'Hello, Dolly!' in Louisville: PNC Broadway show hits Kentucky Center

When Betty Buckley — the legendary actress dubbed "The Voice of Broadway" — begins her long descent of the iconic staircase in the musical "Hello, Dolly!," she'll follow in the formidable footsteps of superstar performers Carol Channing, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters.

The beloved musical first opened on Broadway in 1964 and Channing won one of the show's 10 Tony Awards that year.

Half a century later, Midler won the same award for her portrayal of Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Broadway revival directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle.

Tony Award winner Peters succeeded Midler in the role, which has also been played by Ethel Merman, Pearl Bailey and Mary Martin.

Do you see what we mean? This musical comedy attracts megawatt star power.

Buckley continues the lineage, playing the world's most famous matchmaker in the show's national tour, which arrives at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville on Tuesday as part of the PNC Broadway in Louisville 2018-19 season.

Check out:Broadway in Louisville's 2018-19 season includes amazing productions

"I saw 'Hello, Dolly!' a few times many decades ago but it never did anything for me until I saw Bette in the show directed by Jerry Zaks," Buckley told the Courier Journal. "He clarified the story and focused it more on the book it is based on, Thorton Wilder's 'The Matchmaker.' He made it less of a tool to showcase the performer and more about the story and I feel like that greatly improved the show."

Sitting in the Shubert Theater in New York City, Buckley was so delighted by this new version of "Hello, Dolly!" that she cried when Milder took her final bow and the curtain came down. She never imagined three years later she'd play the lead in the national tour.

"I spent years perfecting my craft as a dramatic actress," she said. "The role of Dolly is very comedic; she's involved in a lot of shenanigans, so I spent the summer before we went out on tour learning a new skill — comedic acting. I loved it."

Fans know Buckley for her wide range of roles including the Tony-winning “Memory” —singing Grizabella in “Cats," as well as the star of “Sunset Boulevard,” “Pippin,” “1776” and “Grey Gardens.”

Or you may remember her as the kind stepmother Abby on TV’s “Eight Is Enough." In addition, she has appeared in dozens of films and has produced 18 solo albums in her 50-year career.

Today, at age 71, she has embarked on the nationwide yearlong tour. "Hello, Dolly!" lands in Louisville on Tuesday as the second-to-last show in a season that also includes the smash hit "Hamilton," which plays June 4-23.

"We have an incredible ensemble including original choreography by Gower Champion. The dancers are like Olympic athletes and the costumes and sets are magnificent," Buckley said. "More than anything I want the audience to feel they are part of a joyous celebration full of colorful sets and costumes — they'll come out of the theater feeling wonderful."

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Set in the 1880s, Buckley plays Dolly, a middle-aged marriage broker in New York City who is hired by a wealthy grain merchant to find him a wife. Dolly decides the perfect wife is herself and devises a series of tricks to get the grain merchant to propose.

If you like watching television dating shows like ABC's "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette," this is the musical for you. "Hello, Dolly!" includes all the matchmaking plus memorable musical numbers and Buckley's legendary performance.

"You know it's true, this is a very hopeful production. Maybe if you are in the dating pool, it will give you hope," Buckley laughed.

And, if you aren't in the market for a love connection, there is still much to love about the touring "Hello, Dolly!" revival. The fresh take on the musical favorite is made all the better thanks to the talent of a superstar like Buckley.

Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/kirbya.

Hello, Dolly! — PNC Broadway over Louisville

WHAT: "Hello, Dolly!" starring Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Betty Buckley

WHEN: May 14-19

WHERE: Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, 501 W. Main St.

TICKETS: Starting at $39.25. Available at The Kentucky Center box office (501 W Main St.), by visiting kentuckycenter.org, or by calling 502-584-7777.

Playhouse Square Broadway series includes 'MJ,' launch of 'Back to ...

Playhouse Square announced its 2023-24 KeyBank Broadway Series on Tuesday, featuring the launch of the North American tour of "Back to the Future," the pre-Broadway tour of "The Wiz" and "MJ," the musical that celebrates the creativity and collaborative spirit of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

The seven-show season was announced on New Day Cleveland on Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.

Craig Hassall, Playhouse Square's new president and CEO, praised the loyalty of Playhouse Square's more than 44,000 annual season theatergoers.

"Your enthusiasm and knowledge rival that of audiences anywhere in the world," he said.

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David Greene, senior vice president of programming, said Playhouse Square has the largest Broadway season ticket community in North America. He promised a season that includes plenty of nostalgia for multiple generations as well as new spins on familiar titles.

The full season Playhouse Square season for 2023-24

● "The Wiz," Oct. 3 to 22. Cleveland will be one of the first cities in the country to host a pre-Broadway stop of this musical, which will have a limited Broadway run in spring, 2024. The musical, a groundbreaking twist on "The Wizard of Oz," has an iconic score featuring soul, gospel, rock and funk, including the timeless hit "Ease on Down the Road." This revival infuses ballet, jazz and modern pop for a whole new groove.

● "Girl From the North Country," Oct. 31 to Nov. 19. The Tony Award-winning musical reimagines 20 legendary songs by Bob Dylan to tell the 1934 story of a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in 1934 Duluth, Minnesota. Written and directed by Conor McPherson, the show features Tony-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale of Dylan hits including "Forever Young" and "Like a Rolling Stone."

● "Mrs. Doubtfire," Jan. 9 to 28, 2024. Based on the beloved film, the musical tells the story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids, even pose as a Scottish nanny. The family-friendly comedy is directed by Jerry Zaks.

● "Funny Girl," Feb. 20 to March 10, 2024. Fanny Brice, who has always dreamed of a life on stage, becomes one of the most beloved performers in history, despite everyone telling her she'd never be a star. The musical comedy revival features a score with the classic songs "Don't Rain on My Parade," "I'm the Greatest Star" and "People."

● "Company," April 30 to May 19, 2024. The winner of five Tony awards, including best revival of a musical, is a new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical comedy. In the revival, gender-swapping has lead Bobbie as a 35-year-old single woman, rather than the original male Bobby, whose friends continually ask her why she hasn't settled down and started a family. Other characters have switched genders, including the man Jamie, originally written as a woman Amy. The musical's iconic Sondheim songs include "Side by Side by Side" and "Being Alive."

