GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY and THE WIZ Tickets On Sale Friday At Playhouse Square

Playhouse Square has announced that tickets to the touring Broadway musicals The Wiz and Girl From The North Country will be available for purchase beginning Friday, July 28. These two shows will kick off the 2023-2024 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square with performances beginning this October. Tickets for both titles will be available online at playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000.

The Wiz begins the 23-24 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square with performances October 3 – 22. The North American touring cast features Alan Mingo Jr. (Kinky Boots, Doom Patrol) who will lead the production as the Wiz, alongside award-winning recording artist Deborah Cox as Glinda and Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene.

The cast also features Kyle Ramar Freeman (A Strange Loop) as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson (Sharper) as the Tinman, and Avery Wilson (The Voice) as the Scarecrow. Richardson and Wilson will also be making their Broadway debuts. Additional casting still to come.

Featuring a book by William F. Brown and a Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls (and others), director Schele Williams (The Notebook, revival of Disney's Aida), award-winning choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyoncé's “Single Ladies,” Black is King), additional material by Tony-nominated and Emmy-nominated writer and TV host Amber Ruffin (“The Amber Ruffin Show,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers”), Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations, & music arrangements), Allen René Louis (vocal arrangements, music arrangements), and Derek Dixie (dance music arranger) are conjuring up an Oz unlike anything ever seen before.  A dynamite infusion of ballet, jazz, and modern pop will bring a whole new groove to easing on down the road.

THE WIZ design team will include scenic design by Academy Award-winning Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Beyoncé's Black is King and Lemonade), costume design by Emmy Award-winning and two-time Academy Award-nominated Sharen Davis (Ray, Dreamgirls), lighting design by Barrymore Award-winning Ryan J. O'Gara (Thoughts of a Colored Man), sound design by Jon Weston (Parade) and wig design by Charles LaPointe.

THE WIZ is produced by Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland and The Ambassador Theatre Group. Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker also serve as producers of the musical.

Based on L. Frank Baum's children's book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, THE WIZ takes one of the world's most enduring (and enduringly white) American fantasies and transforms it into an all-Black musical extravaganza for the ages.

THE WIZ premiered on Broadway in 1975 and became an instant sensation, going on to win seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Ted Ross), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Dee Dee Bridgewater), Best Choreography (George Faison), and in a Broadway first, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design (Geoffrey Holder). “Ease on Down the Road” became the show's break-out single, and “Home” has since become a bona fide classic. That original production ran for four years (first at The Majestic Theatre and later at The Broadway Theatre) – and 1,672 performances – on Broadway. A 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and marked Quincy Jones' first collaboration with Michael Jackson.

THE WIZ will play the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square for 24 performances, October 3 – 22, 2023. Show times are Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30PM, Saturdays at 1:30 and 7:30PM, and Sundays at 1:00 and 6:30 PM.

The second show on the 2023-2024 KeyBank Broadway Series, Girl From The North Country, will run October 31 – November 19. Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they've never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”

It's 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota. We meet a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope. Experience this 'profoundly beautiful' production (The New York Times) brought to vivid life by an extraordinary company of actors and musicians.

Girl From The North Country features scenic and costume design by Rae Smith; orchestrations, arrangements, and music supervision by Simon Hale, with additional arrangements by Simon Hale and Conor McPherson; lighting design by Mark Henderson; sound design by Simon Baker; movement direction by Lucy Hind; and music direction by Marco Paguia. Girl From The North Country is produced by Runaway Entertainment. Girl From The North Country's Original Broadway Cast Album was a 2022 GRAMMY Award nominee for “Best Musical Theater Album.”

Girl From The North Country will play the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square for 24 performances, October 31 – November 19. Show times are Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30PM, Saturdays at 1:30 and 7:30PM, and Sundays at 1:00 and 6:30 PM.

Tickets for both THE WIZ and Girl From The North Country will be available at playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000 beginning July 28. Groups of 10 or more can reserve tickets by calling 216-640-8600.

On sale dates for all other shows on the 23-24 KeyBank Broadway Series will be announced at a later date. Tickets to those shows, which include Mrs. Doubtfire, Funny Girl, Company, Back To The Future The Musical and MJ The Musical, are currently available only with purchase of a subscription package. Packages are available online at playhousesquare.org/broadway or by calling 216-640-8800.

The website playhousesquare.org is the official online source for tickets to performances at Playhouse Square. Buying directly from Playhouse Square guarantees the authenticity of tickets.

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