Paramount Theatre's 2015-16 Broadway Series to Include OKLAHOMA!, HAIRSPRAY & More
By: Tyler Peterson Mar. 17, 2015
In only four years, the Paramount Theatre's Broadway Series has transformed one of Chicago's most historic Art Deco stages into a musical theater powerhouse, built a loyal audience of now more than 26,000 subscribers and radically altered Chicago's musical theater landscape.
Today, Paramount officials announced the theater's fifth blockbuster Broadway Series for 2015-16: Oklahoma! (Sept. 16-Oct. 18, 2015), A Christmas Story - The Musical (Nov. 25, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016), Hairspray - The Broadway Musical (Jan. 20-Feb. 21, 2016) and West Side Story (Mar. 16-Apr. 24, 2016).
Just as it has been from the start, Paramount will offer the same great "Buy Two Shows, Get Two Shows Free" subscription offer, with four-play packages starting as low as just $82. The rewards are ample - four amazing, Broadway-quality, classic American musicals at one of the most majestic theaters in the Midwest, all for the price of one show downtown.
Renewals and pre-sale for Paramount's 2015-16 Broadway Series go on sale today at
10 a.m. Current subscribers (only) can take advantage of a limited-time offer to add friends and family through April 26. Friends and family will have priority seating before seats are assigned to new subscribers and the general public.
Artistic Director Jim Corti, the only Chicago theater professional to win a Jeff Award for directing, choreography and acting, will stage Paramount's season opener, Oklahoma!, the sweeping, debut collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the season finale, West Side Story, Jerome Robbins's epic musical, and one of the greatest love stories of all time. Corti's previous stagings at Paramount include the current 2014-15 season finale LES MISERABLES, and past smash hits The Who's Tommy, RENT, Miss Saigon, Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady.
Nick Bowling, one of Chicago's hottest young directors, will make his Paramount debut with A Christmas Story, everyone's favorite holiday comedy about little Ralphie and his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun. Bowling is rising fast with his recent string of hits including Porchlight's Sondheim on Sondheim ("4 stars" - Chicago Tribune), The King and I at Marriott and To Master the Art at Timeline, where he is associate artistic director.
Amber Mak, one of the city's top actress/director/choreographers, will helm Paramount's plus-sized rock n' pop extravaganza, Hairspray. Mak's credits include choreography for Drury Lane's Singin' in the Rain, and associate director/choreographer for more than a half-dozen musicals by Rachel Rockwell, including Paramount's smash hit Mary Poppins.
As always, Paramount will tap only the highest caliber talent in every aspect of production with actors, designers, creative and technical teams. Each production will also boast the original Broadway orchestrations performed live by the Paramount Orchestra.
"For four seasons we have raised the bar for excellence with our very own regional Broadway musical theatre made right here in downtown Aurora," said Corti. "For season five, Paramount will continue celebrating the proud tradition of this beautiful theatre by hosting only the very best theater artists, both on stage and behind the scenes, to let their imaginations soar, to create remarkable musical theater, to realize fresh, bold ideas, and to take our loyal, growing audiences on journeys they will never forget.""In 2010-11, Paramount had 550 subscribers. We took a gamble, brought production in-house, hired Jim Corti to be the theater's first-ever artistic director, and launched our inaugural, self-produced Broadway subscription series," remarked Tim Rater, President and CEO of the Paramount. "Today we are one of the top Equity stages in all of Chicago, with more than 26,000 subscribers. While we still feel we've only just begun, just wait until you see what Paramount has in store for 2015-16. And with four shows for the price of just one show downtown, there's never been a better time to subscribe.
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