PICTURED: The Broadway company of “Come From Away.” Photo: Matthew Murphy
THE 2018/19 BROADWAY IN ATLANTA LINEUP at the Fox Theatre is fresher than most, promising the 2017 Tony Award-winning best musical Dear Evan Hansen and 2017 nominee Come From Away among its eight titles.
The season begins Sept. 12 with Disney’s Aladdin and ends Aug. 11, 2019, with yet another life for Cats. It includes School of Rock, White Christmas, Waitress and, as an optional purchase, Les Misérables.
Renewal ticket sales for subscribers begin at 11 a.m. Feb. 15. New subscriptions, starting at $239 for seven shows, begin in mid-April. Single seats will be sold closer to the beginning of the season.
Here’s a show-by-show look at the season, in chronological order:
Disney’s Aladdin | SEPT. 12-23. Tells a tale of love, a magic lamp and three wishes, with music by Disney favorite Alan Menken (an Oscar and Tony Award winner); lyrics by Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast) and Tim Rice (The Lion King); and a book by Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer). Aladdin opened on Broadway in March 20, 2014, and is still running. The score includes “A Whole New World,” “Friend Like Me,” “One Jump Ahead” and nine others. Aladdin was nominated for five 2014 Tonys, including best musical, and won best featured actor for James Monroe Iglehart’s Genie.
School of Rock | OCT. 16-21. This 2015 musical, based on the 2003 Jack Black movie, follows wannabe rock start Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher and turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping band of rockers. The show features a live, onstage kids’ rock band. The score is by Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, The Phantom of the Opera). School of Rock opened on Broadway on Dec. 6, 2015, and is still running. It was nominated for four 2016 Tony awards, winning none.
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas | NOV. 27-DEC. 2. The 1954 movie version of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is, simply, the best Christmas movie ever made. The stage version is based on the film, with a new book by David Ives and Paul Blake. It follows showbiz buddies who decide to stage their current project in a picturesque Vermont inn and find romance in the process. Full of dancing and some of the greatest songs ever written, including “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Happy Holiday,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” and the title tune. It had limited holiday runs on Broadway in 2009 and 2010, earning four Tony nominations but no awards. White Christmas has been touring since 2007.
Waitress | FEB. 5-10, 2019. An all-female creative team — including six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles and Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus — brought this 2016 musical to life. It follows a waitress — and expert pie baker — named Jenna, who dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county may be the answer. Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics. Waitress opened on Broadway on April 16, 2016, and is still running. It was nominated for four Tonys. The Broadway staging is notorious for tempting theatergoers with the smell of freshly baking pies.
Les Misérables | FEB. 26-MARCH 3, 2019. The familiar tale of the fugitive Jean Valjean returns in what’s called a new staging with scenery inspired by the paintings of author Victor Hugo. The Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg score includes “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home” and “One Day More.” The 1987 Broadway original ran for 16 years and won nine Tony awards, including best musical. A 2014 revival ran about a year on Broadway, and a Tony-nominated 2016 revival ran about 2.5 years. Les Miz has been touring intermittently since 1991.
Dear Evan Hansen | APRIL 23-28, 2019. Teenager Evan Hansen is about the get the one thing he’s always wanted — a chance to finally fit in. It comes about through a letter that was never meant to be seen and a lie that was never meant to be told. The Washington Post called Dear Evan Hansen, a six-time Tony Award winner, “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.” The score is by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and the book by Steven Levenson, all of who won Tonys for their work. The show also won the most recent Grammy Award for best musical show album. On Broadway, the show is performed by a cast of eight and a large number of recorded voices. The Broadway run is into its third year.
Come From Away | JUNE 25-30, 2019. Tells the true story of the small Newfoundland town that welcomed the world — specifically the 7,000 airline passengers stranded by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The book, music and lyrics are by Irene Sankoff and David Hein; on Broadway, the show is performed by a cast of 12. Come From Away opened on Broadway on March 12, 2017, and is still running. It was nominated for seven Tony awards, including best musical, and won for director Christopher Ashley.
Cats | AUG. 6-11, 2019. Now and forever, it seems. Cats, based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make “the Jellicle choice,” deciding which among them will be reborn. The most familiar song in the score, likely, is “Memory,” sung and recorded by original cast member Betty Buckley. The original Cats opened on Broadway on Oct. 7, 1982, and ran for almost 18 years, winning seven Tony awards, including best musical. A 2016 revival ran for 74 weeks. The show has been touring intermittently since 1987.
