Van Wezel Announces 2011-2012 Broadway Series

Its here! The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall's 2011-2012 buzz-worthy Broadway Season--ten fantastic Broadway shows, highlighted by five outstanding Broadway "specials."

This season we're bringing the Big Apple to your backyard with IN THE HEIGHTS (Sarasota Premiere, November 27), SHREK THE MUSICAL (Sarasota Premiere, December 14 & 15), ROCK OF AGES (Sarasota Premiere, January 3 & 4), BLAST (January 17), DAMN YANKEES (January 25), CATS (February 10 & 11), BURN THE FLOOR (March 16), THE NEW Mel Brooks MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Sarasota Premiere, March 22 & 23), FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (March 28) and RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC (April 3 & 4).

The Broadway Season Specials are ROBERT DUBAC'S THE MALE INTELLECT: AN OXYMORON? (January 27), STEPS IN TIME STARRING Tommy Tune (March 14), Neil Berg'S 104 YEARS OF BROADWAY (March 17), Steve Solomon'S MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN MY FATHER'S JEWISH & I'M STILL IN THERAPY! The chaos continues... (March 25), and Neil Berg'S THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (Sarasota Premiere, April 20).

IN THE HEIGHTS is a moving, funny, and uplifting show about a community of hard-working immigrants seeking a better life. The 2008 Tony® Award-winning Best Musical combines a remarkable young cast, thrilling Tony® Award-winning dancing and a dynamic Tony® Award-winning score, for an exhilarating journey into a vibrant Manhattan community.

SHREK THE MUSICAL isn't just for kids! Based on the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks film that started it all, SHREK THE MUSICAL brings the hilarious story of everyone's favorite ogre to life on stage. Featuring a terrific score of 19 all-new songs, big laughs, great dancing and breathtaking scenery, SHREK is part romance, part twisted fairy tale and all irreverent fun for everyone!

Five-time Tony Award® nominated, smash-hit musical ROCK OF AGES is a hilarious arena-rock love story told through the mind blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Night Ranger, STYX, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. Don't miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on!

BLAST, winner of the 2001 Tony Award® for Best Special Theatrical Event and the 2001 Emmy® Award for Best Choreography, brings brass, percussion and visual performers together in a unique explosion of classical, blues, jazz, rock n roll, techno-pop music and theatre. "BLAST! stands, blows, pounds, marches, and whirls with panache."-the Boston Globe

And don't forget about those DAMN YANKEES. Faust, fly balls, and devilishly good fun all meet at home plate of the 7 Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical DAMN YANKEES. A 1950s middle-aged baseball fanatic trades his soul to the Devil for a chance to lead his favorite team in the pennant race. Filled with hit songs like "Whatever Lola Wants" and "You Gotta Have Heart," this musical comedy is a home run!

Introduce your family to the wonders of live theater with the magic, the mystery, and the "Memory" of 7 Tony® Award-winning CATS. What began as a musical about cats, after Andrew Lloyd Webber picked up a book of poems in an airport bookshop, has become one of the longest running and best loved shows in Broadway's history.

Don't you just love those Ballroom dance shows like Dancing with the Stars? Now, straight from Broadway, BURN THE FLOOR will let you feel, live on stage, all the passion, the drama and the sizzling excitement of 20 gorgeous champion dancers, in a true theatrical experience, a performance with a grace and athleticism that The New York Times calls "Dazzling!"

The classic Mel Brooks movie is alive...and it's headed here! You'll have a monstrously good time at this spectacular new production--a wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend that attempts to create a monster, but not without scary and hilarious complications. Don't miss the sensational cast of THE NEW Mel Brooks MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN as they deliver brand-new show-stopping numbers including 'Transylvania Mania," and "Puttin' on the Ritz."
Based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF has been lauded by critics again and again, and won the hearts of people all around the world. The show is filled with a rousing, heartwarming score, including "Tradition," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were A Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset." FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a timeless classic that holds a special place in our heart, as it opened the Van Wezel doors for the first time on January 5, 1970!
Speaking of classics, RODGER'S AND HAMMERSTEIN'S SOUTH PACIFIC is "Beguiling Theatrical Magic!" hails the New York Post. Based on the 2008 Tony® Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production, set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical SOUTH PACIFIC tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of the time. We all know the beloved score which includes songs like "Some Enchanted Evening," and "There is Nothin' Like a Dame."
Our first Broadway Special of the season is ROBERT DUBAC'S THE MALE INTELLECT: AN OXYMORON? and 'Hilarious' is the only way to describe it. You will laugh non- stop for ninety minutes as ROBERT DUBAC ransacks his brain to answer the age old question, "What do women want?" All while drinking a beer.

"It's hard to resist Tommy Tune, so why try?"(The New Yorker) Nine-time Tony® Award-winner Tommy Tune teams with longtime collaborators The Manhattan Rhythm Kings for a look back at his incredible career. Featuring timeless standards, elegant choreography, and TOMMY'S own unique charm, the show is a rare chance to view the personal side of the quintessential song-and-dance man.

The most successful touring Broadway concert in America, Neil Berg'S 104 YEARS OF BROADWAY, returns for another spectacular performance at the Van Wezel. This dazzling, all-new show features some of Broadway's finest stars performing songs from the best and most beloved Broadway musicals of the past 104 years! It's a magical evening you'll always remember.

STILL IN THERAPY is the next hilarious installment in Steve Solomon'S quest to defend himself against those whose sole purpose in life is to add chaos to his. In this hysterical prequel, we'll meet: Uncle Willie, Stuttering Cousin Bob, Demented Cousin Kenny, STEVE'S new therapist, Cousin Sal (and Sal's parole officer) and a myriad of astounding characters we know, love and tolerate.
Neil Berg'S THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING is a soaring theatrical concert based on Rudyard Kipling's classic novella. The epic adventure of two rogue officers of the British Colonial Army who set off to follow widespread tales of gold and riches features an all-star Broadway cast accompanied by a live orchestra.

This season the Van Wezel is offering 4 great subscription packages for as low as $350 for all 10 shows! Broadway I features In the Heights, Shrek, Rock of Ages, Blast and Damn Yankees; Broadway II includes Cats, Burn the Floor, Young Frankenstein, Fiddler on the Roof, and South Pacific; Broadway III is for those who wish to subscribe to all 10 fabulous Broadway shows. Subscribe to Broadway I or Broadway II and get a 15% discount. Subscribe to Broadway III and get a 20% discount! If you would like to CREATE YOUR OWN then we have a package for you as well. Mix and match four or more of any of our Broadway shows and/or Broadway Specials and get a 10% discount! Subscribers get an automatic 10% discount on any Broadway Special. Enjoy great perks as a subscriber-- choice seats, discounted tickets, exchange privileges for shows with multiple performances, discounts at the bar, special offers, and our easy-payment plan. (Discounts are not available for Golden Circle or Smart Seats.)

There are three easy ways to subscribe--by mail to: Van Wezel Box Office, 777 N. Tamiami, Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236; visit the Box Office: Monday-Friday 10 AM-4 PM, Saturday 10 AM-3 PM, and open later on show days; or call 941-953-3368, Toll Free at 1-800-826-9303. After April 23 the Box Office hours will be: Monday-Friday 10 AM-3 PM; Closed on Saturday and Sunday. Subscriptions are not currently available online.

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