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● "Back to the Future: The Musical," June 11 to July 7, 2024. Playhouse Square will host the official North American tour opening less than 12 months after the show's Broadway opening in August 2023. The musical, based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, includes hit songs from the movie such as "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time."

● "MJ," July 16 to Aug. 11, 2024. The Tony Award-winning musical centers around the making of Michael Jackson's 1992 Dangerous World Tour, with direction and Tony-winning choreography by Christopher Wheeldon and a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage. The musical looks at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that made Jackson a pop legend.

Season tickets are available from $160 to $750 per seat at 216-640-8800 or playhousesquare.org/broadway.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

My shameful bucket list: A theater critic confesses

Kerry Lengel

The Republic | azcentral.com

After spending two weeks interviewing actors, directors and designers about their artistic bucket lists, it occurred to me that I should have one of my own.

I’m not really a bucket-list kind of guy. But as the theater critic for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com for the past eight years, there are still some gaping holes in my cultural education that I really ought to do something about. So consider these my new-year’s resolutions for 2017.

RELATED:Local theater stars tell us their bucket list roles and productions

1. See “Cats”

I’m probably going to hate it. I mean, most of the people who share my taste in theater despise it. “Memory” is sentimental claptrap, and seriously, who needs to see a musical with a character named Rum Tum Tugger?

On the other hand, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash from 1981 is the fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history. I’ve seen professional productions of all the others in the Top 10 except for “Oh! Calcutta!” — which is hardly a staple of regional theater. And you never know. I expected to hate “Phantom of the Opera,” but I kinda liked it. (“Les Mis,” not so much.)

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I’ve been whittling away at my list of must-see musicals for years now. It used to include “Oklahoma!” and “Annie,” for instance. But I still haven’t seen “The Sound of Music” onstage. Shouldn’t the movie be enough?

As for “Cats,” a revival opened on Broadway last July. So it looks like I have a good excuse to splurge on another trip to New York in 2017.

2. Go to Chicago

I’ve been to Broadway and I’ve seen plays in many of the 99-seat theaters in Los Angeles. But I’ve never been to what many consider to be the ultimate theater town.

Chicago is home to the Second City comedy troupe, which regularly sends its alums on to fame and fortune, and the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre, which is just one of the companies creating new work that challenges audiences’ expectations and sensibility.

Here in the Valley, you can get a second-hand dose of the Chicago aesthetic at Stray Cat Theatre. But it’s really time to make a pilgrimage to the source.

3. Take an improv class

I took an introductory acting class in junior high school, and the results were … well, let’s just say that’s the source of my go-to story when asked for my most embarrassing moment.

I’m never going to be an actor, but I definitely should know more about what actors experience when they put everything on the line in front of an audience (not to mention those persnickety critics). And I can’t think of anything more terrifying that the prospect of being asked to come up with a character and dialogue without a script.

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But improv isn’t just for actors. Improv teachers — including Sam Haldiman, founder of the brand-new Second Beat Improv Theater — tell me that they get a lot of students who want to develop poise, positivity and spontaneity in their personal and professional lives, even if they never perform onstage. It’s almost Toastmasters 2.0.

Just please, nobody tell the other students what I do for a living.

4. Come up with a decent Halloween costume

My mom set me up with a great Darth Vader outfit when I was 6 (see top of story), but my Halloweens have been all downhill from there. My best effort as an adult was Bullwinkle to my wife’s Rocky, which consisted of brown shirt, pants and shoes and some undersized moose antlers attached to a headband.

Considering I get paid to comment on the work of professional costume designers, that’s a pretty weak effort. Maybe somebody can help me up my game?

5. Write a 10-minute play

I may not have the right stuff to be an actor, but I do have a creative writing degree, and nothing makes you appreciate the challenges of creating compelling characters and dialogue like trying to do it yourself. I’ve done a little … let’s say doodling … with scene writing, but it’s definitely a goal of mine to turn out a fully formed short story for the stage.

The real problem: I can’t finish anything without a deadline. So maybe the ultimate trial by fire would be sign up for the next 24 Hour Theatre Project at Phoenix Theatre, where playwrights have to finish a script literally overnight.

Do I have the guts?

Probably not.

Reach the writer at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.

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Tony-winning choreographer, actress Ann Reinking dies at 71 | AP ...

Mark Kennedy

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Ann Reinking, the Tony Award-winning choreographer, actress and Bob Fosse collaborator who helped spread a cool, muscular hybrid of jazz and burlesque movement to Broadway and beyond, has died. She was 71.

Reinking died Saturday while visiting family in Seattle, said her manager, Lee Gross. No cause of death was disclosed.

Tributes poured in from the Broadway community, including from Tony Yazbeck, who called her “an absolute inspiration,” and Leslie Odom, Jr., who thanked Reinking for being a mentor: “She honored the calling for real. RIP to a legend.” Bernadette Peters took to Twitter to say her heart was broken and Billy Eichner said she was “one of the most mesmerizing people I’ve ever seen on stage. A singular genius. RIP.”

Kristin Chenoweth described Reinking on Twitter as "an inspiration (to) all of us in the Broadway community."

"May we remember her at her happiest: dancing," she added. "Rest In Peace, Ann. Thank you for always being so kind and supportive of me."

Lin-Manuel Miranda was among those praising her talent. “A singular talent has left us,” he wrote on Twitter. Jason Alexander added: “She was a pure joy — fun and funny and endlessly kind and talented. Heaven’s chorus line just got a star.”

“I’m beyond words to hear of the sudden and untimely passing of my dear friend Ann Reinking. The world has lost such a beautiful soul and talent,” said Chita Rivera. “I loved sharing the stage with her whenever we could. Her spirit and razzle-dazzle will be with me forever.”

Trained as a ballet dancer, Reinking was known for her bold style of dance epitomized by her work in the revival of the Kander and Ebb musical “Chicago,” complete with net stockings, chair dancing and plenty of pelvic thrusts.

Reinking co-starred as Roxie Hart along with Bebe Neuwirth’s Velma, and created the choreography “in the style of Bob Fosse,” the show’s original director and choreographer who died in 1987. She and Fosse worked together for 15 years and she was also his lover for several of them.

Her work on “Chicago” earned her a 1997 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards. Reinking replicated its choreography in productions throughout the world — England, Australia, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere. She was portrayed by Margaret Qualley in the recent FX series “Fosse/Verdon.”

The musical’s revival was first done in a concert version at City Center’s “Encores” series in 1996 and then moved to Broadway, where in 2011 it became the second longest-running show in Broadway history.

