additional Broadway shows and special attractions before sales open to the public.
Season subscriptions for new and returning customers are on sale now through May 6.
For more information or to make a purchase, visit BlumenthalArts.org/Broadway, call 704-335-1010, or visit the Belk Theater box office, 130 N. Tryon St., Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Blumenthal will also continue its Ticket Protect program this year. For about half of what one show in a season package costs, subscribers can protect their investment in all nine shows with Ticket Protect. This provides a refund should you be unable to attend a show(s) due to approved reasons like dangerous weather conditions, illness, accidents and more. Buyers can include Ticket Protect in their extended payment plan.
A Christmas Story
(December 4 - 9, 2018 - Ovens Auditorium)
From the songwriting team behind the smash hit Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen and the Academy Award-winning film La La Land, A Christmas Story, The Musical, brings the classic 1983 movie to hilarious life on stage! Set in 1940s Indiana, a young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker schemes his way toward the holiday gift of his dreams, an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle. An infamous leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa, and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas wish. Nominated for three 2013 Tony Awards including Best Musical, the Associated Press calls A Christmas Story, The Musical "a joyous Christmas miracle," while The New York Times writes "I was dazzled. You'd have to have a Grinch-sized heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face."
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella
(January 6 - 12, 2019 - Belk Theater)
London 1940. The Blackout. A siren sounds...
New Adventures return with one of their most popular and beloved productions, Matthew Bourne's Cinderella - a thrilling and evocative love story set in London during the Second World War.
Matthew Bourne's vivid and touching interpretation of the classic fairy tale has, at its heart, a true war-time romance. A chance meeting results in a magical night for Cinderella and her dashing young RAF pilot, together just long enough to fall in love before being parted by the horrors of the Blitz.
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella takes the audience into the heart of Prokofiev's magnificent score, and the sights and sounds of war-torn London, with surround sound designed by Paul Groothuis, and a specially commissioned recording of a 60 piece orchestra, Lez Brotherston's Olivier Award winning designs and lighting by Olivier Award-winning Neil Austin.
Miss Saigon
(February 19 - 24, 2019 - Belk Theater)
Experience the acclaimed new production of the legendary musical Miss Saigon, from the creators of LES MISÉRABLES. This is the epic story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim. In a bar run by a notorious character called The Engineer, Kim meets an American G.I. That encounter will change their lives forever. Featuring stunning spectacle, a sensational cast of 42, and a soaring score including Broadway hits like "Last Night of the World," "The Movie in My Mind," and "The Heat is On in Saigon," this is a theatrical event you will never forget.
Dear Evan Hansen
(March 19 - 24, 2019 - Belk Theater)
Winner Of Six 2017 Tony Awards Including Best Musical And The 2018 Grammy Award For Best Musical Theater Album.
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 to 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. The New York Times calls DEAR EVAN HANSEN "a gut-punching, breathtaking knockout of a musical" and NBC News says that the musical is "an inspiring anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond."
DEAR EVAN HANSEN features a book by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson, a score by Grammy, Tony and Academy 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).
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, produced by Atlantic Records, made an extraordinary debut at #8 on the Billboard 200- the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 -- and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. A special edition coffee table book authored by Levenson, Pasek and Paul, Dear Evan Hansen: through the window (Grand Central Publishing / Melcher) is now available, offering an in-depth, all-access look at the musical, including never-before-seen production photos and cast portraits, behind-the-scenes stories, and a fully annotated script by the authors.
Hello, Dolly!
(July 9 - 14, 2019 - Belk Theater)
Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Betty Buckley stars in HELLO, DOLLY! - the universally acclaimed smash that NPR calls "the best show of the year!" Winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, director Jerry Zaks' "gorgeous" new production (Vogue) is "making people crazy happy!" (The Washington Post). Breaking box office records week after week and receiving thunderous raves on Broadway, this HELLO, DOLLY! pays tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion - hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history. Rolling Stone calls it "a must-see event. A musical comedy dream. If you're lucky enough to score a ticket, you'll be seeing something historic. Wow, wow, wow, indeed!"
