Review: CAPA SEASON at Ohio And Palace Theatres

Be it their birthday, anniversary, Halloween, or the Fourth of July, everyone has a special day to which they look forward.

This year, Lisa Minken's red letter day fell on April 3, the day in which the Columbus Association of the Performing Arts announced the scheduling of shows for the 2023-24 season.

The subscription season includes (drum roll please): JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Oct. 3-8), MRS. DOUBTFIRE (Oct. 31-Nov. 5), MOULIN ROUGE (Jan. 2-14, 2024), COMPANY (Feb. 13-18, 2024), CLUE (April 9-14, 2024) and TINA: THE Tina Turner MUSICAL (May 7-12). Additionally, CAPA will offer COME FROM AWAY (Feb. 2-3), MAMMA MIA (March 12-17) and DISNEY'S THE LION KING (June 12-July 7).

"I would say today is one of the most exciting days of the year," the Broadway in Columbus Marketing Manager said. "Each show is going to have its own excited fan base.

"With the add-in shows, we have almost 13 weeks of Broadway this season. That's a lot of Broadway we're bringing to Columbus."

Minken describes the process of orchestrating the season as being like assembling a patchwork quilt. First CAPA garners information from subscribers on what shows they are interested in and visits New York City to scout out productions that will be soon touring America. Then it is the task of trying to match up the Ohio and Palace theaters with the touring companies' availability.

"There are several pieces of the puzzle that have to fit together to put a whole season together," Minken said. "We want the tours that are coming right off Broadway, but the question becomes 'are they in this area of the country when the theater is available?'"

Five of the subscription shows will be making their debut in Columbus and three of them, MRS. DOUBTFIRE, COMPANY, and CLUE will be making their premieres in the Buckeye state.

"It's always exciting when Columbus is the first city in the state to offer shows like these," Minken said.

The season opens in October with the return of the iconic JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR on its 50th anniversary tour. The story, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Timothy Rice, tells about the last week of Christ's life through the eyes of Judas.

The show hasn't been in the Capital City since Dec. 1994 when former Styx front man Dennis DeYoung played Pilate and Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, who originated the roles of Jesus and Judas on Broadway, reprised their roles. The show, which features such touchstone songs like the title anthem "Superstar," "Gethsemane," and "I Don't Know How to Love Him," won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE, the musical which rolls into the Ohio Theater Oct. 31-Nov. 5, closes out the 2023 portion of the season. It is one of five CAPA shows that is based on a movie, joining MOULIN ROUGE, CLUE, TINA: THE Tina Turner MUSICAL, and DISNEY'S THE LION KING. The musicals, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and MAMMA MIA were musicals that were turned into movies.

"That's something popular (on Broadway) right now," Minken said. "When you are making a musical, you are trying to find an audience. If you start with a production that already has a following, it definitely helps your chances for success."

In MRS. DOUBTFIRE, four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks turns the 1993 comedy that starred Robin Williams, Sally Fields, and Pierce Brosnan, into a musical. After a brutal divorce, out-of-work actor Daniel Hillard disguises himself as a Scottish nanny as a way of visiting his children.

CAPA pops the champagne to open the 2024 portion of the schedule with another movie turned musical, MOULIN ROUGE. In the 2001 movie, Ewan McGregor is a Bohemian poet who becomes entranced by nightclub performer Nicole Kidman. As it did in the movie, the musical's songs contain elements of many different artists from the Rolling Stones to Cab Calloway to Katy Perry to Elton John.

MOULIN ROUGE was one of the shows Minken and CAPA scouted out on a trip to New York City.

"It's truly a spectacular show," she said. "It is probably one of the most visually stunning shows I have seen in a while. Its color themes are red and gold, which will go so nicely with the Ohio Theatre."

The songs of Stephen Sondheim will be on display when COMPANY appears in Columbus on Feb. 13-18. The show, which features Sondheim signature pieces like "Being Alive, "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," "Side by Side by Side," and "The Ladies Who Lunch," won five Tony Awards including "Best Revival of a Musical." The story centers around Bobbie, who has grown weary of answering the age-old question of family and friends: "When are you going to get married?" On the eve of her 35th birthday, she searches for an answer but discovers instead that the dating scene, being married, and even just being a live in the 21st century is enough to drive anyone crazy.

CLUE, the only play in CAPA's season of musicals, is a throwback to the Hasbro's game and the 1985 movie of the same name. Part comedy, part mystery, CLUE leads the audience through a treacle of clues and laughs to decide if it was Professor Plum in the study with a wrench or Col. Mustard in the billiards room with a revolver.

"People love their musicals, but we also have lots of requests for plays," Minken said. "When we can get a play, we're certainly anxious to bring it to Columbus. CLUE is a classic mystery, a real 'who done it?' but with lots of laughs as well."

The subscription season then closes out with TINA: THE Tina Turner MUSICAL May 7-12. The musical details the highs and lows of the Queen of Rock and Roll's journey so far. It follows the similar path of Turner's biography, "I, Tina," and the 1993 movie, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" which won Oscars for Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

Season ticket holders will get first dibs on the three non-subscription shows as COME FROM AWAY (Feb. 2-3), MAMMA MIA (March 12-17) and DISNEY'S THE LION KING (June 12-July 7) all make return visits to Columbus.

COME FROM AWAY, the story of how a small Canadian village took in stranded airline passengers in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, was a runaway hit last season.

"What a wonderful show," Minken said. "It's truly heartwarming. You first think, 'Oh, how can the subject matter of this musical make me walk away from the theater feeling so uplifted?' But it just does. It's all about the kindness of strangers on a horribly tragic day."

The ABBA jukebox musical MAMMA MIA and DISNEY'S LION KING also return to Columbus. The latter, which is back at the Ohio Theatre for the first time since 2014, holds a special place in Minken's heart as it was her first show with CAPA.

"I had the opportunity to sit out in the lobby before 'Circle of Life' and watch the actors come in and transform from humans into animals," she said. "Then I'd open those doors and see the audience's faces as they marched in. It was one of those beautiful moments of theater magic."

To post a comment, you must register and login.