“You know how you hear sometimes a woman goes into labor and 10 minutes later she’s got this beautiful baby? You couldn’t believe that it was materializing in such a beautiful way,” she told The Associated Press in 2011 about the early days of the revival.

In 1998, she co-directed “Fosse,” a salute to the man who had the largest influence, both professionally and personally, on her life. He once called her “one of the finest dancers in the jazz-modern idiom.”

Her movie credits include “Annie” (1982), “Movie, Movie” (1978) and the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” (2005), which portrayed Reinking as a ballroom-dance competition judge for New York City kids.

Reinking’s career began in Seattle, where she grew up. In the beginning, she wanted to be a ballet dancer, “like all girls,” she said. As a student, she won a scholarship in San Francisco with the Joffrey Ballet, but at many of the students’ after-hours improvisations, she would just sing and not dance.

Robert Joffrey said that with her outgoing personality and other abilities, she should pursue musical theater. “I waited tables to save up enough money to get here,” she said of New York City, where she arrived with a round-trip ticket back to Seattle and $500. She didn’t need the return trip.

“You wouldn’t get into this if you had a guarantee. People who get into this have a certain sense of the high stakes,” she said. “You need the break and when you get it, you’d better be ready for it.”

Reinking’s break was strung out over several shows. She was in the ensemble for Broadway’s “Coco,” which starred Katharine Hepburn as Coco Chanel, in 1969, and was in the chorus of “Pippin” in 1972, picked by its director and choreographer, Fosse. The ensemble was so small — there were only eight — that the dancers were really seen.

Choreographer Pat Birch was one who noticed, and in 1974 put her in “Over Here,” a World War II musical starring two of the three Andrews Sisters and featuring another unknown, John Travolta.

It led to a starring role in “Goodtime Charley,” a musical about Joan of Arc, opposite Joel Grey. The musical was not a success, but it did make theatergoers look at Reinking as a principal performer and not just a member of the chorus.

Her other big break, she said, was in “Dancin’” in 1978, “because I realized you had to be in an original part and that show has to be a hit.” The music-and-dance revue directed and choreographed by Fosse was, running more than three years and earned her a 1978 Tony nomination.

But it was her work on the revival of “Chicago” where Reinking basked in the most attention. The original, a dark indictment of celebrity and hucksterism, opened in the summer of 1975 and ran for about 900 performances. Though not in the opening night cast, Reinking eventually slipped into the role of Roxie Hart, taking over the part from Gwen Verdon, Fosse’s third wife and dancing alter ego. In the 1996 revival, which is still on Broadway, Reinking kept the part of Hart opposite Gray and Neuwirth.Reinking also gained experience — and stayed in shape — by replacing stars in hit shows: Donna McKechnie in “A Chorus Line”; Gwen Verdon in Fosse’s original “Chicago”; and Debbie Allen in the 1986 revival of “Sweet Charity.”

And she embarked on an eclectic film career — from playing Roy Scheider’s lover in Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical film “All That Jazz,” to the screen version of “Annie” to Blake Edwards’ “Micki and Maude.”

She also created dances for a revival of “Pal Joey” at Chicago’s Goodman Theater and a musical about first lady Eleanor Roosevelt called “Eleanor.” She was on the national tour of “Bye Bye Birdie” opposite Tommy Tune.

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After “Eleanor,” offers to choreograph “kept falling in my lap,” Reinking said. She created dances for a pre-Encores “Chicago” in Long Beach, California, with Neuwirth and Juliet Prowse.

In one of the more cringe-worthy moments in her career, Reinking was asked to sing and perform the Oscar nominated song “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins at the 1985 telecast. Reinking lip-synched as she danced a bombastic, cheesy rendition marred by fog.

In recent years, she choreographed “The Look of Love” on Broadway and the Roger Rees-directed off-Broadway “Here Lies Jenny” (2004), starring Neuwirth. In 2011, she helped choreograph “An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin” on Broadway.

Reinking also produced a documentary called “In My Hands,” about working with children of Marfan’s Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder of the connective tissues that often leaves its victims with limbs that are disproportionately long. She also produced the film “Two Worlds, One Planet,” about “high-functioning” autism.

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Reinking’s first three marriages ended in divorce. Since 1994, she had been married to Peter Talbert. She also is survived by a son, Christopher, who has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and autism.

“If there is a heaven, I think Bob can look down and be satisfied. He really did have an exponential effect on the next generation of choreographers and dancers,” Reinking once said.

“He demanded the best from you and you wanted to give it. So you got better. All great directors — however, they do it — make you want to be good. I hope I do it. It’s like being a parent, a psychiatrist, a disciplinarian and a friend. You really have to know when to hold them and when to show them.”

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Contributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY

Revival of Tony-winning 'Pippin' hits town

Elizabeth Kramer

@arts_bureau

Paulus is one of only three women to win Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Musical

‘Pippin’ includes choreography by original director Bob Fosse along with circus performers.

Paulus studied at Columbia University wtih Anne Bogart, who has directed 14 works at Actors Theatre.

In the span of less than five years, director Diane Paulus led three Broadway productions that were showered with accolades, including multiple Tony Awards. The revival she mounted of the musical “Hair” won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2009 and “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” napped the same award in 2012.

But it was the next year when the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League — which present the Tony Awards — recognized Paulus’ 2013 Broadway revival of “Pippin” with the award for Best Direction of Musical. It made her only one of three women to receive that award, placing her among Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”) and Susan Stroman (“The Producers”).

On Tuesday, the touring production of Paulus’ revival of “Pippin” comes to the Kentucky Center as part of the Broadway in Louisville series.

For Paulus, who was born in 1966, “Pippin” was part of her childhood in New York. Living in Manhattan, she regularly saw Broadway musicals, including three performances of “Pippin,” which was directed by the legendary dancer and director Bob Fosse and ran from 1972 through 1977. During its run and even after it closed, the music of “Pippin” was woven into Paulus’ life.

“I remember it being this powerful, seductive world and remember wanting to be part of it,” she said. “I played ‘Corner of the Sky’ on the piano and danced the Manson Trio (the name of Fosse’s soft-shoe dance number in the musical at the apex of a gruesome battle scene) in my seventh-grade talent show. I sang ‘With You’ at my brother’s wedding. The soundtrack went with every milestone.”

