It was an exciting evening at the State Theatre, where a capacity crowd heard Gina Vernaci, architect of the Key Bank Broadway series, announce the 2017-2018 season.
Besides the charming Vernaci, the program included an interview with Sara Bareilles, who wrote the original music and lyrics for WAITRESS, which will not only be featured in the season, but will rehearse in Cleveland and start its road show here.
Bareilles played the piano and sang a song from the show. Featured were two members of the present Broadway cast.
Also performing was Solon High School sophomore, J. R. Heckman, who was last year’s Cleveland Male Dazzle Award winner, who was recognized by both the Cleveland Critic’s Circle and BroadwayWorld-Cleveland Professional Theater Tributes as their “Rising Star” for being the area’s most promising male newcomer.
A member of the German company of LOVE NEVER DIES, which will also be performed here, sang a composition from that show.
Short clips from all of the shows showed highlight numbers and brought extended applause from the assemblage.
Announcements included that Key Bank has agreed to sponsor the series for another five years and that this year there were over 36,000 subscribers.
As announced in PHSQ’s press release, here is the list of shows and their presentation dates:
WAITRESS
October 17 – November 5, 2017
Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, this hit features original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles and was inspired by Adrienne Shelly's beloved film, WAITRESS. It tells the story of a waitress and expert pie maker, who dreams about finding a way out of her small town and loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county, and the town's new doctor, may offer her a chance at a fresh start.
ON YOUR FEET!
December 5-23, 2017
http://onyourfeetmusical.com
From international superstardom to life-threatening tragedy, ON YOUR FEET! takes you behind the music and inside the real story of Cuba’s Emilio and Gloria Estefan, the record-making and groundbreaking couple who, in the face of adversity, found a way to end up on their feet.
LOVE NEVER DIES
January 9-26, 2018
http://www.loveneverdies.com
The ultimate love story continues in LOVE NEVER DIES, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.
The year is 1907. It is 10 years after his disappearance from the Paris Opera House and the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the joy rides and freak shows of Coney Island. In this new, electrically charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar, but he has never stopped yearning for Christine, his one true love and musical protégée.
RENT
March 6-25, 2018
http://rentontour.net
In 1996, RENT, an original rock musical by a little-known composer, opened on Broadway. It forever changed the landscape of American theatre.
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece returns to the stage in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production.
THE HUMANS
April 10-29, 2018
http://www.thehumansonbroadway.com
Stephen Karam’s THE HUMANS, the 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Play, is an uproarious, hopeful, and heartbreaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex eerie things start to go bump in the night, and the Blake clan’s deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare.
ALADDIN
May 2-27, 2018
http://www.aladdinthemusical.com
From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of ALADDIN, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle.
HAMILTON
July 17 – August 26, 2018
http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com
With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, HAMILTON is the story of one of America's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary.
The story of America then, as told by America now, it features a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway.
Tickets: For season tickets go online at playhousesquare.org/broadway or call 216-640-8800. Single ticket purchase dates vary by show and will be announced at a later date. Stay informed about Hamilton’s Cleveland engagement by signing up to receive our HAMILTON updates by email at playhousesquare.org/HAMILTON