The Band's Visit
(August 6 - 25, 2019 - Knight Theater)
"Breaking news for Broadway: IT IS TIME TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN! One of the most ravishing musicals you will ever be seduced by." - The New York Times, Critics' Pick
The critically acclaimed new musical, The Band's Visit, celebrates the deeply human ways music, longing and laughter can connect us all. After a mix-up at the border, an Egyptian Police Band is sent to a remote village in the middle of the Israeli desert. With no bus until the morning and no hotel in sight, these unlikely travelers are taken in by the locals. Under the spell of the desert sky, their lives become intertwined in the most unexpected ways.
Based on the multi-award winning film, "The Bands Visit" is brought to the stage by three-time Tony nominee David Yazbek (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty), Drama Desk nominee Itamar Moses (Nobody Loves You, Fortress of Solitude) and acclaimed director David Cromer (Our Town, The House of Blue Leaves).
Aladdin
(September 10 - 29, 2019 - Belk Theater)
Discover a whole new world at Disney's ALADDIN, the hit Broadway musical.
From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of ALADDIN, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It's an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite.
Hailed by USA Today as "Pure Genie-Us," ALADDIN features all your favorite songs from the film as well as new music written by Tony and Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics penned by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).
Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!), this "Fabulous" and "Extravagent" (The New York Times) new musical boasts an incomparable design team, with sets, costumes and lighting from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris). See why audiences and critics agree, ALADDIN is "Exactly What You Wish For!" (NBC-TV).
A Bronx Tale
(October 8 - 13, 2019 - Ovens Auditorium)
"Jersey Boys meets West Side Story."- amNewYork
Broadway's hit crowd-pleaser takes you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s- where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he'd love to be.
Bursting with high-energy dance numbers and original doo-wop tunes from Alan Menken, the songwriter of Beauty and the Beast, A BRONX TALE is an unforgettable story of loyalty and family.
Academy Award winner Robert De Niro and Tony winner Jerry Zaks direct this streetwise musical- based on Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri's story- that The New York Times hails as "A Critics' Pick! The kind of tale that makes you laugh and cry."
Falsettos
(June 25 - June 30, 2019 - Knight Theater) **9th show option**
The 2019 National Tour of the Lincoln Center Theater Broadway Production of FALSETTOS was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival when it returned to Broadway in Fall 2016, and this production will tour North America in the coming season.
The North American Tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Broadway production of Falsettos is directed once again by James Lapine. The production has choreography by Spencer Liff (Emmy Award nominee for FOX's So You Think You Can Dance), sets by David Rockwell (Hairspray, The Normal Heart, She Loves Me), costumes by Jennifer Caprio (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), lighting by Jeff Croiter (Bandstand, Something Rotten!), sound by Dan Moses Schreier (A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, Gypsy with Patti LuPone), casting by Eric Woodall / Tara Rubin Casting, and features Michael Starobin's (Assassins, Next to Normal) original orchestrations.
The North American Tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Broadway production of Falsettos is produced by Jujamcyn Theaters and NETworks Presentations.
FALSETTOS revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist, and the lesbians next door. It's a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family... and a beautiful reminder that love can tell a million stories.
Potted Potter
(November 27 - December 2, 2018 - McGlohon Theater)
Playing to sold out houses all over the world, Potted Potter takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing all seven Harry Potter books (and a real life game of Quidditch) into 70 hilarious minutes. This fantastically funny show features all your favorite characters, a special appearance from a fire-breathing dragon, endless costumes, brilliant songs, ridiculous props and a generous helping of Hogwarts magic!
Starvox Entertainment and Potted Productions introduced the hilarious show to North American audiences in Toronto at the Panasonic Theatre. After a record-breaking run in Toronto, Potted Potter headed to New York City and played a hit, off-Broadway run at The Little Shubert Theater, (the show has since returned to both cities as part of its third record-breaking North American tour). This Monty Python-esque show has also sold out theatres across London, Edinburgh, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Dubai.
Whether you camped outside a bookstore for three days awaiting the release of the Deathly Hallows, or you don't know the difference between a Horcrux and a Hufflepuff, the comedy, magic and mayhem of Potted Potter makes for a fun, and funny, visit to the theatre.