The musical is a show within a show, where a group of traveling players tells the story of Pippin, the son of the 9th century Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, known as Charles in this story.

Story continues after the gallery

Reviving a Time-Honored Musical

In some ways, “Pippin,” with music by Stephen Schwartz — the composer behind “Godspell” and “Wicked”— seemed to belong to the 1970s. When it premiered, Schwartz’s music was deemed as heavily rock influenced and audiences drew parallels between the story and younger generation of that era, and society’s distress over the Vietnam War.

Pippin, on the cusp of adulthood in the musical, tries to find his place in the world — including a dramatic portion of the show where he goes to war in a quest to prove himself to his father. He subsequently questions war, then toys with revolution and has a foray of sexual adventures that leave him empty.

That background could make the musical an intimidating venture for any revival. But perhaps the most daunting aspect is that the musical had the fingerprints of the legendary Fosse.

But Paulus embraced that because Fosse was so integral to the original production. She enlisted director and choreographer Chet Walker, who was in the original production as a teenager. She also shared with Walker and Schwartz her idea of adding a twist to this remarkable musical — to weave it with performances of the Canadian circus troupe Les 7 doigts de la main (Seven Fingers of the Hand), which was founded in 2002 by artists who worked for the Cirque du Soleil.

“Chet said Mr. Fosse loved the circus. He loved clowns. He love the films of (Federico) Fellini. It was a world that interested him,” Paulus said.

Casting for Quadruple Threats

Paulus described casting as a task of finding “extraordinary quadruple threats” — those who could sing, dance, act and perform acrobatics. Finding such multi-talented performers was also a goal, she said, in casting the touring production.

But casting the role of Pippin’s father, Charles, was a case of happenstance. Months before the Broadway production closed last year, Ashland, Ky., native Terrence Mann was planning to leave his role as Charles to work on the upcoming Netflix series “Sense8.” That’s when John Rubinstein, who had played Pippin in the original production, got a call from his agent in New York about auditioning for the part in front of Paulus and Walker. He got the part and was invited to go on tour. Although he had performed in several Broadway productions since “Pippin,” he hadn’t toured in a show since 1968.

“It is a show that is very different in character, flavor and ambiance, but it is the same show,” Rubinstein said when asked to compare Fosse’s and Paulus’ productions.

Paulus’ production, he said, retains about 20 percent of Fosse’s choreography with the other 80 percent simulating his style and blended with the acrobatics.

He also defined her re-imagining of “Pippin” as “brilliant.”

“Instead of this production being about dance (as Fosse’s production was), she made it about magic and acrobatics and daring feats with Pippin struggling with — metaphorically and realistically — measuring up and be as extraordinary as the people on stage around him,” Rubinstein said.

Paulus said having Rubinstein in the production was “a dream come true.”

Raised in the Arts

Besides seeing “Pippin” several times as a child, Paulus was immersed in the arts. She played piano growing up and even considered it as a career choice. She danced as a child with the New York City Ballet and developed a love of George Balanchine’s story ballets “Coppelia,” “Serenade” and “Harlequinade.”

But when she went to Harvard for her undergraduate degree, she chose political science. As time went on, she felt herself drawn to the transformative effects of theater and its capacity to strengthen communities. She said she sees politics and theater as ways of making the impossible possible.

“I opted to do it through theater and art then through legislation, but both feel very connected to me,” she said.

While at Harvard, she said “my mind exploded” seeing productions at American Repertory Theatre that was then under founder and artistic director Robert Brustein. But she later returned to New York and earned her Master’s degree from Columbia University, where she studied with Andrei Serban, who helped her start directing operas, and Anne Bogart, who has directed 14 productions at Actors Theatre of Louisville since 1991.

“I’ve carried Anne with me to every rehearsal that I conduct — just how you work with actors, how you nurture a process and how you push actors to be greater than they are and do the best work of their lives,” Paulus said.

A Life of Creating Musicals

Since 2008, Paulus hasn’t just revived works but has experimented to bring new musicals to the stage in her position as American Repertory Theatre’s artistic director. From that perch, she saw “Finding Neverland,” a new musical she directed, premiere at A.R.T. last year open on Broadway in March. The musical is based on the 2004 film about “Peter Pan” writer and playwright J. M. Barrie.

While she still has solid footing in New York, her artistic home is at A.R.T. in Cambridge, Mass., where this month she opens an opera called “Crossing” with music by composer Matthew Aucoin and inspired by Walt Whitman’s diary written when he was a nurse during the Civil War. In August, she opens a new musical “The Waitress,” composed by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”) and inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film of the same name.

Given her workload, her time directing “Pippin” is in the rearview mirror these days. Given its connection to her formative years, however, it is never far from her heart.

Reporter Elizabeth Kramer can be reached at (502) 582-4682. Follow her on Twitter at @arts_bureau.

IF YOU GO

What: “Pippin.” Music and Lyrics Stephen Schwartz. Book Roger O. Hirson. Director Diane Paulus. (Recommended for ages 10 and above)

When: Tuesday through June 7

Where: The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall, 501 W. Main St.

Admission: $28 to $93

Information: (502) 584-7777, www.kentuckycenter.org, www.ticketmaster.com

Hurricane native makes Broadway debut in 'CATS' revival

Brian Passey

bpassey@thespectrum.com

“CATS” opened its first Broadway revival Sunday night and an actress from Hurricane was on stage in the role of Tantomile.

Emily Tate grew up in Hurricane and received dance, acting and vocal training at Diamond Talent in St. George before going on to the Julliard School in New York City, where she graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in dance. It all prepared her for Sunday evening, where she performed on Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre stage during the opening night performance.

“I’m still on such a high,” Tate tells The Spectrum & Daily News on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after her Broadway debut. “It was incredible — such a dream come true.”

From looking out into the audience and seeing Broadway legends to the red carpet walk at Sunday night’s after-party, Tate says the entire evening was a culmination of dreams that began when she joined Diamond Talent at age 7.

At the St. George studio she studied under Melinda Larson, who co-owns Diamond Talent with her husband, Brian Larson. Melinda directs the dance program while Brian oversees musical theater training.

“There’s no way I would have got into Julliard without their exceptional training,” Tate says. “They saw my potential and nurtured and fostered my growth. They challenged me and have helped me through every step of the way in getting here.”

Tate says her Broadway dream also belongs to the Larsons. And they were there in New York City on Sunday night to share the dream with her. They had purchased tickets for the Monday performance but Tate surprised them with seats for opening night as well.

