DEAR EVAN HANSEN, PRETTY WOMAN, MEAN GIRLS & More Will Bring Broadway To Indianapolis This Season

Dylan & Celeste:

It's official: Broadway soon to be back in Indianapolis. The 41 celebrated theaters from Midtown to Lincoln Center have been boarded up since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as across the entire nation.

The return of musical theater, the financial backbone of Broadway, is marking another milestone on the road to recovery as the theater business and community, seek to move on from the coronavirus pandemic. However, pressure is building for theaters: After an initial box-office boom, ticket sales for many shows have unfortunately leveled off. Despite it all and in the true spirit of the theater, productions gearing up for a return for the ages. They will be reassembling casts, repairing costumes, repainting sets, inspecting, and reinstalling all stage mechanisms. On September 14th, four of the industry's iconic shows - "The Lion King," "Wicked," "Hamilton" and "Chicago" will reopen, with many more musicals planned to start or restarting performances throughout the fall. Touring shows are back and many will have their first performances in the coming weeks.

In each closure, delay, and challenge, the industry has mourned, was forced to innovated, and will emerge stronger then ever. The challenges experienced over this year and in 2020, and the pivots and adjustments they've prompted, allow us to conclude what may lie around the corner.

While no one can predict the future or has a crystal ball, what is unquestionable is that the best way to ensure that theater will have a bright future is for governments nationwide to acknowledge that the sector has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic and will be among the last to fully recover. What we can do is support the arts and theaters whenever possible to keep doors open safely. If artists get the support they need, the world needs only to sit back and watch theater do what it's done for centuries.

Here are the shows currently slotted for Indianapolis:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Oct 19 to Oct 24

Roald Dahl's treasured tale is now Broadway's Golden Ticket! It's the perfect recipe for a delectable treat: songs from the original film, including "Pure Imagination," "The Candy Man" and "I've Got a Golden Ticket," alongside a toe-tapping and ear-tickling new score from the songwriters of Hairspray.

Jesus Christ Superstar - Jan 18, 2022 to Jan 23, 2022

With music and lyrics by Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winners Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the show is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. Reflecting the rock roots that defined a generation, the legendary score includes 'I Don't Know How to Love Him', 'Gethsemane' and 'Superstar'.

Pretty Woman: The Musical - Feb 15, 2022 to Feb 20, 2022

Based on the 1990 film of the same name, Pretty Woman is a modern retelling of the Cinderella story. Vivian, a Hollywood sex worker is picked up on the street by Edward Lewis, a tough but lonely business mogul. Employed as his companion, Vivian is immersed into the elite Beverly Hill society, but she soon realizes that she is a fish out of water.

Mean Girls - Mar 29, 2022 to Apr 3, 2022

Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina's reign, she learns the hard way that you can't cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

Dear Evan Hansen - Apr 26, 2022 - May 1, 2022

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.

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