SOUTH PACIFIC, WICKED Among NC Blumenthal 2009-10 Series

A blockbuster lineup of Broadway’s most popular and critically acclaimed productions will visit the Queen City in 2009/10 as part of the N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Broadway Lights Series.

The Center’s 2009/10 series includes four Tony Award winners for Broadway’s Best Musical, as well as a stunning new show direct from Israel.  Many of the shows coming to Charlotte are among the most popular hits on Broadway today.

“Charlotte theater fans who want to see the best of current or recent hits in New York won’t have to go any further next year than Uptown Charlotte,” said Center President Tom Gabbard.  “Never before have we had four multi-week shows in a single season, twice as many as any previous season.  This is particular good news for the local economy since these multi-week shows have a strong regional draw that generates hotel stays, restaurant visits, shopping and other ancillary spending.  It’s a tribute to our theater fans and their steadfast support of our shows that New York’s best producers are eager to bring their shows to Charlotte.”

Along with the excitement of six incredible Broadway hits, the new season features the opening of the new Knight Theater in the South Tryon Street Cultural Campus.  Direct from Israel, the amazing Aluminum Show is a production that combines amazing special effects, acrobatics, dance and puppetry.  Broadway Lights audiences will have the opportunity to experience the new theater and a thrilling show in the vein of last fall’s smash hit, Traces.  “We are very pleased we were able to find a perfect show for the Knight Theater, so that our Broadway Lights audiences would be among the first to experience the new theater,” Gabbard said.
                                              
Along with the seven shows on the Broadway Lights Series, Grease will return to Charlotte as a Broadway Extra.  This beloved comedy will feature American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.  Broadway Lights Series subscribers may purchase tickets for Grease along with their season subscriptions.

Tickets for the Broadway Lights Series productions are currently available only as part of a Broadway Lights Series season subscription.  The basic six show subscription includes all productions except Wicked.  A seven-show subscription includes Wicked.  Prices for a six-show package range from $187.60 to $449.75.  Seven-show subscriptions begin at $228.10 and range to $540.25.

Current subscribers will receive renewal packages in the mail over the next few weeks and will have until May 1 to renew.  They also may contact Subscriber Services now by phone at 704.335.1010 to renew or renew in person at the Belk Theater box office or when they attend  Burn the Floor March 24-29 at the Belk Theater.

Orders for new subscriptions also are being accepted now.  To order or get more information, call 704.335.1010. New orders also will be accepted at the Belk Theater box office and at Burn the Floor.

Along with guaranteed seats for the series’ shows, season subscribers receive many other special benefits, including access to the very best seats since subscribers are seated before single ticket buyers.  Subscribers also receive special discounts off single ticket prices to many shows, both as part of their subscription and on any additional tickets they purchase for other Center events during the year.  They also have the opportunity to purchase additional single tickets to the series’ shows  and the Broadway extra, Grease, with their subscription order.  Throughout the year, subscribers also are offered priority purchase opportunities for all Center sponsored events.

There has never been a better time to become a Season Subscriber.  Many theater fans recall that the two week run of Wicked sold out in a matter of hours.  The best way to assure that fans will not be disappointed in getting tickets to their favorite shows is by being a season subscriber.

One of the most popular subscriber benefits is the subscriber swap option, which allows subscribers to trade their season tickets for one series’ show for anything else on the Center schedule.  For complete information on all the subscriber benefits, visit BlumenthalCenter.org/Broadway.

A new extended payment plan this year also will allow subscribers to spread the cost of their subscriptions over four monthly payments.

“We recognize that our customers are looking for value, and we have responded with a Broadway Lights Series that delivers incredible entertainment to their doorsteps,” Gabbard said.  “There has never been a better or more exciting year to become a Broadway Lights Series season subscriber, and we look forward to a great response from both our current subscribers and those who may be new to the series.  If you love musical theater, next year is not to be missed.”

The 2009/2010 season is as follows:   
A Chorus Line (Sep. 29 - Oct. 4, 2009 – Belk Theater)
The thrilling Broadway revival of A Chorus Line embarks on its first national tour in a production Entertainment Weekly proclaims, “blows the sequins off most Broadway musicals.”  Winner of nine Tony Awards®, including Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this singular sensation is the longest-running American Broadway musical ever.