“That was really special to have them in the audience,” Tate says. “It feels like yesterday that I was 7 years old and sitting in the dance studio looking up at Melinda.”

Melinda says it was “exhilarating” to see her former student standing on a Broadway stage. She remembers hearing Tate’s childhood dreams and telling her they were possible. Now, she says, it’s wonderful to see her “at the other end.”

Brian says it has been fun to watch Tate’s journey.

“I think she was probably our first student to really make a big leap,” Brian says. “She was 11 or 12 when she jumped to our advanced level. … She’s been an inspiration to us and to all our (students).”

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While attending Julliard, Tate would return to Southern Utah during the summers to teach at Diamond Talent. Melinda says she taught the students to be less competitive and focus instead on where they belong individually. Tate’s success on Broadway only emphasizes her teachings, Melinda says.

It also changed the way Diamond Talent students approached their classes in general.

“It’s actually easier to teach,” Melinda says. “I’m not trying to convince them of anything. They know dreams are possible because of Emily.”

Tate says Diamond Talent not only gave her the training necessary to make it to Julliard and Broadway, the studio also helped form her as a person. She says her instructors taught her life skills that shaped who she is as a human being.

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After Diamond Talent, Julliard took over. Tate says her time at the legendary fine arts conservatory was often intense and demanding, but it gave her the training necessary to make it to Broadway. It also brought her to New York City, opening up opportunities for her career.

“I knew I always wanted to do musical theater because I did so much of that growing up in Diamond Talent,” she says.

Yet at Julliard she focused on dance because she feels as if that is the aspect of musical theater that is sometimes overlooked. She focused on dance but also took voice lessons at Julliard to build up her “tool kit.”

“CATS,” in particular, makes good use of her dance talents. Part of what she enjoys about the musical is the variety of dance numbers in the show.

“I get to use all the training I’ve received through the years,” she says. “You don’t find that in every Broadway show.”

Broadway bound

Tate’s journey to Broadway began after her graduation from Julliard with a production of “Oklahoma” at The Muny in St. Louis during the summer of 2015. She then performed during the fall in the original production of “The Bandstand” at the Paper Mill Playhouse, a regional theater in Millburn, New Jersey. “The Bandstand” is set to move on to Broadway next year.

Andy Blankenbuehler directed and choreographed the Paper Mill’s production of “The Bandstand.” He has won two Tony Awards for choreography, including a 2016 Tony for his work on “Hamilton.” Blankenbuehler is also the choreographer for “CATS,” which provided Tate with a connection to the show when she became one of 1,500 actors auditioning for a role in the revival.

Of those 1,500 who auditioned, only 34 made the cut. It’s a staggering number that hits Tate every day when she walks into the theater and realizes she is meant to be there.

“I had seven auditions for it,” she says of the role. “I got called back seven times.”

Seven interviews for a single job is just part of life in the business. Tate says auditioning is almost like a part-time job.

Vocal Edge contestants sing for the grand prize

But the phone call she received from the casting director for “CATS” back in April made the six weeks of auditions all worth it. She was working as a nanny at the time.

“It was such a surreal moment. It was one of the moments I had dreamed of since I was little — getting the Broadway offer,” Tate says. “It was like a movie, a fairytale, something that would never happen to me.”

She didn’t call anyone for an hour after hearing the good news. It took that long for it to sink in. For a time, she says she wasn’t sure if it was real.

Finally she called her family. Then she called the Larsons.

The role she landed is Tantomile, the female twin to Coricopat. The character’s name comes from the T.S. Eliot poem, “Witch’s Cat.” The entire musical is based on Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.”

Coincidentally, Coricopat is played by Tate’s close friend, Corey Snide, whom she met at Julliard.

“Somehow, miraculously, we both ended up getting cast in this show,” she says.

The stuff of dreams

“CATS” originally opened on Broadway in 1982 and ran for what was, at the time, a record-breaking 18 years. It is now the fourth-longest running Broadway show.

Since it opened, “CATS” has played throughout the world but this is the first Broadway revival since the original run closed in 2000. Tate says it’s fun being part of a revival because the audience already knows the music and gets excited for all the iconic moments.

Speaking of iconic moments, “CATS” is perhaps best known for the song “Memory,” performed by the character Grizabella. For the revival, British pop singer Leona Lewis is performing the role of Grizabella. “CATS” is also Lewis’ Broadway debut.

“She has been amazing,” Tate says of Lewis. “She is so kind and humble. She can sing incredibly well.”

While “CATS” is sometimes criticized for its minimal storyline, it remains a beloved musical. Tate says she loves it because audience members don’t expect to be moved as much as they are moved during the production.

Tate describes “CATS” as a celebration of community and the individuals within a community. Although the characters are cats, they face many of the same struggles that humans face.

“My favorite part of it is that it’s told through beautiful music and exceptional dancing and spectacle,” she says. “It’s really like no other musical. There’s something really magical about it.”

While the run length for this show is open-ended, Tate says she’s sure everyone involved is hoping for a long run. Whether it will even come close to the original production’s record-breaking 18-year run remains to be seen.

Living in New York City has also given Tate the opportunity to see other shows, including the musical blockbuster “Hamilton.”

“I was lucky enough to see it last fall and it lived up to every ounce of its hype,” Tate says. “It was the best entertainment I’ve ever seen. It was incredible.”

She was even rehearsing with Blankenbuehler the day before he won the Tony Award for his choreography in “Hamilton.”

Looking to the future, Tate says one of her dream roles would be the chance to perform in “Movin’ Out,” a musical by rock star Billy Joel and choreographer Twyla Tharp. Unlike traditional musicals, none of the dancing actors sing. Instead they act out the plot through dance while a piano-playing singer and backing band provide all the vocals.

Brian says his former student has plenty of potential for continued success. “CATS” is just the beginning, he says, describing Tate as an intelligent performer who knows how to make connections.

“Things have really fallen into place for her and I think it’s because she’s a great person, a great human being,” he says.

For now, Tate is just beginning her adventures as Tantomile, a role that requires more than an hour of wardrobe, hair and makeup preparation each night. The show’s makeup designer taught each of the actors how to apply their own makeup.

While Tate is hoping the makeup process will speed up over time, she does appreciate the life skills it’s teaching her. Her future children will benefit from some detailed makeup work if they ever decide to dress as cats for Halloween, she says with a laugh.

