Arts & Culture

Playhouse Square announces 2023-24 Broadway season

91福利 | By Carrie Wise

Published March 28, 2023 at 11:00 AM EDT

Myles Frost and the cast of MJ dance together in this musical about Michael Jackson.

Nostalgia runs high in the seven-show lineup for the next Broadway season at Playhouse Square.

Hit movies and music from the '80s and '90s as well as revivals of 鈥淭he Wiz鈥� and 鈥淔unny Girl鈥� are all part of the 2023-2024 KeyBank Broadway Series announced Tuesday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a new spin on a lot of familiar titles,鈥� said David Greene, senior vice president of programming at Playhouse Square.

The season opens in October with the pre-Broadway tour of 鈥淭he Wiz,鈥� a funky adaption of 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz,鈥� with popular songs like 鈥淓ase on Down the Road鈥� and 鈥淗ome.鈥� The original premiered on Broadway in 1975, and Cleveland audiences will see this revival ahead of its Broadway run slated for the spring of 2024.

鈥淚t's a rare case that a show will go on a tour before it heads to Broadway,鈥� Greene said, adding that allows the production to evolve before its Broadway debut while also building buzz by playing in various cities.

Fans of Michael Jackson will be thrilled with 鈥淢J,鈥� a tribute to the King of Pop. The musical, created by director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and playwright Lynn Nottage, hones in on Jackson鈥檚 1992 world tour and comes to Playhouse Square in July 2024.

鈥淭he show is just filled with great music, great dancing and just a real interesting look into the creative mind of MJ,鈥� Greene said.

Cleveland also gets the premiere of the national tour of 鈥淏ack to the Future: The Musical鈥� in June 2024, roughly a year after its scheduled Broadway premiere.

Ben Joyce performing as Marty McFly in Back to the Future: The Musical.

The new Tony-award winning musical 鈥淕irl from the North Country鈥� reimagines Bob Dylan鈥檚 songs while telling the story of wayward travelers whose paths intersect. It arrives in Cleveland Oct. 31.

鈥淢rs. Doubtfire鈥� follows, full of comedy well-established in the 1993 film starring Robin Williams as a divorced father who disguises himself as an older woman to spend more time with his kids as their nanny, Mrs. Doubtfire.

The revival of 鈥淔unny Girl鈥� arrives in Cleveland in February, just six months after the show is set to close on Broadway. It鈥檚 been a popular ticket in New York with Lea Michele of 鈥淕lee鈥� in the leading role. The cast of the touring production has not yet been announced.

鈥淚t's the classic 鈥楩unny Girl,鈥� embracing the joys and pains of growing up and growing apart from family and relationships, and, you know, setting your eyes big on ambition and going for it,鈥� Greene said.

The reimagining of Stephen Sondheim鈥檚鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� swaps some gender roles in this Tony Award-winning production. The lead character, now a woman in her mid-30s, grapples with expectations from friends and family to settle down and start a family.

鈥淭he show just works so well for the time that we're in,鈥� Greene said.

Rosalie Craig performed as Bobbie in the 2018 London cast of Company.

Playhouse Square鈥檚 subscriber base is rebounding this current season, after losing about 8,000 members during COVID-19. There are now more than 44,000 subscribers, and Greene said he hopes to continue to regain subscribers with the upcoming season as they have added around 5,000 members since the pandemic losses.

鈥淲e have the largest season ticket community for Broadway in North America, and that goes a long way,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淓very tour wants to play Cleveland as early as possible, because the audiences are so good.鈥�

Tickets for the upcoming season are available now to subscribers, and individual tickets will be available for purchase at future dates closer to the show openings.