2015-16 Broadway on Hennepin Season to Include BEAUTIFUL, 'GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE' & More

Hennepin Theatre Trust today revealed its stellar 2015-2016 Broadway on Hennepin Season, featuring Broadway's hottest Tony Award-winning shows, seven Minnesota premieres and returning favorites. Making their local debuts are A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards including Best Musical; Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, the 2014 Tony Award-winning inspiring true story, and The Bridges of Madison County, the romantic 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Score and Best Orchestrations.

Appearing for the first time in Minneapolis are the eagerly awaited 2013 Tony Award winner Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella from the creators of The Sound of Music and South Pacific, the 2012 Tony Award-winning Disney's Newsies and the hugely entertaining and deeply moving new musical If/Then direct from Broadway. Disney's The Little Mermaid also makes its Orpheum debut and everything's coming up roses for the showstopping Gypsy, the fourth production in the innovative Broadway Re-Imagined series, produced by Theater Latté Da and Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Making a triumphant return is a Minneapolis favorite, Disney's The Lion King. Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this landmark event made its world premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in 1997. The coat of many colors still dazzles in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's enduring Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Blue Man Group returns for a high-octane theatrical experience.

Back by popular demand after its 2014 Minneapolis run, The Book of Mormon, the nine time Tony Award-winning musical from the creators of South Park, will return for a limited three week engagement.

Broadway on Hennepin season subscribers, Hennepin Theatre Trust Donors and groups have first priority to purchase tickets when season packages go on sale at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015. The 2015-2016 Season opens in September 2015 and runs through August 2016 at the historic Orpheum, State and Pantages Theatres. Individual tickets will be made available at a later date. Visit HennepinTheatreTrust.org for more information.

"Minnesotans value high quality live theatre which makes it possible for the 2015-2016 Broadway on Hennepin Season to feature the best of the newest Broadway productions as well as returning classics," commented Tom Hoch, President/CEO of Hennepin Theatre Trust. "We're proud to deliver a year-long season of cultural experiences making the downtown Minneapolis Cultural District a destination for audiences of all ages."

The season begins with the timeless Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella making its Orpheum Theatre debut September 8-13 with such beloved songs as "In My Own Little Corner" and "Impossible/It's Possible." Audiences will be enchanted by its contemporary take on the classic tale. Theatre Under The Stars' production of Disney's The Little Mermaid, based on the Disney animated film, will make a splash at the Orpheum Theatre for two weeks October 8-18.

The Tony Award-winning Beautiful - The Carole King Musical debuts at the Orpheum Theatre for two weeks November 18-29. This is the inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom from songwriter to one of the most successful solo acts in popular music. The multimedia extravaganza Blue Man Group returns to the Orpheum Theatre December 18-20 with an intoxicating blend of music, comedy and technology.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is the hilarious knock 'em dead 2014 Tony Award-winning Best Musical running January 5-10, 2016 at the State Theatre. The lovable Monty Navarro is hardly the next in line to inherit the family fortune but he can't wait to slay his way to the top. The eagerly awaited arrival of the smash-hit Disney's Newsies will make headlines February 9-14, 2016 at the Orpheum Theatre. This high-energy musical took home the 2012 Tony Awards for Best Choreography and Best Original Score.

Gypsy will be the newest Broadway Re-Imagined showstopper developed through Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latté Da's partnership. Running at the historic Pantages Theatre, February 17-March 13, 2016, Gypsy features such classic songs such as "Everything's Coming up Roses" and "Together (Wherever We Go)." Nationally acclaimed director Peter Rothstein takes a new look at this Arthur Laurents, Julie Styne and Stephen Sondheim musical about a stage mother who will stop at nothing to make her daughters Vaudeville headliners. The completely original If/Then arrives at the Orpheum Theatre March 8-13, 2016. If/Then is a contemporary, touching musical from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning creators of Next to Normal that reveals the possibilities of tomorrow through the choices we make today.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's irresistible Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returns to the Orpheum Theatre, March 29-April 3, 2016, with its unforgettable songs including, "Any Dream Will Do" and "Close Every Door." Following its Minneapolis run in 2014, the nine time Tony Award-winning The Book of Mormon returns to the Orpheum Theatre for a limited three week engagement May 10-29, 2016. The New York Times calls it "the best musical of this century."

Summer brings one of the most romantic stories ever told with The Bridges of Madison County, at the Orpheum Theatre June 21-26, 2016. Based on Robert James Waller's best-selling novel and shown through the eyes of an Iowa farmwife who must choose between duty and desire, this winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations features an unforgettable score by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown. The 2015-2016 Broadway on Hennepin Season concludes July 5-August 7, 2016 with Disney's The Lion King at the Orpheum Theatre. This phenomenon dazzled audiences during its 1997 Minneapolis world premiere and continues to amaze with a breathtaking spectacle of animals brought to life by more than 40 actors and unforgettable music by Elton John and Tim Rice.

Season Ticket Packages for new and renewing subscribers go on sale at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb., 10, 2015. The eight show package includes A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, The Bridges of Madison County, If/Then, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Disney's Newsies, Disney's The Little Mermaid and Broadway Re-Imagined's Gypsy. Package prices start at $298. For the seven show package (not including Gypsy) prices start at $269. Both packages include applicable season ticket discounts, theatre restoration and handling fees. Additional season specials are The Book of Mormon, Disney's The Lion King, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Blue Man Group. Tickets for season specials can be added to season packages. Information is available 24 hours a day at HennepinTheatreTrust.org. Season Ticket Packages can be purchased in person at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis) online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org or by phone by calling the Broadway Across America Season Ticket Hotline at 1.800.859.SHOW (7469).

Current Season Ticket Holders are urged to respond to renewal notices immediately to keep their season seats or to request an upgrade. The renewal deadline is Tuesday, March 17. Group tickets, with discounts available for many performances, are also on sale now and provide a great way to celebrate many family, office or social occasions. Group minimums and discounts vary; please call 612.373.5665 for more information or to make group reservations.

Hennepin Theatre Trust Donors can also purchase Season Ticket Packages, enjoy concierge ticketing, buy tickets to individual shows and gain special benefits. To become a Donor, call 612.455.9513. Single tickets for individual productions will go on sale to the general public at a later date. Prices, shows, artists, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Further information will be posted as it becomes available at HennepinTheatreTrust.org. Patrons can also sign up to get email notifications of the latest updates.

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