While the costume preparation combined with body and vocal warmup means she has to arrive at the theater more than two hours before each show, Tate says it’s still fun to see everyone getting into costume as they prepare to regale their audiences with “The Naming of Cats.”

She finds it amusing to think about where her childhood dreams have led her.

“Oh, this is what I do for a living,” she says. “I dress up like a cat.”

Email reporter Brian Passey at brian@thespectrum.com and follow him at Facebook.com/PasseyBrian or on Twitter and Instagram, @BrianPassey. Call him at 435-674-6296.

Carol Channing was a Broadway legend. Here's a timeline of her ...

Broadway icon Carol Channing passed away Tuesday morning. She was 97.

The long-time Rancho Mirage resident was known for her roles in the musicals "Hello, Dolly!" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and the film version of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

"I feel so sad that the world will no longer feel the glow of the bright light that was Carol Channing," said actress Fran Drescher. "She was an enormous comedic talent and a person who exemplified the best of the biz across all media."

Theater was Channing's first love and where she shined brightest. She is best known for playing Dolly Levi, the matchmaker character in “Hello, Dolly!” for which she won a Tony Award in 1964.

REFLECTIONS:Friends recall the Broadway icon as 'unsurpassable'

PERFORMANCES: Here's where Carol Channing performed in the Coachella Valley

AWARDS: Over the years, Carol Channing has received numerous local awards

CHARITY WORK:Carol Channing made it her mission to support local charities

“Carol Channing taught me everything I needed to know about scale and proportion," said fashion designer Bob Mackie. "She was a tall girl with huge eyes, a mouth and a talent to match. No one was as well rehearsed or better prepared than she. In this world of endless copycats, we will miss a truly original personality."

Channing experienced success well beyond Broadway. She also was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as “a jazz baby” in the 1967 musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” opposite Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore.

"Our beloved Carol! One-of-a-kind, larger-than-life, the end of an era and our painful loss," said actress Loretta Swit.

Take a look back at Channing's storied career:

1921: Born in Seattle. Her family moves to San Francisco when she’s 2 weeks old.

1930: Sees Ethel Waters perform and decides she wants to become a singer

1937: Attends Bennington College in Vermont

1938: Graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco. School theater is now named in her honor.

1941: Makes New York stage debut in "For No Answer." Marries first husband, Theodore Nash. They divorce in 1946.

1949: Earns Theatre World Award for "Lend An Ear"; stars in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," which runs for 740 performances on Broadway

1950: Marries Canadian football player Alex Carson. They have one son, Channing Carson, before divorcing in 1956.

1956: Co-stars in the film "The First Traveling Saleslady" with Ginger Rogers and a young Clint Eastwood. Marries Charles Lowe, TV producer of “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” Son Channing takes Charles' last name and becomes a Pulitzer Prize-nominated cartoonist known as Chan Lowe.

1958: Replaces Gracie Allen in George Burns’ act at Allen’s suggestion

1961: Nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for the revue, “Show Girl,” one of the few times an actress not in a book musical receives such a nomination

1964: Stars in "Hello, Dolly!" earning a Tony Award. She reprises her role in 1978 and 1996 on Broadway and in 1979 in London. She does a take-off called “Hello, Lyndon” at the 1964 Democratic Convention.

1966: Stars in her first television special, “An Evening With Carol Channing.” Makes a pilot with Desi Arnaz and “I Love Lucy” writers that doesn’t get picked up for a series

1967: Co-stars in film musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore, earning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress

1968: Earns a special Tony Award after leaving the cast of "Hello, Dolly!" in 1967

1969: Attends the opening of Elvis Presley’s first Las Vegas show since the 1950s

1970: Becomes the first celebrity to perform at a Super Bowl halftime

1973: Named on President Richard Nixon’s “Enemies List,” which she calls “among my highest honors”

1974: Nominated for a Tony for “Lorelei” and wins Special Tony Award

1978: Voices a character as a guest at Heartland in the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

1979: Nominated for Olivier Award for the London production of “Hello, Dolly!”

1981: Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame

1985: Stars in "Legends" with Mary Martin and takes it on a national tour

1995: Earns Lifetime Achievement Tony Award

1998: Divorces husband of 41 years, Charles Lowe, alleging he physically abused her, ran through her money “like a drunken sailor” and only had sex with her twice – on their honeymoon

2000: Performs at a tribute to “Hello, Dolly!” composer Jerry Herman at a benefit dinner for the Millennium March on Washington for gay rights

2002: Releases her autobiography, “Just Lucky I Guess”

2003: Marries Harry Kullijian, her fourth husband

2004: Receives honorary doctorate of fine arts from California State University, Stanislaus

2009: Releases gospel album, “For Heaven’s Sake,” in memory of her father, who sang spirituals and classic Americana songs to her as she was growing up

2012: Documentary on her life, “Larger Than Life” released, screens at Palm Springs International Film Festival

2013: Appearing at a production of the “One Night Only” benefit show, produced by Michael Childers at the McCallum Theatre, the cast bursts into a spontaneous chorus of "Hello Dolly!" Channing starts "directing" them from her chair

2016: Stars including Lily Tomlin, Lucie Arnaz, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson and Gavin MacLeod celebrate Channing’s 95th birthday party in a musical revue at McCallum Theatre with Channing in the audience next to Tommy Tune. Channing joins in for a chorus of “Hello, Dolly!”

2017: Coachella Valley Repertory announces its new theater in Cathedral City will be named the Carol Channing Playhouse pending completion of a $3 million fundraising drive. By 2019, that goal had not been achieved.

Eddie George to make Broadway debut in 'Chicago'

Amy Stumpfl

Special to Nashville Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK — TENNESSEE

Former Tennessee Titan Eddie George is no stranger to playing on the “big stage,” rushing for more than 10,000 yards during his professional career and leading the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV. But now the NFL legend and Heisman Trophy winner is preparing to make the transition to Broadway, as he joins the company of the Tony Award-winning smash hit “Chicago.”

The celebrated running back will make his Broadway debut in the role of Billy Flynn on Jan. 11, playing a six-week limited engagement at the storied Ambassador Theatre. It’s an opportunity that has been more than a year in the making.

“I went to see ‘Chicago’ at TPAC last year, and I said kind of jokingly to (Tennessee Performing Arts Center president and chief executive officer) Kathleen O’Brien, ‘I would love to play that role.’ Two weeks later I got a call — I couldn’t believe it,” George says.

