Broadway Grand Rapids Season incl. 'Bee', 'Avenue Q' & 'Sweeney'

Broadway Grand Rapids is bringing New York to West Michigan for its 2008-09 five-show series at DeVos Performance Hall. The series will include the Broadway hits Mamma Mia!, Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, RAIN: The Beatles Experience, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  In an effort to better serve patrons, four out of the five shows (Mamma Mia!, Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd and Spelling Bee) were picked by audience demand through an online poll with season subscribers. Also, in the interest of addressing the needs of our valued subscribers, the 2008-09 season will be the first in 10 years that will not have a presentation over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The 2008-09 season kicks off with the Broadway sensation Mamma Mia! for eight performances July 29-August 3, 2008. Over 30 million people all around the world have fallen in love with the characters, the story and the music that make Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good show! Writer Catherine Johnson's sunny, funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. The story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, and every night everyone's having the time of their lives! Visit www.mamma-mia.com for more information.

Avenue Q, playing for 8 performances September 23-28, 2008, is Broadway's smash-hit 2004 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. A hilarious show full of heart and hummable tunes, Avenue Q is about trying to make it in NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. For more information visit www.avenueq.com.

The musical thriller, Sweeney Todd, will come to Grand Rapids for an 8 performance run just in time for Halloween, October 21-26, 2008. The legendary demon barber, hell-bent on revenge, takes up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through England's upper crust. Justice will be served - along with lush melody, audacious humor and bloody good thrills. Visit www.sweeneytoddtour.com for more information.

Hear the full Beatles discography live with Rain: The Beatles Experience, for 8 performances January 27-February 1, 2009 They look like them and they sound just like them!  All the music and vocals are performed totally live!  RAIN covers the Fab Four from the earliest beginnings through the psychedelic late 60sand their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. RAIN is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience, a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups.  Sing along with your family and friends to such Beatlemaniac favorites as "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Come Together" and "Can't Buy Me Love." Visit www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com for more information.

Closing the Broadway Grand Rapids 2008-2009 season is the Broadway hit, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee playing for 7 performances April 7-11, 2009. To better address the needs of our subscribers the run of this show has been cut to 7 performances instead of the usual 8 to avoid the Easter Sunday holiday. All Sunday matinee subscribers will be moved to the Saturday evening performance. In this Tony-Award winning new musical comedy, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. For more information visit www.spellingbeethemusical.com.

Broadway Grand Rapids offers a 5-Show VIP Series package that gives "subscribers" price discounts from single-show tickets, personalized service, privileges, and the same reserved seats for each show. The 5-Show VIP Series package price ranges from $135 to $325, depending on the performance day and time, the seating section, and mode of payment. Those who buy the 5-Show VIP Series package by March 31 will get $10 off each season ticket!

A customized 3-Show Flex Series package is also available, giving customers the option to choose three out of the five shows, with different days and seating sections. Those customers will get best available seats for each show, after 5-Show VIP Series subscribers are assigned. However, flex series buyers won't get the same seats for each of the three shows they select as VIP customers do.

The 5-Show VIP Series and 3-Show Flex Series packages may be purchased from Broadway Grand Rapids online at www.broadwaygrandrapids.org, or by calling 616-235-6285 or at the office at 122 Lyon St. NW in downtown Grand Rapids. Office hours are 9 to 5 Monday through Thursday, and 9 to 4 on Fridays

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