Rock of Ages
(December 27 - December 31, 2018 - Belk Theater)
Broadway's Best Party is turning up the volume to ten! The Rock of Ages Tenth Anniversary Tour is blazing across North America!
Nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Rock of Ages captures the iconic era that was the big bad 1980s Hollywood. Know What Love Is, Feel the Noise, and Take Your Best Shot at one of the Sunset Strip's last epic venues, a place where the legendary Stacee Jaxx returns to the stage and rock-n-roll dreamers line up to turn their fantasies into reality.
Featuring the music of hit bands such as Styx, Poison, Twisted Sister, and Whitesnake among many others, this Tenth Anniversary production features a dynamic new cast revisiting the larger than life characters and exhilarating story that turned Rock of Ages into a global phenomenon.
This is one for the ages that will have you singing "Here I Go Again."
The Lightning Thief
(January 15 - 20, 2019 - Knight Theater)
"WORTHY OF THE GODS!" -TIME OUT NEW YORK
This "winning adaptation" (The Hollywood Reporter) of the best-selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is "electrifying!" (Newsday). The Greek gods are real, and they're ruining Percy Jackson's life. As a son of Poseidon, Percy has newly discovered powers he can't control, monsters on his trail, and is on an epic quest to find Zeus's lightning bolt to prevent a war between the gods. Nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, The Lightning Thief is "mesmerizing" and proves "lightning can strike twice!" (TheaterMania).
Tap Dogs
(April 2 - 7, 2019 - Knight Theater)
15 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS. 1 GLOBAL DANCE SENSATION. 12 MILLION TICKET BUYERS CAN'T BE WRONG.
Hot off an international tour, the global dance sensation TAP DOGS hits the road on an international tour of jaw dropping new surprises. Experience the thrill of a revitalized genre of dance. Seventy-five action packed minutes of part theatre, part dance, part rock concert and part construction site. An adrenaline pumped cast turns traditional tap dancing upside-down and into the ultimate night out.
TAP DOGS premiered at the Sydney Theatre Festival and success quickly followed with seasons in London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Shanghai and around the world. Created by Oliver Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry, and originally directed by Nigel Triffitt, with music by Andrew Wilkie and lighting by Gavin Norris.
TAP DOGS is set to electrify the stage as they jump through scaffold, tap upside down, grind steel and tap on water in Charlotte.
Bat Out of Hell
(May 28 - June 9, 2019 - Belk Theater)
The romance of rock 'n' roll comes alive on stage in Jim Steinman's 'Jaw-Dropping Spectacle' (London Evening Standard) Bat Out of Hell - The Musical.
The streets are heating up as Strat, the forever young leader of rebellious gang The Lost, falls in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler of post-apocalyptic Obsidian in a love story that has "changed the way musicals are staged forever" (North West End).
This "dazzling tale of star crossed lovers" (Toronto Sun) won Best Musical at the London Evening Standard Theatre Award.
Forget everything you know about musicals and get lost in this critically-acclaimed, smash-hit theatrical spectacle.
Cats
(August 13 - 18, 2019 - Belk Theater)
CATS, the record-breaking musical spectacular by Andrew Lloyd Webber that has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages, is now on tour across North America!
Audiences and critics alike are rediscovering this beloved musical with breathtaking music, including one of the most treasured songs in musical theater-"Memory". Winner of 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, CATS tells the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. The original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber (Phantom, School of Rock, Sunset Boulevard), original scenic and costume design by John Napier (Les Misérables), all-new lighting design by Natasha Katz (Aladdin), all-new sound design by Mick Potter, new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton) based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne (Phantom) and direction by Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables) make this production a new CATS for a new generation!
Experience CATS for the first time as it begins a new life for a new generation... or let it thrill you all over again!
Blumenthal Performing Arts serves the Carolinas as a leading cultural, entertainment and education provider. For more information, call (704) 372-1000 or visit BlumenthalArts.org. Blumenthal Performing Arts receives operating support from the Arts & Science Council and North Carolina Arts Council. Blumenthal Performing Arts is also supported by PNC Bank, sponsor of the PNC Broadway Lights.
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