The news may come as a surprise for his many fans, as well. But indeed, the work ethic and focus that served George so well on the football field has bolstered his new career.

“Sitting with Eddie for ‘Chicago the Musical’ at TPAC, I could see he was engaged completely with the performance and almost on the edge of his seat,” O’Brien says. “Afterward, he shared with me how much he wanted to play the role of Billy Flynn. I asked if I could contact the producer to see if there was an interest, and he gave me the green light.

“I had never heard Eddie sing, but I knew his acting chops were strong and that he had the poise and confidence needed to play the smooth-talking Flynn. He went up for a work session and got the part. We couldn’t be more excited for him, and I think he will be terrific.”

Local audiences may recall that George made his Nashville stage debut in 2006, with Amun Ra Theatre’s production of “God’s Trombones,” and subsequently appeared in that company’s excellent staging of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog.”

Since then, George has built an impressive list of stage credits, playing the title roles in both “Othello” and “Julius Caesar” at Nashville Shakespeare Festival. And last winter, George garnered excellent reviews for his work in Nashville Repertory Theatre’s haunting production of Matthew Lopez’s compelling drama “The Whipping Man.”

“It’s interesting, people used to always come up to me and talk about my time as a football player, and I still get a lot of that,” he says. “But the conversation has shifted a bit. Now I have people coming up and saying, ‘Hey, you were really great in ‘Othello.’ Or, ‘I really enjoyed your performance in ‘The Whipping Man.’ It’s so exciting to see that — it means a lot to me.”

Former Titan Eddie George helps tell powerful ‘Othello’

Now, George turns his attention to the plum role of Billy Flynn, the slick criminal lawyer who defends the murderous minx Roxie Hart and rival cellmate Velma Kelly amid the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s.

“I was so nervous when I went to New York to meet with the producer,” he says. “But I started thinking about how nervous I was the first time I was performing Shakespeare — that was an incredible challenge. But all of those challenges, all the vocal work that I’ve being doing, that really laid the foundation for this opportunity. So I just decided to let go and have some fun. It was great.”

Featuring a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, “Chicago” is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The production won six 1997 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

Directed by Tony Award-winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, “Chicago” features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award-winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award-winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

“It’s such an incredible show — the writing, the songs, the nuance of the characters,” George says. “All of the songs are really cool, but I think I’m especially looking forward to ‘We Both Reached for the Gun.’ It’s such a challenging number, but so funny. And you really get a sense of who Billy is — this great puppet master, pulling all the strings. I’m really looking forward to digging in and finding those moments, and to putting my own thumbprint on Billy Flynn.”

For more information, visit www.chicagothemusical.com.

Revival means new sunrise for Broadway 'Fiddler On the Roof'

Elysa Gardner

@elysagardner, USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- In a room called the Jerome Robbins Studio, part of the New 42nd Street Studios in Times Square, a group of dancers is rehearsing a production number from one of Robbins' most beloved works.

The number is To Life, from Fiddler On the Roof, which the legendary director/choreographer introduced on Broadway back in 1964. The new revival being rehearsed today, set to begin previews on Nov. 20 and open Dec. 20 at the Broadway Theatre, features new dance and movement, based on Robbins' original staging, by the celebrated Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter.

Based on the stories of Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem, the musical follows Tevye, a Jewish dairyman living in early 20th-century Russia with his wife, Golde, and their five daughters. To Life takes place just after Tevye has granted his eldest girl's hand in marriage to the local butcher, a much older man. (Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen Fiddler: She marries someone else.)

"They seal the deal, and there is a big dance," explains Shechter, a spry man of 40 with an easy wit. As he runs the performers through their paces, director Bartlett Sher, 56, looks on, mostly silent but smiling as he takes in their joking and their exuberant athleticism. Two men practice back flips, over and over; while another lies face-down in mock exhaustion for a moment, then rolls over laughing.

Sher is known to musical theater lovers for his revivals of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific and The King and I, which brought fresh insights to stories of intolerance and fortitude, buoyed by soaring scores. Shechter says that Fiddler's music, by Jerry Bock (with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick), is the first thing that attracted him when he saw the film adaptation, as a boy of 9 or 10, growing up in Jerusalem.

A few years later, at 12, Shechter began studying folk dance, which in Israel stems "from a lot of places -- East Europe, West Europe," he says, during a lunch break. It's "about bringing people together...Coming to Fiddler On the Roof, my experience in folk dance, coming from Israel, having family that came from Russia, from Germany -- having all that in in my DNA, in my experience, I felt an immediate connection."

Shechter adds, "For me, the story is really about the tension between tradition, the old culture, and the new world. What do we keep, and what do we let go? What is progress, and how do we stay connected to our ancestors?"

Danny Burstein and Jessica Hecht, the stage veterans who play Tevye and Golde in the new Fiddler, ponder this as well. "In my synagogue, there's something written on the window that says, 'Tradition is not what you're born into, it's what you create,'" says Hecht, 50. "It is true, and you see it as you revisit this play.'"

Burstein, 51, notes that Fiddler "is about a Jewish family in 1905, but the themes are universal. Every culture goes through these kinds of things, transitions, with kids trying to break away. My own sons are 22 and 19; they're at that age where they're going, 'I want to be somebody different. I want to break the mold.' It's exciting to see them go through that, and it's challenging, too."

Hecht, who has two teenagers, says, "A lot of kids will be coming to the show who don't have this story as part of their history. They're not disconnected from it, but it's our fault if we don't bring it to them."

Shechter, too, savors "the idea that there will be 16-year-old boys and girls, that perhaps they're thinking. 'What is my connection to that?' To show them that there is a connection -- there is always a connection."

Find out now which Broadway shows are coming to Des Moines ...

Three of Broadway’s hottest shows are headed to Iowa’s capital city. And, no, we’re not just talking about “Hamilton."

Tony Award-winning sensation “Dear Evan Hansen,” celebrated revival “Hello Dolly!” and a two-week run of Disney’s beloved “Aladdin” lead the 2018-19 Willis Broadway Series announcement from Des Moines Performing Arts, unveiled Tuesday.

The nonprofit arts organization released details on 10 shows — six season ticket package shows and four add-on productions — planned for the 40th anniversary season, kicking off with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” sequel, “Love Never Dies,” in October.