In an empty theatre, on a bare stage, casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. For 17 dancers, this audition is the chance of a lifetime. It's what they've worked for - with every drop of sweat, every hour of training, every day of their lives. It's the one opportunity to do what they've always dreamed -- to have the chance to dance.  This is A Chorus Line, the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line.
                                              
South Pacific (Nov. 10-15, 2009 – Belk Theater)
Charlotte is only the third stop on the first national tour of the breathtaking new Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific.  USA Today cheers, “Gorgeous! South Pacific doesn’t just float; it soars!” for the show that won seven 2008 Tony Awards® including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher.

Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. The beloved score’s songs include “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “This Nearly Was Mine” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.”

The Aluminium Show (Jan. 12-24, 2010 – Knight Theater)
This stunning and incredible production makes its southeast premiere in Charlotte’s brand new Knight Theater. Direct from Israel, The Aluminum Show is totally unique, combining amazing special effects, acrobatics, jazz and modern dance, puppetry, dazzling aluminum costumes and lighting.  This show will delight audiences of all ages and is a sure highlight of the season.

Spring Awakening (Feb. 2-7, 2010 – Belk Theater)
Broadway’s most talked about new musical – and the biggest Tony Award®-winner in years – is now on its first tour, bringing its revolutionary “jolt of genius” (NY Post) to Charlotte audiences. Spring Awakening is the groundbreaking fusion of morality, sexuality and rock & roll that has awakened Broadway like no other musical in years.

Winner of eight Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Spring Awakening celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, poignancy and a passion you will never forget.  We agree with the NY Times: “Broadway may never be the same again!”

Adult language and content.

Jersey Boys (March 31 - April 11, 2010 – Belk Theater)
It’s the hit crowds go wild for and the New York Post raves is, “too good to be true!”  Jersey Boys is the 2006 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. Jersey Boys tells the phenomenal story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30!

Jersey Boys, winner of the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, features the many hits of the Four Seasons, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Oh What a Night,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and many more.

Adult language.

Wicked (May 19 – June 13, 2010 – Ovens Auditorium)
Back by “Popular” demand!  When it first played Charlotte in 2008, Wicked broke box office records and sold out in record time.  Winner of 20 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony Awards®, Wicked is “Broadway’s Biggest Blockbuster” (The New York Times).

Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the land of Oz.  One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  How these two grow to be come the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for “the most complete and completely satisfying new musical in a long time” (USA Today).

Mary Poppins (Aug. 26 – Sept. 5, 2010 – Belk Theater)
Charlotte audiences will be the first in the Carolinas to experience the arrival of the world’s most famous nanny!  Combining the best of the original stories by P. L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, the Tony® Award-winning Mary Poppins is everything you’d hope for in a Broadway musical – and more. 

Produced by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, the show includes such wonderful songs as Chim Chim Cher-ee, A Spoonful of Sugar, Let’s Go Fly a Kite and, of course, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The NY Daily News hails Mary Poppins as “a roof-raising, toe-tapping, high-flying extravaganza!”  Let your imagination take flight at this perfectly magical musical!

Grease (Dec. 1-6, 2009 – Ovens Auditorium) – Broadway Extra
For nearly 40 years, Grease has remained one of the world’s most popular musicals. Now Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and the gang from Rydell High hand-jive their way to Charlotte in this new production direct from Broadway, which features American Idol winner Taylor Hicks starring in the role of “Teen Angel.”

Grease -- Time Magazine’s 2007 pick for “#1 musical of the year” – was born out of NBC’s landmark reality TV show, “Grease: You’re The One That I Want.”  The weekly talent competition drew 90 million viewers, and America voted for their favorite contestants to play the lead roles of Sandy and Danny on Broadway.  This updated version of the show features songs from the smash hit 1978 movie including “Hopelessly Devoted to You,”  “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want,” in addition to the songs made famous by the original stage production, including “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’” and “We Go Together.”

The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center serves the Carolinas as a leading cultural, entertainment and education provider. For more information, call 704-372-1000 or visit BlumenthalCenter.org. The Center receives operating support from the Arts & Science Council and the North Carolina Arts Council. The Center is also supported through the generous aid of its sponsors, including Presbyterian Hospital, The Official Healthcare Provider and U.S. Airways, Official Airline of Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

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