Season ticket packages can be purchased now via dmpa.org, by phone at 515-246-2300 or at the Civic Center ticket office (221 Walnut St.). Single show ticket information is yet to be released.

“It’s a tremendous season,” said Jeff Chelesvig, president and CEO of Des Moines Performing Arts. “We’ve got three certified hits in the series.”

The Broadway season package at a glance:

Oct. 16-21: “Love Never Dies”

Nov. 28-Dec. 9: “Aladdin”

Feb. 5-10, 2019: “Dear Evan Hansen”

April 9-14, 2019: “Hello, Dolly!”

April 30-May 5, 2019: “School of Rock”

June 25-30, 2019: “The Play That Goes Wrong”

Broadway add-on shows at a glance:

Dec. 27-29: “Finding Neverland: The Musical”

Feb. 26-March 3, 2019: “Bat out of Hell: The Musical”

March 8-10, 2019: “Rock of Ages”

May 11, 2019: Brian Stokes Mitchell and Megan Hilty in concert

More:The next Des Moines Symphony season is celebrating an American favorite

The season comes following the highly anticipated Des Moines debut of “Hamilton: An American Musical,” which runs June 27 to July 15 at the Civic Center. Behind the wild success of “Hamilton,” Des Moines Performing Arts saw 2017-18 Broadway season subscribers reach a record 16,200 people and a donor poll reach 5,000 — leading to a waiting list for the former.

Most touring markets are “probably feeling pressure,” Chelesvig said, in following-up the biggest thing Broadway’s seen in a generation.

“We’re fulfilling our mandate that we want to bring the best of Broadway here,” Chelesvig said. “When I look at the (next) season and say: ‘There’s three shows that are knocking it out of the park currently on Broadway, coming to Des Moines in their first year of (touring)’ ... that’s pretty spectacular.”

More:'Hamilton' tickets in Des Moines virtually sell out in six-and-a-half hours

Six-time Tony Award-winner “Dear Evan Hansen,” a contemporary musical telling the story of a socially anxious teen fighting for a way to fit in, highlights the upcoming season.

Virtually sold out on Broadway, Des Moines sees the “You Will Be Found” musical in its first national tour. Des Moines Performing Arts invested in “Hansen” as part of the Independent Presenters Network, a cohort of 40 Broadway presenters, theaters and performing arts centers across the nation.

Music and lyrics in "Hansen" come via Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman” fame.

“It’s a powerful story,” “Hansen” producer Stacey Mindich told the Register, speaking on the show’s commercial and critical success. The Washington Post coined it earlier this year “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.”

She continued: “I really do think it is the power of the story itself. The message of how to connect in an era where it seems so easy (to connect) and yet it’s not” .

On the show, Chelesvig said: “For the Broadway fanatics, that’s going to be one of the big hooks of the season.”

More:Des Moines Playhouse plots 100th season with new shows, multimillion dollar renovation

Fast facts for the 2018-19 season:

His work appearing twice in the upcoming season, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the Civic Center’s most-performed musical composer. His work have been produced 256 times to a total 504,513 people.

The most-performed Lloyd Webber piece? “Phantom of the Opera.”

“Aladdin” plans to be the sole two-week Broadway engagement from the Civic Center next season.

The “Dear Evan Hansen” soundtrack debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest debut from a cast album since 1961.

Along with “Dear Evan Hansen,” Des Moines Performing Arts invested in “Hello, Dolly!” as part of the Independent Presenters Network. The revival earned four Tony Awards in 2017.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” comes produced by film director J.J. Abrams, his first Broadway project.

In case you missed it: Des Moines Performing Arts celebrated its 10 millionth visitor during the 2017-18 Broadway season.

“Love Never Dies” (Oct. 16-21)

A sequel to Lloyd Webber’s famed “Phantom of the Opera,” this story of “boundless love” takes audience members to 1907 New York City, 10 years removed from (spoiler!) the Phantom’s Paris Opera House disappearance. The production takes onlookers through a self-described “roller-coaster ride of intrigue, obsession and romance.”

“Aladdin” (Nov. 28-Dec. 9)

Based on the Disney classic of the same name, the producers of Broadway crossover success “The Lion King” bring a whole new world of “magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle” to the Civic Center stage.

“Finding Neverland: The Musical” (Dec. 27-29)

Taking place between Christmas and New Years, this musical tells the story of J.M. Berrie and his journey in creating Peter Pan. An adaptation of the 2004 movie — starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet — of the same name.

“Dear Evan Hansen” (Feb. 5-10, 2019)

The season’s cornerstone production, this Grammy and Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of Evan Hansen, a socially anxious teen, and his battle to fit in. Self-described as “.. profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it,” The Washington Post coined the production “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.”

More:How an Iowan's emotional journey led to one of the summer's most-anticipated events

“Bat out of Hell: The Musical” (Feb. 26-March 3, 2019)

Famed rock ’n’ roll producer Jim Steinman offers a new take on the music of Meat Loaf in this post-apocalyptic “jaw dropping spectacle.” Winner of “Best Musical” at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

“Rock of Ages” (March 8-10, 2019)

Rock ’n’ roll dreamers “line up to turn their fantasies into reality” at this weekend engagement, the 10th anniversary of “Broadway’s best party.” Music from 1980s rock favorites Styx, Twisted Sister and Poison will be featured in the production.

“Hello, Dolly!” (April 9-14, 2019)

Broadway favorite Betty Buckley stars in the 2017 Tony Award-winning “Best Musical Revival” production. Staying true to the beloved New York City story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, Rolling Stone coined the revival “a musical comedy dream.”

“School of Rock” (April 30-May 5, 2019)

The legend of the rent is way hardcore in Des Moines next year. Lovable protagonist Dewey Finn hits the Civic Center stage in Lloyd Webber’s adaptation of the popular 2003 film starring Jack Black.

Brian Stokes Mitchell and Megan Hilty in concert (May 11, 2019)

A double dose of Broadway fame teams up with the Des Moines Symphony for the one-night collaborative performance.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" (June 25-30, 2019)

Promotional materials for this production asks, “What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had a illegitimate Broadway baby? You’d get ‘The Play That Goes Wrong.’” A slapstick take on murder mystery, this play offers audiences a night of “comedic gold.”

Des Moines Performing Arts plans to announce later this spring 2018-19 plans for comedy, music, dance and family shows. Find more information at dmpa.org.